Friday, October 31, 2008

HALLOWEEN

Well, I had hoped, and certainly attempted, to get several club members to meet up during their Halloween antics, but had an enjoyable evening with Andi at Gallery Bar discussing our favorite horror movies and the genre in general.

Not a fan of store bought costumes, I broke down this year because William and his girlfriend were dressing as The Scarecrow and Dorothy and needed a Cowardly Lion. Adding my own touches and my natural mane I hopefully steered away from the "store bought" look.

Unfortunately Will's girlfriend wasn't feeling well and we'd have to venture out Dorothy-less.

Will caught up with Andi and I later in the evening wandering the streets somewhere around Lion's Gate soccer field.

Our mission for the evening?
To drink, of course, and to take photos with every Dorothy we encountered as we eased on down the road.

Success = 7 Dorothys. Blonde Dorothy = wasted Dorothy.

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Sunday, October 26, 2008

Argo Silver vs. Banatul FC

Brooklyn Technical High School
Argo Silver 2 - 1 Banatul FC
Banatul scored their goal from an unfortunate penalty kick.
Argo Silver scored a first goal by newest Argo Silver - Fatos Rugova.
Second goal a cross by Fatos that knocked off a Banatul player into goal.
Most of the game was spent in the opponents half of the field (as evidenced below in a photo of Elliot) where Argo Silver took close to 12 shots on goal that hit posts and were near misses.
By all rights this score should have been 6-1 at the least.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

NYC Sirens vs. Barnstonworth Rovers II


State Cup Game * Round I
PIER 40 Courtyard West @ 9pm
- reported by Elliot Gilmore

On a cold, windy and generally miserable Sunday night at Pier 40, the Sirens team gradually congregated on the bleachers behind the East field. Some were wearing coats, some wore sweatshirts....others were looking a little more like Sherlock Holmes and not Katie Holmes (Gracie) in their pre-game attire.

Having been told they were the last chance for our club's State Cup glory the pressure was on and the ladies began preparing to take on a strong side called Rovers 2. With no coach for the evening, Elliott, a wonderful English Gentleman took the reigns and gave a valiant team talk......basically consisted of "Enjoy the game, if we win GREAT, if we lose, all 3 teams can get totally drunk together instead of playing the 2nd round game!! WIN WIN situation".

A strong Violet line up took to the field and immediately began passing the ball along the sacred turf of Pier 40. One touch, two touch and even three touches of the ball were sublime. They looked comfortable. At various stages of the half, Mary, Dana and Emily led the line upfront and caused a number of problems for the somewhat talented but slow defense. It was very close through the first 20 minutes, that is until our team's "Hooligan Element" cheer squad turned up. With loud voices and various remarks made to the portly fellow in the middle with a whistle, they seemed to have sparked the opposition into life. GOAL...... a lucky cross was deflected to the near post, where an out-stretched leg from Rovers, guided the ball into the net. 1-0, but the Sirens were not out of this. Wave upon wave of attack came from the sirens now. Tanya, Erika and Tess were commanding the midfield with strong tackles, Rachael was working wing wizardry and the back four, Marina, Leslie, Liz and Sherlock Holmes remained focused and very strong. 5 minutes to halftime something special was needed to beat the Rovers' goalie. It came from the right foot of Leslie. A 40 yard shot, that came down with snow on it, hit the roof of the net out of nothing. Celebrations on the pitch were good, off the pitch, the "Hooligan Element" went mad, screaming and setting off flares in the stands. 1-1 and the halftime whistle went.

At half time the team talk was about attack. We had them where we wanted them now, on the ropes! As the pizza arrived, yes pizza, the team took to the field.

