Archive for: November, 2013

A bore draw in a blizzard.

Nov 26 2013 Published by under Reds

This weekend saw CPR Reds host Sporting Astoria with a 2pm kick-off in the Arctic blizzard conditions of Randalls Island. Sporting had already fallen to the Reds this season in a close State Cup encounter and were flying high in the adjacent Metro 1 division. The Reds have struggled to get going in the league but had started to put a few decent results together; this game could have really turned their season around.

The Reds started the game with somewhat of a disadvantage with their keeper unavailable for the fixture. Gaffer Matt volunteered to go between the sticks for a half, with skipper Blake taking one for the team and filling in for the second half. Big thanks for that Blakey B.

The match itself failed to produce many incredible moments of footballing brilliance with both teams cancelling each other out and the wind sweeping across the pitch making life very difficult. The Reds certainly produced the better chances of the two teams, with Hendrick and Declan both being denied by the Astoria keeper and Alex smashing a chance of the crossbar. The Reds had defended well throughout the half, with Eddie once again commanding at the back, and debutant Sam playing strong alongside him. They felt aggrieved to go in at half time 1-0 down, courtesy of a strong strike front the Astoria frontman. With the exception of that strike and some soft free kicks Astoria had rarely threatened.

The Reds came out for the 2nd Half with more purpose and again saw more of the ball, even with Astoria sneaking 12 men onto the pitch. On several occasions good football saw the Reds get in behind the Astoria backline only for dubious offside decisions to be called. Jonny and Ian at fullback were getting more opportunity to push forward and the Reds could sense a way back into the game. It wasn’t long before the pressure paid off as a ball into the Astoria box was partially cleared, falling to Alex who drilled home a sweet strike from 20 yards; a great finish and a platform for the Reds to kick on from. 

Despite continued pressure the Reds couldn’t find the breakthrough, and Astoria managed to escape with a point, and was also lucky to leave the field with 11 men. Next Sunday it’s back to State Cup business with a 2pm fixture against Dynamo. A win is needed!

A mediocre 5 made it back to the bar. Big thanks and warm welcome to Sam making his CPR Reds Debut.  

Man of the Match: Alex O’Neill

 

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Disappointing loss does not taint successful Fall season for the Legends

Nov 26 2013 Published by under Legends

Unusually the last game of the Fall season for the Legends was to be in November rather than December.  However any thoughts of playing every game in temperate weather dissipated on a bitterly cold day.  Playing at Pier 40 only exacerbated the conditions with an irascible wind that showed no consistency, a problem that was to raise its head later.  The previous three games against Argo Silver had been 0-0 draws so this was going to be a difficult game regardless of the conditions.  The hope was that playing on a big field would help the Legends more, and indeed at the start of the game possession was maintained, but unfortunately inventiveness broke down in the final third.  Over elaboration was again a curse, with triggers not being pulled at the top of the 18 yard box.  Meanwhile at the other end the latest Argo one hit wonder was a blonde chap with great speed but dubious finishing ability.  With the Legends pushing up the long ball unleashed a few one on ones that were squandered, but eventually he made his mark for the first goal in over 300 minutes between the two teams.

It had been a poor disjointed effort by the Legends in the first half, but despite some uncharacteristic squabbling they endeavored to keep moving the ball wide looking for through balls while increasing the tempo.  However it was at this point the capricious wind reared its ugly head, roaring directly into the Legends half.  In the blink of an eye, two long balls had made their way through to Legally Blonde who finally took advantage of his numerous chances.  Down 3-0 was poor, especially with the wind in their faces and an inability to string two passes together.  The coup de grace in the form of a fourth goal appeared, a nail in the coffin.  Somehow, despite the bickering, the poor play by the team, the admittedly strong heart exhibited by Argo, the Legends started clawing their way back.  Hodges & O’Connell combined to ruin the shutout, then the reliable duo of Street & Ochoa combined for a second.  Now it was Argo on the back foot dealing with waves of pressure.  Unfortunately 4-0 in the second half was a bridge too far, and despite dominating possession and getting the ball in dangerous areas the comeback was not to be.

The timing of the first league defeat of the year was poor, letting the bad taste linger in the mouth for the off season.  However all the good that happened in the 8-1-2 fall season should not be ignored.  Preseason hopes had been exceeded, and the Legends destiny is still in their hands.

