WIN: 2-0 vs Travis FC – Operation Mongoose Unleashed To Stop The Four Game Losing Streak!

What exactly was Operation Mongoose? Ask Jay.

The Honey Badgers finally broke free from the shackles of their four game losing streak with a big win over Travis FC. It was a chilly, gray day at Onion Creek, as Canada sent in a retaliatory cold front to the states. Jake’s new white shoes were the talk of the pre-game as he mentioned they were too big about 20 times.

The Badgers were missing some players, but got some players back as well. The twin tiny ankles of Ciro and Derek still aren’t ready for primetime, although both showed true Badger spirit by showing up. Jefe was out with a post-wedding flu, Schwarzy was out shooting an episode of Below Deck: Lake Travis, and Nasty Nate was most likely juggling a ball in a parking garage 3000 times. But Parks, Andy, Guillermo and Danimal were back and the Badgers ended up with about four subs, so it was all good on the sidelines.

With Derek out, Chappy joined Gigi up top while Parks stepped into central midfield with 88. The back line was solid with Danny, Billy, Big Dave, Chris G and Jeff Z all taking turns dominating.

The Badgers had the best of the first half play creating several good chances for Gianluca. The Peterson thru-ball was in effect, and Adam was very busy winning balls all over the pitch and doing the dirty work. Danny was launching deep balls into the box from the back, while helping the rest of the defense shut down Travis, who didn’t really trouble Jaybone too much.

Chappy got in deep and tried a left foot shot from inside the box. Derek would have cut it back seven times and scored.

Chris G was simply everywhere as usual. The man has limitless bounds of energy and covered every square blade of grass on the pitch. Andy was also up for it, and it’s always great to see him fly around the pitch again while occasionally smashing into a player on either team.

At oranges, the Honey Badgers were feeling good as they created the most chances and were looking forward to doing the same in the second half. Chappy asked Derek and Ciro for the half’s notes, Ciro said emphatically, “I just want to be entertained.” Noted.

The game started to take on a Travis F.C-ish feel as the second half got underway as the fouls started adding up, but the referee was not really taking control of anything and allowed the game to get pretty chippy. Yunir was doing his thing in central midfield, and was taking the brunt of a few fouls. Gianluca was also getting hammered as he tried to latch onto thru-balls.

There was almost a glorious Double Bald Dome of Power goal as Gigi sent in a deep corner kick where Chappy headed it toward the back post. Its trajectory sent it fizzing into Danimal’s path so his second bald header smashed it but it was just wide. Would have been sweet.

Ciro got his money’s worth shortly after as some Over 40 chaos broke free in the center of the field. Yunir and a Travis FC player got into it after exchanging fouls, and Yunir’s fury boiled over. The ensuing melee resulted in two red cards for Travis FC, and one for the tiny Cuban (who just might have been playing 4D chess with a 2 for 1 ejection). In an homage to the “Chappy Belt” from years past, Jeff Z collected Yunir up and removed him from the fray.

After play finally resumed, the Badgers enjoyed a 10 man to 9 advantage with space opening up. Surely this was their moment to take control of their season. Adam dialed up his Dark Arts to an 8.5, continuing to walk the line but win back balls. The Badgers went to a back 3 and Peterson pushed up higher on the pitch to try and create more offense. And that’s exactly what he did as he slid a sweet pass through the back line for Gianluca to run onto. Gigi efficiently placed a ball to the back post as the onrushing keeper was covering the front. 1-0 Badgers and a collective sigh of relief was heard.

But the Badgers weren’t done. Travis FC tried to mount a few counter attacks, but nothing was really coming of them. At the other end, Chappy pulled off an audacious feat of bunionry, silencing Travis for good. As Gianluca harassed with a speedy charge, the Travis keeper spilled the ball right into the center of the the pitch where Chappy was lurking. With a one-time chip off the bunion near the top of the box, Chappy immediately turned his back on the soaring ball and calmly walked back to the half line as it kissed the moon but came crashing down over the keeper and into the back of the net. “Are you not entertained Ciro!!”

After that, Danny went in up top and might have put him self onto the ground a la Jake with a missed scorpion kick. He also almost scored with a shot other than the far post minutes later.

And that was all she wrote. Cameron Road worked hard to get a well-deserved victory to stop the bleeding on this agonizing run of games. With Puntergate on the horizon, hopefully the Honey Badgers can ride some momentum into the business end of the season.

Man-of-the-Pre-Match: Both Ciro and Derek brought beer while supporting the team.

Man-of-the-Match: Adam was a constant pest, winning back balls all over the pitch and generally being someone other teams would rather not deal with.

Post-Match-Report: Too cold for a victory icing. No tent. High spirits.