FC77 Rangers 1:2 No Subs

FC77 Rangers 1 - 2 No Subs

(Radigan 15')

Note: Soundtrack included in the match video above does include profanity.

All of the ingredients for a classic match were in place. The pitch was freshly mowed, slick and fast. The lines at the Montessori Earth School were straight and true, unlike the usually wavy field markings which give our field so much character. The morning air was mild, with just a hint of moisture in the wind. Fifteen Rangers showed up to do battle on Match Day Six with longtime foes No Subs, eager to make up for a previous spring season home and away series with them that, poetically speaking, sucked ass. The resulting ninety minutes had all the stuff of legends. A brilliant goal. Crunching tackles. A yellow card and oh-so-close to a red. Epic saves in the box...

Everything except the proper final score.

Starting XI:

Silverman, goalkeeper

Pullen - Bauman - Seaton, fullbacks

Calkins, holding midfielder

Burden - Radigan - Snyder - Ingersoll, midfielders

McConnachie - Sibanda, strikers

Reserves: Bennouri, Switzer, DeBar, King

It was apparent from the opening three minutes that this match was going to be aggressive and scrappy. The wet grass practically begged for slide tackles and, if that wasn't motivation enough, the turf made the footing precarious for most of the players and going to ground became a function of Newtonian physics as opposed to a conscious choice. Several early runs were sidetracked--derailed, one could say--by the ground and the ball seemed to have a mind of its own as it skipped, slid and rolled from boot to foot to head to knee. Both sides proved to be evenly matched and a No Subs thrust was parried by the 'Gers backline, while an FC77 run was neutralized by the maroon-clad defenders. Sibanda worked hard to switch the play from sideline to sideline and get guys into space. Around the fifteenth minute Radigan broke the stalemate with his sixth goal of the campaign. Burden (I think, help me out if I'm wrong) fed a stinger pass to him and Radigan obliged. It was a cracker of a skip shot from outside the box that flashed across the goalkeeper, flatfooting him, and crashed into the back left corner of the net. No Subs was stunned at the mid- distance blast and quickly began forming up their ranks to respond.

Respond they did, albeit in the least likely way. Around the thirtieth minute one of their strikers received a diagonal pass from the outside and, aided by the slick grass, found himself all alone in front of 'Gers net. His attempt to pass the ball into our net was stymied by the same slick turf that got him free in the first place and literally three feet from goal, the ball became entangled in his boots. It bounced up and away as he cursed in frustration and several 'Gers defenders slid in to clear the ball away. As the Nike T-90 bounced haphazardly from leg to foot to player, it popped out to the about the penalty spot where a No Subs midfielder got a good swing and put it into the net.

There were tackles. So many tackles. One challenge begat another. When in doubt, slide it out. It wasn't a prizefight, it was a street fight, and every run of passes ended with studs up or a man down. Silverman wiped out a solo forward who thought to chip him from just outside the box, sending his arching shot into the safety netting. King and Ingersoll tried to run through a bouncing ball in the middle and get a lucky bounce past the keeper, but the resulting play ended in four or five guys flailing on the ground and the ball skittering away. When Oscar the referee blew for half-time with the scoreline at 1-1, both sides were muddied and sore. Of all the match ups in the Rose City O-30 Third, this was probably the most evenly contested. It would probably take one little bit of luck or one moment of fortune to tilt the precarious balance.

No Subs went on the offensive in the second half and a free kick near the top of 'Gers box required Silverman to make a freakin' brilliant one handed save to put the second effort over the bar. 'Gers started with the short pass game that favored them in the past. No Subs would go long ball, only to have Pullen, DeBar, Seaton, Bauman or Calkins introduce them to the sod. Rangers started having more luck on the sidelines and kept pressing...pressing...pressing. A foul on Bennouri was answered by the offending No Subs player with a mocking display of diving, earning him a yellow card and a warning from the official to shut up: "Do you want me to give you a red?" He did not and subbed out. With many of the home side moving forward to support another attack on the Powell Street End, No Subs kicked it out to the right and found one of their quicker strikers with some space. He ran onto the ball and after a thirty yard sprint to the posts slotted it home. 2-1 with maybe twenty-five minutes to go.

'Gers began an all-out assault on the No Subs goal, with many yellow shirts making forays into the box. Radigan and McConnachie connected for a promising run along the left sideline, with McConnachie making a sharp cut toward the box as their right back and the right wing hacked him to the ground, forcing him to sub off. Despite FC77 protests that it was a penalty, video review shows the grievous foul occurring just outside the box. Switzer's free kick curled toward the far corner but was just a little long. Ingersoll and Radigan tried to connect on another cross into the box that was just out of reach. King finally sprang the No Subs offside trap in the 86th with a thundering run through their backs, alone one on one with the keeper. His blast smashed off the left upright and bounced back, but maroon hearts were beating fast. Another late cross found Radigan beating his marker and slamming a header on goal...but the No Subs keeper was well-placed and collected.

The final whistle was not a happy sound for the home side and the second defeat of the season did not sit well with the squad. One could argue that a 1-2 loss was a marked improvement over the 1-7 and 1-4 drubbings from the spring, but who are we kidding? We hate to lose. We really hate to lose to No Subs. I would bet that every single player would say that No Subs is bar none Rangers' greatest rival now. (Hmm...what a great poll question...) 'Gers still stand a good chance of playing in the championship, but the next three matches are key. Will this loss be the catalyst for some of the most epic football ever seen at the MES? Or will this be the beginning of the end?

What will it be, boys?

Match notes...Attendance was estimated at approximately 18...Videography courtesy of the lovely Becki Ingersoll...One of the Nike balls lost over the fence two weeks ago against Wolfhounds FC was happily returned, resulting in a a net loss of only four balls thus far...but I forgot to pick up my camp chair before I left, so I lost that, too...Match footage background music is the Giraffe's "Man U"...No offense James, but it is a perfect song for all of the carnage depicted in the video...

Next Match:

FC77 Rangers v. Symmetry Northwest

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Montessori Earth School

10:00 AM KO