Again the half was pretty much dominated by the Sirens, but against the run of play, they were unlucky after a poor shot drifted away from Andy and nestled in the back of the net. 2-1 down, this seemed to spur the girls on even more now! They were not to be beaten by this opposition, not now. Attacks came again from Tanya, Erika and Gracie, Tess and Liz created chances for the forwards, but although going close, Dana could not find the net how we know she can. A few chances did happen for Mary, but every time she tried to shoot, she was knocked to the ground by defenders, unseen by a somewhat blind referee. Her luck did change though when she burst INTO the box and was taken down by what seemed a sniper from the stands. The "Hooligan Element" made their opinions known to the referee in so many words, and asked how he can give a direct free kick IN the box, its a penalty. He disagreed and the Sirens had a free kick 17 yards out.......Cue Tanya !!! She cared not of PK she just was going to score from anywhere now. Stepped up and Bang, top corner GOAL!!! 2-2 with 6 minutes left!

With penalties nearing the Sirens attacked more and more but it was not to be. They were destined for PKs.
The full time whistle went and although we knew it was down to spot kicks, at least now the referee would be level with play and see most of the action!

Penalty kick takers: Leslie, Tanya, Mary, Liz, Emily

· They shot wide (Andy standing tall forced the miss)
· Leslie scored 1-0
· They shot wide (Andy scaring them in to missing the goal)
· Tanya scored 2-0
· They scored 3-1 (Andy, just beaten by the ball)
· Mary scored

If Andy could save this next kick it was all over and no need for the other players to take one!

A confident lady stepped up and Andy stood tall in Goal. the Hooligan Element, coach and other players waited on the half way line.
Was it time to celebrate a great win?

· KICK to the keepers right, a sweeping dive by Andy....SAVE............

SIRENS WIN - SIRENS WIN

Crowd, coach and players all ran to congratulate the Goalie.
Once the huddle of Violet players gathered themselves, they went to their beaten opponents and shook hands graciously. What a team!!!

There was no cameras, so just take what is written as Gospel!!!

Hooligan Element .... Gotham Argo players Jeremy, Jorge, Ben and tryout candidate David

Post match celebration... NYC Sirens sponsor bar Emerald Pub

Astoria Friends vs. Argo Silver

STATE CUP GAME
CON EDISON FIELD - Astoria, Queens @ 11am

- report by carlos wesley

Perhaps it was the final image of our team on Sunday that best characterized the afternoon: hands reaching gratefully for Joe's can of antiseptic spray to tend to our flesh wounds after a grueling two hours spent on the rock-covered battlefield that is ConEd.

We finished the game with one fewer goal (a 3-2 loss), but fought mightily. Perhaps it was the other team's esoteric language that confused us (from a community that not even a borough as diverse as Astoria can claim as one of its own), or the powerful gusts of sand-filled wind that pummeled Elliot and his defenders throughout the first half. Despite all of these distractions, we held tight at the half, down only 0-1.

The second half started on an unfortunate note. Our opponent's familiarity with ConEd's pitch was apparent as they hardly let the ball touch the ground en route to scoring their second goal within minutes of the half. This was quickly followed by a very questionable call that lead to a penalty kick for them. Despite Elliot's valiant dive to his right (meriting at least 3 more squirts of antiseptic spray), he wasn't quite able to stop the free kick, their 3rd goal of the game.
At 0-3 our intensity finally started to pick up. Terry gathered up a breakaway and snuck the ball around the keeper for our first goal.

Our intensity picked up further as we noticed their fans cheering rather sarcastically in support of the men with a hint of violet in their jerseys (yes, that's us). Pressuring them further, and with only minutes left to play, a scramble in front of their net ended with the ball finding Terry's foot and then the back of the net. 3-2. Our rally was cut short by the whistle. Despite the loss, however, it was nice to feel that we would have kept scoring had we had more time.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Missile FC vs. Gotham Argo


Match Report: Missile FC – Gotham Argo
Sunday October 12 2008

PIER 40 Courtyard West @ 9pm
Reported by Bruno Dupont

Final Score: 6 - 4 (2-1)

Gotham Argo:

Jeremy
Uri * Ben * Bruno * Adam
Momo * Jorge
Yoshi * Dani * Alex
Sam
Players in game: 9 Argos, 2 Silver, 1 Manager
Substitutions: Dana for Adam (1st half), and Dana for Bruno (2nd half)

Missile FC:
Unknown
Unknown * Unknown * Unknown * Unknown
Unknown * Unknown
Usain Bolt * Ato Bolton * Maurice Greene * Carl Lewis
Players in game: 19 (league max is 18)
Substitutions: yes, many

I feel the need….
Gotham Argo lost to a very good Missile FC on Sunday, in what was probably the team's best game of the season so far. Argo suffered defensively against a very fast, well-organized, fast, technical and very fast team. 2 early goals put the visitors (even though they were technically the home side) in front, with a shot from right outside the box and a very swift break away.

