CRU 2 – SAS 2

In a top four battle royal, Cameron Road drew 2-2 with SAS United this past Sunday as both teams gained a little ground on division leaders Torchy’s who were defeated.

Another week with a juggling of the lineup had Ryan Willis at an unfamiliar left back position while the defensive regulars took the weekend off. The defense did get a boost with the return of The Danimal to the center of the park, and Luke and Crosley rounded out the back four.

The rotating “front six from eight” group included Barnaby, Daniel, Ciro, Dermot, Way, Chappy, Zoran and Steve McKenna.

Going in a little wary at SAS’s recent run of good results, Cameron Road got just what the doctor ordered with when Dermot’s cross inside the box stuck the arm of a SAS defender. The referee pointed to the spot, and Steve McKenna slotted home the p/k for a 1-0 lead inside the first five minutes.

The remainder of the half would follow a similar pattern to last week’s tough game as Cameron Road was forced to do a lot of defending. SAS attacked down the middle and had the lion’s share of time on the ball as their central midfield tried to control the tempo.

At the end of the first half, SAS United got a break themselves as they were awarded a p/k for a CRU handball. So the first 45 minutes ended with a trading of penalty kicks and a 1-1 score.

Cameron Road again hit the ground running at the start of the 2nd half as Daniel played Steve McKenna in with a tasty thru-ball. Steve took a few patented rollover touches, rounded the keeper to his left, and got off a shot just before being upended for his second goal of the game.

The positive side of that play was that it gave Cameron Road an early lead, but the negative was that it again forced them to do a lot of defending to hold the lead. SAS again had more time on the ball and tried to jam it down CRU’s collective throats with attacks coming mainly down the middle, but Danimal, Luke and the rest of the gang were up to the task. Jay was called into action and made a few great saves, and it looked as though CRU would walk away with a big victory against the second place team. But SAS’s constant pressure finally paid off in the 88th minute as they poked home an equalizer from close range.

With little time on the clock, Cameron Road mounted one final flurry as Steve McKenna took the kick off and played in a streaking Ryan Willis who just missed out on sending a ball into the back of the net before colliding with the SAS keeper.

So all in all another positive result for Cameron Road, who needed to keep a little juice in the tank for their upcoming Saturday rematch with SAS in the Heineken Cup competition. Next week promises a double dose of soccer with games on Saturday and Sunday, so they’ll need a strong squad available to face a full weekend of action.

Man-of-the-Match: With two healthy knees, and another 2 goals, Steve McKenna solidified himself atop the goal scoring charts and threw down all of Cameron Road’s goals on Sunday. Robbie Fowler would be proud.