Archive for: April, 2017

Schedule for April 30th

Apr 27 2017 Published by under Club

Sunday April 30th:

CPR Women’s White have the weekend off

CPR Men’s White Reserves are off

CPR Men’s White vs. Oranje 1777 (EDSL) in the Flamhaft State Cup, 4pm Randalls #75

CPR Men’s Red Reserves vs. City International FC, 8am Randalls #75

CPR Men’s Red vs. City International FC, 10am Randalls #75

CPR Old Boys @ Lansdowne Bhoys Over 30, 7pm Tibbets Brook Park Field 1

CPR Grays have the weekend off

CPR Orange @ NY Pancyprian Freedoms Over 30, 6pm Randalls #75

CPR Legends vs. Banatul, 8am Randalls #72

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Results from April 23rd

Apr 27 2017 Published by under Club

Sunday April 23rd:

CPR Women’s White lost to Shamrocks, 1-2.  Goal: Klara Jenkins

CPR Men’s White Reserves beat NYPD FC 3-0.  Goals: Ilyasa Bah, Lucas Racciatti and Stas Khadzivoyandzis (PK)

CPR Men’s White beat NYPD FC 1-0.  Goal: Idy Watt

CPR Men’s Red Reserves had a BYE last weekend

CPR Men’s Red had a BYE last weekend

DERBY TIME: CPR Old Boys beat CPR Grays 5-0.  Goals: Andy Cornwall, Seb Sobczak, Lalo Hernandez, David Sawyer (2)

CPR Orange had to forfeit in advance against Lansdowne Bhoys

CPR Legends lost 1-3 to Barnstonworth Rovers Old Boys.  Goal: Simon McKeown

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Good squad numbers can’t stop the rot as Legends losing streak continues

Apr 25 2017 Published by under Legends

The Legends were looking to build on their narrow penalty shootout loss against a far superior team, and this week it looked like they would also have enough players to help. The Barnstonworth team were top heavy with a strong attacking threat while vulnerable at the back, so it would be a question of whether the Legends could score enough to make it a contest.  Initially there were some nice patches of play but the final ball continued to elude them.  The closest chance in the first few minutes was an errant pass by Rosenbloom that almost bizarrely ended up in the far corner, agonizingly inches away.  Meanwhile the Legends back four were able to stymie the attacking threat, but finally they were breached.  A superb turn on the line resulted in a cross that was skillfully turned in to give the Rovers the lead.  With only a few minutes to the half a second goal came in quickly to put Barnstonworth in control.

The strategy had to be clear given the respective league positions, with the Legends moving towards a 4-3-3 and trying to get Swinkels more involved.  The gambling on putting pressure resulted in winning some balls deep but not enough clear chances, with only one or two long distance shots attempted.  Meanwhile another nice piece of skill up top saw the opposition take an unassailable 3-0 lead.  Finally Swinkels was able to slide Mckeown in for a consolation goal, but they could not quite get that second goal that could turn the pressure on.  Faherty’s bull in a china shop routine up top did unsettle the defence and caused a mistake that the Legends just could not capitalize on, the accidental nutmeg summarizing the day.

Although the Legends seem to be returning to health, so far it has been a disappointing spring and the hope is that they can perform creditably in the last 3 games and build the foundation for a strong season next year.

Competition: Barnstonworth Rovers Veterans, League Opposition

Location: Randall’s Island #72, Randall’s Island

Conditions: Lovely spring morning

Fans: None

Result: 1-3 HT: 0-2

Goals: 1:3 Mckeown Assist Swinkels

Yellow Cards: N/A

Red Cards: N/A

Mike D’s aka No Shows: Tony Vamvouris neglected to update the evite regarding his injury, although fortunately we had added Ronnie Swinkels from the day before.

Conboy’s aka Reverse Mike D’s: For once, a decent sized squad meant we weren’t struggling to get enough players out.

