Archive for: September, 2013

Swarming Legends overwhelm Banatul to take sole possession of First

Sep 30 2013 Published by under Legends

For the first time this year the Legends got to play on their favoured field #74 at Randalls Island, although the 6pm time slot was unfortunate.  Although missing a couple of key players the great squad depth allowed CPR to have 15 available.  The setting sun was ready to be a factor but the delay in procuring the referee from the neighbouring field meant that by the time the game kicked off the winning toss only allowed about 5 minutes of glare before not being relevant anymore.  The Legends had already talked about using the small field to their advantage defensively, and very soon it looked like the key difference between both teams was going to be energy.  Banatul preferred to hold on to the ball, try to dribble and make simple passes while the Legends were looking to steal the ball and then make aggressive runs and attack when they had it.  Despite amassing several chances the Legends went behind against the run of play.  A long free kick found a Banatul player far offsides, but rather than start screaming as one and raising their hands the Legends fitfully chased the striker who took his chance well. 

This setback appeared to have no effect whatsoever on CPR because they were immediately back on the attack.  A lobbed ball saw Pritchard and the defender both physically go after the ball, with CPR this time benefitting from a somewhat charitable penalty decision.  Resnik strode forward purposefully and buried the ball with aplomb.  The Banatul frustration level started to increase, as in addition to feeling aggrieved with the decision they had no time on the ball.  At all parts of the field the moment a Banatul player had it multiple Legends swarmed him, playing the aggressive defensive style preached by management for that particular field to perfection.  The opposition didn’t help themselves by constantly trying to dribble out of trouble instead of making quick passes, and from such a turnover the Legends launched a lethal counterattack that resulted in Jee crossing the ball over for Pritchard to finally take advantage of one of his chances in front of goal to take the lead.

At half time the Legends were reminded that although they needed to keep up the frenetic energy defensively there was no reason to keep scampering after balls into touch, since the clock was their friend.  The second half put the Siege of Troy to shame as wave after wave of Legends wore out the defensive Banatul players.  Having hit the woodwork once in the first half they were to do it a couple more times, and the Banatul keeper valiantly did all he could, making some tremendous saves.  The siege was breached once (the equivalent of the death of Patroclus) by another offsides goal, but the Legends imperiously brushed aside this insult by breaching the defenses from distance, another tactic long requested.  Having said that, the 3 goals launched from distance by D’Andrea and Bernoske (2) were more than worthy to pierce the Banatul armor.  Although the majority of the opposition treated the game with equanimity as always there were a couple of dirty characters who started taking their frustration out with late tackles.  The referee apparently had a dozen final double secret probation talks with players without actually dipping into his pocket for a card.  This time the Legends did have someone on their side more than happy to equal the hard tackle score (well played El Presidente, #WIDTEO).

”Outright
The Legends surrounded the Banatul goal and didn’t stop the siege until it was sacked 5-2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite Banatul’s lack of mobility it was still one of best aggressively defensive performances ever made by the Legends.  If the back four can just become more aggressive physically and vocally regarding borderline offsides decisions they can make sure that CPR isn’t always on the short end of offsides decisions on both sides of the pitch.  Also, congrats to Steve O’Connell who missed the game due to becoming a Father on Friday.

Competition: Banatul, League Opposition

Location: Randalls Island #74, Randalls Island

Conditions: Pleasant fall evening

Fans: None

Result: 5-2 (2-1 at H/T)

Goals:  1:1 Resnik (Pen), Assist Pritchard

2:1 Pritchard Assist Jee

3:1 Bernoske

4:2 Bernoske

5:2 D’andrea Assist Jee

Yellow Cards: None, the referee electing to go the entire opposite direction of last week’s inconsistent disgrace and even ending the game early because of some members of the other team’s increasing bad temper

Red Card: None

Mike D’s aka No Shows: None

Conboy’s aka Reverse Mike D’s: None.

”Mr. Glass” Fragility/Old Man Injury Award: None.

Old Man of the Match: A very tight contest between Bernoske with two goals struck from distance as well as D’andrea who frustrated the opponents in the middle with his fancy footwork.  Bernoske edged the vote to win.  Both debutants Street & Kovel were extremely energetic and could easily have scored.

Old Man of the Bar: None

El Presidente (new award for Old Men who don’t make it to game but come to the bar): None.