Competition: Argo Silver, League Opposition

Location: Pier 40 East, Manhattan

Conditions: Frigid & Windy

Fans: None

Result: 2-4 (0-0 at H/T)

Goals:  1:4 O’Connell Assist Hodges

2:4 Ochoa Assist Street

Yellow Cards: None, although there were definitely some hard tackles.  The referee let a lot of contact go, but fortunately nothing escalated

Red Card: None.

Mike D’s aka No Shows: Tony provided notice an hour before the game.

Conboy’s aka Reverse Mike D’s: None

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

Old Man of the Match: Tough to judge.  Everyone was slightly off, the wind had a major impact in the second half and we gave up more goals in the game than we had all season in the league.  However O’Connell took the nod after helping the Legends fight back into the game with his first goal of the season.

Old Man of the Bar: Hodges made an amusing campaign to be included with the Three Kings in the Tier One of Legends Drinking Professionals.  The Kings watched and waited, and sure enough Hodges self immolated before stumbling home.  Three Kings 1, Hodges 0.

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

Team Bar Showing: 12 out of 15 (80%)

Team Bar Night: 4 out of 5: Good breadth and length, with the Old Boyz eventually joining up.

Team (No new profiles this week): Mark Becker (GK), Mark Resnik, Steve Teesdale (DF), Lars Murray (DF), Chris Muro (DF), Paul Stephan (DF), Andrew Faherty (DF), Pete Hahn (DF), Dan Ochoa, Sean Street, Steve O’Connell, John Hodges, Manohar Venkataraman, Steve Pritchard, Willian D’Andrea

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Results from Nov 24th

Nov 25 2013 Published by under Club

on a chilly and windy day in NYC:

Womens Red beat Rover2 1-0

Womens White lost 0-1 to Rovers1

Mens White fell 0-2 to Landsdowne Bhoys

Mens White Reserves won 3-0 via forfeit by Landsdowne Bhoys

Mens Red drew 1-1 with Sporting Astoria

Mens Black  drew 2-2 with FC NY Bravehearts

The Grays lost 0-3 vs Barnstonworth Premier

The Old Boys beat Manhattan Celtic Bhoys 4-0

The Legends fell 2-4 @ Argo Silver

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CPR Blacks end Fall season on a high note

Nov 25 2013 Published by under Blacks, Club

Last two matches of season vs Mr Dennehys & Bravehearts ended 5-1 and 2-2 respectively.

Blacks went winless in first 8 painful matches and found a way to come together for a push out of last place in Metro 1 West division.

Highlight of season is definitely seeing Adil El Mouji labeled as “The Biggest D*ck in this League”, followed by scoring an impressive goal and yelling “How’s my d*ck taste” to the opponent.

Winter break has begun for CPR Blacks, and look forward to Spring leg of the season to continue momentum.

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Whites “Swish Shot” the Celtic Hoops

Nov 22 2013 Published by under Whites


The CPR Whites kicked off a Sunday evening match against a very energetic Celtic team. Celtic’s starting 11 worked hard and pressured high to win the possession battle of the first half. Luck wasn’t in their favor, however, as CPR capitalized on one of the few opportunities that they were able to generate. Josh played a well-weighted through-ball, putting  Edgar into the attacking third. He was able to get himself into the penalty area and attempt a clever flick over his defender. Helpless and off-balance, the Celtic player committed an obvious handball, and a few moments later, Kwesi calmly converted the penalty kick. The half ended 1-0 in CPR’s favor. 

Demoralized by the events of the first half, Celtic fell victim to the shifting momentum. CPR manager/mastermind, Yuval made two substitutions in the 60th minute, and it wasn’t long before Pat (subbed in at left back), played a long ball to Dan (subbed in at forward), who took advantage of a Celtic miscommunication. He beat the out-rushing Celtic keeper to the ball and toe-poked in the second goal of the match. A few minutes later Kwesi showed off his power and finesse with a goal of his own, beating three Celtic defenders from the left side. He then pivoted and buried a low right-footed finish past a helpless keeper. The night was capped off by a set-piece goal. Celtic was guilty of a bad foul in a dangerous area of the field: just outside the box and almost dead center. As Kwesi lined up what was sure to be another brilliant strike, Mike cleverly stepped up and spun a lovely right-footed finish past a keeper, who was stuck on the post managing the position of his wall. It was a cheeky play, and an obvious attempt to hinder Kwesi’s quest of yet another CPR Golden Boot. 

