Central Park Rangers FC

Red Reserves 3 – 0 Koha – Forfeit due to opposition incompetence (Goals – Big T)

Reds 3 – 2 Koha

A great result that saw one of our best performances of the season on a cold sunday night. A superb hatrick from Zach, a world class penalty save from Eric. a straight red for a ‘Porges’ and a few more missed chances wrapped a solid win for the reds. Thanks again to all the reserves who turned up for the Koha no show and who stuck around and helped contribute to the reds success.

Goals – Zach Kelly Hatrick

MOTM – Zach

Honorable mentions – Tim, Chilton, Eric

Please feel free to post your own version of the match report in Comments

Red Reserves 3 – 2 EMC

Goals: Bola, Phil, OG Met Oval
MOTM: Roddy
Other mentions : The 3rd goal was pure Playstation, with 5 players playing a string of one touch passes that carved the EMC, cooly finished by Phil. Great performances by all, Mo had his best game so far and Bola scored a brilliant solo goal following a clearance from Jason

Red Reserves

(From back left) Mathew, Bola, Steve R, Roddy, Jason, Phil, Willie, Han, Eddie, sewards, Ferd, Ugo, Alex

Reds 1 – 1 EMC

Goals: Ilija
MOTM: Gus
Other mentions : We got off to another slow start in this game, got sucker punched with a 1st half EMC goal, following good work down the right by their brilliant No 7. 2nd half was a new story as we dominated many parts of the field, scored the equalizer and should have taken the 3 points with the best 2nd half performance of the season so far.

Reds

(from back left) Ilija, Charlie, Rob C, Eric, Porges, Alex BL, Greg, Tokes, Zach, Ciaran, Gus, Danny, Willie

The night got off to a promising start as the Red Reserves faced off against Manhattan Celtic in chilly conditions down on Pier 40 Sunday night. The Reserves fought hard end-to-end, displaying better ball control, and keeping the ball consistently in the Celtic half. Jason Bell managed a clean sheet with some crucial saves, aided by an able backfield. On the wings, Ugo and Mo were scrappy and effective, words that could also be used to describe the latter’s performance in the pub last Thursday night. Spirited sideline support backed the Reserves up as they kept the pressure on the harried Celtic defense. That pressure paid off, giving Bola the opening he needed to bury a late one in the back of the net. It was a hard-earned victory that seemed to portend great things going into the second game.

But it was not to be. Despite a reputation for being a tough physical team, top-ranked Manhattan Celtic crumpled at the slightest contact. It was a tactic that paid off well for them as the whistle never seemed to leave the referee’s mouth. The first free kick came on a hard challenge just outside the box in the first five minutes, notwithstanding Chilton’s admonishment not to make any mistakes in the first five minutes. The shot was perfectly placed over the left end of the wall and into the upper left corner of the net, and Wunsch’s valiant effort to stop it was for naught. 1-nil down, but spirits were up and the squad seemed confident of an equalizer.

Initial control of the game by Celtic gave way to more even-sided play as the Reds’ midfield found its feet and began to advance into the opposing third. Old boys Johnny Keough and TJ Lynch showed they still have the stuff to make an impact, and Ciaran and Tim up in the front put in their usual hard work to try to secure a goal. With good communication across a back line anchored by Johnny Porges, Celtic were frustrated in their efforts to break through. But then the referee injected himself into the game again with a questionable penalty and Celtic took a 2 goal lead.

Heads up and with a rousing speech by the gaffer at the halftime break, the squad seemed determined to turn things around. The second half started well, with Danny and Gus working tirelessly on the wings and Alex, Chilton, and Keough starting to connect the passes in the midfield. Then a bit of innocuous shoulder contact just outside the box caused the Celtic midfielder to dive to the ground in a flailing heap and Celtic had earned their third penalty kick of the game and their third goal.

There would be another weak penalty and a fourth goal from the spot before Celtic managed their only goal in the run of play on the night. Not much solace that. Nor in the fact that Celtic are top of the league and undefeated. Poor refereeing notwithstanding, Reds simply couldn’t match the Irish work ethic, and as a result, they ended up chasing the ball much of the evening. Perhaps indicative of his frustration, Paul Sewards announced he will attend training tonight, so all players who can make it are advised to attend.