9/17/06, Randalls Island 25
Rovers 2 (1)
Shamrock 2 (1)
Goals: Pat Wisnom, 2
The Over 30's season began under sunny skies on a hay-strewn pitch at Randalls Island. And I think its safe to say that few would have guessed that the Olli-to-Wisnom connection would pay dividends on two occasions.
Shamrock took the lead against the run of play when Rovers lost the ball in midfield. Their quick counter lead to a 1 v 1 which left Messmer with little chance to save. We re-grouped when the midfield duo of Holmberg and Catania, solid in his Rover debut, began to apply sustained pressure on the Shamrock back line. A MacKinnon through ball released Wisnom down the right flank from where he crossed a dangerous ball into the proverbial mixer. Oren, who was unlucky to have not scored in his Rover debut, met the cross with a solid full volley that unfortunately went right to the keeper who somehow managed to parry it over the bar. Just prior, Wisnom had been denied by the post when his lovely curler struck the upright. Soon, though, we equalized when Olli sent in a corner to the near post for Wisnom to bundle home.
Minutes into the 2nd half, we took the lead when Olli served a driven free kick from the left side that found Wisnom, who neatly volleyed his second of the match into the lower left corner. 2-1 Rovers. We maintained the lead until the last 10 minutes when a phantom foul went against Carl. Shamrock's free kick found their attacker at the penalty spot, unmarked and offside, and he just managed to get the ball over Messmer for the equalizer. And while we came away with only a point, Rovers can take heart that they dominated possesion for long spells and created more clear cut chances.
Squad: Michael Messmer, Eric Butte, Carl Gajewski, Russell Davies, Olli Heralla, Martin MacKinnon, Gary Sisto, Par Holmberg, Joe Catania, Kevin O'Donovan, Oren Becher, Pat Wisnom, Dom Stiller
9/24/06, Randalls 20
Rovers 1
Pele Masters 2
Goal: Oren Becher
Pele Masters, perennial league toppers, were ripe for the taking but Rovers were unable to finish them off and succumbed to a late goal. Following a questionable goal early on, Rovers quickly replied when a Pat Wisnom cross was met by Oren Becher who scored his first ever Rover goal. The 2nd half saw Rovers apply much pressure on Pele with Becher, Wisnom and Par all coming agonizingly close without actually scoring. Somehow, a speculative long ball from the keeper managed to get by the Rover defenders as well as Messmer and find its way into the back of the net. I will add that no referee showed up and each team had to provide a ref for each half.
Squad: Messmer, Stiller, O'Donovan, Gajewski, MacKinnon, Catania, Heralla, Butte, Sisto, Keogh, Holmberg, Wisnom, Bowley, Becher,
10/01/06, Randalls 13/14
Rovers 1
Gjoa 2
Goal: Russell Davies
To add insult to the 8:00 kickoff, the ref didn't show up for the 2nd week in a row. WTF?! This time, some Gjoa dude reffed the match. We took control early on with Par, Joe, Teddy and Keogh nicely combining in midfield to create early chances. In one movement, Keogh soloed to the byline where he put the ball across goal to Davies who calmly knocked the ball home from close range. Next up was the torrential downpour that you heard about earlier from Juan and Malky. During said downpour, the ref called a harsh peno against us that Gjoa were able to get past Butte, subbing in for a wayward Messmer who was off at the Valley watching cellar-dwellers Charlton succumb to the Arse. Following 30 minutes of heavy rain, the pitch was unplayable and perhaps the match should have been abandoned at halftime. We soldiered on with myself in goal for the 2nd half. It was impossible to play proper football given all the puddles on the pitch and much like the Pele match the week prior, we lost on late breakaway. That said, we had the opportunities to win all of our three matches this season and look to make amends against der Gottschee this coming Sunday.
Butte, Gajewski, Stiller, Heralla, MacKinnon, Eisenman, Catania, Holmberg, O'Donovan, Keogh, Davies, Sikora
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