The match ended 4-0 in favor of the Rangers. The defensive effort from the backs/keeper was solid, and the talented/technical group of midfielders and forwards found the back of the net multiple times. Spirits are high and confidence is up on the CPR bench, which is surely bad news to the rest of the league.
Team: Ben, Kwesi, Matt, Robbo, Nick, Josh, Mike, Eli, Riso, Edgar, Alex. Subs: Dan Z, Pat O

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Schedule for Sunday Nov 27th

Nov 20 2013 Published by under Club

Womens Red vs Rover2, 9am East 6th St.

Womens White vs. Rovers1, 1pm East 6th St.

Mens White vs. Landsdowne Bhoys, 6pm Randalls #75

Mens White Reserves vs. Landsdowne Bhoys, 4pm Randalls #75

Mens Red vs. Sporting Astoria, 2pm Randalls #74

Mens Black  vs. FC NY Bravehearts, 4pm Randalls #74

The Grays vs Barnstonworth Premier, 6pm Randalls #74

The Old Boys @ Manhattan Celtic Bhoys, 9pm Pier 40

The Legends @ Argo Silver, 5:45pm Pier 40

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Results from Nov 17th

Nov 19 2013 Published by under Club

Womens Red beat Vendeval 2-0

Womens White beat Rovers2, 1-0

Mens White beat Manhattan Celtic 4-0

Mens White Reserves beat Manhattan Celtic 2-0

Mens Red beat Gotham Argo 2-1

Mens Black beat Mr. Dennehy’s FC, 5-1

The Grays drew 0-0 with Hoboken FC

The Old Boys beat Megas Alexandros, 1-0

The Legends stumped Banatul 5-0

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White Reserves Handle Reigning League Champs

Nov 19 2013 Published by under Whites

Despite battling several last minute illnesses and only one sub who is still nursing a massive groin injury, the White Reserves showed up to Randall’s Island to defeat the reigning league champions, Manhattan Celtic, 2-0. Due to the lack of true wingers, Coach Eli decided to approach the start of the match with a different strategy which showcased the offensive threat consisting of CPR’s very own Trifecta. Led by Carlos who danced circles around the Celtic midfield/defense, the Trifecta wreaked havoc all night with Alberto finishing two great chances and also had another called back for an awful offside shout. Dino also had his way with the Celtic defense as we finally saw a long awaited Trifecta start to click. (More to come…..stay tuned)

Manhattan Celtic made a few changes to their attack to begin the second half, but the Whites defense handled the changes with no problem. The team showed great old school heart, character, and perseverance; the type that led them to win the league cup and state cup a few years back.
Team: Jon, Adam, Greg, Devin, Andy, Brent, Archie, Tomer, Carlos, Dan C, Alberto
Sub: Ruben

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Legends make an eventually delicious meal out of Banatul

Nov 18 2013 Published by under Legends

The Legends knew they would have to concentrate hard on not overlooking this game in favour of their kryptonite Argo Silver (assuming kryptonite was a dull, odorless, flavourless compound consisting of 0-0 draws).  With relief CPR saw that they had one of the better referees in the rotation, and were primed not to commit the sins of the previous Banatul match when they gave up 2 poor goals on speculative long balls and fortunate finishes.  The game started a few minutes late because not only did Banatul have only 10 players but they neglected to bring two kits as proscribed by league rules.  As usual CPR were well prepared and donned their change strip since they were here to play.

Almost immediately the pattern for the entire first half was set, CPR probing and trying to force their way through a high packed line of Banatul defenders hoping for the benefit of an offsides call. This time the congestion of field 74 played against the Legends, with the width not being used consistently or productively.  Despite that, CPR came close on numerous occasions from Ochoa’s header to Jee’s snap shot to a narrowly missed on goal.  Banatul were certainly getting the benefit of the doubt of the offsides calls, but with barely any offensive threat to speak of all it would take is one successful through ball and finish to open the floodgates.

”Come
At the rate some of the Banatul players were shuffling along with the ball out of play you had to wonder if they had a pulse

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At half time the score was still deadlocked but CPR was gratified to see the referee had granted the full 45 minutes with a minute or two extra to account for the egregious time wasting by Banatul.  It wasn’t clear if their strategy was to bleed every possible minute of the clock or if they were just trying to conserve their energy, but even by the standards of this old man’s league the sloth was shameless.  The fact the referee was very on point with this was better than most at this level, and the Legends knew they just had to keep plugging away to get rewarded.

