Gene in goal
Jan Sweeper
Goerge Stopper
Greg left back
Mauricio right back
Alfredo left mid
Rahbi central mid
Ben Central mid
Jermaine striker
Kendall striker
Mooch right mid/striker
Will H striker
However we were not able to overcome the speed of Fairfax Juve. Goals on the night included a stunning post skimmer, low and hard, by Wil H. And two tremendous strike from Jermaine. One a leaping volley on a bouncing over the top ball from Goerge, and a second well played header from Jermaine off a great corner kick from Wil H.
I threw down some criticize of our playing style last week...but failed to post the comments until this morning.
http://nvaorangemen.blogspot.com/2014/05/orangemen-vs-turtles-10-may-2014.html
Our game is starting to be characterized by the over the top ball to Jermaine. Jermaine definitely has the speed to run onto it...and has been successful. He has more success, however, if it’s not every ball. However, last night we played perhaps a dozen over the top for a fast break. Only one turned into a goal. That is down from the Turtles game last week where we played more that 16 or so over the top and didn’t capitalize on a single one.
Instead, we need to concentrate on passing through the midfield...which means the strikers have to come back to midfield and assist the team. First, when we lose the ball, the strikers need to turn defensive immediately, and pressure the ball, no matter where it is on the field. Instead, last night, Jermaine and Wil were walking slowly back, sometimes when Juventus was playing the ball right behind their backs just a few feet off. Second, the strikers have to run back to midfield, to take take a pass from the midfielders. Sometimes the can make a break, but they should also be looking for the quick delivery and then the overlap of the midfielders. In particular, Ben and Rahbi are more than capable of making that overlap and having the strikers then feed the ball through. All too often the strikers are running away from the play when they should be running towards the ball.
Last night we were the victim of a series of wrong calls. We lost possession of the ball on wrong calls a least four times by my estimate. I appreciate everyone keeping their heads and just getting on with it. The ref even complimented me after the game on our composure and sportsmanship. I didn’t see Juve returning the honesty (they did once) but for the most part they were fighting for balls that clearly they knocked out of bounds. As soon as they saw doubt in the ref they fought for the advantage...that’s the opposite of sportsmanship...that’s flat out cheating. Again though...thanks for everyone keeping their heads.
I have to give game of the match to Jermaine last night for both of his goals...the strike from the top of the box was world class.
Tailgating. We tried tailgating after the game last night. It was fun. As most of the other teams in the league do something similar I think we ought to give it a try. It’s hard for everyone to jump in the car and drive to Bertucci’s so let’s try just hanging around in the parking lot for a while...see if we can drive participation in the after game up.
World Cup is right around the corner. I’m working on venues to get together to watch some of the games.
Ben suggest the Old Brogue Irish pub in Great Falls, however on closer inspection I didn’t see a TV screen in the entire place.
But there are a number of sports clubs in the area…
Brazil plays the first match at 5 pm on Thursday 12 June which is one hour ahead of us...so it’s 4 pm our time. I suggest we pick a large sports bar someplace central.
Saturday matches start at 1600 and run through our game times. We can get together a pub close to our field at 1600 and watch the games up until 8 pm when we kick off.
The first USA game is 16 June...Monday...at 6 pm. My suggestion is for someone to host the the first game at their home after work… I will host the USA vs Portugal on 22 June...that’s a Sunday...also at 6 pm.
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/
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