The Mexican Hitler in the middle of the park and his counter-part linesman on the far side of the field missed a good game of football yesterday. The little man in the middle was a joke. I think he thought he was in charge of a rugby game rather then a football game. He missed so many poor tackles it was unbelievable. He just had no concept of how to be a ref but he acted like one. At one point telling Seamus to hurry up in the first half (threatened to book him) when it was our corner kick and Seamus had gone and got the ball. It was hard to be worse then this little man but the linesman on the far side somehow managed to usurp him. Perhaps he felt like Napoleon in this power struggle of the Muppet's. His first unbelievable mistakes occurred twice in the 2nd half when he called Seamus offside for coming back from an offside position. This is a true statement if he does this when the ball is played, but he managed to tell both Seamus and I that it doesn't matter when the ball is played. If that is the case, how does a player ever become onside? Next up the entire ball did roll over the line when Santa Clara got one of their few shots on target, which resulted in the only goal of the match. Again, what was he watching. Lastly, two yards away from him, three minutes to go, I got completely hacked down and he waives play on. Awful stuff.
In saying all that the game should have been well out of sight by the time these events occurred. The Rovers had a make shift back line that excelled all afternoon and had the Rovers failed to capitalize on a minimum of 7 clear opportunities and a handful of other half chances SC would have been well beaten.
The first half was a touch closer then the second half. The Rovers passing wasn't great in the first half, lead by some sloppy passing but the Rovers still had two great chances, both falling to the Rovers front men who were doing their best Robbie Keane impressions. Paulie played in Bryce who should have finished it and the reverse was true moments later. Curt had a good shot as well in the first half while a Brodie corner was headed just wide by Matty. Their were some danger moments for the Rovers in the first half but KC didn't have a great deal to do.
The misses kept adding up in the 2nd half and you perhaps thought the Rovers might pay the ultimate penalty and sure enough they did. Bryce and Paulie were causing the SC defense all kind of problems with seamus playing just behind them. They just couldn't cope. Their goalie was the clear man of the match and he has also improved his kicking tremendously.
Gibbsy got sent off with 3 minutes to go and frankly you couldn't blame him. He was arse fucked in the center of the park and they almost scored from it. Then we witnessed the tackle on me he had enough and told the ref what he thought...
SC did the double of the Rovers this year but this was a farce
MOM: Entire game their keeper for us Jon with honorable mention to Kieran and matty. Jon was everywhere...played fantastic
Ref: Best thing they did all day was send the lino on our side over with the player passes, sending either of the two would have been a huge mistake.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Rover 5 SSF 0
Last Sunday the Rovers scored 5 past PSC but only came away with one point. This week the Rovers managed the same offensive feet, but rightly came away with all 3 points. Last seasonar these two teams won their respective away games. The trend continued this season with the Rovers beating SSF 1-0 at Orange Park. Talk before the game centered around bucking that trend and completing the "double" over SSF this season. The way the game started that didn't look like happening. The Rovers were sloppy in posession and much to slow at moving the ball forward. Lucky enough SSF couldn't capitlize on any of the Rovers poor play As the game wore on the Rovers did start to get on top. An early pot shot by Lawton was the Rovers first chance. Curt almost got on the end of a Brodie cross but he was denied by a fine block. Eoin had a great chance to score from an up and under from Matty, however Eoin had the ball hit off his back rather then his head and the ball trickled wide. Bryce, of course was always a threat and he found himself in acres of space however SSF has improved at the back, so the sweeper was on hand to stop Bryce from having a go. Besides for the Eoin chance the best opportunity the Rovers had to take the lead was after Jose sent Brodie down the channel and his pull back cross found Paulie who connected well, only for his shot to be blocked on the way in.
Of course, SSF had their chances but Jed was usually on hand to snuff out the danger. At one point the SSF forward found himself with a 8 yard lead on Jed and only KC to beat but by the time he got into the box Jed had closed him down and ran the ball out for a goal kick. Jed's only moment of madness came when his attempted back header went about 1 yard to their center forward, but he could do nothing with the gift that was given to him. Jon and Matty were also coming intercepting many loose balls as the Rovers continued to hound SSF out of possession.
