Results: R2D2 - 10/19/08 State Cup Rd 1

R2D2: Rovers not Divers - By Nicolas

R2D2 goes down in penalty shoot out after thrilling 2-2 (1-3) tie against a water polo team.

The Sirens are one of these teams that can go from being very solid to being below average, depending on their line up and their ability to fool the referee with systematic diving. R2D2 had suffered a very unlikely defeat against them in November 07 only to sweep them under the artificial turf a few months later in the Spring. Considering the Sirens's very average record this season though, it was with a prudent confidence that R2D2 stepped on the Pier 40 field at 9:10 pm on Sunday. Note to all of you out there: its getting really cold for evening games right now so bring your blanket and some mulled wine if you ever have to go watch one.

R2D2 took early control of the game with great passing between the back and midfield lines. The size of the Pier 40 pitch was however making it difficult to progress as far up the field as we wanted (you can easily fit 2 Randall's field in one Pier 40 field and the transition from one to the other is quite a shock). Having developed a fantastic game of quick short passes to the feet over the past 6 games, the ladies were a little disoriented with the space to cover. The midfield line was often playing too low leaving the strikers too far from the Sirens' goal to be a real threat. Little by little, though, we pushed the game up with Caroline using the stopper position to move up through the middle and Bridget recovering deep balls and setting up Dani and Courtney on the back flanks. The action focused for a while on the right side of the field were Emily was working her ass off covering distance and cutting through the defense with her trademark right to left move. About 15 minutes in, a quick passing combination on the right side saw Lindsay who had cut right from her offensive mid position, receive a ball on the goal line. In the corner of her eye she saw Kerri piercing diagonally through the defense, delivered a perfect assist to the top of the penalty box which Kerri struck in one time. R2D2 1-Sirens 0 and 6 goals for Kerri in 3 games. For the next 12 to 15 minutes, R2D2 kept on bringing the danger in front of the Sirens' goal but without being able to conclude. Lissa, Amy and Emily, time after time managed to run into space to receive wide balls down the field and cross them in the box. The Sirens were however very disciplined in their defending and we were just too slow in delivering the last passes allowing them to close down on us. The story was the same through the middle were we too often got stuck with the ball not having any space to move it in or to take a shot. For their part, the Sirens were mostly playing the counter and playing it smart. As we were fighting to fight a way through the defense time and again, our midfield slowly lost its positioning and got pulled really far up the field, leaving huge gaps in the center. The sirens were using these to outnumber us in quick counters. With the pressure on them the defense lost a bit of its passing accuracy and of its positioning. A missed clearance landed in the feet of Leslie about 25 yards out (Leslie we are sorry the roster was full and we could not sign you up – maybe next season? – please don't take any of the comments about the Sirens personally, we didn't see you dive once and we know you are not a whiner, plus that goal was great, thank god Emily scored one too to balance the roommates count) who struck a powerful high ball which dipped just under the bar. Emily (the other one, our star goalie) had managed to grow about 3 inches for a formidable flying save last week but this one was just too high and she just couldn't jump high enough to stop it. R2D2 1 – Sirens 1. Shaken but not stirred, R2D2 reacted and launched a series of attack in the last 10 minutes. Most noticeably, a give and go between Bridget, Caroline and Courtney launched Bridget down the left flank, another give and go with the midfield and she was all the way down the line before being literally pushed out of bounds with both hands by a defender who the proceeded to kick the ball in a corner. Amazingly, Bridget not only managed to stay on her feet after the obvious foul but did not even start crying and whining. Even more amazingly the foul was thus never called. Note to R2D2: yes it is true, one does not get free kick in some of these games without falling and crying but admit it ladies, it feels so much better to know we can actually stand on our feet without tripping ourselves…

Half time break was used to reinsert discipline in the formation and tighten up the midfield and fill the gaps on the pitch. And it worked perfectly. For over 30 minutes, R2D2 got about 75 % possession of the ball. In the center, Steph was having the game of her Rovers' career, owning the space like it was hers and recovering every single ball, pairing highly efficiently with Lindsay and Lauren. On the right side, Mary, Emily and Amy were exploding the Sirens' full back, getting through every single time and allowing Lara and Kerri to isolate themselves in front of the goal. Yet again we were holding to the ball just too long and cutting it back across the box after the Sirens had had the time to regroup. A quick word to Amy and Emily from the sidelines and the next give and go brought Amy and the full back to the corner spot while Emily cut left from the far right of the field towards the right top corner of the box. Faking a cross Amy passed the ball back to Emily in the opened space, one touch control on the 18 yards line and Emily curled a perfect left foot through the defense, across the goal and into the small side of the net. R2D2 2 – Sirens 1. Less than 2 minutes later Amy gave the perfect assist through two defenders to Kerri who was coming in diagonally on the blind side of the defense. Kerri took it on her own, drove it down towards the goal but hurried a little her shot as she was being roughly sandwiched and the goalie managed to catch it. With about 10 minutes to go, the Sirens decided to give the game their guts and the rest. It was an impressive display of will and we would honestly have praised them for their attempt to comeback in the game it had they remembered that we were playing soccer and not a mix of water polo and cry baby cry game. Alright I admit, I am a little bitter but still, one has rarely seen so much whining and moaning and rolling around in such a little time. The Sirens' bench made up of 5 loud guys was helping its suddenly falling players by constantly calling for fouls and bullying the ref who was about 5 yards away from them. The recipe is as old as the game: foul, trip, push your opponent but then dive immediately behind it so as to make believe you were fouled, and preferably do it as a pack an just in front of the box or even inside it. And boy did they dive. And boy did they moan. And boy did the referee fall for it. All the sudden, it was raining Sirens. R2D2 confused by the blatantness of the cheating and the weakness of the ref lost a bit of its composure. In less than 8 minutes, the Sirens managed to fool the referee into obtaining 5 very dangerous and completely ludicrous free kicks. With less than 2 minutes left, the fifth free kick proved worth the ugly game and the Sirens equalized. R2D2 2,- Sirens 2. R2D2 rushed back and managed to construct 3 attacks in the last seconds of the game and Caroline last shot of the game just very nearly nearly nearly got us the win but missed the post by just inches. Up to penalty kicks it was and let's just say we need to practice those. At the end of the game, the referee who had been pretty good up to the last 10 minutes of the game, looking guilty as sin and very embarrassed came to me and apologized for the free kicks he gave away…. Do I need to say more?

R2D2, the league game against the Sirens is on the 9th of November at New Utrecht at 1 pm. You know what to do.

Line up: Emily B, Bridget, Courtney, Daniele, Mary, Caroline, Steph, Lauren, Lindsay, Lissa, Emily, Amy, Kerri, Lara.