…the need for speed
Argo stayed under pressure from Missile's skilled midfielders, whose strategy consisted mostly in kicking high (and precise) shots over the defense, and then relying on their sprinters up front.

First goal for Alex Padilla
Gradually, Argo managed to gain a little control of the ball, and after a few promising passing sequences in the other half, the team managed to win a throw-in right next to the corner post. Sam passed back to Uri, who curled it (Beckham-style) into the box. Alex jumped higher than everybody else and smashed it into the back of the net.

Not long before half time, Adam complained of a pain in his left knee, and left the field briefly, but then decided to tough it out and was heard saying "I always play better when I can smell blood, even if it's mine" (source might not be entirely reliable).

Jeremy in the spotlight again
In the second half the game pretty much picked up where it left off, and Argo struggled to contain Missile FC's attacks, conceding 2 more goals. It could have been much more without Jeremy's numerous saves. One in particular wowed everybody when he dove backward into the feet of his opponent and grabbed the ball with one hand (he later commented: "That's just how I roll baby").

3rd goal and first assist for Sam
At 4-1, the game looked pretty much over, but Argo stayed focused, and at the 60th minute, Dana, who had just come on, flicked a counter attack ball to Sam, who sprinted 50 yards, and executed the Missile FC keeper with a cool finish. The rest of the game was pretty even, with 2 more goals on either side. In the final minutes, Sam was tackled from behind in the box, which resulted in a red card and a penalty. Sam decided to score it with panache, and very altruistically bounced the ball off the crossbar for Bruno to finish it with a diving header.

Overall, Argo lost to an excellent team, and appeared much better organized than in its previous games, with very good combinations between Momo, Jorge, Dani and Yoshi.

Phoenix vs. NYC Sirens

East River Park * East 6th street field
Phoenix 2 - 0 NYC Sirens


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Argo Silver vs. Maltese Dolphins

Icahn Stadium

photos by Bruno Dupont

who got up early and travelled to Randall's Island but was not allowed to play.

Argo Silver 2 - 3 Maltese Dolphins
(Argo Silver with 9 men + Dana P. Dimon on the field.)


Sunday, October 5, 2008

Gotham Argo - NY Enforcers

Gotham Argo 0 - NY Enforcers 2
PIER 40 Courtyard West @ 9pm

This game was a bummer. Originally scheduled for 10am on Sunday, NY Enforcers lost their field, unfortunately, and at 10pm on Saturday night we rescheduled for 9pm at Pier 40 for Sunday barely fielding 12 players (2 of which on the injured list) while NY Enforcers showed up with 19 (but hopefully only played 18 as per league rules).

CP Rangers Old Boys vs. Argo Silver

Commodore Barry Field
Argo Silver 3 vs. CPR 1

Dismal conditions at Commodore Barry Field, CPR showed up early and diligently lined the fields and put nets up. Much props and thanks to them for that. Ref showed up late and made up his own rules during this game. Wouldn't let me sub an injured player on one of our corner kicks which I thought bizarre. Goals: Terry Harcott - 2 (first off a penalty) and second, a calm knock to the back of the net from a perfectly set up pass from Carlos Wesley. Tim Olson - 1 off a nice header.


Mike Conboy had put CPR ahead on Ernesto Teran’s assist [55th].

“It was a great match against CPR as always,” noted Argo’s Dana P. Dimon.

“We were a bit unlucky,” insisted CPR’s Andrew Faherty, calling the final score a bit misleading.

Dimon's rejoinder, "pure skill, Drew, pure skill"

SEE CP Rangers report on this match: http://www.centralparkrangers.com/ob.php


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