The Rovers went into 0-0 in what was a pretty even match at this point. No one could have predicted the following score-line at this point. The Rovers scored inside of 3 minutes of the re-sart. A great move, involving Jon to Brodie to Jose to Brodie to Joe, who played a great pass to Bryce who finish was superb. The Rovers continued to press and won a corner. From the corner SSF broke and almost made it 1-1 after a through ball eluded Jon and Jed but KC was on hand to make a tremendous block. This was the turning point in the match as had that ball beaten KC it would have been anyone's game. Goal 2 came from a set piece, as the Rovers finally let Brodie take one. Brodie's far post ball was into the danger area at pace. Matty was the first to react and his header was saved well by the keeper. Jon looked certain to score on the rebound however the goalie blocked that shot as well, but the ball fell kindly and this time he made no mistake from2 yards. The Rovers seemed to have the game in hand at this point but KC made another fine save tipping the ball over the post with a fierce drive. The resulting corner was cleared with ease.
The Rovers were doing well with the subs, brining in Kieran and Nav, both were fresh and SSF struggled with this change. Kieran won a lose ball and after some clever play sprung Paulie down the left wing. The striker still had some work to do but his well placed shot found the bottom of the net and SSF just folded. The Rovers were lining up to get on the score sheet at this point and goal 4 came from the unlikely source of Eoin. Lucky for the Rovers the ball didn't fall to his head this time as Paule played a square ball that Eoin hammered in. Paulie was again involved in the 5th goal as his ball played in Bryce who had another cool finish. It could have been more and the Rovers continued to press for it. The tempature finally got the better of both teams as the game petered out competitevly
MOM; Jed again. Head and shoulders the best player on the field. Honarable mention to Bryce who ran them ragged all day.
Pitch: Hot weather and huge field helped the Rovers out today
Ref: Besides for the fact that their little blond guy stayed on the field after about 5 horrendous challenges he did a good job
Quote: Nice cross, Joe to Eoin after he scored. closely followed by a calm down calm down chant from the sidelines.
Of course, SSF had their chances but Jed was usually on hand to snuff out the danger. At one point the SSF forward found himself with a 8 yard lead on Jed and only KC to beat but by the time he got into the box Jed had closed him down and ran the ball out for a goal kick. Jed's only moment of madness came when his attempted back header went about 1 yard to their center forward, but he could do nothing with the gift that was given to him. Jon and Matty were also coming intercepting many loose balls as the Rovers continued to hound SSF out of possession.
The Rovers went into 0-0 in what was a pretty even match at this point. No one could have predicted the following score-line at this point. The Rovers scored inside of 3 minutes of the re-sart. A great move, involving Jon to Brodie to Jose to Brodie to Joe, who played a great pass to Bryce who finish was superb. The Rovers continued to press and won a corner. From the corner SSF broke and almost made it 1-1 after a through ball eluded Jon and Jed but KC was on hand to make a tremendous block. This was the turning point in the match as had that ball beaten KC it would have been anyone's game. Goal 2 came from a set piece, as the Rovers finally let Brodie take one. Brodie's far post ball was into the danger area at pace. Matty was the first to react and his header was saved well by the keeper. Jon looked certain to score on the rebound however the goalie blocked that shot as well, but the ball fell kindly and this time he made no mistake from2 yards. The Rovers seemed to have the game in hand at this point but KC made another fine save tipping the ball over the post with a fierce drive. The resulting corner was cleared with ease.
The Rovers were doing well with the subs, brining in Kieran and Nav, both were fresh and SSF struggled with this change. Kieran won a lose ball and after some clever play sprung Paulie down the left wing. The striker still had some work to do but his well placed shot found the bottom of the net and SSF just folded. The Rovers were lining up to get on the score sheet at this point and goal 4 came from the unlikely source of Eoin. Lucky for the Rovers the ball didn't fall to his head this time as Paule played a square ball that Eoin hammered in. Paulie was again involved in the 5th goal as his ball played in Bryce who had another cool finish. It could have been more and the Rovers continued to press for it. The tempature finally got the better of both teams as the game petered out competitevly
MOM; Jed again. Head and shoulders the best player on the field. Honarable mention to Bryce who ran them ragged all day.
