So the Doomsday clock was moved forward. It’s now three minutes from Armageddon. A friend of mine, with a knack for colorful descriptions, pointed out that the Doomsday Clock, which OBTW has been maintained by a group of ultra left leaning scientists for 50 years, is about a useful as a steamy pant load. Point taken, but all I have to do is look around for myself, and if it’s me reading the signs, I see major changes all around me. Take for instance the price of gas. I filled up at $1.99/gallon yesterday. I almost caused an accident as I swooped into the parking lot, fixed and bewildered by the price showing on the sign. As was the other guy. At the pump, the friendliness of the customers was almost giddy. Are criminals giddy? We were all pumping gas like we were stealing together, chatting it up and wondering what we were gonna do with the extra cash in our pockets since we were getting free gas this month. I had a big smile on my face but in the back of my mind, I was also thinking, this can’t be a good sign. There is no silver lining here, or is there?
Last night, the Orangemen defeated the Uno Mas (the team formerly known as the Great Pretenders) by a score of 4 to 0. Was that a fluke or has something disturbed the space-time continuum? We played a marvelous game against a good side who were at full strength with with plenty of available substitutes.
We had basically our standard squad, with the exception of Bryan arriving as a regular (he turned 30 just a few short days ago which I personally verified on his official government recognized ID). And traveling Peter Z, who brought a quality friend to the match...Pete evened out Jamal's quality so it was a wash....
The line up included
Wil, B, Bryan, Dave N, with Jamal up top
Cris, Ted, Peter Z, Alfredo, Mooch in the midfield
Greg, Gene, Karl, Matt, Josh, Matt with a late arriving John H defending.
Christian playing keeper for the entire match
The difference in the game last night is that we played the stopper well into midfield. Cris, when he was stopping, and Matt as well, stepped forward and had the speed to get back if overran, even before Josh had to step forward to clean up. But Josh was as solid as a brick wall...he had the quality and control when the ball got to him early to stay composed and move the ball out of danger, and he also had to speed to run down a number of balls and had the wherewithal to play the ball back to Christian who was ready for the back pass. Christian, playing the full game, made some great saves, but because of his speed coming out, and good hands on the ball, none of the shots that came in were exceptionally challenging...or he just made it it seem that way.
Playing with 3 strikers and 3 midfielders last night, with a stopper pushing up and actually adding to midfield, gave us enough pressure forward to control the ball and keep our defense from being over powered. What was incredible about our play in their end was the number of passes we put together and our movement. All six of us rotated forward and side to side, moving into open space, and receiving the pass and then passing again, and then running back to regroup behind the ball to start the process again. It was the closest thing to total futbol that the Orangemen have ever played. If the six players who are in those positions in the future, continue to play in that manner, it’s almost unnecessary to assign positions.
We scored 4 goals, three of which came from a series of passes. The fourth goal was fabulous banana kick from Wil on a corner kick that curled right into the net.
The first goal was from Bryan who hit a fantastic strike with his left foot from the top of the box after a series of passes too numerous for Mooch to count. B scored goal number 2 from inside the box in similar fashion. I can’t remember who scored our third goal...I’m not used to counting that high.
Anyhow, something strange is going on. Normally, strange anomalies come in threes...everyone should stay safe, not go out in a Thunderstorm for a few weeks, and definitely look both ways before you cross the street.
I’m going to split player of the match tonight between Josh and Christian. Those two kept a clean sheet tonight and gave the 6 attacking players the confidence to keep the pressure on down the field allowing us to play total futbol on the eve of the apocalypse!
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