DRAW: 1-1 vs Jugglers – CRU Are CHAMPIONS!
Needing one point in the final two games to claim the Over 40B title, a short-handed CRU took the pitch against the dreaded Jugglers with dreams of another title on their minds. It was another week of “next man up” as half the squad was either injured, out of town, battling COVID, or raising a new cub (speaking of which, Congrats to BT for successfully putting another one past the goalie). The Badgers would have to get creative with the lineup once again and… wait… something appeared over the horizon with a familiar gait…. could it be… was it possible?…. the long lost Scotsman was coming over the hill…. BILLY!
With Mr. Milton’s pre-game boost, the Badgers got busy putting a lineup together that would get the job done. The defense was solid with Jefe/Billy, Jeff Z, Big Dave and Chris G. The wings looked familiar with Chappy and Jake, but it was Adam and Brian Parks who would have to dig deep and patrol the central midfield, trying to break up play. Up top it was the familiar twosome of Gianluca and Derek.
The first 15 minutes saw the impressive Jugglers come out hot. They were motivated to get the full three points, and they were playing like it as they took some target practice at Jaybone’s house. Luckily, the shots were flying high and wide.
Jake got himself in the books for yelling at his friends, as the referee would have a busy day going back and forth to his card pocket.
Billy was looking silky on his first game back in two years in his familiar right back slot. He took a few early and often knocks from the Jugglers, but popped up to take a crack at goal from 20 yards that wasn’t too far off the mark. Aye.
Still under pressure, the referee awarded the Jugglers a penalty for the slightest nudge inside the box. Harsh, but Jaybone was steady and waited for the run up. With a lame Bruno Fernandez-like stutter step, the Juggler found the back of the net, but his teammates were too eager and jumped the gun, causing the ref to call for a re-kick. Luckily, the second attempt fizzled wide, and the Badgers were out of jail early.
In central midfield, without the Ciro/Schwarz/Peterson ball control, Parks and Adam were doing a good job of being pests and breaking up play. The Honey Badgers didn’t have much possession, but they were hanging in there, knowing their strikers only needed the smallest chance to turn the game on its head.
The moment came as Big Dave whipped in a deep ball to Gianluca running through the center of the pitch. Gianluca only had one thing on his mind as he would up to take one of his customary long-range bombs. From the moment it left his foot it was only headed to one spot, the back of the net! Gigi celebrated with a sharp elbow to Chappy’s windpipe upon the celebratory hug. 1-0 Badgers!
With a bit of a cushion, Cameron Road enjoyed their oranges, knowing they needed to clamp down on the onrushing Juggler attacks for the next 45 minutes.
With the wind at their backs, the Honey Badgers needed to concentrate on keeping the Jugglers off the scoreboard, but it was proving tricky as they were a good passing team with some danger men up top. Billy could be heard yelling familiar tunes of displeasure as Cameron Road conceded possession of the ball more often than not, but the defense was doing just enough to keep the Jugglers at bay.
Under the gun in their own half, the Badgers would spark to life trying to get Gianluca and Derek the ball on the counter, but the attacks weren’t happening with enough frequency.
With about 25 minutes to go, Derek had two minutes of madness as he earned two yellows in quick succession for off-the ball infractions that could have been not given on another day. As he took his walk to the showers early, the Badgers found themselves down a man trying to hold down the fort. Guess we know who is bringing the red card beer next week!
But soon after, a Juggler tried to commit Gigicide at the center of the park with a knee or elbow or something sharp and pointy to Gianluca’s midsection, earning himself a straight red card as the numbers quickly evened out.
The Jugglers were desperately gunning for that tying goal, but the Badgers were hanging tough, booming away balls from the defense trying to run down the clock.
But then Jeff Z employed a strategic Culyer move to stop an attack inside the box with a sliding tackle from behind. The referee awarded the Jugglers their second penalty of the game, which they finished off, setting up a frantic race to the finish.
The final 10 minuets was all hands on deck defending. Chappy went full Danimal heading a ball away to safety that got by Jaybone. Big Dave narrowly escaped judgement after swatting away a ball like someone trying to take Luke’s Grandmother’s last biscuit from his hot plate. Jake turned and twisted (and got up off the ground) on the left sideline trying to move the ball up the field. Billy barked orders and made new friends on the backline.
Tick tock, blow the whistle already referee!!!
Finally, the game was over and the Badgers did just enough to dash the Juggler’s title dreams and secure the third star for themselves.
Quite a heroic effort from another weekly group of short-handed, but determined Badgers.
Congratulations….. CHAMPIONS!!
Man-of-the-Match: Adam and Brian Parks could have had a shout for their efforts as a makeshift central midfield duo. Gianluca’s wonder shot was a pivotal moment in the game that might have won him more honors on another day. But this one belongs to our long-lost Scotsman, who showed up to play his first game in 2 years! Billy was battered and bruised by the end of the game, but managed to put in a great performance and gave the team a boost.
Post-Game-Report: Chappy got iced by Jefe for the second week in a row. Then the two of them shotgunned beers (most of the beers). Jefe and Billy outlasted the Punter post-game as they won the Over 40A Championship. And apparently Jefe had a close encounter with a rattlesnake in the treeline. Just a typical Sunday afternoon at Onion Creek.