Pitch: Hot weather and huge field helped the Rovers out today
Ref: Besides for the fact that their little blond guy stayed on the field after about 5 horrendous challenges he did a good job
Quote: Nice cross, Joe to Eoin after he scored. closely followed by a calm down calm down chant from the sidelines.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Rovers 5 PSC 5
Where do you start in a match like this? This has to go down in the archives as Pensinsula Soccer League Premier Classic, (except for the exploits of the ref). This game had more ups and downs then a lady of the evening'ss knickers. The Rovers started out with another make shift lineup with regular players such as Paulie and Bryce missing from action. Eoin returned to the fold after a few weeks off. The Rovers found themselves 2-0 down after 15 minutes, which was quite unbelievable given the way the game was going. Gibbsy committed a silly free kick about half way between the corner flag and pen box. One of the few decisions the ref got right the entire day. The ball was whipped in and the blond forward for PSC out jumped Brodie (not hard) to power in the header. Goal two was remarkable, another free kick whipped in and the ball was volleyed home from the top of the box, which gave KC no chance.
The Rovers continued to press as Big Joe entered the frey. PSC couldn't keep up with his movement. The Rovers pulled one back when Jose whipped in the cross and found Joe un-marked two yards from goal. His header was powerful and their was a hint of a push before the ball was played but their was no chance this ref would have spotted that. Moments later Brodie was put in but his toe poke effort, between the defender and the goalie was pushed out for a corner. Another corner, after a PSC mistake, allowed the Rovers to equalize. Joe whipped in a corner which the goalie was having problems with. His attempt to save the corner was poor and the ball fell to Jon who hammered the ball over the line. With-in moments the Rovers had the ball again, Curt doing the destroy job in the middle of the park. Jose was fouled in the middle of the park and their number 6 raised his hands and pushed Jose. No card to the number 6. Joe went down in the box shortly after, a clear spot kick..as he was tumbling to the ground he was kicked in the mouth. The ref waived play on. As the ball went out of play number 6 again raised his hands. The ref did nothing. The Rovers took the lead after joe played in a great free kick that Gibbsy did well to glance beyond the keeper. The Rovers seemed to be in command. The otherwise flawless Curt Lawton had his best chance ever to break his Rovers scoring duckwhen the ball was pulled back to Curt 8 yards from goal. His shot lacked power and hit a defender and went on the post and was safely cleared away from danger.
Moments later the Rovers found themselves level after the blond lad dribbled in and hit a well placed shot to 3-3. Unbelievable stuff, this with only 35 minutes played. The Rovers had more of the ball but PSC took the lead with the blond lads hat trick which I don't remember all that well. Every shot they had took at this point had lead to a goal. At the break the Rovers were trailing 4-3
Everyone was shocked at half-time and we decided if stopped conceding we would get something out of the match. While the 2nd half lacked in goals it made up for in goal mouth action. After 60minutes the Rovers equalized when Brodie took a well placed free kick directly into Matt, but his header was well saved only for Jon to pounce on the rebound. 4-4. More play, more bad ref decisions. With 70 minutes gone the rovers found themselves behind. Jose lost the ball in the middle of the park for the first time all day and the ball was whipped in quickly. Brodie was near last man, never a good thing, and he dove to the clear the ball. As he was jumped into (read fouled) the ball spun into an attacker path and after a strong challenge by Matt he placed the ball in the net. 4-5. More attacking play and the Rovers were back in the match when super sub Nav, scored a great goal after two PSC went down in a heap. His shot was a rocket over the head of the onrushing goalie. Their left back was sent off in minute 80 (GP) for a comedy of assults and it was all Rovers in the last 10. How the didn't get the winner is anyone's guess. Brodie hit the crossbar from a free kick. Lawton had another half chance. Jon had a great chance for his hatrick a the farpost of a corner. Gibbsy was played in but didn't connect with the outside of his boot shot. The best chance to win it came in minute 90 when Brodie picked up a lose ball and whipped it in for Gibbsy to find himself one on one with the attacking keeper. The ball held up in the wind and Mark's shot beat the keeper. At the last second a defender cleared the ball off the line. At the end the Rovers should have won by 5-5 was probably a fair result
MOM: Joe. Biggest change of the match was not having him in the second half because of the result of being kicked in the face. Would have been 8-5 had he played
Pitch: Not awful and actually helped add to the drama
Ref; Joe is a bafoon of the highest order
Quote: GP calling Jon a stupid mexican however he is not Mexican.
