WIN: 4-2 vs Travis FC – Badgers Welcome Travis Back To The League With Style

On one of the top-5 all time hottest, most humid game days, Cameron Road United roared back from a shaky start to welcome Travis FC back to the league with a resounding 4-2 thumping.

Last week good old Texas fooled us into thinking Fall was officially here…. not so fast my friends! It was hot, muggy, humid and sweltering as the Honey Badgers got back out to Onion Creek. With Jefe in Colo-RAD-o for a few weeks, Chappy set up the tent for the eventual 4 subs to take refuge under.

The game started off with Cameron Road on the back foot. The Travis winger blew by Chappy in the first minute of the game, crossed and they should have scored. It was an early warning to the Badgers that Travis was here to play. And for the first 15 minutes or so, they were the better side, pressing the Badgers with attacks down the flanks.

Yuni was back in action again in central midfield, but after a quick 10 minutes of play in the smothering heat, he had to enter the Badgertown infirmary for some quick “icy hot removal” help which he covered himself in. Luckily, after a bit, he was good to go, and almost combined with Derek for a breakaway goal shortly after.

Travis ended up scoring the opener (which was a nice shot from distance), and shit could have gone sideways and yet….. that’s where the Honey Badgers thrive… under pressure! From that moment on, even thought it was a hard-fought battle, Cameron Road took control of the game and cruised to victory.

First up to tie the game, Jesus sent in a deep, curling corner kick that was probably headed for the far post by itself, but it took a bounce of the Travis defender pretty much right in front of goal.

Following that, Derek and Peterson hooked up for an early goal of the season candidate as Sweet D drove down the right hand side with lots of space. You know what was in the Travis defender’s mind at the time, “he’s gonna cut it back, he’s gonna cut it back, but what if he doesn’t cut it back? Nah, he always cuts it back, right?” With the defender’s mind in knots trying to figure out the next 2 seconds, Derek DID NOT cut it back, but instead sent in a perfect cross to the back post where a guy in navy shorts and a tucked in jersey was waiting. Peterson slapped the cover off that ball with a first time volley past the keeper for a 2-1 lead. Just like that, the Honey Badgers were in control for good.

With things settled down at the back, the fouls were picking up. But for a Travis vs CRU game, it was a pretty calm affair, and their sideline was pretty much as quiet as a church mouse.

Oranges. A fine crop.

Chappy started up top for Gianluca to start the second half, and blew a beautiful chance as Ciro slid in a ball behind the back line with the onrushing keeper to beat. But a heavy touch when he should have just smacked that thing with the bunion past the keeper allowed him to gather it up. At least he wasn’t off side!

Looking like he just came from a meeting with Gordon Gecko, Pete missed an even better chance as he sliced and diced his way into the box, but his toe-poke went just wide of the Travis goal. There might be some Samson-like correlations with Pete’s new closely cropped beard and his shooting accuracy to sort out.

Cameron Road got on the board again as Ciro got deep into the attack. Proving that “good things happen when you don’t shoot it right at the keeper,” Ciro sent a hard, low shot to the far post that looked like it was going out of play. But wait! Jesus was there at the far post to ram it home from a tight angle for his second of the game and Cameron Road’s third!

Travis FC were obviously stunned and shocked, especially after dismantling the Punters last week 4-1. They didn’t expect to be under the gun, and kept up the attacks. But the back line was up to the task. Danny had a particularly heroic sequence of defending two corner kicks in a row. Big Dave saved a shot off the back post. Chris G ran everywhere. Chappy had a nice Big Dave approved slide tackle. Billy had his dancing shoes on. Guillermo was up and down the pitch. Gianluca was defending from the front with constant pressure. Adam took a slap to the face for the cause. Jaybone took care of the rest.

In a similar play from the first half, Yuni did some nice close-quarters work to get the ball into the box where he slid the ball into Derek to walk into the goal for a 4-1 lead!

After that, Jesus almost got his hat trick as he smashed a long shot of the crossbar, which was followed by more heroics from the Travis goalie to keep out another goal.

Travis did pull one back, but there was no getting back into the game for them as the Honey Badgers closed up shot and saw out the game for the thrilling 4-2 victory. All in all, it got a little chippy, but for the most part a civil game between the two powerhouses.

Man-of-the-Match: Jesus was on a hat trick in his first action of the season and was sensational!

Post-Game-Report: No Jefe, so it was somewhat subdued. Probably from the 800 degree heat too.