CRU 1 – Verity 1

Did we gain a point, or loose two? That’s the question. At this stage in this difficult season, I’ll take the point and continue our tortuse-like climb up the Div 2 table.

We got some good news early as Dermot returned from injury and Onome made his welcomed return to the pitch after a season of nagging injuries himself. It was great to have them back on the field for us, Dermot being his usual pest to opponents in the middle, and Onome bringing the muscle to the left side of defense with a couple of great surging runs forward.

We had a positive first half, lots of opportunities on goal and Billy was a fingertip save away from putting us up 1-0. It seemed like Verity’s strategy was to get the ball on the top of the box and try to pass their way into the back of the net, but we were able to get lots of bodies back behind them and then capitalize on some fast-moving counterattacks. Our break in the game came with just such a play where Chris Peterson released Marcus, who sprinted down the left side and hammered in a fantastic left footed shot that the keeper had no chance of saving. We were sitting pretty at halftime with a 1-0 lead.

The second half was more of the same with Verity driving forward and getting numbers into the box, but our D stood strong and we continued to have some good looks at goal. Unfortunately, Verity tied up the score from a long-range free kick. A nice delivery onto the head of one of their players inside the box and it was all tied up at 1-1. Not willing to give up on the full three points just yet, we still pressed forward and looked for the winner. Luke came close with a powerful header, Willis had a nice shot on goal and Marcus turned on a dime to power another great shot just wide. In the end, our final attacks were thwarted and this physical game ended up a draw. Not a bad result.

We continue to be inches away from a few more wins, but at least we’re going in the right direction. Gotta stay positive and continue to get points out of these last 3 matches of the season.

Man-of-the-Match: Fighting a serious OU hangover, Marcus wins this weeks honors with a thunderous goal, a great run that should have ended in a penalty, and another great shot, turning on a dime, that nearly gave us the second lead of the game. Hopefully the pain of not seeing that horrible Boomer Scooner wagon run up and down the Cotton Bowl will be eased with this prestigious award.