The Rovers continued to press as Big Joe entered the frey. PSC couldn't keep up with his movement. The Rovers pulled one back when Jose whipped in the cross and found Joe un-marked two yards from goal. His header was powerful and their was a hint of a push before the ball was played but their was no chance this ref would have spotted that. Moments later Brodie was put in but his toe poke effort, between the defender and the goalie was pushed out for a corner. Another corner, after a PSC mistake, allowed the Rovers to equalize. Joe whipped in a corner which the goalie was having problems with. His attempt to save the corner was poor and the ball fell to Jon who hammered the ball over the line. With-in moments the Rovers had the ball again, Curt doing the destroy job in the middle of the park. Jose was fouled in the middle of the park and their number 6 raised his hands and pushed Jose. No card to the number 6. Joe went down in the box shortly after, a clear spot kick..as he was tumbling to the ground he was kicked in the mouth. The ref waived play on. As the ball went out of play number 6 again raised his hands. The ref did nothing. The Rovers took the lead after joe played in a great free kick that Gibbsy did well to glance beyond the keeper. The Rovers seemed to be in command. The otherwise flawless Curt Lawton had his best chance ever to break his Rovers scoring duckwhen the ball was pulled back to Curt 8 yards from goal. His shot lacked power and hit a defender and went on the post and was safely cleared away from danger.
Moments later the Rovers found themselves level after the blond lad dribbled in and hit a well placed shot to 3-3. Unbelievable stuff, this with only 35 minutes played. The Rovers had more of the ball but PSC took the lead with the blond lads hat trick which I don't remember all that well. Every shot they had took at this point had lead to a goal. At the break the Rovers were trailing 4-3
Everyone was shocked at half-time and we decided if stopped conceding we would get something out of the match. While the 2nd half lacked in goals it made up for in goal mouth action. After 60minutes the Rovers equalized when Brodie took a well placed free kick directly into Matt, but his header was well saved only for Jon to pounce on the rebound. 4-4. More play, more bad ref decisions. With 70 minutes gone the rovers found themselves behind. Jose lost the ball in the middle of the park for the first time all day and the ball was whipped in quickly. Brodie was near last man, never a good thing, and he dove to the clear the ball. As he was jumped into (read fouled) the ball spun into an attacker path and after a strong challenge by Matt he placed the ball in the net. 4-5. More attacking play and the Rovers were back in the match when super sub Nav, scored a great goal after two PSC went down in a heap. His shot was a rocket over the head of the onrushing goalie. Their left back was sent off in minute 80 (GP) for a comedy of assults and it was all Rovers in the last 10. How the didn't get the winner is anyone's guess. Brodie hit the crossbar from a free kick. Lawton had another half chance. Jon had a great chance for his hatrick a the farpost of a corner. Gibbsy was played in but didn't connect with the outside of his boot shot. The best chance to win it came in minute 90 when Brodie picked up a lose ball and whipped it in for Gibbsy to find himself one on one with the attacking keeper. The ball held up in the wind and Mark's shot beat the keeper. At the last second a defender cleared the ball off the line. At the end the Rovers should have won by 5-5 was probably a fair result
MOM: Joe. Biggest change of the match was not having him in the second half because of the result of being kicked in the face. Would have been 8-5 had he played
Pitch: Not awful and actually helped add to the drama
Ref; Joe is a bafoon of the highest order
Quote: GP calling Jon a stupid mexican however he is not Mexican.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Rovers 3 Maritimo 1
The Rovers finally returned to winning ways with a good display back on their home field of De Anza. Unbelievably after 20 minutes played the Rovers found themselves 1-0 down after dominating the intial stages of the match. Bryce and Paulie were chosen to lead the line after Seamus pulled another Darren Anderton. The Rovers opted to play 5 across the middle, Brodie losing out in the middle of the park with the return of Jose. Apparently Gibbsy thought he would utilize Brodie's speed as a wing back. Big Joe arrived on time and commanded the left wing back role with Lawton and Gibbsy partnering Jose. The back 3 had Jed returning to partner Matty and Jon, so overall not a bad line-up.
The Rovers had some great chances to take the lead, most of which came from Bryce. His intellegient pull backs and runs were causing Maritimo's slow of foot defense problems. Paulie had two half chances to score after the ball was being pinged around in the box, but his efforts lacked enough punch to trouble the keeper. Jose was pulling the strings per usual but the Rovers failed to capitlize. They were hit with a sucker punch has Matty's header took a poor deflection as it bounced directly to a Maritimo player who thrased the ball past KC to make it 1-0. The Rovers couldnt' believe it and the biggest worry at this point was that their heads would drop, given their 4 game losing streak.
