Getting to the Heart of the Beautiful Game

In keeping with Mooch's tradition of awarding "Man of the Match" honors, let us begin with a democratic process of voting.  So raise your hand if you were at the Orangemen match 7 September.  15 players' hands should be up.  Keep them up if you have ever undergone major surgery.  Fewer hands will be up.  Now, keep your hands up if you've had your sternum sawed in half and your chest cracked open to allow doctors to surgically ensure the function of a critical organ.  Dave Nanney's hand should be the only one in the air at this point and I believe we can all agree to name Dave “Man of the Match” on the 9th anniversary of his triple bypass surgery.  

Dave represents a side of soccer that transcends anything that occurs on the pitch. Soccer is an international community of men and women who love the beautiful game and gather together to share this love despite adversity, despite differences, despite all the ugliness and negativity that is sometimes a reality of our world.  Soccer allows us to think that no matter how bad things get, there is a kid somewhere in the world at this very instant - maybe on a mud-packed alley of a ghetto, maybe on beach looking at the ocean, maybe on a side-street of Calcutta, maybe in vacant lot in Europen city, or maybe in a dusty field in Africa - but that kid will find a ball, hopefully gather a few friends and they will kick it around, pretend that they are international stars, try a few moves, and for however long possible they will forget their troubles and get lost in the magic of the beautiful game.  

Sometimes that kid is a balding, over 50 dude who is celebrating 9 years of life after a significant event reminds him of the precious sanctity that accompanies each moment with friends and loved ones.  Dave Nanney brings an incredible gift to the pitch - he brings love.  I speak for all of us in thanking him once again for sharing his gifts.

Onto the game…  The Orangemen showed up with exactly 10 men and 1 woman to start the match at 8 pm.  We had a nice pre-game visit with Jim Landoll who stopped by to say hello and watch a bit of the match.  Jim’s devotion to the team was evidenced not only by his presence but also by the fact that he matched the Orangemen’s all-black kit.  The referee came to the field at around 7:55, so kick-off was delayed until after 8pm which allowed 3 more Orangemen to show.   The late start was one of the very few negatives about this ref.  He called a superb game even though it was a very physical (not dirty) and hard-fought contest.  He let play continue whenever possible and kept order by issuing a yellow card when the hard knocks got too rough.  Sterling’s manager also did a good job of keeping his team under control despite language challenges including native English-speakers who apparently do not understand the meaning of “no slide tackles”.  I’d also like to commend the Orangemen for keeping their cool despite some debatable off-side calls, no-calls on hand-balls (denying a goal for us), and a few dishonest throw-ins poached by our Sterling brothers.

The Orangemen started with a 4-4-2 formation featuring Gene between the pipes, Jan sweeping, Greg stopping, Ann at left back, Karl right back, Tommy right mid, Gooch and Ben central mids, Scott Fearing left mid, Will and Jemaine on the attack.  Warming up with Dave Nanney were late-arrivals Kendall and Matt.  The Orangemen started out playing a splendid game of controlled, short passes, with tremendous runs off the ball to gain advantageous positions.  Hallmark tactics such as creating space on the flanks, give-and-go’s, wall passes and well-timed runs with deftly-weighted through balls created several scoring opportunities all through the game.  Sterling, like many recent opponents, were stunned at the speed, pace, skill and work-rate the Orangemen displayed.  A large part of this is attributed to players like Kendall, Jermaine, Will (new recruits) as well as the return of John H.  Of course none of that would matter if the defense were not a solid unit.  The flourishing dominance of Matt and Greg combine with Jan’s mastery and Karl and Ann’s steadfastness have kept the pressure off our beloved Keeper Gene and have vastly improved our competitive opportunities as well as team chemistry. 

While the Orangemen failed to convert early opportunities into goals, Sterling’s speedy, skilled ball handlers produced an early goal on one of their counterattacks.  Most Sterling attempts were expertly staunched by Jan and company; however, a Sterling attacker sprinted past our backs then connected with a loping through-ball lobbed into our 18.  Gene’s run narrowed the angle, but a decent finish put Sterling up 1-nil.  Time after time, the Orangemen snuffed Sterling’s attack.  Greg was playing an aggressive, high line and disrupted many plays.  Matt entered the pitch as stopper, moved Greg to outside back, and allowed Ann and Karl to go on a rest-sub cycle.  Kendall came onto attack, moving Will to midfield and Gooch onto the pine while Dave subbed in at forward.  