Team Bar Showing: 8 out of 15 (53%)

Team Bar Night:  3 out of 5: Good amount of people showing up despite the distance, late hour and Breaking Bad counterprogramming at the same time.

Team (No new profiles this week): Ethan Keswin (GK), Mark Resnik (DF), Drew Faherty (DF), Lars Murray (DF), Steve Teesdale (DF), Dan Bernoske (DF), Paul Stephan, Sean Street, David Kovel, Dan Ochoa, Tony Vamvouris, Chris Jee, Manohar Venkataraman, Willan D’Andrea, Steve Pritchard

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Lack of Fitness and Finishing Sinks Grays, 1-nil

Sep 30 2013 Published by under Club

The Greeks take a dive;
Grays miss too many chances.
Welcome back Roberts.

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Women’s Red vs Rovers 1

Sep 29 2013 Published by under Womens Reds

Reds win 3-2, after being down 0-2 at the half!!!  (Goals scored by Patty, Platt and Jill)

 

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Schedule for Sunday 9/29

Sep 25 2013 Published by under Club

Womens Red vs. Rovers 1, 11am East 6th Street

Womens White have the weekend off

Mens White @ Manhattan Kickers, 11am East River Park – Grand Street Field

Mens White Reserves @ Manhattan Kickers, 9am East River Park – Grand Street Field

Mens Red @ FC Gwardia PLNY, 4pm Bushwick Inlet – Williamsburg

Mens Black vs Landsdowne Bhoys, 2pm Randalls #74.

The Grays @ NY Greek/American, 2pm Randalls #75

The Old Boys @ Galatasaray Soccer Academy, 10am Randalls #74

The Legends @ Banatul SC, 6pm Randalls #74

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CPR Reserves Show Well but Drop a Heartbreaker to Clarkstown

Sep 25 2013 Published by under Whites

A two win unbeaten start to the season had CPR Reserves brimming with confidence for what looked on paper as the toughest test of the season. New look Clarkstown Eagles were coming off an upset over United FC and likely to be a sterner test than in previous seasons.
CPR Res started where they left off from Barstonworth Rovers, patiently moving the play across the park, although making minimal head way into the final third.
As the half progressed Clarkstown became visibly frustrated with CPR’s possession, challenges from both sides becoming more forceful and the banter on the pitch getting ‘chippier’. Yellows for Andy Ma, with the tackle of the game, and Greg Moss, with a challenge later than a Shane Lennon arrival at a bar, showed we were more than up for the fight.
With space on the pitch and time on the ball becoming more evident, CPR began to make headway toward the opposing box. Edgar began to exploit the right and Ma rolled back the many years with forays down the left. A blatant penalty appeal on Edgar left the crowd (Atd: 5) bewildered, the ref whistle-happy only outside the box.
CPR’s stranglehold on the midfield paid dividends when Archie broke the the shackles of his defensive mid role, after another big win in the centre, cantered forward and delivered a rapier ball for the surprisingly onside Chris Norelli to finish with aplomb, the first-time half-volley leaving the keeper picking daisies. Archie is still waiting on Eli’s dressing down for distributing the ball.
Further chances for the front-line served to illustrate CPR’s dominance, which began to diminish towards the end of the half. The ghosts of last season’s late game capitulations, thought exorcised this, would come back to haunt CPR as they would rue the missed opportunities.
Late pressure from Clarkstown from set-pieces lead to a goal right on half-time from a third corner in a row, CPR failing to command their own 18 yard box.
Not that this goal served to deflate the home side. CPR created numerous other chances to regain the lead, throwing chances away like Ma discards sure fire “DTFs” on a Saturday night. Another obvious penalty on Edgar went begging, Dan C was trying to hit seagulls behind the goal and Andy Ma trusting his right foot for some reason. Captain Ma continued to bomb forward like a DPRK Scud missile, resulting in a less of a bi-cycle, more tri-cycle overhead kick attempt that barely reached the keeper.
As Clarkstown got more of a grip on the midfield with fresh legs able to retain possession, they began to carve out more chances. The sucker-punch came late in the game, another corner undoing CPR as they failed to clear again.
Greg Moss’ attempt from probably 65 yards was given all the commendations it deserved, especially from Mike D.
Late waves of attacks yielded nothing but the knowledge that the chances are there – can CPR take them?
Team: Jon L, Andy M., Devin, Justin, Greg, Ben H., Mike D., Archie, Edgar, Brent, Norelli, Alex, Alberto, Ruben, Dan C.

