FC77 Rangers 3:2 Highlanders

FC77 Rangers 3 - 2 Highlanders

(Sibanda 15', Radigan 25', Switzer 35')

Match Day Seven looked a lil' somethin' like this...

Based upon the team names alone, this one was destined to be epic! In the inaugural clash of killer Scottish team-inspired mascot images featuring bad-ass dudes with really gigantic swords, only one side would leave the field victorious. The only way to defeat an immortal from the north is to cut the head off...or, score three really brilliant goals in quick succession and then hang on for dear life in the second half. FC77 chose the latter.

Starting XI:

Silverman, goalkeeper

Fahrbach - Calkins - Seaton, fullbacks

Burden - Radigan - Sibanda - Muralt - Freiwat, midfielders

Switzer - Ingersoll, strikers

Reserves: We don't need no stinking reserves! Well, actually we really did, but we didn't have them, so...whatever.

Glorious temperatures in the mid-70s greeted both sides at the Montessori Earth School, but frequent spring rains and constant match scheduling left the pitch in ragged condition. Honestly, it smelled like a tidal basin at low tide or perhaps Tillamook County two days after a flood. Dem's powerful stinky! Once the burning in your eyes subsided, 'Gers came out for the second match in a row in their sexy black away kits and were tasked by their manager to come out with more vigor and urgency than against Bridgetown. Responding accordingly, FC77 went right to work with the short passing game down the outside...and found that their opponents did much the same thing! With identical tactical strategies in play, the difference was to be made in the individual efforts of the players. While 'Gers looked threatening from the get-go, it was the Highlanders who took first blood when a breakaway along the far sideline yielded two shots on Silverman. The keeper was able to smash the first one away, but the poor field conditions sent the ball back to the feet of the striker and a second rebound shot proved net-bound. 0-1 after just ten minutes.

Undaunted, FC77 continued their scrappy style of play and soon found a good percentage of the possession in the Highlander's end, defending the Division Street End. While the wings were promising, the equalizer was found when Muralt clipped a medium-distance pass to Ingersoll, who turned and chested it down just outside the top of the box. Back to the goal, he found Sibanda flashing towards the middle and dropped off a tidy ball to him which he hit first-time. The shot careened off a central defender and caught the keeper flat-footed as it skittered just inside the right upright. 1-1 after fifteen minutes.

Newly flush with momentum, 'Gers went back to work and again found inroads toward the goal. After referee Antonio called Highlanders for a free kick approximately 20-25 yards from the goal, Muralt stepped up and arced a dangerous free kick over the wall. It was looking goal-bound as it arched toward the upper right corner, but just to make sure, Radigan crashed the six yard box and bashed the shot home past the keeper with an authoritative header. In just ten minutes 'Gers had gone from a goal down to a goal up and were passing with some confidence.

The third goal came just scant minutes after that. 'Gers claimed possession inside the center circle and the midfield (Muralt again?) chipped up a lovely deep ball just past the shoulder of the left back. Ingersoll surged forward and, happy with the bounce, dribbled frantically toward the goal with the defense closing. About twelve yards out as the keeper started to cut the angle, Ingersoll heard Switzer making his run to the box and slashed a perpendicular ground ball back in the general direction of his voice. Switzer beat his marker by a foot or two and finished the play with a pass into an almost empty net. 3-1, 35th minute.

With Burden and Freiwat getting some space on their respective wings and working both sidelines, this spread the back line out and allowed 'Gers the opportunity for a few more long ball forays. Maybe five minutes before halftime, Ingersoll got another hero run at the frame and was denied a goal of his own by the Highlander keeper's highlight reel save. Closing the distance, he took Ingersoll's shot at point-blank range off the chest, at which point the ball was then shuttled back to the outside by the tracking backs.

Highlanders got a second in the fortieth off circumstances that elude me, but I seem to recall there was some pinballing around the penalty spot and then maybe the ball was kicked back out to the top of the box for a blast to the right...? Or am I confusing this with a goal from my daughter's Classic match this morning? They sometimes blur together.

Regardless, it was 3-2 at the half-time and if the emphasis was on the offense for the first 45 minutes, it was the defense's time to shine in the second half. Seaton, Fahrbach and Calkins proved a dynamic trio on the back line and their robust "bend but not break" strategy frustrated the Highlanders until the final whistle. This partnership is even more impressive given the fact that Calkins was playing sick. Or maybe he is going to karaoke to Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis Eyes" and really wanted to get into character. Either way, he is more man than I am when I recently got sick and wilted like a flower. Whatever. Forcing the home side to shoot frequently from middle distances, many strikes went wide until the seventieth minute...at which point they started to get on frame with unnerving frequency and put Silverman to the test. Silverman responded in kind with approximately a dozen saves, rivaling his efforts against the Hut Old Boys. Highlanders got a lot of corners during this roughly 80-20% possession advantage and forced the goalie to slap, punch, even deflect a shot from the three yard line with the back of his melon. Radigan and Muralt frequently dropped back to plug the box during the flurry of set plays. Burden went up over his marker to head out a long cross in the 75th. The fullbacks seemed to be all over the last twenty-five yards, throwing themselves at every wild shot and leaving it all on the field.

'Gers tried to catch the opposition on a couple of notable counter-attacks. Freiwat got open on the right side on two occasions and fed the ball forward down the line or back to Radigan and/or Sibanda, who had well-established their dominance in the mire-choked middle of the field. Ingersoll got a cross to Radigan's head and his strike was just over the bar. Likewise, Burden found some real estate of his own on the left on several occasions and did an excellent job tracking back on defense as circumstances required.

Without substitutes, the warm weather started to take its toll. Seaton went down with leg cramps and play was suspended while 'Gers worked to get him standing again. Ingersoll similarly went down with both legs locked in a C-3PO-esque manner for the last five minutes, so profuse apologies for all the suckage that happened around me as we tried to finish out the match. 'Gers were essentially playing a man down but we never panicked, the defense held their shape very nicely, and referee Antonio's final blasts of the whistle were welcomed by the boys in black. Especially Seanny, who continued to do "The Robot" until damn near bedtime. D'oh!

With a hard-fought victory and now third place in the table, 'Gers welcome to the MES league co-leaders Lager Legends (a.k.a. Tekvision) next Sunday for yet another titanic battle. Their mascot image may not feature a bad ass warrior dude with a gigantic sword, but trust me, this match will be one for the ages...

Match notes...Attendance was maybe 10-11...The Ranger Gatorade Stand made a second appearance for the season...The "sticky" Nike T-90 was officially lost over the fence during play; I'll try to find an equally tactile replacement...Videography by the lovely Becki Ingersoll is pending and will be included either in a separate post or as an update to this post if I ever figure out how TO [BLEEPING!] LOAD THE [BLEEPING!] SOFTWARE ONTO MY [BLEEPING!] COMPUTER! AAAIIIGGHHHHH!!!!!!

Next match:

FC77 Rangers v Lager Legends

Sunday, June 13th, 2010

4:00 PM KO

Montessori Earth School