All Even at the Crown: Cameron Road and Chopped Liverpool Battle it Out to a 2-2 Draw

The Kraken gives Johnny Football the staredown as he asserts his dominance with Billy to his right as backup. The Honey Badger defense did a nice job holding him at bay for most of the match.

What was that…. soccer on a Sunday?! No rain?! Unbelievable.

Yes soccer fans, it was true. There was a game to be played after many rainouts, and the Honey Badgers and Chopped Liverpool took to the lovely green pitch at Onion Field to do battle for Crown and Anchor supremacy. When beer, the outside round tables, and a basket of overly-salty fries is on the line, the shit gets real.

And it couldn’t have gotten any more real as the Honey Badgers literally stormed out of the gates and were up 2-0 in the first five minutes. It may have been the greatest start to a match in Cameron Road lore.

Ryan, seen here sporting his current flowing hairstyle which he has dubbed "the ferrel child." — Ryan, seen here sporting his current flowing hairstyle which he has dubbed “the feral child.”

Right off the bat, Ryan took a quick throw-in from the left side of the pitch as if he was hurling a bloody steel boomerang. The throw found Stevie Mac in stride and he powered his way into the box with a penetrating run at the defense. It sure looked like he was fouled by the keeper as he went down, but with the referee standing pat and keeping his whistle in his pocket, play continued with Steve on the turf. Not to worry, because Andy pounced on the loose ball like he was making a grab for a fresh plate of Luke’s grandmother’s hot biscuits and left-footed it into the back of the net. 1-0 Honey Badgers inside the opening 2 minutes.

And if that wasn’t a good enough start, 2 minutes later Gigi sent in a thru-ball that had honey dripping all over it for Stevie Mac through the center of the Livers defense. Steve paid homage to his Captain on the sidelines with a sliding shot that beat the keeper and just like that it was 2-0 Cameron Road. With fresh, bright red blood pouring from his knee, Steve was quickly tended to by the acting Cameron Road Medical Staff, Henny from the Punters and Drew and his merry band of Dragons cheered from the sidelines. That was some Clark Field synergy on display.

With such a great start, the game was going to go one of two ways. Either Cameron Road was going to go into full on blowout mode and drop a dime on Chopped Liverpool, or the Livers would scrap and claw their way back into the game. Luckily for the fans in the stands, Chopped Liverpool were not going to be taken down so easily.

Panic and sheer terror blanket Crosley's face as the field was invaded by a werewolf from deep within the bowels of the tree line. — Panic and sheer terror blanket Crosley’s face as the field was invaded by a werewolf from deep within the bowels of the tree line.

Still, Cameron Road showed nicely throughout the first half. Travis, playing his second game of the day, muscled his way through the midfield and freed up Ryan and BT to dictate the play with passing and movement. Andy and Adam provided energy from the flanks, and the Euros looked dangerous up top.

At the back, the Honey Badgers welcomed back Cuyler, and his towering presence was a constant reminder to Johnny Football that this would be no cakewalk. Alongside him, a downright chipper and grinning Billy stood tall while Crosley and Chris G denied danger from the flanks.

Cameron Road was a post away from making it 3 as Peterson sent in a trademark bomb from the right side that found Ryan in front of goal. With a deft reverse flick (some may say daft), Ryan tried to redirect it into the goal with a touch from his golden Mizuno. All that he heard was the cruel sound of ball on post, and Steve’s follow up shot hit the side netting.

Cameron Road also welcomed back Dermot, fresh from running the Boston Marathon on Monday. After getting his first meaningful touches since the Fall Cup, Dermot inserted himself into the game and started winning balls, in addition to trying to run over Crosley who obviously wasn’t keeping the proper pace time.

So the first half ended with Cameron Road holding a tricky 2 goal lead against Liverpool.

The second half got off to a frantic start, with Liverpool trying desperately to get back into the game, but the Honey Badgers stood firm. Unfortunately the referee started to assert himself with some poor calls and some missed calls. Don’t believe me? Just ask Brian Thomas, whose vantage point from the sidelines provided him with ample running commentary ammunition.

One of his worst calls of the day set up Chopped Liverpool for a penalty kick. As Johnny Football charged towards the goal on a fast break, Jay crouched like a puma in anticipation of their impending battle. Jay stonewalled the talismanic forward in what looked like a clear 50-50 scenario, but the referee incorrectly awarded the advantage to the attacker after he clattered into Jay. After Chopped Liverpool converted, a pissed off Cameron Road tried to hold onto the 1 goal lead and see the game out.

With a break in the action, Jake tries to contact Jefe using only his telepathic powers.

Steve came close with another crack at goal, and Gigi had a sweet one time left-footed volley sail just wide. Speaking of Gigi, he also went on his own one man million man march, trying to dribble through the entire Liverpool defense. He almost made it. Almost.

With the heat turned up on the game, Chopped Liverpool were the recipient of another break as they were awarded a free kick just outside the 18 yard box on the left hand side. With the wall in place on a seemingly quicksand foundation, Liverpool were able to bend a shot around it and just past Jay’s outstretched paws to tie the game up at 2’s and see out the rest of the danger.

The aftermath. This shot pretty much sums up the second half.

And so it was. There were no victors accept for the Crown & Anchor…. which is just the way she likes it.

Dermot give some pre-race love to his Honey Badger mates. — Dermot gives some pre-race love to his Honey Badger mates.

Man-of-the-Match: Let’s get this straight, the guy ran the BOSTON MARATHON on Monday in just over 3 hours, showed up to play his first game since December, and logged in some quality, meaningful, yellow-card-free minutes for the Honey Badgers. Dermot, you just earned yourself a beer and a MOTM award.

Special Note: Danimal was en route to the game and stopped off at the brewery to pick up some brew dogs. But when he arrived, there was a beer emergency. I think we can all agree that he did the right thing as he stayed to SAVE THE BEER. A true act of alcoholic altruism if ever there was one.

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