Sterling had luck on their side during the first half as no less than 10 Orangemen shots went everywhere except into the net.  Apart from the culmination, Orangemen build-up and total field play was gorgeous.  With Tommy and Ben settling into a harmonious rhythm of crisp accurate passes.  Will, Jermaine and Kendall ran non-stop: touch-line to touch-line and half-way line to goal box.  All of the miles ran, hard work fought, and creativity displayed was much appreciated and resulted in a style of soccer which was beautiful to watch. 

Later in the half, Sterling scored a second goal in flamboyant style.  One of their wings lofted a corner across the Orangemen’s 18.  With Matt all up in his grill, the Sterling forward closed his eyes and attempted a spinning, waist-level volley – the ball didn’t touch the ground until after it hit the net.  The Sterling forward opened his eyes and blinked in disbelief for a few moments until he realized the ball actually went in.  2-cero for “El Amarillo”.   

  

The Orangemen came back with a glorious goal.  What made it sweet was that the goal resulted from a steady build-up from the back line, through midfield, then into the attacking third.  Ben and Tommy deserve huge credit for the running and passing.  They allowed Jermaine to penetrate deep on the right flank.  By this point in the match Sterling always had two guys on Jermaine and after he beat one, he pulled the ball back to behind the 18 where an on-rushing Will was open and drove a surgical strike past three Sterling defenders and their keeper. 2-1 Sterling at half.

Sterling accumulated substitutes at half-time – and by that I mean they had a yellow clone army consisting of 8-11 identically-built and equally-skilled players.  This included a goalkeeper who Karl described as “the only reason Sterling won”.  The Orangemen tried this keeper again and again only to be thwarted by great saves.  We also had too many balls bouncing around in Sterling’s goal box.  Some areas to improve upon are shot placement, finishing, and having a nose for the goal.  This means that during a shot, at least one forward needs to collapse onto the goal positioning himself in area which allows him to tap in a rebound off the keeper, post, or defender.  Same feedback for corners and set pieces near the opponent’s goal: we need to convert many more opportunities into goals.

Of course it’s not all about points on the Orangemen’s column.  Again, we can’t forget the tremendous defensive performance.  Jan’s excellence is obvious, consistent, and almost scary.  Last night’s performance from Ann and Karl was very good – they confronted forwards who had experience, ball handling tricks, speed, and excellent soccer skills.  Ann and Karl put on a clinic featuring ‘how to stand an attacker up; delay, deny, and destroy’.  Often the destruction came when the attacker pushed the ball sideways to go around, allowing Jan or Matt to pounce.  Ann’s great game was accentuated by her throwing various parts of her voluptuous body in the path of Sterling’s shots – which was very disconcerting from the perspective of her fidanzato, but she saved two goals from the line.  Matt was particularly fearless as he relentlessly shouldered into challenges that were audibly cataclysmic.  Greg continued to raise his performance bar by playing 90 full minutes of Total Dutch Soccer – conducting deep-raid sorties into Sterling’s line like one of Jeb Stuart’s Killer Angels.

Sterling scored their final (soft) goal after a mis-communication between Jan and Matt left the ball ricocheting off players and bouncing into the path of a Sterling forward who easily drained the shot from about 12 yards.  3-1 Sterling.  Oft-times soccer has magic moments: the Orangemen’s second goal was one of those moments.  Jermaine once again gathered a pass and out-maneuvered a bevy of Sterling’s amarillo warriors near the right touchline.  He expertly switched fields delivering a beautiful cross to Kendall who was streaking up the left side.  The pass hit Kendall in stride, he expertly controlled the hot rock with one touch in front of him then absolutely blasted a 22-yard cannon-shot from his left foot beating Sterling’s keeper and notched the ball in the upper left corner.  As the net rocked and jaws dropped, Kendall erased whatever doubt anyone had about ‘what just happened?’ by screaming: “GOLAZO!!!” while thrusting his fist high above his head.  Indeed, Kendall, es verdad!   

Even though the night ended 3-2, the Orangemen played a tremendous game against a great opponent.  We have plenty to be proud of, a few things to work on, and a promise of future victories to follow.  With the return of our missing captain Mooch as well as Tedd (competing in the Nation’s Triathlon), Mauricio, John H., Alfredo, and maybe a few of our multiple Jose’s  - this will be a great season for the Orangemen.