”Mr. Glass” Fragility/Old Man Injury Award: Tom Pattinson tried to give the leg a run out, hopefully it will be better the next week.

Old Man of the Match:  Despite the 3-1 reverse there were good performances all over the field. Teesdale in the unsung hero role as the defensive midfielder while the defenders did what they could against one of the quicker, talented attacks they will see.  In the end it was Ronnie Swinkels playing as attacking midfield who was all over the field and unlocked the defence for the sole goal from Mckeown.

Old Man of the Bar: The 8am start meant it was the first test of Mad River sponsor bar availability, one which they passed with flying colours.  The shot total will definitely need to be toned down in the future but in the meantime Venkataraman hit double figures including some rather large shot pours to cover up the pain of the Liverpool loss.

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

Statistic of the week: Mckeown continuing to push the lifetime statistics up, now tied for second all time goals at 18 with Venkataraman.

Team Bar Showing: 3 out of 16 (19%)

Team Bar Night: 2.5 out of 5. Only Tier 1 showed up, but there was decent longevity especially with the Grays and Edmunds showing up after the derby.

Team (No new profiles this week): Telly Vamvouris (GK), Mark Resnik (DF), Franco Denari (DF), Luciano Belizan (DF), Eduardo Mazzi (DF), Steve Roberts (DF), Pete Hahn (DF), Andrew Faherty, Steve Teesdale, Manohar Venkataraman, Ronnie Swinkels, Simon Mckeown, Manuel Casanova, John Hodges, Bevan Rosenbloom, Tom Pattinson

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April 23rd Schedule

Apr 18 2017 Published by under Club

Sunday April 23rd:

CPR Women’s White vs. Shamrocks, 11am East 6th St.

CPR Men’s White Reserves @ NYPD FC, 8am  Flushing Meadow Field 8

CPR Men’s White @ NYPD FC, 10am  Flushing Meadow Field 8

CPR Men’s Red Reserves have a BYE this weekend

CPR Men’s Red have a BYE this weekend

DERBY TIME: CPR Old Boys vs. CPR Grays, 12noon Randall’s #85

CPR Orange @ Lansdowne Bhoys Over 30, 9am Tibbet Brook Park Field 3

CPR Legends vs. Barnstonworth Rovers Old Boys, 8am Randalls #72

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Cup Results from April 8th and 9th

Apr 12 2017 Published by under Club

Saturday April 8th

CPR Men’s White beat Stal Mielec NY 2-0 (Flamhaft Cup).  Goals: Ilya Kamesh and Joe Paljaj (PK)

Sunday April 9th

CPR Women’s White fell 2-1 to Shamrocks (State Cup).  Goal: Klara Jenkins

CPR Men’s Red lost 0-2 to NYAC (John Kilby League Cup)

CPR Men’s White Reserves lost 1-2 to NY Greek Americans Reserves (John Kilby League Cup).  Goal: Andres Rios

CPR Old Boys lost 0-1 to Manhattan Celtic Legends (Over 30′s League Cup)

CPR Legends lost to Manhattan Celtics Bhoys on PKs (3-4) after o-0 in regulation (Over 30′s League Cup)

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Motley CPR crew’s valiant effort tragically thwarted in penalty shootout

Apr 11 2017 Published by under Legends

The ongoing saga of scraping up enough players to play a game continued.  With many hours and numerous emails out to the club, the Old Boys and Legends were able to scrape up enough players not just to play but also to substitute.  In fact, by game time the Legends had 16 available allowing Resnik to focus on coaching and resting his aching knees while Subah’s partying was no hindrance to having him throw his weight around for the Legends as opposed to the Old Boys.  The opposition were in the Over 30’s division and certainly looked the part based on their pregame drills.  The Legends were more interested in introducing themselves to the other CPR team members helping out from the Oranges, Old Boys and Grays.  They had plenty of time to do so given the referee’s extreme tardiness in showing up 20 minutes after scheduled kickoff.

