Barnstonworth Old Boys result 3/22 by Sheero

BOB – 2 Tesoro SC – 1
The Old Boys kept the destiny of the Over-30s 2nd division in their own hands with a magnificent win over Tesoro yesterday, handing them their first league loss of the season. In a game they simply had to win, BOB battled hard for 90 minutes and deservedly closed the gap to 1 point at the top of the standings.
[“Tesoro” is apparently an Italian term of endearment meaning “loved one”, but there wasn’t much love going on during their post-match debriefing, which was still in session by the time we left Randall’s Island].
Not only was it a fantastic result, but the manner in which it was achieved was quite spectacular…
A 14-strong squad arrived at one of Randall’s Island’s new grass fields and found that although the surface was pretty good, the field itself was short and very narrow. This would hamper our game, as early on we struggled to find any space to effectively move the ball. It appeared to hand Tesoro the advantage, and they had the lion’s share of possession throughout the first half. Standing-in for yours truly (yes, yet another injury), keeper Mark Artis was mostly a spectator though as our tight midfield and back line restricted the opposition to long range potshots, most of which went well high and wide. Sub Colin, was kept busy retrieving the ball from about 40 yards behind our goal. At the other end, strikers Unmackers and Negro were having little success, as they became more and more detached from their own midfielders.
After about 20 minutes, Tesoro took the lead. From a seemingly innocuous position from the top of the box, with his back to goal, one of their strikers was given just too much space, and he managed to fashion an overhead kick which bounced up onto the far post and crept in.
Far from letting our heads drop, we used the goal as a wake-up call and became for more involved in the game. The commitment was never in question, and 50-50 tackles were being won all over the field. Our passing was still suspect though, and the temptation to hit the early long ball often too great, resulting in the opposition coming back at us. Getting close to half-time, we were finally having some joy in the opposition half, with Bazza swinging in a couple of very dangerous corners which gave the Tesoro defense all kinds of trouble.
Just a couple of minutes before half-time, a quick throw in from the right found Unmackers with enough space to turn, look up and deliver a cross into Chip at knee-level, which he beautifully steered in with a side-foot volley into the corner of the net, giving the keeper no chance. 1-1 at the half.
In the opening minutes of the 2nd half it was all Barnstonworth. We put the Tesoro defense under a lot of pressure, and they started to get in tough niggling fouls which the referee blew up for every time. On a couple of occasions, Bazza delivered into the box, but we couldn’t quite get on the end of it. Then, with a free-kick about 25 yards out hit towards the top corner, the keeper managed to get a hand on it and push it onto the bar. The ball dropped down and bounced along the line, somehow staying out. Unmackers followed up but incredibly only managed to hit post and bar. Unusually for him, it was a rare chance in the game as he became more and more isolated up front as Negro dropped deeper into midfield.
Most of the second half was ours, with very few opportunities given up – Rocco and Greg in central defense barely allowing a sniff of the goal, Mark only having to claim a couple of high crosses. As before, the effort and commitment from all 14 players could not be faulted, and we fought late into the game to get the winner. But get it we did, and how…
With just a couple of minutes left, Bazza broke from the half way line and found some space in front of him. Pushing the ball on until he was about 25 yards out, he absolutely marmalized the ball, which was still rising at it hit the back of the net just inside the right post, the keeper barely moving. Great celebrations followed – Rocco said later that it’s been many years since he’s run 50 yards to celebrate a goal. And I must apologize for embarrassing myself in front of the Central Park Rangers players arriving for their game, by running up and down the sidelines screaming like an 8 year old girl. I’m fairly sure I re-injured my ankle too.
The final whistle shortly followed – mission accomplished. I can’t say enough about the effort and belief (including me and Lordy on the sidelines)…
BOB: Mark, Rocco, Greg, Dominator, Magnus, Josh, Jeff, Chip, Bazza, Colin, Billy, Scooby, Negro, Unmackers.