LOSS: 4-1 vs Takoba – Nine Out Of Ten Defenders Agree, You Need Defenders to Stop Goals
Another day of defensive struggles for Cameron Road this week as the majority of defenders were unavailable for the game. Billy and Guillermo were the sole members of the vaunted “Wall of Badgers,” and only Billy managed to finish 90 minutes without injury.
Throw in some bad luck, 2 injured subs, a crap old tent, no mist, and you’ve got a recipe for another tough loss.
On a positive note, Andy heard the late night text distress calls and showed up to help out…. with shorts inside out of course. He had a big impact in the heart of the defense with his energy and commitment.
With only two eventual subs on the bench, the Badgers started short handed with a 10-man lineup, but Parks quickly darted from the parking lot, directly onto he field to make it an even 11. His first few touches reflected his hurried thrust into the game.
At the back from left to right the defense in front of Jaybone was Chappy, Andy, Guillermo and Billy. The midfield was Gianluca, Ciro, Peterson and Parks. A hobbled Jesus and Derek started up top. Schwarzy and Adam arrived a little late to give some life to the sidelines.
Takoba had about 10 subs, and used all of them wisely. They were on the front foot from the get go, and their #9 forward was a speedy handful who was a dead ringer for Christian Pulisic. The makeshift Badger D was under some pressure, but Andy was doing a great job of clearing out the danger as Guillermo got forward a bit to spread the ball to the attack.
Another week of rotten luck though as a ball pinged off Billy’s arm for a PK. Nothing he could do about it. Jaybone guessed right again, literally, but it was an early 1-0 hole for CRU.
When they did get a change to go forward, Cameron Road was finding lots of success getting the ball down the flanks to the attackers… when they were onside, which was about half of the time.
The second bit of bad luck struck the back line when Guillermo surged forward, but his groin said “no mas” and that was the end of his day. The reshuffle began with Park having to join Andy in central defense much to his surprise. “So, what do I do back here?” was his response as he joined the Bad News Bears in defense.
Throw in another Takoba goal and it was 2-0 at the water break.
Schwarzy got into the mix in the center of the park, Adam slotted into his usual spot at right wing, Ciro took up wide left and Gianluca got back up top. The Badgers were hanging in there, but with only 1 half functioning sub, it was going to be a rough day at the office to see off the game.
The Badgers did appear to suffer more bad luck for a foul inside their box, but for the second week in a row the referee consulted with the linesman and made the correct call. Takoba hand ball before the foul and Cameron Road escaped without another penalty kick.
At halftime, they Badgers opted for the shade of the tree instead of Andrew Magilow’s ratty green tent. Oranges were nice and plump.
With the wind at their backs, the Badgers got started in the second half going towards the treelined, hoping for some love. There were more attacks down the flanks, a few more offside calls, and Takoba breached the defense again for a third goal.
Next, Gianluca came close with a header over the bar from a corner.
Ciro continued on the left wing, but was unusually not his peppy self. The culprit…. his Thursday Covid booster shot…. thanks Fauci!
At the water break, it was looking bleak, but the Badgers decided to give it a go.
Chappy told their forward, “Well, time for the greatest comeback of all time” and low and behold Gianluca showed up with a wonderful strike! A goal kick dinged off Adam’s gut into the path of Gigi on the right and he whipped in a trademark shot, low and hard past the keeper to give CRU a lifeline at 3-1. Meer minutes later, Cameron Road won a corner kick which came out to Adam who hit the post with his follow up shot. Damn luck!
But after that momentum wore off, Takoba struck again with a 4th goal as Chappy’s last ditch slide tackle just missed its mark. The final 10 minutes of the game had some decent moments, but the game was too far gone for the Badgers to really get back into it.
Tough one, but hope is on the horizon with most of the actual defense getting back on the pitch soon.
Man-of-the-Match: He hear the call. He had his short on inside out. He brought White Claws. He played a helluva game in defense on short notice with no yellow cards. Andy was the man!
Post-Match: What can you say about a Jefeless post game? Just not the same, even with a Verity guest showing. Feels like the season really hasn’t kicked off yet.
