Sunday, November 21, 2010

Gotham Argo 4 - 4 BW G Cosmos
Bushwick Inlet Soccer field
Time: 2:00pm

----- match report by Matt Borchard

A Tale of Two Halves...

In a game that featured 7 Argos, 5 Silvers, about 10 groins and two flu viruses, Gotham Argo was able to wrestle away a point from BW G Cosmos Sunday afternoon in Brooklyn.


Argo began the game with some new faces on the field, but was able to move the ball
effortlessly and it appeared as though it was going to be an easy day. Argo was first on the board thanks to a hard strike and questionable goalkeeping (a theme for most of the day). Mohamed Tabrani collected a centering pass, beat his defender and laced one off the crossbar. On most days this shot collected by the keeper or cleared. However, the soccer god's had smiled upon Mohamed as his shot went down, ricocheting off the goalkeepers shin's and into the back of the net as the Cosmos goalie could do nothing but watch helplessly.

Argo 1-0 Cosmos


The cohesion on offense that the Silvers brought did not translate to the typical back four for Argo, as the Cosmos midfield and forwards seemed to have their way on the first half. A cross turned into a shot via the wind, a through ball that evaded Steve Haswell, Matt Borchard and keeper Isaac Garcia and found a Cosmos boot for a chip and poor marking on a centering pass leading to a one touch shot saw Argo down 3-1 in a span of about 25 minutes. Ending the half with more than a couple of players hobbling off, things seemed hopeless for Argo.


HALF TIME
Cosmos 3 - 1 Argo

The second half began much like the first ended with Cosmos putting in a fourth unanswered goal to put Argo in a three goal hole. However, Argo still had fight left in them and with a good clearance on a Cosmos scoring opportunity one could feel the tide turning.


Momo Diop, collected a pass at mid field and found a streaking Matt Astrella down the right side of the field. With a perfectly weighted pass, Matt A found himself one v one with the Cosmos goalkeeper. Composed and sure of his actions, Matt A was able to skillfully dribble the keeper and slot the ball in the back of the net. The keeper is rumored to be still searching for his jock strap.


Cosmos 4-2 Argo


Amazing what a goal can do. The defense puffed its chest and refused to be beat again. Heroic goalkeeping by Isaac and committed defending by the back four prevented multiple scoring chances from becoming goals. Seemingly infused with energy from this defending, the Argo offense woke up and began to pressure. A cross from center back turned forward, Matt Borchard, found a diving Matt Astrella on the back post, but was just wide. Minutes later a free kick was awarded to Argo just inside the penalty box. A quick discussion between Garrett Hauschild and Matt B seemingly resulted in a third goal; however the referee claimed to see off sides and called the goal back. This only incensed Argo and they continued to push. A few minutes later Matt A put a corner to the back post, finding Matt B's head, only to be denied by a Cosmos hand ball in the box. Garrett stepped up with a half a groin and buried the shot with his left foot.


Cosmos 4-3 Argo


With every minute that passed, Argo seemed to gain more energy and Cosmos lost the skill that had carried them to a 3-1 1st half lead. The Cosmos goalkeeper now completely bewildered, forgot where his penalty box had ended and walked out of it with the ball in hand. Free kick Argo. Garrett once again stepped up and buried a left footer around the wall just off the ground to the back post.


4-4 Tie (momentum clearly with Argo)


Now with blood in the water Argo gave everything they had the final ten minutes. The Cosmos goalkeeper once again offered a gift on a silver platter, as he inexcusably walked out of the box yet again with the ball, amazed at what the outcome would be. Free kick Argo. Garrett again stepped up to put the ball back post, however a slight gust of wind pushed the ball just over the cross bar. A little back and forth found the game to be stretched and with a few chances ending at mid field for Argo, it felt as though Cosmos regained their balance and were determined to score again, however Ryan Gemmell had a different idea, sacrificing his body to prevent a sure fifth Cosmos goal. Minutes later a clearance found Matt B on the left side of the field with one defender to beat. Around the defender he went and with the goalkeeper terribly out of position, Matt B volleyed the ball high over the keeper only to find the outside of the far post for a goal kick. Seconds later the final whistle blew.