With the anxiety now starting to grow it was with a sense of relief that Muro marauded forward from his center back position to take advantage of an ocean of space and hit a speculative shot that squirmed past the keeper for the lead.  And like that, the defensive solidity of Banatul crumbled.  The high line fell deeper and less disciplined, the Legends continued to stretch the field wide as discussed at half time, and the gaps became legion.  Soon Pritchard took a ball from Street and with an elegant back heel found him one on one with the keeper for a smooth finish.  Next it was a cross from Pritchard that the defender cleared onto his outstretched hand for as clear a penalty as you will see, despite the ludicrous appeals from the opposition.  Resnik as is his wont buried the ball.  Next it was Muro striding down the field unmolested moving the ball to Venkataraman with all the time in the world, finding Jee for another smart finish.  Pritchard then wrapped up the scoring although with a couple of minutes more there is no doubt the score could have traveled to the regions of the 9-0 victory the Legends had over Banatul last year at the same field.

”Game
Once that first goal went in, the heart of the opposition was ripped out

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One more game to play this fall stanza, and it’s a big one.  Argo Silver, where entertaining football and goals go to die.  A victory for the Legends will do much to keep the winter warm.

Competition: Banatul, League Opposition

Location: Randall’s Island #74, Randall’s Island

Conditions: Post drizzle warm evening

Fans: None

Result: 5-0 (0-0 at H/T)

Goals:  1:0 Muro Assist Jee

2:0 Street Assist Pritchard

3:0 Resnik (pen) Assist Pritchard

4:0 Jee Assist Venkataraman

5:0 Pritchard Assist Jee

Yellow Cards: None.  Solid referee in full control of the game.

Red Card: None.

Mike D’s aka No Shows: El Presidente was “sick” (cough, 16 hours of drinking, cough) but would have shown up had we needed him.  We didn’t.

Conboy’s aka Reverse Mike D’s: None

”Mr. Glass” Fragility/Old Man Injury Award: None this week as Lars Old Boyz were spared any further indignities to add to the two from last week.

Old Man of the Match: A small bar turnout made it difficult to discuss, but there was once again a tight race between Street & Jee.  Street’s physical presence and smart runs through the midfield make it very difficult for the opposition, and Jee is now adding defensive acuity to his relentless offensive game.  Furthermore, Muro stepped in as Center back and played a strong game out of position, providing that critical first goal.  In this case Jee edged out Street by the narrowest of margins.  He will be grievously missed next week against Argo.

Old Man of the Bar: A small showing after the late start.

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

Team Bar Showing: 5 out of 14 (36%)

Team Bar Night:  2 out of 5: The late start meant only a few people made it out for a couple of pints

Team (No new profiles this week): Mark Becker (GK), Mark Resnik (DF), Steve Teesdale (DF), Lars Murray (DF), Chris Muro (DF), Paul Stephan (DF), Dan Ochoa, Tony Vamvouris, Sean Street, John Hodges, Chris Jee, Manohar Venkataraman, Steve Pritchard, Willian D’Andrea

Lifetime Statistics Checkpoint: With Resnik now supplementing his regular defensive contributions with penalties (4 taken, 4 scored) he is starting to pull away with 33 points and points/per game of 1.57.  However in second place, Pritchard not only leads in life time goals but is far ahead in assists (1.81 p/pg), proving that when he’s on the field, good things happen.  Dan Ochoa continues his steady iron man routine with 25 games played out of a possible 28.

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Schedule for Nov 17th

Nov 13 2013 Published by under Club

Womens Red vs Vendeval, 3pm East 6th St.

Womens White @ Rovers2, 2pm Bushwick Inlet

Mens White @ Manhattan Celtic, 6pm Randalls #75

Mens White Reserves @ Manhattan Celtic, 4pm Randalls #75

Mens Red @ Gotham Argo, 9pm Pier 40 Courtyard West

Mens Black @ Mr. Dennehy’s FC, 12pm Randalls #75

The Grays vs Hoboken FC, 12noon Randalls #74

The Old Boys @ Megas Alexandros, 10am Van Buren HS

The Legends vs Banatul, 6pm Randalls #74

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