FC77 Rangers 4:2 Hawks

FC77 Rangers 4 - 2 Hawks

(Switzer 5'; Sibanda 35'; King 60' and 75')

Match Day Five saw the Rangers travel north to Devereaux Field in Vancouver, Washington to play against new squad Hawks. With a new team, it is hard to size up the opposition. There is no history to draw upon and no previous match-ups to reference or compare. That leaves two means at a manager's disposal to evaluate the competition:

1. Compare the mascots. While this may seem silly, a lot can be gleaned from a squad's mascot. For example, here is a Ranger, albeit from the epic movie trilogy "Lord of the Rings":

Note the steely gaze, the bloodlusting berserker expression and the huge weaponry. This is not someone you want to mess with, 'cause he will get all medieval on your ass. Like an FC77 Ranger.

Now let's have a look at a Hawk, albeit from the final, terrible season of the television series "Buck Rogers":

Frustrated expression. "Mature", graying/silver mane. Tries to repel an attack from Buck Rogers when he comes into his territory but ultimately fails. Like, well, a Hawk.

2. The other way to assess your competition is a totally excellent scouting report from another manager, so full FC77 props to Fred Schroeder at Wolfhounds FC who broke down the opposition like this: Stop "Fernando", the primary striker who is all about possession, and the rest will fall in line...

Starting XI:

Silverman, goalkeeper

Pullen - DeBar - Seaton, fullbacks

Calkins, holding midfielder

Burden - Radigan - Muralt - Ingersoll, midfielders

Bennouri - Switzer, strikers

Reserves: King, Sibanda, Fahrbach, Vogel

As a cold wind howled across the field just north of the mighty Columbia River, the squads got under way at 10:00 a.m. under leaden skies. Strangers in a strange land, 'Gers patiently waited for the opposition to fumble their possession before going straight on the offensive. Radigan's long pass down the left flank to Ingersoll was a bit long, but it signaled intent. Thus was born a match of contrasting styles: Slow putter pass build-up vs. give and GOOOO! Rangers first forays were threatening and earned a corner kick in the fifth minute. Burden served up a dangerous ball into the mixer that the Hawks couldn't clear. Bennouri and Switzer pounced from outside the six yard box, with Switzer getting a right foot to it, smashing the ball just inside the far upright for the first score of the morning. The rush of hot-blooded awesomeness warmed up the bench and the match began to fall into a more familiar pattern of midfield control and passing. Hawk forward Fernando broke loose on a long ball and equalized around the twentieth minute. Lesson learned, 'Gers regrouped and kept a closer eye on their main striker, and he was kept pretty quiet for the rest of the half. A later foray looked threatening for Hawks but the combined efforts of Pullen, Calkins, and Seaton triple-teaming stripped him of the ball before Silverman had to respond.

Sibanda put the Yellow and Black ahead around the thirty-fifth minute with a goal that would be a Goal of the Season contender if we actually did Goals of the Season. After intercepting the keeper's clearance about forty yards out, Sibanda dribbled unopposed toward the sticks before unleashing a monster knuckle ball from approximately thirty yards out. The ball made maybe one rotation from the time it left his boot until it hit the net, just under the crossbar. Also adding to the general awesomeness of the strike was the keeper diving and missing it, which always makes a goal look even more dramatic. The half-time whistle found the visitors just getting warmed up--figuratively and literally--and the sense in the huddle was that more goals were to come.

Of course, we were right. King, sporting brand new boots for the first time, got 'em good and dirty with a goal around the hour mark. Ingersoll's cross from the outside corner found Radigan's head, who redirected the ball onto King's feet. In turn, King made sure the opposition's net wasn't too lonely by shooting low and to the right of the lunging keeper, who looked up in frustration as the Yellow and Black celebrated a third goal. Not ready to yield just yet, Hawks went long to Fernando again and he soft-shoed down the north sideline before crossing into the middle. A Hawk got a small chip on it and the shot arched weirdly up into the net. King earned his brace and killed the game off about fifteen minutes from time when a skittering pass bounced up on his chest and appeared to be stuck there for about three strides as he bounded toward the net. Isolated, King beat him left (I think).

Hawks again tried to answer with the "Fernando Factor" and another long ball. Silverman had other ideas and came far out of the box and into the corner to slide tackle the ball out of touch. In the process, he up-ended Fernando pretty good and the talismanic striker was down on the ground for a long period of time. A really long period of time. 'Cause you know, it's hard for a striker to score when he can't stand up. Then when he got up, limping, he did something to aggravate the referee and earned a yellow card for dissent. He was only fifty percent after that and DeBar, Muralt, Fahrbach, Calkins, Pullen, and Seaton all ensured his involvement was marginalized. The final whistle came soon thereafter and the teams retreated to relatively warmth of their respective vehicles.

The other really notable feature of the match was the passing. Man, we were on! We had the short game, give-and-gos, crossing, and wing runs all working very smoothly. Consecutive strings of seven and eight passes were not uncommon and the runs down the line seemed like a sure bet most of the morning. All in all it was a fine outing to exorcise the demons from another recent road trip...argh! Salem!...and prove 'Gers can play their game anytime, anywhere...

...that there isn't guard towers. Sorry. I'll stop now.

Match notes...The Rangers Supporters Corps was three hardy souls, consisting of Seaton's family and Bennouri's toddler daughter, who actually knows more about the footy than most soccer moms and is an awesome little cheerleader...Thanks to Vogel for keeping an eye on the Littlest Bennouri after he subbed out with an aggravated hamstring; he could have gone home, but he made sure she wasn't by herself when he daddy was on the pitch...Match attendance was estimated at two dozen, with a large number of Hawk supporters in the north WSD Stand...and yes, in case you were wondering, Ingersoll did put a left-footed volley shot over the woodwork early in the second half; thanks to both of you who voted for that last week...

Next Match:

FC77 Rangers v. No Subs

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Montessori Earth School

10:00 AM KO