Argo 4-4 Cosmos. Final.


Argo battled for 90 minutes never giving up. Pulling a point from the grip of a 4-1 blowout, Argo showed true grit this weekend. Thanks so much to Isaac Garcia, Mohamed Tabrani, Oscar Vazquez, Dan Clemente and Chris Toscano for coming out and helping a depleted Argo side.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Gotham Argo vs. NYPD2

Gotham Argo 1 - 0 NYPD2
Randall's Island field #84
Time: 4:45pm (game didn't kickoff until 5:20pm)

----- match report by Bruno Dupont

  • Argo’s Willpower Proves Too Much For Law Enforcers
N-Y-P-D! The police officers’ war cry might have been very intimidating for a lot of people, but for Will Henderson, it served as further motivation ahead of a highly anticipated game. Determination was evident in his signature pre-match grin that could only mean one thing: “Bring it on”.

  • Jean-Marie Flies High
Gotham Argo started in its typical 4-4-2 formation, with Tobias upfront alongside Sam. “Slight drizzle, cool weather, perfect for football” said the Dane. “Bloody brilliant” James Coppack the Englishman concurred. “Anyone seen my beanie and my gloves?” was the Senegalese Momo’s take on the situation.

The game got off to a very intense start with the 2 midfields battling fiercely for possession. A little too fiercely for James Whiteley’s hamstring unfortunately: he had to be substituted early in the game, giving Anton his debut. It was a very lively game with chances on either side. NYPD2’s long-range shooters had a go at Jean-Marie, forcing him to a very graceful airborne save that prevented a 30-yard effort from finding the top-right corner.

  • Will Takes The Law Into His Own Hands
The game remained pretty scrappy in the first half, with both teams struggling to keep control of the ball on a slippery pitch. A few minutes before half time, Argo won a corner kick: Sam’s cross from the right was headed out of the box by NYPD2, and the ball landed at Will Henderson’s feet. Argo’s stopper controlled the ball and took a right-footed shot from 18 yards. A beautiful curler that brushed past the post to find the back of the net.

“Outstanding” said James Whiteley from the sidelines; “What happened?” said Jean-Marie who wasn’t wearing his glasses. Argo had a few more chances through Sam and Tobias but the score was still 1-0 at halftime.

  • Gotham Argo Hold On To Their Lead
The second half was pretty similar to the first one, with a lot of battling in the midfield, but with a much better organized Gotham Argo. Sam and Tobias created a few clear chances, one of which was almost converted into a goal but Tobias’s header found the crossbar. NYPD2 relied mostly on long balls to find their forwards into space. Towards the end of the game, NYPD2’s right winger entered the box and was tackled by Dean who inadvertently handled the ball, which resulted in a penalty kick.

The NYPD2 captain struck it well, towards the bottom-right corner, but Jean-Marie was on fire. The Argo goalkeeper produced another fine save before falling victim to a group hug initiated by his teammates. James Whiteley, watching from the sidelines, was infuriated and used strong language to make sure his teammates remained focused on the game.

Dean had to run briefly to the NYPD2 coach to get un-cuffed (the coach later apologized on behalf of his players, who are trained to react promptly on a crime scene) and the game started again. The final minutes were stressful and involved a lot of defending from the whole team. Kevin had his Miranda rights read to him after a borderline irregular slide-tackle.

A great win for Gotham Argo, still top of the league.
Next game on May 2nd, again at Randall's Island against… NYPD2.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Gotham Argo vs. Barnstonworth Rovers Metro

Gotham Argo 3 - 3 Barnstonworth Rovers Metro
Randall's Island field #74
Time: 4pm

----- match report by Kevin Gordon

The weather was glorious, but the Sunday afternoon match between Barnstonworth Rovers and Gotham Argo was not. Despite the negatives—and there were plenty—Argos managed to keep their heads up and claw their way back from a series of costly defensive errors to salvage a 3-3 draw.