With the field feeling slightly smaller than #74 it helped the older Legends remain compact and challenge Celtic to break them down.  In addition it meant clearances allowed the forwards a chance to chase the ball down and put the opposition defence under pressure.  The Legends were also trying to pick and choose their moments as to when to press, some of the bouncy balls causing control issues and helping defensive pressure.  Although Celtic were able to pass the ball around they had difficulty getting any decent shots off, the field as much of a help as Pier 40 had been a hindrance the week before.  The Legends actually had a chance to take the lead early as Accordino’s header found Mckeown who uncharacteristically sliced his shot when well placed.  A few other flicks into the box eluded the attackers but the Legends were the team relieved and encouraged to reach the half deadlocked.

The half time talk emphasized defence, communication and pressing when the opportunity was available.  As time went by, the Legends gained confidence and continued to snap into tackles.  Celtic were larger and more physical and hence won most of the headers, but the Legends at least tried to make it difficult.  Both teams had chances although Celtic had more, however an xG map would probably have shown most of the shots were of low probability.  CPR rapidly became used to how each other played and the team ethos grew and solidified, all starting with the solid back line.

Finally the Legends were able to get the game over the line to penalties.  Celtic won the toss and correctly chose to go first, burying their first kick.  Venkataraman surprised many with one of the better penalties you will ever see, top left corner.  The opposition scored next and then Mckeown also made up for a previous penalty miss, tying the shootout at 2-2.  Up stepped the Celtic player to balloon the ball over the bar, opening the door wide for the Legends to win their first ever penalty shootout.  Unfortunately defender Calcagni’s shot clipped the left post and went wide.  Celtic scored next and D’Andrea tied it up with a clinical shot into the right side netting, eluding the goalie who chose the right direction to dive.  It was now essentially sudden death.  Celtic scored and it was upto Blagojevic, who had been immense all game.  Unfortunately it was not to be as his shot went well wide of the left hand post.  It was a cruel ending for the Legends who had executed their David strategy to perfection without being able to push on over the finish line to their first Semifinal.  The hope is that they can take this promising performance and one more week’s rest for the injured and focus on finishing strongly in the last 4 games of the season, with potentially a playoff berth at stake.

Competition: Manhattan Celtic Bhoys, League Opposition

Location: Randall’s Island #73, Randall’s Island

Conditions: Lovely spring morning

Fans: 4 (Isadora, Emilio, Harriet, Laura)

Result: 0-0 HT: 0-0

Goals: N/A

Shootout:

1-1: Venkataraman

2-2: Mckeown

2-2: MISS Calcagni

3-3: D’Andrea

4-3: MISS Blagojevic

Yellow Cards: N/A

Red Cards: N/A

Mike D’s aka No Shows: N/A

Conboy’s aka Reverse Mike D’s: Ernest Subah, whose birthday celebrations were so exuberant that the striker needy Old Boys passed him over to the Legends.

”Mr. Glass” Fragility/Old Man Injury Award: Fortunately no new injuries.

Old Man of the Match:  Lots of contenders including Telly in goal, Belizan at Centerback and Accordino running box to box down the sideline.  Blagojevic would have taken it home but for the game losing penalty miss, and so in a narrow decision Belizan takes it for locking the defence down and anticipating and breaking up attacks.

Old Man of the Bar: A rare appearance by Mazzi saw him get his full money’s worth.

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

Statistic of the week: Belizan now has twice as many Old Man of the Match awards as the nearest contender Sean Street.

Team Bar Showing: 6 out of 16 (38%)

Team Bar Night: 4.5 out of 5. A decent chunk of people made it back and stuck around a while, and the Women’s Whites also made it all the way up from East 6th Street as well as Doug playing for the Old Boys.  A good afternoon was had by all, depth and longevity.  Masters in the background didn’t hurt.

