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Randal Smith
Where to begin? Was it fun? Not really – not for the Harriers at least. It
was like one of those boxing matches where one guy is getting pummeled.
You just want it to end.
Was it fun for Voodoo? – Perhaps, but I doubt it. There weren¡¯t too many
smiles on their faces after the final whistle blew.
If there was ever a case for dividing the league into different divisions
this game was it. Granted, we don¡¯t yet have enough teams to carry this
off but as soon as say, two more teams enter the league, it should be
considered. Mismatches like this waste everyone¡¯s time.
It¡¯s not that Voodoo is full of bad players, far from it. They¡¯re missing
about three or four key positions before their team becomes truly
competitive. As it stands they¡¯ve got a pretty decent keeper (the fellow
with the beard). He made some acrobatic saves and wasn¡¯t afraid to dive at
our strikers¡¯ feet to retrieve the ball. Believe it or not the score could
have been worse were it not for him. Secondly, the Voodoo midfield has
skilled players who managed to string together a few neat passing plays.
But these were invariably disrupted, usually by the Harrier¡¯s strong
defending but also because of inconsistent ability within their ranks.
One or two
talented strikers and a strong central defender will put Voodoo on their
way. The defenders they¡¯ve got play a gritty game but they lack for
organization. Most of the Harrier goals came from crosses headed into the
net or plays strait up the middle. So Voodoo needs someone who is not only
tall (to defend against crosses) but also someone who really knows
football, specifically the craft of defending; someone who can marshal
their defense into a cohesive unit.
Now to the goals,
and there were many.
Sean Freer opened
the scoring with diving leap into the mouth of the goal to meet a firm
cross from Christophe Garnier. Already suffering from a post birthday
hangover, the effort was enough to send him off to the sidelines to be
replaced by Joos Louwerier, our Flying Dutchman.
The second goal
came from Guillaume Cario, the Harrier¡¯s new star striker (as opposed to
Evan, our ¡°old¡± star striker). Guillaume is part of a contingent of
players from the disbanded French team who joined the Harriers this
season. They¡¯ve added a certain "je ne sais quoi" to the team¡¯s style of
play (¡°finesse¡± perhaps?). Whatever it is, it¡¯s working: our football is a
lot prettier than it was last season. There¡¯s a lot more passing, and more
invention in front of the net.
The third goal
came after Joos passed the ball to Christophe who found himself squeezed
into a corner by the opposition. A nifty pass back to Joos saved the play
and allowed Joos a speculative shot that hit the crossbar and bounced back
into Stephan and then into the net; an own goal. It was an unlucky break
for Steph who the Harriers know quite well as a UK Expat player, a team
many Harriers used to play for.
Apart from another
own goal, the rest of the first period was the ¡°Evan & Guillaume Show¡±.
Evan scored, then Guillaume scored, then Evan scored, then Guillaume
scored, then Evan scored. Let¡¯s see, that¡¯s three for Guillaume and three
for Evan in the first period – I think I got it right¡¦
At the first break
the Harriers decided that at 10-nothing they could chance giving some of
their defenders a go up front (because as everybody knows, defenders
secretly want to be strikers). In other words, the final score could have
been worse.
Anyway, what a
difference a ten minute break can make. The only goal by either side was
produced by Sylvain, the Harrier central defender, who made a dramatic
leaping header (¡°like when I was a teenager¡±) to meet Trent¡¯s picture
perfect corner kick.
It should be
mentioned that mid-way through the first period Trent produced a cracker
of a goal that was called back due to some dubious reff¡¯ing. I know
because I was the ref (you see, the linesman who was from the other team
called offside even though it patently wasn¡¯t, but I felt I couldn¡¯t
contradict him the score-line being what it was – sorry Trent.)
The second period
was also remarkable for its howlers. The worst offender was Christophe who
twice, TWICE! had the ball teed up in front of the net with only the
keeper between him and the goal, and both times he somehow managed to flub
it. As he told Evan: ¡°Your job as striker iz in no danger.¡±
The other offender
was definitely Shaun who had his second goal gift-wrapped for his
birthday. With barely five feet between him and the net he got his foot
under the ball and looped it over the crossbar. Let that be a lesson to
all you kids out there: no drinking the night before a game!
Lawrence¡¯s miss wasn¡¯t a howler because the ball was <ahem> ¡°bobbling¡±.
The third period
saw the resumption of the ¡°Evan & Guillaume Show¡±. This time the order
was: Guillaume, Evan, Evan, Guillaume, Evan, Trent <intermission>, then
Evan again. Guillaume had one spectacular header that should be mentioned
while Evan, with, count ¡®em: SEVEN goals to his name, gets the nod for
player of the match.
Other notable
mentions are:
• Michael
Cop, the Harriers¡¯s new keeper who admittedly didn¡¯t have much to do on
the day but handled the few back passes he received with aplomb.
• Christophe,
who despite the howlers worked his usual magic in midfield.
• Defensemen: Kevin Cowell, Joel, Lawrence Heavey, Sylvain, and Markus
Hatzelmann who never lost concentration and got a clean sheet for their
efforts.
¡¦and of course the
ref, who commanded the respect and authority of all, and cut a dashing
figure as he raced down the field following the line of play with his keen
and knowledgeable eye¡¦ (should I stop now?)¡¦
Man of
the Match: Evan Hale
Scorers: Evan (7), Guillaume (5), Sean, Trent, Joos, Sylvain
¡¡
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