On safari, Cameron Road bitten by Puma.

Cameron Road United was bitten by the jungle cat as they slipped up en route to a 1-0 loss.

The fluid passing and calmness on the ball of the last few weeks was quickly replaced by a more sloppy style of play, although not lacking in effort. Maybe they were expecting to simply tap into their recent good form at will, or maybe they read too much high praise during the week in the press. Whatever the case, Cameron Road let one slip away today and must regroup for next week’s Halloween showdown with Elite FC.

A strong squad assembled for CRU, and Steve McKenna made his way back after a few weeks overseas trying to sort out the mess at Liverpool. As the early morning game started, the dew-soaked pitch resembled Clark Field – covered in divots and short on grass. Usually, this would be in Cameron Road’s favor, but for some reason they found their passing game had gone missing and they were put on the back foot early.

However, they were able to penetrate deep into the Puma’s half several times playing the quick counter attack and through-ball. The forward line was making runs and holding up the ball, and Steve McKenna came close to dribbling through the entire defense… but they weren’t able to make a goal stick.

After giving up a goal with a bit of a mix up at the back, Cameron Road continued to push forward in hopes of tying the score. Luke worked in some nice shots from his position on the right flank, and Willis got in a good crack at the goalie before injuring his calf on a a few blades of damp grass.

A quiet and dissatisfied sideline vowed to soldier on in the second half and do better. Aggression and effort were the rallying cries since the smooth, sublime passing game had deserted CRU, much like any semblance of an offense had deserted the Longhorns.

The start of the second half was positive for the boys in yellow as they pushed forward in waves, finding more space in the center of the pitch. Scott worked the left flank, BT, Chris and Bob darted through the middle, and Steve and Ryan were mixing things up in the box. After the referee completely missed a clear cut hand ball in the box (that would have given CRU a PK), tempers started heating up and Cameron Road nearly scored on several occasions but just couldn’t test the keeper like they should have.

In an effort to rally the troops, Billy tried an old Scottish motivation technique which involved lobbing a few choice catch phrases and expletives down the pitch. Not sure if it had the desired effect, but it definitely got the team blood pumping.

Fighting to the death, Cameron Road defended well and attacked in numbers, but it just wasn’t their day. A 1-0 loss on a bit of a fluke goal was a bit hard to take, and even if the ‘beautiful game’ had momentarily left them, the effort was there.

Man-of-the-Match: With his fiery attitude, Billy tried to get the team going while defending well against the Pumas explosive, lightning-quick winger. He was even looking out for post game team fitness by offering up 55 calorie ‘beer’.

Post Match Report: Rebounding from last week’s absence of beer after the big game against Austin Athletic Club, Cameron Road bounced back in spades with 4 ice chests worth of frosty beverages for an 8:00 game. Cheers.