Sunday Dec 6th:
Women’s Red are off
Womens White vs NYC United, 1pm East 6th St
Men’s White Reserves are off
Men’s White are off
Men’s Red Reserves vs Westbury for the 3rd try (LISFL)D’Arpino Cup, 12noon Randalls #70
Men’s Red vs Bronx Supreme (CSL) in Flamhaft Cup, 6pm Randalls #75
The Old Boys are off
The Grays are off
The Legends @ Hoboken FC, 11am Sinatra Park
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Sunday November 22nd:
Derby Time: Womens White beat Women’s Red 2-0 (DIVISON CUP) Goals: Al McKeown (McNally) and Klara Jenkins
Men’s White Reserves beat NY Greek Americans 3-1. Goals: Juan Rubio (2) and Chris Norelli
Men’s White fell 1-5 to NY Greek Americans. Goal: Kwesi MIlls
Men’s Red Reserves beat Zum Schneider FC 2-1. Goals: Duane and Ahmed
Men’s Red fell 2- 3 to Zum Schneider. Goals: Deco Heffernan and Timur Mone
The Old Boys lost 2- 4 to Shamrock. Goals: Brandon (2)
The Grays won via forfeit over Guyana.
The Legends shutout 10 men Banatul 6-0: Goals: Drew, Entictott (4) Manny
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With a couple of late scratches the Legends had a lopsided look about them for the game against Banatul. The norm this season had been about 16 squad members but for this game it was to be 14. One look at the ten men of Banatul and it appeared that complacency would be the biggest enemy in this game. Sure enough, the Banatul goal led a charmed life in the first half. Enticott beat the offside trap for the first of many times but his cross was whiffed by Venkataraman. Soon after Simic thundered a cracking shot against the crossbar and Enticott headed against the woodwork when it was easier to score. From 3 yards out Venkataraman hit the ball straight against the keeper and Enticott sent straight through hit his shot wide. The gegenpressing was working in creating mass turnovers and chances, but the xG map must have showed a mass of quality chances not being converted.
Finally with irritation at a scoreless half looming the secret El Presidente weapon was unleashed up top. A rampaging Solinas run on the right resulted in a beautiful cross and a diving header hammering the back of the net for the lead. Although some of the tension was lifted a second goal was urgently needed as Banatul showed signs of being able to score one goal but not two. After relentless pressure the dam finally broke, with Enticott finally getting the goal his efforts deserved. Soon it was an onslaught as a long cross from Vamvouris saw Enticott pound his own header in. From an opposition goal kick, Pattinson directed his header to Venkataraman who dropped it on a dime for Enticott to complete his hat trick. With everyone hungering for some action a cross from Enticott saw Solinas trying to bundle the ball over the line, Venkataraman tapping it in from a yard. Enticott soon scored another as the Legends were running rampant.
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| The supporting forward players both chipped in but the CPR Messi added to the unofficial all time CPR goals list with a majestic 4 that could have been 8 |
Unfortunately as per usual Banatul handled adversity with their usual petulance. Understandably unable to keep up with the Legends movement with only 10 players getting worn down, they started fouling with increasing violence. They had no problem using physicality but bleated when any legal physicality was used on them. With Hahn taking a player on in the box and both fighting for it, their player connected with a vicious kick. Fortunately the referee was watching and sent the player off, but it did not seem to have any cooling effect. Indeed, after persistently whining to the referee to blow the whistle the game was ended a full 10 minutes early. On the one hand this is an Over 36 league so allowances should be made, but the manner in which it occurred left a bad taste in the mouth. The Legends are chasing a title and goal difference is a big part of that. It is not CPR’s fault that the opposition brought 10 men and got one of themselves sent off. A few Banatul players did indeed apologize for their surly teammates, and the fact the Legends did manage 6 helped ease the pain. Players who didn’t get the minutes they expected due to the early cutoff were able to look at the bigger picture. On to Hoboken.
