MATCH REPORT; Madison 0 Vasco 3

Madison Celtic's adventure in the SASL second division came to it's expected end with a 3-0 loss to the newly crowned champions Vasco Da Gama. A season that started brightly with the Celts holding their own in the league went south after the break with the Madison bhoys gathering only 2 points out of a potential 27. The game itself was very typical  of the games that the Celts have had this year. An opening 25 minutes that was very even with the home team giving as good as they got. A strong Madison defensive line really blunting an aggressive Vasco attack that had scored 41 goals though this season. The Celtic midfield had lots of possession in these early parts of the game with John B, Roniildo and Rob dealing with the lions share of the battle. With only one lonely striker it was perhaps too much to expect an onslaught on the Vasco penalty box but chances were few and far between. One of the significant failings of the team this season has been an inability to score when the game is balanced or even when we have periods of domination. This pattern has shown itself in many games this year and this match was no different. The first sign that the game was turning in a negative direction was when the increasingly picky ref started to get to the Madison players. When the players get more focused on  the refs decisions than the game then we are in trouble. Some loose defending allowed Vasco to get some great scoring chances and it needed some big saves from Hulk to keep us on a level pegging. However, after a good solid 30 minutes the pattern consolidated when the ref gave a dubious free kick to Vasco just a few yards outside the box. Even though the box was packed with Madison players you have to give credit to the Vasco striker who curled an unstoppable shot into the top right hand postage stamp of the net. One nil down and though you couldn't argue that it was against the run of play it did seem rather unjust. The halftime whistle came with the team feeling disappointed with the score, but even more annoyed at the somewhat mercurial ref. The second half saw Vasco start to turn the screw on the home team with more and more chances coming their way. The Madison midfield was still trying hard but at times looked like five individuals running with the ball rather than a cohesive team. The simple out ball to a team mate was rarely used as the ball was smacked away as though it was a ticking time bomb. With that lack of love for the ball coming from the Madison players it was perhaps no surprise that Vasco grabbed another  goal. A nicely worked move down the Madison right ended with a cracking shot past Alex into the  net. On the sidelines you could tell the Vasco management and friends were greatly relieved that they had got this second goal and tied up the points. The visitors relaxed after this and Madison had some of its best play in the second half but any thought of a revival were quashed when Vasco scored yet another fabulous goal to round off a great win for the new champions.
A disappointing end to the season for the Celts, but Vasco played well and are worthy champions. I'll do a more detailed analysis of the season after Hurricane Sandy has passed but for the moment I just want to thank the whole squad for playing through a tough season. We will be back!

Man Of The Match; Some great saves by Hulk in the first half, some solid defending by Edimar and Edison throughout the game and some great running by La Boca up front but MOM goes to John B for holding the midfield together and always being available for the out ball.

Many thanks to LOTB for taking the great pics during the game!

NEXT GAME; Oct 28th Vasco da Gama

The crazy race is nearly over. The final game of the season is upon us and the league is running to a nail biting conclusion at both ends of the table! Vasco da Gama and the Norwalk Mariners are duking it out at the top end of the table while Madison, Fairfield and Guilford are clinging on for dear life at the other end. The simple facts are that Norwalk Mariners have to win and hope that Vasco drop a point for them to take the championship. And guess who Vasco are playing? Yes, the Madison Celts! In another twist of fate Fairfield are playing Norwalk Mariners in their last game. If Fairfield gain a point then they are safe assuming Guilford do not win their last two games. If Fairfield lose, then for us to stay up we simply have to beat Vasco Da Gama. The only other unlikely scenario is that we draw against Vasco and Norwalk hammer Fairfield 14-0 to demolish their hugely advantageous goal difference. Either way it should make for a very interesting last day of the league.

I'm not sure how we got ourselves into these dire straights after a reasonable start to the season. But the facts don't lie and the Celts have only won two points out of a potential 24 over the last 8 games. That's relegation form in anyone's books. All we can do now is go out on Sunday and enjoy ourselves.... i know we can do that!

Beers for the last game? I brought some last Sunday and a few of us had a few after the game. I can bring some more and if someone else wants to share the load just holler

See you Sunday!!  It's a 10 am kick off at Town Campus. Turn up early so we can warm up.

I've copied another update on the end of the season from Garry Archer of the SASL;

With only one week remaining in the season, there are still several issues
not resolved making for a very exciting end to the SASL 2012 for some teams.

The SASL Masters League Second Division has almost nothing resolved as yet
-- except Vasco da Gama CC and Norwalk Mariners will be promoted to the
First Division next season.

