Match Report:

Les HAN RIVER HARRIERS 6 - 3 St. PATRICK'S FC

Sunday, November 14-, 2004

 A bit of Harrier luck saved "les gas" from embarrassment after they squandered a two goal lead to a plucky Irish team. In the end, the Harriers beat St. Pats 6-3 in a match rife with miss-kicks and defensive errors on both sides. Neither side could be very proud of the way they played. Certainly by the end of the match the Harriers looked a little sheepish as they left the pitch with three points in their pocket.

 Only at the beginning of the game did the Harriers play well with Didi once again supplying a perfect pass from the far right which met Lionel sprinting directly at the net. The Tokyo-based Frenchman leaned in and headed the ball past the keeper: 1-nothing for the good guys.

 Also visiting from Tokyo was Gildas. He and Lionel were due to catch a plane in the afternoon so they could only play the first half. As a parting gift, Guillaume headed the ball directly to Gildas's feet in front of an open net. One touch put the score at 2 - nil.

 By this time St. Pat's striker Brian Kearney had had enough. From at least 30 yards out he cranked a low hard shot into the back of the Harriers's net. Not satisfied with that, he hammered in an almost duplicate goal to even the score.

 Brian's second goal left the Harriers flustered and almost caused them to concede yet another goal. It took some brilliance on the part of Guilaume to calm the team down. Gregoire had the ball and was weaving his way towards the box. Without pausing he laid the ball off to Guillaume. In a bit of technical surgery Guilaume slipped his markers with an 180 degree pivot at the end of which he returned the ball to Greg with a light pass using the outside of his foot. The combination put Greg in front of an open net and he made no mistake. Shortly thereafter, Greg added a second goal after he was put in the clear courtesy of a well placed through-ball from Philippe.

 At 4-2 defender Randal of the Harriers managed a breakaway and chanced an ambitious shot from just over the half-way line. Let's just say it was saved and leave it at that.

 The Harriers fifth goal was the result of a penalty. After some twisting and turning Nicolas made a sharp square pass to Guillaume just inside the top of box. A St. Pat's defender clipped Guillaume's heel in full view of Referee Will Kubicek who immediately blew his whistle and pointed at the spot. Guillaume calmly converted.

 Despite the score, it was St. Pat's who had the lion's share of possession in the second half. Not for the first time, a neat piece of trickery by members of their Columbian contingent put the Harriers's defense into disarray. One of the Colombians managed to get behind the Harriers's backline and crack a hard shot across the goal face. It caught the back heel of defender Kevin Cowell and ricocheted into the net. Kevin almost ripped the netting down in frustration. He always wanted to score, but not like this. oh God, not like this.

 As mentioned at the opening, the Harriers had Lady Luck on their side. Philippe's goal just before the final whistle just goes to prove it. His long chip arced slowly towards the St. Pat's net, a seemingly easy grab for the keep. But as the keeper backpedaled he lost the ball in the low-hanging sun. You can guess the rest: he fumbled and the ball dropped into the back of the net. It was that kind of game.

Man of the Match: Gregoire Frecon

Goal: Lionel, Gregoire Frecon x2, Gildas, Philippe, Guillaume

Assist: Didier Balistaire (for Lionel), Guillaume Cario x2 (for Gildas & Gregoire), Philippe Batchevitch (for Gregoire), Nicolas (for Guillaume), Joos Louwerier (for Philippe)

Play of the Game: Greg's pass to Guillaume; Guillaume's 180 and pass back to Greg who put it away for goal number three.