Competition: Banatul, League Opposition
Location: Randall’s Island #74, Randall’s Island
Conditions: Brisk morning
Fans: 0
Result: 6-0
Goals: 1-0: Faherty Assist Solinas
2-0: Enticott
3-0: Enticott Assist Vamvouris
4-0: Enticott Assists Pattinson, Venkataraman
5-0: Venkataraman Assists Enticott, Solinas
6-0: Enticott
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: None
Mike D’s aka No Shows: Williams with another late scratch, Paul Vale called into work.
Conboy’s aka Reverse Mike D’s: Hodges with a late yes, welcome as the numbers were uncomfortably tight this week
”Mr. Glass” Fragility/Old Man Injury Award: Fortunately none, with the adrenaline and blood in the water superseding any issues. With the dirty tackles flying in late though it was fortunate that there were no opponent caused injuries.
Old Man of the Match: Faherty was a shoe-in for OMoM with the critical diving header for the game winner, until Enticott had the rudeness to set a Legends record with 4 goals.
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
Statistic of the week: So many (which tends to happen against Banatul). Here are highlights:
Team Bar Showing: 6 out of 14 (43%)
Team Bar Night: 3.5 out of 5. Fully a third of the team stayed out for a good portion of the day, with plenty of other teams also present and socializing. Actually got the Red Bulls game on, but result not so good.
Team (No new profiles this week): Telly Vamvouris (GK), Pete Hahn (DF), Mark Resnik (DF), Sergio Tache (DF), Luciano Belizan (DF), Steve Teesdale (DF), John Hodges, Ante Simic, Tony Vamvouris, Ugo Solinas, Tom Pattinson, Manohar Venkataraman, Drew Faherty, Rich Enticott
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Sunday November 22nd:
Derby Time: Women’s Red vs Womens White, 3pm East 6th St (DIVISON CUP)
Men’s White Reserves @ NY Greek Americans, 6pm Met Oval
Men’s White @ NY Greek Americans, 8pm Met Oval
Men’s Red Reserves @ Zum Schneider FC 03, 12 noon Roosevelt Island Octagon
Men’s Red Zum Schneider FC 03, 2pm Roosevelt Island Octagon
The Old Boys Shamrock SC 8am Randalls #75
The Grays @ Guyana, 2pm McCarren Park
The Legends @ Banatul, 10am Randalls #74
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Sunday November 15th:
Women’s Red lost in PK’s after finishing 1-1 in regulation (STATE CUP)
Women’s White beat Smoking Aces 4-1 (STATE CUP) Goals: Kaitlin Dufton, Ali McNally, Klara Jenkins, and Jess Wall.
Men’s White Reserves lost 1-3 to NY Ukrainians reserve team (D’ARPINO CUP) Goal from Tenzin on OK
Men’s White were off
Men’s Red Reserves advanced over Westbury (LISFL), via forfeit, for the 2nd time in the same slate, thanks to team and state ineptitude (D’ARPINO CUP)
Men’s Red beat Beyond FC 3-1(FLAMHAFT CUP) Goals: Deco Heffernan, Andrew Fisher, and Brad Jones.
