Greetings and Salutations –
So again we waited until we were all comfortable with the field, the climate and our opponents until we started playing. Problem is it was about 25 minutes after the game started. MRL took the field ready to play while we struggled to get the ball anywhere near their goal and we decided to try a few ill advised experiments in the back. We are blessed with such a good defense that even when we make some poor passes or other embarrassments (causing some ear splitting screams from Yossi) we can recover and snuff out offensive attacks. We adjusted the formation (Olman dropped all the way back to restore some order), calmed down some and fought to a 0-0 halftime.
Dudes, I recommend getting to the field early, running through your warm ups and prepare a little more seriously – me included. We need to be the aggressor early and the last two weeks we were not.
Some brilliant minds got together, made some adjustments to the personnel and we were a completely different team to start the second. Alejandro began to control the middle and got a ball to Julio on the left who absolutely carved up MRL on his way to the goal and unselfishly laid one off to Dac – who proved he IS a striker and left no doubt about the goal by burying it.
A marking error at the back allowed the relentless MRL to get behind our defense, I was exposed to a 1 v 1 and the score was tied. Their sideline took to the underdog role by getting verrrrry excited about how they were even with a first place team.
Some lesser teams may have been satisfied with a tie – but not the mighty Zenit. We would have been pissed and immediately went on the attack. Dejan personally was going to make it his mission to bring home a win if need be, jumped into the play, shot one with his left…
We interrupt this program as it was at this time I and everybody else lost track of the play as Yossi – screaming again- was pointing out a hand ball, all eyes went to him and somehow…what seemed to be a minute later….
….and scored! Dejan wasted no time in informing the MRL sideline that this is how a first team finishes.
Apparently the ball deflected off a defender, turned in mid-air, up and to the left (anyone see JFK?) and past their keeper.
They put 10 on our side of the field and we were able to withstand their attack and win a tough one. This was a playoff team from last season so a win at any score was a good win. There will be tougher teams (we are already down to 3rd based on goal differential and ours is +11!) and next week’s opponent is no slouch. The season is still young and more adjustments will be made to fine tune things I’m sure. What we did not lack in was passion. In one way or another everyone played hard and the result showed.
Come prepared to play from the opening whistle. Know your roles and responsibilities from a team perspective. Defense first! Remember that and the goals will come.
Until Sunday….
Marc Bergman
