New Jerseys 4 – Takoba 2

 

Sunday morning brought Cameron Road United their first victory in their mouthwatering new kit. Fueled by 76.9% red sock synergy, the Honey Badgers survived an early scare and roared back to a convincing 4-2 victory on the dew-soaked fields at Onion Creek.

With that many red socks on the field, Takoba really didn’t stand a chance, but Cameron Road decided to make it interesting by awarding them a penalty kick in the first 3 minutes of the game when there was a “Scottish Love Tap” inside the box.  Going down a goal that early only served to enrage the collective psyche of Cameron Road and propel them turn it up to 11.

The Honey Badgers quickly moved the ball down into the Takoba danger zone, and McKenna and Andy combined like Maverick and Goose to put them back on level terms. A quick cross into the box came off Steve’s head and fell right into the path of Andy, who calmly smashed it into the far corner for his second goal in 2 games.

Andy doubled the lead with his second goal of the game on what was a truly brilliant piece of footy. Peterson gathered the ball in the back on the right and released a lofty pass to McKenna who was running down the flank. Steve ran with the ball at his feet and spotted Andy cutting into goal from his left and placed a perfect thru ball to him past the onrushing defender. Andy nearly one-timed it with a precision strike right into the back of the net! A great counter attacking goal from the quick-strike Honey Badgers.

Andy continued to terrorize Takoba as he went for his Willis (what is now commonly referred to in the Cameron Road lexicon as a 20 minute first half hat trick). He had a blazing point-blank header saved off the line shortly after his second goal. Later in the half Andy had yet another good opportunity for this hat trick as he spun inside the box, but wasn’t able to get his shot on target. Looks like the combination of turning 40 and pulling up the red socks is really paying dividends for the Cameron Road bulldozer.

After allowing Takoba to get back into the game with a bit of a soft goal, the Honey Badgers took control of the game for good. The defense stiffened up as Luke, Jefé, BT, Dave and Billy helped Jay close up shop. The midfield of Ciro, Peterson, Jake, Adam and Andy started completing a few more passes. And Ryan and Steve worked hard from the forward line to both attack and defend.

On one play, Jefé pushed up from central midfield and ran down the right wing where he received the ball in a shooting position. His shot was wide of the post, but only just, and served as a reminder to Takoba that the Honey Badgers could strike from anywhere.

And with time still left in the first half, the Honey Badgers forwards combined for another fantastic finish. Ryan played Steve in with a pass worthy of his new #10 jersey, which caught Steve in stride on the left side of the goal. Steve rounded his defender and slotted the ball home for a 3-2 lead which Cameron Road would not surrender.

The Honey Badgers collected themselves in the confines on the single blue tent, and feasted on tiny oranges with potent rejuvenating powers at the half.

As these games have a habit of doing, the mood got a little chippy in the second half as Takoba tried to get back into the game. Their #9 forward was a pretty great player with the ball at his feet, but his attempt at bringing them back all by himself was his downfall as the Cameron Road wall of defense shut him down.

Another interesting tactic that Takoba employed was the running throw in 15 yards past the touchline.

But it seemed like nothing was working for them and the combined mojo of the tree line and the new jerseys sapped the life out of their weary bones.

The Honey Badgers doubled their lead with another great goal as Luke sunk any hopes of a comeback with a deadly strike from way downtown that would have blown every last biscuit off of his Grandmother’s best serving tray as it sped its way toward goal at near supersonic speeds. A trademark blast from Cameron Road’s beloved #11.

The Honey Badgers created a few other good chances, most notably Ryan’s as he was able to run 1-on-1 at the keeper with the ball at his feet.

Down by 2 goals with 20 minutes to go it was do or die for Takoba. What happened for the remainder of the game was The Jake Show. Inserted into the game at left back, Jake was on an all out mission to stop them from scoring. All he did was run pretty much non-stop on defense and get his lanky legs onto any ball in the area. He was Honey Badger personified, and even saved a sure goal off the line.

So with Jake’s late game heroics leading the way, Cameron Road closed out the game with a 4-2 win. It’s been a great season so far, and it was nice to see even more players on the score/assist sheet this week.

Next up is a top 4 matchup with Mean-Eyed Cat and their clipboard carrying coach, Wilford Brimley. Hopefully the Honey Badgers will be up to the task and powered by an even higher percentage of red socks as the could vault themselves higher in the table with a win.

 

Man-of-the-Match: With a late defensive burst, Jake closed out the game in true Honey Badger style on his way to his week’s coveted award.