The Old Boys were off
The Grays gifted Shamrock SC (CSL) the win on technical forfeit, and then played a friendly (MARTH CUP)
The Legends were off
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Sunday November 15th:
Women’s Red vs __________, 1pm East 6th St. (STATE CUP)
Women’s White vs Smoking Aces, 11am East 6th St. (STATE CUP)
Men’s White Reserves vs. NY Ukrainians reserve team (CSL), 6pm Randalls #75 (D’ARPINO CUP)
Men’s White are off
Men’s Red Reserves vs Westbury (LISFL), 2pm Randalls #75 (D’ARPINO CUP)
Men’s Red vs Beyond FC 1st team (CSL), 4pm Randalls #75 (FLAMHAFT CUP)
The Old Boys are off
The Grays @ Shamrock SC (CSL) 8am Randalls #75 (MARTH CUP)
The Legends are off
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The Legends were missing key members of their roster against Manhattan Celtic, and this did not bode well combined with the vast wasteland of Pier 40 and the 9pm kickoff time. They drafted in a couple of Old Boyz in Paul Stephan & Gabriel Gedler, but the game certainly had an element of danger about it. Short of Doxa & perhaps Banatul, there were no more guaranteed victories out there with Hoboken having improved significantly from previous seasons. Missing their starting centerback pairing along with reigning MVP Pattinson was certainly suboptimal, and the hits kept coming with Steve Roberts also going down. Celtic certainly appeared up for it with reinforcements from the 7:30pm game, and their speed and comfort on their home field was obvious. While the Legends were squinting in the “floodlights” Celtic were spreading the pitch and attacking at speed, aided by good communication at the back. In no time they had taken a 2-0 lead, although the second goal was significantly offside. The Legends didn’t help themselves with a characteristic weak arm wave instead of a full throated roar of opinion on the legality of the striker. With the referees in this league as susceptible as any to suggestion, this is one area the Legends must improve upon.
With Mckeown going down leaving the Legends with only two substitutes it looked like they might well pack it in on a cold late Sunday night at Pier 40 staring at a cavernous 2-0 lead. However, almost surprising themselves CPR mounted a spirited comeback. With Enticott putting in his usual shift he was able to take advantage of miscommunication at the back to give the Legends a foothold back in the game. Soon after, Simic scored a lovely long range first goal and it was back to all square.
However, just like the Legends didn’t wilt initially, neither did Celtic. In the second half the Legends started to tire and Celtic once again moved back in to the lead. Try as they might, CPR were unable to get a decent chance on goal and Celtic were able to pad their lead with the last kick of the game, another obvious offside call missed by a referee who very clearly couldn’t wait to rush home with 2 halves of less than 40 minutes each.
An unfortunate league loss, but Celtic will always be tough on their home field as the large distances do not play into the Legends strength. Still solidly in second place they will hope to get back to winning ways in their next game against Banatul.
Competition: Manhattan Celtic, League Opposition
Location: Pier 40 Courtyard East, Manhattan (!)
Conditions: Chilly night
Fans: 0
Result: 2-4
Goals: 1-2: Enticott
2-2: Simic
Yellow Cards: Nizam for repeatedly taking issue with the physical play and finally insulting the referee, who himself tried to goad Nizam into a red. This would be unprofessional if these guys were actually remotely professional, $75/game notwithstanding.
Red Cards: None
Mike D’s aka No Shows: None
Conboy’s aka Reverse Mike D’s: None
”Mr. Glass” Fragility/Old Man Injury Award: This was a tough one, with important players in important positions going down. Steve Roberts re-aggravated his hamstring strain while Mckeown went down when expected to play a hearty share of the attacking midfield minutes. Hopefully the two week break until the next game will help them sufficiently recover.
Old Man of the Match: With a finish close to 11pm everyone just wanted to get out of Dodge.
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
Statistic of the week: Simic scored his debut goal, a lovely one from distance and a defensive midfield position.
Team Bar Showing: 2 out of 15 (13%)
Team Bar Night: 1 out of 5. Surprised that even 2 people made it given the late hour, but the Cowboys/Eagles game gave something of an excuse. Tier 1 & Tier 2 (not present, Teesdale).
Team (No new profiles this week): Telly Vamvouris (GK), Pete Hahn (DF), Steve Roberts (DF), Eduardo Mazzi (DF), Paul Stephan (DF), Steve Teesdale (DF), John Hodges, Ante Simic, Gabriel Gedler, Simon Mckeown, Tony Vamvouris, Ugo Solinas, Manohar Venkataraman, Hakan Nizam, Rich Enticott
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Women’s Red beat Rovers 1-0. Goal: Robin McCullough
Women’s White beat NYC United, 2-1. Goals: Gabi Curbelo and Anne Drames.
