To paraphrase Dickens, it was the best of games, it was the worst of games. But I get ahead of myself.
As the Rusties ambled around the field pretending to warm up, they noticed that the opponent was wearing matching yellow warm up jackets. A buzz flew around the team. Why don’t WE have matching warm up jackets? It was immediately decided that we may have to rectify this oversight. The team seemed placated. But then, since Phil had the black jerseys and he woke up ill, what color was OG wearing underneath said matching jackets? Fortunately, they went black and the Rusty Plough looked sublime in their bright yellow kit with the Trumer Pils logo.
Manager Moriconi had spent the better part of five minutes crafting a plan to deal with the top-of-the-table menace facing the Rusties that day. Breaking with tradition, he announced a 4-3-2-1 Christmas Tree formation. Also known as the “albero di Natale” (things sound better in Italian). The Rusties were excited about playing this new type of football and they were ready to go.
The OG’s quickly took possession of the ball, but then, they really couldn’t do much. They passed around the back and the Rusties shifted as a team. They passed into the middle and the Rusties pressured them into passing back. They tried to fire off some through-passes, but the OG strikers could not stay onsides thanks to the well-organized Rusty defenders.
Most of the play consisted of the OGs passing near midfield and getting a little penetration into the Rusty half, but, with few exceptions, they did not threaten and, when they did, the Rusties defended well and keeper Forsyth came up with key saves.
About 20 minutes in, the Rusties stopped another attack and the ball made its way to the left side where Eric Kuehnl found himself with some space. Jason Yeo, the sole striker, called for the ball and took off down the line. Eric placed an inch perfect pass that took the OG right back out of the play and Jason chased the ball down. Andy Waranoff took off and headed towards the far post. Jason kept heading down the field, the touch line getting ever closer. The OG goalie recognized that Jason’s only play at such a tight angle was to pass the ball to Waranoff who was wide open. He started to cheat off the line to cover the impending pass. But Jason turned towards goal, lined up the ball, and hit it with the side of his foot, beating the keeper at the near post. The angle was so severe, that, post-game, the keeper told Jason that he did not believe he could possibly score from his position. The Plough was unexpectedly up 1-0.
Play resumed and the game continued in more or less the same manner. The Plough was organized defensively, OG had a few chances that were snuffed out or saved, and the Plough got occasional breaks. About 35 minutes into the half, the Rusties earned a corner and Lewis Knight went over to take the kick. He placed a beautiful ball into the box, right towards the penalty spot. Andy Waranoff rose to head it, but it was too high and he was only able to flick it down. Hudson had just thrown his defender aside (thankfully not seen by the ref) and the ball hit his left foot where it settled. Quite surprised by the situation, Hudson swung his right foot at the ball and hit it towards the goal, where it wound up in the back of the net.
The Plough entered half time up 2-0.
At half, manager Moriconi decided to maintain the same defensive shape and the Plough hoped to withstand the expected onslaught from the OGs. The OGs did indeed come out aggressively as they sought to get back in the match. For about 10 minutes, the Rusties continued their strong play. Peter and Jason provided options at the top. Eric, Andy, Jeff, Gerardo kept pressure on the OG mids. Jose and Logan kept the outside players in check and Roberto was his usual strong presence in the middle. As the subs came on they all fell into the proper role. Furlong noted that he had never spent so much time staying organized.
At about the 55th minute, the ref called a foul against the Rusties on what was a clear shoulder to shoulder challenge. Gerardo took offense at the call and began to challenge the ref. They were both speaking Spanish, so this reporter could not tell you what was said, but some other Spanish speakers said that there may have been a few derogatory comments sent in the ref’s direction. The ref produced a yellow card and then, as Gerardo turned away (still muttering in all honesty), he produced a second yellow and ejected Gerardo. The Rusties would have to hold off the OGs with only ten players for 35 minutes.
With the loss of a player (and a critical one at that) the Rusty organization began to crumble and, within 5 minutes, the OGs put a ball into the box that evaded the defense and they pulled one back.
The OGs continued to attack, but the Rusties were hanging on and Forsyth made some critical saves including pushing a shot to the crossbar (ignoring the damage he was causing to his sore ankles). With 25 minutes to go, Eric made a perhaps unwise decision to challenge for a ball that was being shielded by an OG player. In his zeal, he caught the player on the back of the legs (although, to be fair, he got some ball too). The ref decided that the play was dangerous and immediately produced a red card. The Rusties were down to 9.
On the ensuing free kick, the OG player spotted Jose on the edge of the wall and recognized that he just might be able to clear Jose’s towering frame. Sure enough, he did, and Forsyth could not get over to stop it. The score was tied 2-2.
By this time, all discipline was out the window. The OGs scored again about 5 minutes later.
The Rusties had a chance to tie the match with about 5 minutes to go when Jose played a ball to Peter who beat his defender (and maybe other defenders as well) and got the ball to the corner. Andy Waranoff had run along with the play and Jeff Faucette was streaking down the right side (where did they find the energy?). Peter passed it to Waranoff. The defender noticed that Jeff was open and shaded towards him, opening an opportunity for Andy. He took a shot from the top of the box, but, by this time, his energy had faded, and his kicked lacked the power necessary to beat the keeper.
At the closing minute, the OGs scored again and Hudson asked the ref how much time was left. To which the ref replied “Why? You wanna go home know?” So, Hudson did and walked off the field and the ref blew the whistle.
The first 55 minutes of the game may have been the best football ever played by the Rusty Plough. The last 35, not so much. Lewis Knight may have said it best: “It’s all about DISCIPLINE… [we] stayed disciplined throughout the first half… The second, we lost our discipline, partly because we started to play them more physically rather than holding off and forcing them to work around us.” Food for thought!!!
Golden Boot
- Welsh - 3
- Hudson - 2
- Delgadillo - 1
- Viveros - 1
- Yeo - 1