Match Report – 10 January 2010 – Match Day 1
Dinamo Red Star (Guadalupe, Choularton x2, Zepeda, Deppe) | 5 – 5 | LAS Club Polonia

Turkey, taters and beer…three tasty items that were consumed over the holiday break. Slow, tired and rusty…the result of several weeks enjoying said items.

The 2010 Red Star campaign kicked off with a bit of a messy bang. There were flashes of the speed, style and swagger that carried us to Champion status and then there were lapses, poor touch, strange decision making and a noticeable lack of stamina. The latter proved to be the Achilles heel that allowed Palonia to hang in the game and squeak out a tie.

With 10 goals in the match, defense was clearly an afterthought. The onus doesn’t lie with the back 4 but with the entire team or rather the lack of entire team defense. We simply didn’t close down players and lost marks. At least three of Palonia’s goals came from poor clearances or second chance shots…outside of the 18 yard box too.

The match started off with a bang as Alex deftly picked their last defender’s pocket and beat the keeper one v one, 1-0. From that point on, I couldn’t keep up with who scored when or the details of how either. I do know that Sebas crashed in a goal inside the 6 and also rocketed home the goal of the match from 30+ yards out, Kenny headed in a sure goal off a splendid corner from Tyler, and Deppe scored the determination goal of the season so far by never giving up even though half their team were dragging on his heels.

We managed to keep our unbeaten streak going, and that is a testament to the heart of the team. Allowing Palonia to come back after being 2 goals down was a bit concerning, but the season is new and long. We will catch our stride and tie down the loose ends this Sunday.