Men’s White Reserves drew 1-1 with Manhattan Celtic. Goal: Alberto.
Men’s White drew 0-0 with Manhattan Celtic
Men’s Red Reserves drew 3-3 with Stal Mielec NY. Goals: Richie Kavanagh (2) and Declan Heffernan.
Men’s Red fell 0-1 to Stal Mielec NY
The Old Boys beat Guyana Veterans 4-1. Goals: Lalo (2), Matt, Ernest
The Grays beat Megas Alexandros, 1-0. Goal: Bahaa Ahmed.
The Legends lost 2-4 t0 Manhattan Celtic Masters. Goals: Ante and Rich
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After being downed twice in two weeks by title rivals Cozmoz, a resilient Legends squad returned to their winning ways by downing SC Eintracht, 2-1. The Legends again pulled in a strong side from the evite, having a full 17 players commit from the player pool providing depth and balance throughout the squad. Given the size of the field and the ever advancing age of the players on it, the player rotation would prove invaluable in the hard-fought win.
From the opening whistle Eintracht were off with their usual display of technical ability and footballing savvy. Clean passing and a gentle touch with the ball allowed the opposition to accumulate a hefty advantage in time of possession from the get go. But the Legends were not taken by surprise, and defended stoutly looking for opportune times to challenge for possession through timely tackles and winning a vast majority of 50/50 balls. Combination passes came in fits and spurts, with the final balls more often than not looking for the tireless Enticott with magnanimous through balls that never really threatened. Regardless it would be the Legends that drew first blood. Tony Vamvouris was set loose on the wing and as so often before, curled a whip of cross in from the right flank that was ultimately thumped into the back of the net by Nizam taking the Legends into pole position with a 1-0 lead. The lead suited the team which saw more and more possession. Pattinson and Simic held position with conviction collecting from the back and supporting the attack, while Williams worked furiously, flowing from side to side, providing respite to the team with sublime target and hold up play. Although the Legends were unable to extend the lead before the referee brought a close to the first stanza, the half time advantage was well-earned.
The second half was more of the same with Eintract seeming to be a step quicker and a touch more technical. The possession however didn’t really translate into stern threats on the Legend goal, with goal keeper Vamvouris in fine form snatching up long-range shots and crosses. That is until requisite brain freeze that is often characteristic of the Legends play. Teesdale inexplicably rolled a soft pass to Hahn who wanted nothing to do with it, and immediately returned to sender. While a simple clearance from there would have mitigated the danger, the issue was compounded as the ball was puffed towards a unexpectant Roberts who was wrong footed and could only watch as the ball rolled neatly to two Eintract attackers, who were only to delighted to take the ball to the Legends goal with a 2 on none. Unsurprisingly the Eintract attackers made short work of the mistake and tied the game at 1 goal a piece.
Mercifully, Pattinson and Williams combined to bail out the offending party with Pattinson sending a stinging ball at goal which was clumsily bungled by the Eintract goalie, who was mistakenly under the impression that keeping prowess is proportional to the amount of gear outfitted. Williams played Johnny on the Spot and expertly lashed the ball into the net for the game winner.
At full-time the Legends stood 2-1 winners of their 6 of 7 league matches, an impressive tally considering the teams best games are still to come, assuming they can avoid the shambolic gaffes that creep into the run of play from time to time. With the league competition so evenly matched, if they are unable to do so, they will certainly be penalized. But until then they will enjoy their bevy of wins and stalking the league leaders.
Competition: SC Eintracht, League Opposition
Location: Randall’s Island #10, Randall’s Island
Conditions: A brisk, mostly cloudy afternoon; Perfect footballing weather.