The Argos started poorly and were unable to put a string of passes together for large portions of the first half. Some could say that this was due to rustiness and the four new faces in the squad, but it was probably due as much to complacency as anything—it was as though the team had expected to win simply by showing up. The play was narrow, hurried, and without purpose. The Rovers, though not an especially good footballing side, were determined and worked hard and managed to capitalize on a series of Argo mistakes to go two goals up by half-time.

The first Rovers goal originated with a free kick inside their own half. Kevin, in flinging his head a ball that was beyond him, only managed to paw it out of the air. The referee had no choice but to show the young lad a yellow card, the first of his life. The free kick was lifted into the area, and the Argos failed to clear their lines. In the scramble that followed, one of the Rovers managed to poke the ball into the net.

Kevin will also have to take some of the blame for the second goal. He failed to stay with his man, the tireless Rover’s number 12, and was trying to recover as the player received the ball near the outside of the box. He heeded Elliot, the Argo keeper’s direction to stay on his feet, but still lunged in too quickly, and the Rover’s number 12 easily knocked the ball inside him and put a cross into the six-yard box. Once again the ball bounced around the area, and once again the Argos found themselves picking the ball out of the net. With this rude wake up call, the Argos managed to fashion a few chances before half-time, but never truly threatened to score.

The Argos got together at half-time, and managed to regain their composure, both individually and collectively. While not accomplishing the same level of passing and movement as in the fall season, the Argos started to take control of the game. They managed to find teammates and move the ball upfield, completing more passes in the first ten minutes than they had managed in most of the first period. Within ten minutes the first Argo goal came. Demian received the ball just outside the area and ran at goal. Two Rovers defenders were quickly on him, but he managed to push the ball between them and hit it into the back of the net from around the penalty spot.

The comeback was on, but not before the Argos hit another hitch. The ref raised his arm as if to call offside on the Rovers, but when he failed to blow the whistle, the Argo defense was left confused and scrambling. As a Rover’s striker approached, Elliot came out to clear the ball, but only managed to bash it against the opposition player and deflect it into his own net.

It didn’t take long for the Argos to regain their domination of the game though, and minutes later they had a corner. Sam hit a high ball across the top of the six yard box, and Bruno wisely ignored James Whiteley’s call and headed the ball powerfully past the Rover’s keeper.

The Argos continued pounding on the door, with Whiteley, Kevin, and Sam all going close, but in the end the equalizer came from the penalty spot. Sam hit the ball waist high and to the right, narrowly passing the keeper’s outstretched hands. The goal was like the Argo performance; it wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done.

Though there were no more goals, the remaining minutes of the game were not without incident. Whitely, after nicking the ball of a Rover’s midfielder, turned and began to run down field. His trailing arm, though, caught the Rover’s player in the face as he buckled down to chase after Whitely. Though there was no malice in it, the referee felt obligated—probably due to the amount of leg kicking and cries of agony from the Rover’s player—to show Whitely a yellow. Tensions ran high and members of both teams exchanged unpleasant language for a while before the game was finally restarted.

As it turned out, the issue was not fully sorted, as the Rover's left-back, who'd been growing less and less stable as the Argos mounted their comeback, finally snapped and it wasn’t long before he was lunging in recklessly on Argo’s Momo, catching the midfielder well after he’d released the ball, and earning the hotheaded Rover’s player a straight red card. More words were exchanged, some very forcefull, but in the end the game was almost over anyway.

The Argos can take some heart from the fact that they managed to draw against the third ranked team in the Metro 2 division, despite playing well below their best. Still, they will have to improve if they are to remain at the top of the table, because on the evidence of this game, they don’t much deserve the title.

GOALS: Demian, Bruno, Sam