Team (No new profiles this week): Telly Vamvouris (GK), Mark Resnik (DF), Franco Denari (DF), Luciano Belizan (DF), Eduardo Mazzi (DF), Kelvin Yu (DF), Dragan Blagojevic (DF), Charles Calcagni (DF), Gabriel Ruegg (DF), Tom Accordino, Steve Teesdale, Tony Vamvouris, Willian D’Andrea, Manohar Venkataraman, Simon Mckeown, Ernest Subah

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Cup Stuff: Weekend Schedule April 8th and 9th

Apr 06 2017 Published by under Club

Saturday April 8th

CPR Men’s White vs. Stal Mielec NY, 8pm Randall’s # 75 (Flamhaft Cup)

Sunday April 9th

CPR Women’s White vs Shamrocks, 11am East 6th (State Cup)

CPR Men’s Red vs NYAC, 10am Travers Island (John Kilby League Cup)

CPR Men’s White Reserves @ NY Greek Americans Reserves, 7:15pm Met Oval (John Kilby League Cup)

CPR Old Boys @ Manhattan Celtic Legends, 10am Randall’s #74 (Over 30′s League Cup)

CPR Legends vs. Manhattan Celtics Bhoys, 10am Randall’s #73 (Over 30′s League Cup)

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Finally a full squad but the same dismal result for the Legends

Apr 05 2017 Published by under Legends

After the weekly hours spent trying to get a scant 11 it looked like this week there would be some cautious injured substitutes that could provide a few minutes respite.  The previous weeks had aggravated injuries among a few forced to play 90 minutes, but this week in a welcome reversal there were a full 16 available to play.  On the vast field of Pier 40 having substitutes was critical, especially against a Celtic team who knew exactly how to play on their home field.  The game started evenly enough but soon it was apparent that the opposition knew the best way to play on the field was to constantly switch sides.  Knowing and executing are two different things, but they showed the capability to do so.  Meanwhile the Legends showed a propensity to shrink back towards their area with the dual issues of giving Celtic more space while putting them under immediate pressure when they finally did get the ball.

The first goal conceded by the Legends was farcical.  Under no pressure Tony Vamvouris passed back to Telly who inexplicably picked it up.  An indirect free kick within the box showed the Legends football IQ at its most awkward, with two men on the post and everyone rushing the kicker instead of focusing on marking potential receivers on an indirect kick.  As everyone rushed the kicker the player to the side hammered the ball straight into the net.  The Legends struggled to respond with their closest chance a glancing header by Rosenbloom.

Given their inability to make simple passes and hold the ball being down only a goal at the half was far from the worst thing that could happen.  The team was urged to pressure as a unit which was critical on this large field as well as spread the ball and make the simple passes.  Unfortunately the second half had Celtic get even more of the ball and put the vice on possession.  Sporadic attacks by the Legends resulted in very few direct chances on goal, a shot by Hahn and a header by McKeown proving to be the most they could muster.  As they stretched further up, gaps opened at the back that were exploited by Celtic.  A second goal made it very difficult for the Legends to get a result, and a beauty of a third goal ended the game as a competitive match.  Celtic still had time to have a goal disallowed for offside and a final tap in that demonstrated the athletic gap between the two teams as the outside left midfielder simply outran everyone to square the ball for a goal.  The glimmer the Legends had was extinguished when the referee decided to implement his own rules in deciding a hand pushed in the face of a Legend was only bookable and not a sending off offense.  Even if the player was rightly sent off, given the difference in play of the two teams it was highly unlikely that the Legends would have been able to get anything out of the game.

A disappointing start to the spring that is the inverse of the start of the Fall.  Injuries and absences have had a huge part to play, but there’s a distinct memory loss of what we are playing for, which is love of the game.  People in their 40’s aren’t playing to win the Champions League, they are playing because they still love to play.  Losing is no fun, but moaning about it is even less fun.  As players return to fitness and availability the hope is the Legends rediscover that love and the correlation to good results.