However they continued to pass the ball around and get stuck in the middle of the park. The equalizer came when Paulie was judged to have been fouled in the box. It sounded it a bit worse then it was but the same player made no mistake from the spot with a kick down the middle. The Rovers continued to press and they took advantage of their height advantage when manager Gibbsy whipped in a corner kick to find Matty at the back post. His bullet header found the roof of the net and the Rovers were in charge. Lawton, Jon and Matty were doing a great job of winning the 50/50 balls, Lawton going on a great run that saw his pass just intercepted at the last moment. It would have been a killer ball to Paulie. More dominate pressure found the Rovers score from another set piece as Bryce bundled in Big Joe's inswinging corner kick. Gibbsy went close himself witha fierce drive that keeper did well to save from a free-kick.The Rovers went into the break winning 3-1.
The next 25 minutes of the 2nd half were madness. The Rovers, instead of playing it simple, starting hoofing the ball upfield. Maritimo looked lively and were well up for it. Jed making a couple of key interceptions. The game was in the balance at this point as a Maritimo goal would have given them the momentum to get back in the match. A rare Rovers break during this period found Ben on goal, after a great ball by Big Joe. Ben's left footed effort went just wide.
Finally after 70 minutes the Rovers settled down and started passing it around a tired Maritimo. The Rovers had two great chances to kill the game off after Brodie played in Paulie both times. One of his efforst was foiled by the keeper, the other was placed just wide. Paulie was also set free just inside his own half but the distance of his run and the chasing defenders did just enough to put him off. On another day he would have had a hatrick. Big Joe also created a couple of great chances for himself in the box, only for his efforts to go just wide.
In the end it was a desrved 3 points.
Man of the Match: Jed, the Rovers are a different team when he plays. Honarable mention to go Matty for getting on the score sheet.
Pitch. Huge but benefited the Rovers in this game
Ref: Very good
Quote
The Rovers had some great chances to take the lead, most of which came from Bryce. His intellegient pull backs and runs were causing Maritimo's slow of foot defense problems. Paulie had two half chances to score after the ball was being pinged around in the box, but his efforts lacked enough punch to trouble the keeper. Jose was pulling the strings per usual but the Rovers failed to capitlize. They were hit with a sucker punch has Matty's header took a poor deflection as it bounced directly to a Maritimo player who thrased the ball past KC to make it 1-0. The Rovers couldnt' believe it and the biggest worry at this point was that their heads would drop, given their 4 game losing streak.
However they continued to pass the ball around and get stuck in the middle of the park. The equalizer came when Paulie was judged to have been fouled in the box. It sounded it a bit worse then it was but the same player made no mistake from the spot with a kick down the middle. The Rovers continued to press and they took advantage of their height advantage when manager Gibbsy whipped in a corner kick to find Matty at the back post. His bullet header found the roof of the net and the Rovers were in charge. Lawton, Jon and Matty were doing a great job of winning the 50/50 balls, Lawton going on a great run that saw his pass just intercepted at the last moment. It would have been a killer ball to Paulie. More dominate pressure found the Rovers score from another set piece as Bryce bundled in Big Joe's inswinging corner kick. Gibbsy went close himself witha fierce drive that keeper did well to save from a free-kick.The Rovers went into the break winning 3-1.
The next 25 minutes of the 2nd half were madness. The Rovers, instead of playing it simple, starting hoofing the ball upfield. Maritimo looked lively and were well up for it. Jed making a couple of key interceptions. The game was in the balance at this point as a Maritimo goal would have given them the momentum to get back in the match. A rare Rovers break during this period found Ben on goal, after a great ball by Big Joe. Ben's left footed effort went just wide.
Finally after 70 minutes the Rovers settled down and started passing it around a tired Maritimo. The Rovers had two great chances to kill the game off after Brodie played in Paulie both times. One of his efforst was foiled by the keeper, the other was placed just wide. Paulie was also set free just inside his own half but the distance of his run and the chasing defenders did just enough to put him off. On another day he would have had a hatrick. Big Joe also created a couple of great chances for himself in the box, only for his efforts to go just wide.
In the end it was a desrved 3 points.
Man of the Match: Jed, the Rovers are a different team when he plays. Honarable mention to go Matty for getting on the score sheet.
Pitch. Huge but benefited the Rovers in this game
Ref: Very good
Quote
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