In a break from tradition, the Rusty Plough was assigned the highly coveted 1pm starting time, which guaranteed maximum exposure on EBSSL TV (check your cable provider). Indeed, the Plough were pleasantly surprised by the infinite increase in their fan base as more than 5, yes five!, spectators descended upon Gabe East to watch this clash against the Oakland OGs. The Plough looked positively radiant in their yellow kits with the Trumer Pils logo proudly displayed.
This marked the second match of the 2024-25 season, the Rustie’s 13th iteration. In week one, re-appointed manager Donal O’Sullivan oversaw a valiant effort that, alas ended in defeat. The Plough played their annual antagonists, the Bohemians, and, despite having the better of the play for most of the game, fell to the home squad by a score of 5-2. Newboy Tyler Sadwith made an immediate impression with a spectacular header to open his Rusty account and Dale Webber added the second. The manager noted the solid endeavor and high quality of the Plough play and noted that two mistakes and one refereeing error cost us three goals.
The Plough entered match two in high spirits, knowing that the squad was of high quality. The Plough organization formed the newest edition of the club with the creation of Ploughed Under in the Senior Senior circuit. The departure of some of the Rusties most experienced players opened opportunities for raw, but, perhaps, more mobile, players.
As will happen to a squad of this level of maturity, week two already saw a number of injuries which resulted in a limited squad. Manager O’Sullivan opted for a 4-2-3-1 defensive formation knowing that the OG opponents had a high-powered attack. This decision proved to be a poor one as the OGs had a quick attack the resulted in the Plough being down 1-0 early on.
As we are all aware, this reporter often loses track of the actual occurrences on the pitch, but, if memory serves, the Rusties found themselves down 2-0. It was probably on a corner kick with some poor marking, but that is not important.
What is important is that the manager decided to switch to a 4-4-2 and the Rusties immediately responded to this familiar formation. Shortly after the switch, the defense played the ball out to Peter on the left wing, Peter passed in in to Dale who saw Tyler streaking down the right side. Dale fired a cross-field pass which Tyler controlled perfectly and drove to the line, beating his defender. Tyler hit an amazing cross back across the goal where Freddie met it with a thunderous smash.
Unfortunately, the OGs mounted another attack that resulted in a corner kick. Hudson made the poor decision to switch marks with Jose in the belief that the kick was targeting a far post player. Instead, the corner went towards the six-yard box right at the player Hudson had switched off from. Jose leapt high into the air in an attempt to get a head on the ball, but the OG player, feet firmly on the ground, was able to beat him to the ball and powered in a goal.
The Plough went into halftime down 2.
Despite the score, sprits were high. As in game one, the Rusties made good decisions, moved off the ball and passed crisply. Alas, as also in Game 1, they had a hard time finding the back of the net. There were a number of chances, but only the one tickled the twine.
The Rusties dominated the second half, with almost all of the play in the OG end. The Rusty defense of Hudson, Jose, Roberto, Kurt and Jamie were solid. The midfield of Steve, Nik, Dale and Adam worked tirelessly. Peter and Kurt ran the wings and exhausted the OG defenders. Freddie and surprise returner Chris Farmer attacked from up front. Keeper James was resolute in stopping the few shots that the OGs mustered.
At some point, someone pissed Dale off. A pissed of Dale is a motivated Dale. On a Rusty corner, Peter hit a great ball that was headed by one of the Plough attackers and deflected towards the far corner of the box. As the ball dropped, Dale focused all of his anger on the ball and volleyed it into the back of the net. The Plough were down one and feeling good.
Other opportunities arose. Hudson found himself in space and hit a shot from distance. In what was described as the slowest shot ever, the ball floated towards to goal. The OG keeper seemed hypnotized as the breeze carried the ball slowly towards the goal. Birds were chirping, small children laughed and played, Furlong jogged the length of the field, and still the ball kept going. Finally, the ball dipped towards the crossbar and the OG keeper woke up just in time to tip it over the net.
Peter kept putting in lovely corner kicks and, on one scramble, Farmer almost poked it in, but an OG defender managed to block it across the line. Several other similar scrambles proved equally frustrating for the Plough. Of course, with the Plough pushing, they exposed themselves to the OG counter. The OG striker managed to get off one shot that keeper James pushed onto the far post, but a (possibly offsides) OG was there to knock the ball in to restore the two-goal lead (did I mention that the first goal was also offsides and that Freddie earned an unawarded penalty)?
As the game wound down, the OGs earned a corner that they set up perfectly and managed to head into the far corner of the goal. That pretty much summed up the game. The OG shots went in, while the Plough’s efforts were just off target.
Despite the 0-2 start, the Plough is optimistic and morale is high, if for no other reason than our oldest player Nik, celebrated his 59th birthday at the Trumer Pils taproom post-match. When was the last time that the Rusties could say that their oldest player was under 60???????
Golden Boot
- Dale - 2
- Tyler - 1
- Freddie - 1