Competition: Manhattan Celtic, League Opposition

Location: Pier 40 East, Manhattan

Conditions: Pleasant spring evening

Fans: Tom Pattinson making an appearance, hopefully in advance of a playing appearance

Result: 0-4 HT: 0-1

Goals: N/A

Yellow Cards: Denari on his debut, Mckeown

Red Cards: N/A

Mike D’s aka No Shows: N/A

Conboy’s aka Reverse Mike D’s: Pete Hahn made a welcome return back.

”Mr. Glass” Fragility/Old Man Injury Award: Fortunately no new injuries.

Old Man of the Match:  Nobody stood out on this night.

Old Man of the Bar: None.

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

Statistic of the week: Nothing notable.

Team Bar Showing: 6 out of 16 (38%)

Team Bar Night: 3.5 out of 5. Although the 8:30pm start time would indicate fewer people, the adrenaline and the fact kids were in bed for relevant people meant a decent showing.  A few Stella pitchers were had.

Team (No new profiles this week): Telly Vamvouris (GK), Mark Resnik (DF), Marc Walby (DF), Franco Denari (DF), Luciano Belizan (DF), Steve Teesdale, John Hodges, Pete Hahn (DF), Tony Vamvouris, Bevan Rosenbloom (DF), Steve Roberts (DF), Willian D’Andrea, Manohar Venkataraman, Drew Faherty (DF), Simon Mckeown, Manuel Casanova

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Weekly Goals and Golden Boot Update 4/4/17

Apr 04 2017 Published by under Club

Who Scored This Week?

Name Team 4/2/17
Hunter Norte Men’s Red Reserves 2
Jambaar Stills Men’s White Reserves 2
Cat Verri Women’s White 1
Donal O’Cofaigh Men’s Red 1
Brandon Levy Old Boys 1
Darran Cronshaw Orange 1
Mack Woodruff Men’s Red 1
Roman Scialom Men’s White Reserves 1
Bahaa Ahmed Grays 1
Chin Grays 1
Robin Neri Men’s Red Reserves 1
Mike Gordon Men’s Red Reserves 1
Deco Heffernan Men’s Red 1
Kerri McNicholas Women’s White 1
Scott Brindley Old Boys 1
Jonah Smith Orange 1
Neil Stower Old Boys -1 (OG)

 

And where does that leave the ClubWide Golden Boot Race?

Top 10 and ties:

Name Total
Brandon Levy 13
David Sawyer 13
Ivan Cotolea 8
Donal O’Cofaigh 7
Mack Woodruff 7
Klara Jenkins 7
Timur Mone 6
Matt Hureau 6
Mallory Sullivan 5
Simon McKeown 5
Ronnie Swinkles 5
Willian D’Andrea 5
Sebastian Sobczak 5
Cat Verri 5
Darran Cronshaw 5
Brad Janes 5
Kaitlin Dufton 5

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Results from April 1 and 2

Apr 03 2017 Published by under Club

Saturday April 1st:

CPR Men’s Red Reserves beat NY Ittihad FC 4-0.  Goals: Hunter Norte (2), Robin Dan Neri and Mike Gordon

CPR Men’s Red beat NY Ittihad FC 3-2.  Goals: Mack Woodruff, Donal Ocofaigh, Deco Heffernan

Sunday April 2nd:

CPR Women’s White beat Celtic Aces 2-0.  Goals: Cat Verri and Kerri McNicholas

CPR Men’s White Reserves beat CD Iberia 3-0.  Goals: Jambaar Stills (2) and Roman Scialom

CPR Men’s White were blanked 0-4 by CD Iberia.

CPR Old Boys lost 2-3 to NY Greek Americans Over 30.  Goals: Scott Brindley and Brandon Levy, -1 OG for Stower

CPR Grays stumbled 2-6 to  NY Pancyprian Freedoms Over 30.  Goals: Bahaa Ahmed and Chin, both assisted by Graham Bambrough.

CPR Orange beat NY’s Finest SC 2-1.  Goals: Jonah Smith and Darran Cronshaw

CPR Legends were shutout by Manhattan Celtic Masters 0-4

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