With only one week left to go it is still a dogfight at the bottom end of
the SASL Masters League Second Division to see who will survive and who
will be relegated with four teams still involved.  Ironically, Vasco and
the Mariners are playing teams involved in the relegation battle and they
need the points also to see who will be Champions.  Here are their
remaining matches with the home teams listed first:

    - Greenwich Arsenal versus 7th-placed Norwalk Sport Colombia FC.
Arsenal are safe and Sport Colombia only need one point from this game and
a make-up game to be assured of safety themselves.  Sport Colombia have
drawn more games than any other team in the division.

    - Norwalk Mariners versus 8th-placed Fairfield GAC.  The already
promoted Mariners must not lose in order to stay in contention for the
Championship and would prefer all three points, meaning a very tough
road-trip for GAC.  One point from this game may be all GAC need, but they
cannot afford to take that chance, a win would assure safety.

    - 9th-placed Madison Celtic FC versus Vasco da Gama CC.  Vasco are also
already promoted, but are looking over one shoulder at the Mariners in the
race for the Championship, they cannot afford to slip up.  Celtic would
need to win and Fairfield GAC to lose to avoid relegation.  A draw would
not be enough owing to GACs superior goal difference -- unless GAC were
beaten by something like 14 goals!

    - Easton Rhinos versus 10th-placed Guilford Bell Curve.  The Rhinos are
already safe, but Bell Curve must win.  A win would still leave Bell Curve
in 10th place, but they have a game in hand, a game that they must also win
in order to stand any chance of survival.

    - Norwalk Sport Colombia FC versus Guilford Bell Curve.  This is a
make-up game scheduled to be played at Guilford.  As stated earlier, Sport
Colombia only need a point to be assured of safety, but depending on their
earlier result against Greenwich Arsenal, they may already be safe.  Bell
Curve must win.  Even if Bell Curve win their last two games, depending on
how other results go, it may not be enough to save them from relegation.

Good luck to all teams in the next week or so!

MATCH REPORT; Madison 0 Greenwich Arsenal 0

With only two games left in the season and a relegation battle as hot as Hell, the Celts started this game like they meant business. Strong confident passing, great positioning and strong defending had Arsenal on the back foot right from the start of the match. The midfield pairing of John B and Rob really played a major role in subduing the Arsenal team and created some great chances for the Celts. One superb move that released Tano into the box allowed him to unleash a powerhouse shot that was parried by the goalkeeper. Superb covering defending by Rugginho and box to box running were also a  feature of the first twenty minutes of the game. As ever though, the Celts were unable to convert any chances and gradually the game evened out with Arsenal getting more and more chances. More often or not these attacks were swept away by the impressive defence but it was clear the second half would be tougher. In fact it ended up being more of the same with two teams largely cancelling each other out with few opportunities arising for either team. Even though a few shots came in it became increasingly clear that no team was going to deliver a knockout blow. And so the game ended in a scoreless tie. A result that ensured Arsenals' future in the second division for next year but leaving the Celts with the daunting task of having to beat league leaders, Vasco da Gama in the last game of the year to stay up. Can the Celts do it?  Well, if they are as strong at the back as they have been over a few select games during the season then they have a chance. We do need to score though. One point won't be enough unless the Mariners beat Fairfield by a barrow load of goals

Anyway, it's been fun. Last game is coming up. See you next Sunday

Man of the Match;  Some great performances by the Hulk, Edimar and Edison in defence ably assisted by Rob and John B in midfield but my mom was Ruggerho for his non stop running and last gasp defending!

NEXT GAME; Oct 21st, Greenwich Arsenal

The penultimate game of the season is upon us with a home match against Greenwich Arsenal. This is a home game at Town Campus with a 10.30am kick off. I guess we just need to go out and have fun. Let's just play the last two games the way you would play a pick up game. Johnny B said this at half time in the last match and it's true. That's when you have the most creativity, the best fun and you never know.....we might actually play better because of that.

My one request is that you tell me before the end of Saturday if you are going to play, and if you are, can you please turn up well before kick off?

Could you also bring $20?

The team is officially broke because we did not pull in enough money at the beginning of the season to pay for 3 officials per game. I will bring my own personal check book to pay this weekend but I am already over $1000 out of pocket for the team over the last few years.  I'm not looking for that back but let's try and keep our playing fees up to date. It's  not that much money for 18 games a year. Thanks for your help on this.

See y'all Sunday!