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DEFENSIVE HEROICS AS FIRSTS WIN

Sep 25 2013 Published by under Whites

The Whites faced a very young and skillful Clarkstown team on Sunday. We came out strong quickly and before Clarkstown could settle we got the opening goal. A free-kick from the left side of the field found its way to an unmarked Riso who fired low and hard to make the score 1-0. We saw a lot of possession the first 20 minutes of the game but were not able to create another dangerous chance. Clarkstown found their rhythm and started to put pressure on our back 4 but our outstanding defending and organization frustrated Clarkstown forwards and did not give them any dangerous chances in the first half. At the break Coach Yuval message was to stay compact, patient and play on the break. Clarkstown came out strong keeping us on our own half for long periods of time but once again the whole teams defending performance frustrated Clarkstown. The wind also did not help as every time we tried to play a long ball it was very difficult for our keeper and backs to find our forwards. Kwesi did an excellent job at giving us an outlet and release the pressure and give the defense some relief. As Clarkstown pushed more players forward, Kwesi found himself on goal but a last second touch from a defender saw the shoot go wide. As the game wore on we were able to hold the ball more and sucked the momentum out of the Eagles. One scare saw the ball hit our post but Ben was quick to gather the rebound. That would be the closest they came to scoring and we came away with a hard fought and well deserved win. A great defensive performance from which to build on for the upcoming games.

Team: Ben, Robbo, Mike, Paul, Pat, Conor, Eli, Josh, Riso, Lasse, Kwesi. Subs: Justin, Dan C, Ruben, Edgar

 

  


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Shooting Practice Needed….

Sep 24 2013 Published by under Reds

Sunday was a beautiful day for some soccer with another early morning start, this time at 10am at Randall’s Island versus Missile FC. The Reds squad showed up in numbers with plenty of subs for the match. The game started with Hendrik up top, Omar and Johnny on the wings, Brent, James, and Paul in the center mid, Blake and eee-no at fullback and Hatcher and Alex at center back with Shane as the starting keeps; an unchanged line up from the week prior.

The reds dominated possession early and for most of the game. The first chance came on a corner kick when Matt Hatcher went up strong and got his head on a ball that ended up in the lower corner but saved off the line by a defender and cleared out by Missile FC. Moments later it would be another Reds corner that would lead to them conceding the opening goal. The Missile defense cleared and with one long ball the speedy Missile striker got in behind the Reds defense, raced away and slipped the ball past the Reds keeper after some nifty footwork. It was a blow that the Reds couldn’t figure out how to recover from.

The chances kept developing for CPR but the shots were saved or off target. Omar showed good feet to cut inside but placed his shot straight into the keeper’s arms. Several good headed chances fell to Hendrick and Alex and Cesar hit a low shot from distance that proved easy to deal with for the Missile Goalie. The Reds Continued to control possession but the ball was lost in the offensive 3rd and it was overall a frustrating game for the reds.

The second half started with a lineup change to try and work more offensive chances however the Reds plain and simple couldn’t get on the board. Missile FC was able to capitalize on another counter attack in which their striker was brought down on the edge of the box (potentially in the box) and the Referee called a free kick. A huge deflection off the wall gave Missile the 2-0 lead on what was a poorly kicked ball.

 The unsportsmanlike game delays and boys crying wolf on the Missile squad led to added frustration and a bit of chippyness from both squads and made the defeat that much worse. Yellow cards began to mount up. The luck didn’t fall towards CPR on Sunday and the mood was squished post-game despite a solid turn up at the bar. No $400 bar tab this week, no win, just a loss and some motivation for next week’s 4pm show down with FC Gwardia.

Special mention to Chris, Jack, Eddie, Cesar and Alberto who all made their debuts for the Reds.

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Results from Sunday 9/22

Sep 23 2013 Published by under Club

Womens Red lost 0-3 to NY Magic Reserves

Womens White were shorthanded, and fell to Manhattan Kickers, 1-5 (Match Line)

Mens White beat Clarkstown SC Eagles, 1-0

Mens White Reserves lost 1-2 to Clarkstown SC Eagles

Mens Red lost 0-2 to Missle FC

Mens Black lost on a late one to Gotham Argo, 1-2 (match summary)

The Grays beat Barnstonworth Rovers over 30, 1-0 (match haiku)

The Old Boys lost 0-2 to Guyana Veterans

The Legends drew 0-0 with Argo Silver (match report)

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CPR White vs. Kickers – 9/22/2013

Sep 23 2013 Published by under Womens Whites

Ouch.

