Han River Harriers

Han River Harriers vs. Seoul Celtic Hounds
9th November 2003

Randal Smith

Let’s have no tired clichés about four leaf clovers or “the luck o’ the Irish” within earshot of Seoul Celtic players this week. If you’re lucky all you’ll get is a rueful smile. At least six of their attempts went just wide of goal while the rest were blocked by resolute defending on the part of the Han River Harriers. Evan Hale’s 88th minute goal for the win was an almost inevitable conclusion to a day where nothing seemed to go right for the Hounds.

At least the weather was pleasant; in stark contrast was the woeful condition of the Sinsa pitch which had the feel underfoot of a beach at low tide. Many players came away sporting skid marks and raspberries from sliding on gravel.

There was almost an air of routine about the game that prevailed during the first period and much of the second. Certain players from both teams appeared listless and there was nothing of the shouting and fire one comes to expect from any game involving an Irish team. Lawrence Heavey, as always, was the exception both in his aggressive play and attitude. At times he treads the line between spiritedness and belligerence but there is no doubting his commitment to winning. The Harriers needed him today.

Custer, Seoul Celtic’s burley center forward, had the first opportunity of the match with one of his trademark blasts from centerfield. His marker was taken aback by the quickness of Custer’s release as the ball hammered the crossbar. Despite this early attempt Custer was uncharacteristically subdued throughout the game. On a good day he has the ability to overrun opposing defensemen with his size and power but on this Sunday the Harrier’s Kevin Kowell, not a small man himself, kept Custer in check.

The second period began like the first, with a few half-hearted rallying cries that failed to inspire either team. About fifteen minutes later all that changed. David Shin of the Harriers, making a run up the left side, was brought down by Noel Raggot (a.k.a. “Raggs”), a mainstay of the Hound’s defense. After the whistle blew for the foul Raggs, out of frustration, petulantly jabbed the ball at David who was still prone. In his greater judgment the ref decided to let the incident pass; but this was not good enough for Evan who brushed past Raggs and with his beefy frame gave the defenseman a not-so-subtle bump in the back which knocked him down. Shouts for red cards by both sides ensued but were met by the bemusement of referee Mark Taylor who told everyone in no uncertain terms to stop fussing about and get on with playing football. In like fashion Mark kept a lid on what was to develop into an emotionally charged game.

It may have been a storm in a teacup but the incident fired up both teams, especially the main protagonists, Raggs and Evan. A visible change could be seen in Ragg’s game. For the remainder of the match he was by far the most threatening Celtic player, winning headers in the back, storming down the pitch, and launching long curving crosses to his center forwards.

The Hounds completely dominated the second period and had numerous shots on target and several through-balls just miss their intended recipients racing for goal. Loic Robert, undoubtedly one of the most talented keepers in the league, was constantly leaping for shots and scooping up loose balls. More than once a ball skirted the goal mouth just past or even between the legs of frantic Harrier defensemen. Art Oestrike almost got himself an own goal in one such incident. Lawrence was in the corner battling with a Celtic forward when the ball suddenly spun loose, past Randal Smith, past Kevin, to a startled Art who instinctively kicked it away… in the direction of his own net. The ball kissed the post and rolled just wide.

By this time the Harriers had lost all composure and resorted to hoofing the ball downfield in hopes either Sean Freer or Evan might get a lucky break. Randal and Trent Anderson during this “darkest half hour” were the only two still committed to a passing game. It was a thankful Harrier team that heard the whistle to end the second period.

While the Celtics dominated in the second period it was the Harriers who owned the third. On the way to the pitch before the game one Celtic player remarked that he played on a “drinking team with a soccer problem”. Whether it was due to drinking the night before or something more nefarious the Irish seemed to run out of steam in the final period of the game. One-touch chips from their flanks to their strikers (a preferred Celtic tactic) were off just enough to allow Lawrence and Randal to head them away; moreover, their shots on goal lacked intent – most sailed harmlessly over the crossbar.

Except one, that is. A waist level blast from none other than Custer cut through the crowd in front of the Harrier net only to be saved at the last moment by Randal who selflessly threw his groin in front of the ball. He welcomes all of you to his upcoming performance with the Vienna Boys choir.

The last real chance for the Hounds came via a free-kick from Abo, their expert in this area. It was either a very poor shot or an inspired pass but instead a shooting towards net Abo blasted a hard ball just to left of the wall in front of him towards his teammate Dennis cutting in from the left. Randal positioned just behind the wall stretched vainly for it so it was left to an alert Loic to snatch the ball up just before it was set upon by the opposition.

Perhaps in recognition of the World Cup of Rugby presently taking place in Australia the Hounds had a rather stout prop in their back rank. At one point he managed to take Evan by the scruff of the neck and force him to ground (not an easy thing to do!). At another he wrapped his arm around Sean’s waist as the speedy winger tried to slip by with a cheeky shimmy. Being a Kiwi Sean was not at all surprised by this and responded with a strait arm to the big man’s chest followed by a side-footer to Evan who banged a short range curling shot just inside the post. Surely a goal, but at the last moment the Celtic keeper leapt outstretched to bat the ball out of touch; a spectacular save.

To all on the field it appeared as if both teams had battled each other to a standstill. About three minutes was all that remained when a seemingly innocuous loose ball landed at Hassan Kajee’s feet. He promptly dispatched it to David who carried it three steps down the left side then passed it to Evan. Evan, with his low center of gravity, deftly cut past his marker and expertly curved the ball around the diving Irish goalie, an almost exact replica of the goal Sean scored against the Jokers in the championship game of the KICS Peace Cup in Paju. For the Harriers, with an embarrassing loss two weeks prior and a heartbreaking loss last Sunday, the win couldn’t have come at a better time. It proved once again that when their game is on the Harriers are capable of beating any team in the league.