FC77 Rangers 2:3 Controlled Chaos

FC77 Rangers 2 - 3 Controlled Chaos

(Radigan 55', 65')

Match Day One of the GPSD spring season greeted the newly promoted FC77 Rangers with fine spring weather, a lush pitch that had mostly straight, visible paint lines, and the promise of another great campaign. Sure, there were a lot of flying ants around and some toilet paper in the club outhouse would have been nifty, too, but the Sunday afternoon air was pleasantly warm and had just a hint of menthol muscle rub to it. It promised great things for the Yellow and Black as they began their quest to reclaim their birthright trophy and lustily proclaim their awesomeness to the rest of the Over 30, Second Division Rose City table. It was the kind of day where you wished for acrobatic hat tricks and bicycle kicks and a 6-0 score line to get the season-long party started right. Unfortunately, if wishes were ponies, we'd all be knee deep in horse sh*t. The final result may not have been what 'Gers wanted, but the second half showed that there is much more footballing greatness to come.

Starting XI:

Silverman, goalkeeper

Pullen - Bauman - Calkins, fullbacks

Gaffney, holding midfielder

Burden - Muralt - Radigan - Ingersoll, midfielders

Switzer - McConnachie, strikers

Reserves: Fahrbach, Seaton, Foubister, Freiwat, Snyder, King, Bennouri

Controlled Chaos, our former foe in the Fall 2008 Division Championship at Delta Strasser field, was a recent addition to the newly formed O-30 Second Rose City from the older O-30 Third Portland table. Sporting their trademark blues, they took the opening kick-off and immediately sought to dictate the pace of the match with smart play through the middle and feeds to their bald high striker, "Drogba". The two sides battled relatively evenly for the first fifteen minutes with each side looking to play a fast through ball behind the fullbacks. Chaos got the first break of the afternoon off a set play (a throw-in, wasn't it?) that bounced with uncharacteristic spring off the firm pitch, looped over our back line, and found a runner on the back post.

'Gers regrouped and, with more substitutes than ever before, continued a spirited series of challenges on the midfield and flanks. The wingers found some real estate along the edges and probed down to the corner flags, often getting a rambling tackle on the end of the run. Chaos went back to the middle and found "Drogba" near the top of the box, who fired a strike inside the left post to make it 2-0. A third goal around the 40th minute off a rebound made it 3-0 as the referee blew an end to the first half. A lot of teams would have wilted and just started kicking long balls to clear it out and hope for a random chance in the second 45. Those teams are not FC77 Rangers.

Once the Yellow and Black started to play their game, it was a much different result. Even the bounces started to go our way, unlike the first half, as challenges would result in the ball landing at the feet of the away side, not Chaos'. Bennouri, streaking down the left sideline, received a beautiful ball from (Freiwat?) the midfield and, despite Chaos' protests, did not get blown for offsides as he surged toward the goal. Turning the right back, he fired a beautiful worm-burner perpendicular to the face of the goal and past the collapsing sweeper. Ron King executed the most convincing dummy in the history of soccer and graciously allowed Radigan to kill off the move with an assured strike into the net. 1-3 makes for a better score line...

...but 2-3, as Bauman roared from the sideline, "now we got a game!" Ten minutes after scything through the tiring opposition, Rangers surged forward again and brought numbers to bear on the defensive line. Radigan was again the recipient of a well-played pass and he worked his way through the center-right of the Powell Street End goal box until it was just him and the goalkeeper. "Hello Kitty" waited for the keeper to lunge before giving him "two for flinching" with another blast into the net. Momentum was definitely on the side of FC77 and the team spent much of the next twenty-five minutes laying siege to the Chaos goal mouth, intercepting he keeper punts, surging forward, and trying desperately to find the equalizer. When Chaos did break forward to counter, Calkins, Fahrbach, Seaton, Pullen, Gaffney, Snyder, and/or Bauman--or any combination of said defenders--tracked back and played safety first clearances or clattered into the playmaker to disrupt the flow. Silverman only had to make two or three saves the entire second half, I believe, including one very sure-handed grab from a corner that resounded with a forceful Swack! when he grabbed it.

Sadly, the third goal was not to be found. Despite convincing ownership of the midfield and a lion's share of the possession, the finish to any number of surging runs was not to include the ball in the "back of the ol' onion bag!" (Tommy Smyth of ESPN, I hate you.) Good movement, passing and crosses into the mixer will yield better fruits later on in the season, but it was just a little early to harvest this crop of well-deserved tie. Switzer even proved his dedicated to the cause by damn near concussing himself and the opposition number 18 with a jaw-achingly harsh collision that left them both sprawled out in the goal box for a good three or four minutes. It did warm the manager's heart to hear someone--I can't remember who--ask as the two injured players staggered to their feet, "So what's the call? Is it a penalty?"

Sadly, it was not. Rangers made two more chances off set plays to finish the match, but this season--not unlike the previous two spring season First Kicks--ended in disappointment. Still heartened by a lot of positives, especially in the second half, Rangers look forward to Match Day Two...but nobody would mind if there wasn't as many swarming insects.

Match notes...Rangers welcomed Hanny Freiwat from FC77 Newcastle...Attendance was estimated at a heady 13-15...Manager Sean won the coin toss for the first time since the Bush administration, so he was glad he asked Silverman which side he wanted to defend first!...Next week's opponent, FC Hut Old Boys, is a new addition to the division and no scouting report is available...Thanks to Connor Foubister for taking photographs and to Ron Burden for also providing action shots available to view via Snapfish (see link in previous team email)...

Next Match:

FC77 Rangers v. FC Hut Old Boys

Sunday, 18 April, 2010

Montessori Earth School

4:00 KO - Be there at 3:30!