Fans: 3 (Mrs Enticott & child, Luciano)
Result: 2-1
Goals: 1-0: Nizam Assist Vamvouris
2-1: Williams Assist Pattinson
Yellow Cards: Nizam, Simic
Red Cards: None
Mike D’s aka No Shows: None
Conboy’s aka Reverse Mike D’s: None
”Mr. Glass” Fragility/Old Man Injury Award: Venkataraman with a calf injury, Resnik with an ankle, Tony Vamvouris with a hamstring
Old Man of the Match: The tight vote at the bar came down to Teesdale who broke the tie between Telly Vamvouris & Rich Enticott, both of whom put in sterling performances. The lesson as always, don’t campaign for the award, and showing up at the bar helps your chances
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): Mark Becker from the Old Boyz showed up, but given previous performances for the Legends deserves to be counted here
Statistic of the week: Nothing notable.
Team Bar Showing: 10 out of 17 (59%)
Team Bar Night: 3.5 out of 5. The seating didn’t promote interaction between teams until much later. 10 is a season high, and several stayed for the entirety of the Red Bulls playoff win (and Giants debacle against the Saints).
Team (No new profiles this week): Telly Vamvouris (GK), Luciano Belizan (DF), Steve Roberts (DF), Drew Faherty (DF), Mark Resnik (DF), Steve Teesdale (DF), Pete Hahn (DF), Simon Mckeown, Tony Vamvouris, Tom Pattinson, Ante Simic, John Hodges, Ugo Solinas, Manohar Venkataraman, Hakan Nizam, Rich Enticott, Chris Williams
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CPR Reds trekked out to Flushing Meadows for a battle against NYPD Brishna. The social nature of Halloweekend did not bode well for the Reds squad as the team just managed to field eleven. A few players from the Reds Reserves got the call up from the gaffer to fill the void and had a golden opportunity to showcase their abilities. With key starters missing from the lineup, the Reds would need to dig deep to come up with an important result.
From the very start the Reds assumed a high pressure style of play looking to capitalize on any Brishna mistake. Scoring opportunities seldom came about in the first 15 minutes as the Brishna backline held strong to counter the pacey Reds attack. Marathon man Mark Haroussea worked alongside Timur Mone to pressure and create opportunities. Mid way through the first half the Reds seemed to find a rhythm but an unfortunate call led to a penalty kick and a few yellow cards. The referee decided that yellow cards were the new flu shot and every Reds defender needed one to survive the winter. This generosity from the ref only led to greater havoc as the game carried on. At the half Brishna led 1-0.
The Reds came out hot in the second half after making a few lineup changes. Young rookie Andrew Fisher moved over to the right side to work alongside Captain Blake Berg. Things began to click in the second half and more chances continued to arise. The Reds “workhorse” otherwise known as Lance Brune played a majestic ball, paralyzing the NYPD defense to find a streaking Fisher in behind who slotted it home to tie the game 1-1. The high pressure seemed to be paying off as the Reds continued to look strong until Sheffield born Sam Emsell got sent off for his “second” yellow card. This created some serious tension on the field as the referee had mistakenly written down Emsell for a yellow card in the 1st half. The Reds had no choice but to carry on with 10 men determined to salvage a result.
To nobody’s surprise, goalkeeper Andrew Snell stood on his head, making save after save to keep the Reds level as the defense opened up a bit with only 3 defenders. The backline fended off any sign of attack from NYPD and the Reds forwards and wings worked double duty to push for the go ahead goal. Unfortunately the NYPD GK made just as many stops as Snell and robbed Chris Valentine with only moments to go. Or perhaps Valentine decided to do the ol’ pass back on his opportunity in lieu of firing one home. After a hard fought game the Reds came away with a draw even though their performance warranted a win. The real win goes to the referee squad who took over the game.
Great play all around but special mention to Duane Pelz who made some gave saving defensive plays, Ian Nolan who locked down the left hand side, and all those players who actually showed up post Halloween parties Saturday night.
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