1-5 loss. Played 3 women down with no keeper. We held our own for most of the first half but it’s hard to mark 3 people at once!

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Stubborn Argo, Inexplicable refereeing result in yet another stalemate in the gloaming

Sep 23 2013 Published by under Legends

Two games were played against Argo Silver last year, both of them ending in 0-0 draws.  Having finally beaten Gjoa at Gjoa last week, the Legends were looking to break the deadlock this time as well, especially with a full complement of substitutes.  With the previous game delayed and the referee taking his time with the paperwork it was past twilight before the Rangers took the field.  With a 6:40pm scheduled start time the field was assumed to have lights, but what the field actually had could only be considered adequate by the most charitable description possible. The far side of the field almost disappeared in the shadows and passing for any distance took on a Russian roulette tinge, with the purple of Argo and red of CPR merging into one.

Although CPR started brightly (unlike the field), once the ball got to the final third Argo were able to successfully stymie all shots and passes.  They were quick and physical, nipping in front of the Rangers on numerous occasions.  They slowly started to assert themselves, but much like CPR were lacking in killer instinct or ideas in the penalty box save for one accidental shot/cross that Becker did well to save.

”Ridiculous
Yes, the conditions were as dark as they looked

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At half time the Legends discussed matching Argo’s intensity and making a change for the better.  Unfortunately during the same break the referee had decided to make a change of his own, from being upper mediocre to bad to horrendous.  The “quality” of referees in the Over 30’s league has been well documented, so a competent referee like that from the game against Gjoa allows both teams to play at their best.  At the far end of the scale was the contradictory reasoning buffoon from this game.  After allowing increasingly physical play the referee started yelling at players for falling over from the hard contact.  The inexplicable decisions were legion, starting with a mounted header from behind that resulted in a dislocated shoulder for Venkataraman with a mild talking to, then in the next 5 minutes an ordinary foul by Muro resulting in a stunning straight red.  This was soon followed by a booking for a 70-30 play won by two clear steps by Stephan that the referee blamed the ball winner for (something I’ve never seen in decades of watching football).  This degenerated a tough hard fought contest into a farce, something completely avoidable by a half decent referee.  Although the game opened up with fewer players there weren’t many more clear cut chances being created, and the game ended up in yet another 0-0 draw.

 

 

”Joke
The card shown to Stephan was the worst in memory to a CPR Over 30’s team on the pitch (off the pitch the booking to Gavin Hamilton for protesting the Referee’s self implemented ban on smoking will never be beaten)

What started as an absorbing contest will long be remembered for referee inconsistent one sided stupidity and a game that should have required night vision goggles to play in.  The Legends fervently hope they don’t see this refereeing clown any time soon.

Competition: Argo Silver, League Opposition

Location: E. 6th street, Manhattan

Conditions: Chilly fall evening

Fans: Edmunds

Result: 0-0 (0-0 at H/T)

Goals:  N/A

Yellow Cards: Casanova, Stephan

Red Card: Technically Muro, although it was such a bad decision it scarcely warrants tracking

Mike D’s aka No Shows: None

Conboy’s aka Reverse Mike D’s: None.

”Mr. Glass” Fragility/Old Man Injury Award: Venkataraman, although hard to call it fragile when a huge galoot comes right over your back with barely a warning from the referee.

Old Man of the Match: Difficult to judge as the overall play was decent but few standouts.  Pete edged Luciano for his defensive ability combined with providing a lot of offensive support, something we should look to capitalize on in the future.

Old Man of the Bar: None this night, given the lateness of the game and the still lingering frustration with the buffoonish referee

El Presidente (new award for Old Men who don’t make it to game but come to the bar): None.

Team Bar Showing: 9 out of 17 (53%)

Team Bar Night:  3 out of 5: Given the lateness of the hour it was good that a decent amount of squad members showed up.

Team (No new profiles this week): Mark Becker (GK), Mark Resnik (DF), Pete Hahn (DF), Luciano Belizan (DF), Drew Faherty (DF), Lars Murray (DF), Paul Stephan, Dan Ochoa, Chris Muro, John Hodges, Tony Vamvouris, Chris Jee, Steve O’Connell, Manohar Venkataraman, Willan D’Andrea, Manuel Casanova, Steve Pritchard

”Handsome
Team Photo before the game

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