Badgers Fall 0-1 in Season Opener with Beerca
Why was it 100+ degrees in September? Why were there only 2 subs? Why was Andy wearing his complete uniform? Why was the pitch a lopsided, gigantic sand dune?
Typical opening day questions for America’s favorite rag-tag bunch of soccer degenerates.
With the Over 30 Premier nightmare behind them, the Honey Badgers looked forward to some good’ol competitive soccer action as they nestled back to their familiar Over 30A hunting grounds. First up on the schedule, Beerca… the fun loving, yaupon holly tea-making, gender neutral greenish bluish uniform wearing lads who always give Cameron Road a good game. Nice to see some familiar faces again on the other side of the ball.
Badgertown was unusually sparse for the first game of the season with only 2 subs available, but Cameron Road did welcome back Andy, who increased the teams “hustle factor” by about 100% as he picked up right where he left off a year ago. And he even had all of his uniform pretty much nailed down! Still, a higher turnout would have been helpful.
Within 20 seconds of the opening whistle, it became apparent that the speed of the game was going to be much more delightful this season. There was time on the ball to pick out a pass, and there were far more tight uniforms in the belly region trying to close you down.
The Honey Badgers were doing well in the first half, passing the ball out of the back and working it up through midfield. Beerca were spending a little too much time attacking the Badgers goal, but for the most part they didn’t have anything to show for their efforts. Jay made a brilliant save at one point to stop the best Beerca attack, but Jeff, Jefe, Billy and Chris G were holding strong.
It was good have Andy back and he was constantly running around the field, being a pest to Beerca, and trying to get forward. He even brought a few warmish beers.
Things were pretty much at a stalemate, until an untimely Badger backpass at the half line led to a Beerca breakaway goal. Unfortunate, but not insurmountable.
It was a good first half, but not great. Sort of like a day-ole plate of Luke’s Grandmother’s biscuits.
Oranges.
They Honey Badgers tried to pick up the pace in the second half and their passing game was on point…. up to a point. They were just missing that one or two final pieces of the attacking puzzle to try and get some quality chances on goal. And with Andy having to leave early in the second half, Cameron Road was down to one sub vs. the stockpiled Beerca tent.
The game opened up a bit, and both teams were going end-to-end. Ryan fired off a shot on goal, Peterson had a free kick outside the box, Billy ventured forward from the right flank, Chappy actually dribbled and passed the ball with relative calm, Ciro sported a blue headband, Schwarzy was a calm in the storm in his new medium jersey, the ball bounced off some part of Adam’s body, Derek was deep in the cutback zone, Chris G was running down anybody in light green, Jeff Z passed the ball out of the back with the best beard on the field, Jefe’s cop mustache confounded the opponent, and Jaybone kept the Badgers in the game while barking out defensive responsibilities.
But damn, just couldn’t find the back of the net to even the score. On the positive side, the Honey Badgers are gonna be in every game this season and that pesky trip to Pflugerville is off the books.
Man-of-the-Match: Andy was gunning for it on his return, but 55 minutes doesn’t get you a gold star. Chris G was relentless as usual and set the tone for the year so he’s first up on the MOTM tally this year.
Post-Match Report: Ciro got iced. All is right with the world.