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MAY 10, 2009
Young Bloods vs. Raccah Rovers
(Colmar Manor, MD)
Raccah Rovers came into their contest against Youngblood arguably one of the hottest teams in the NSL, sporting back to back wins for the first time since their 2006 campaign. In addition, their defense had yet to allow a goal during that brief span. On the other hand, Youngblood were still looking to bounce back from their disappointing 2008 season when they missed the playoffs for the first time in team history, couple that with their lone 2009 win a lackluster victory against the Veterans, were looking to keep pace with the middle of the pack.
In front of an overflow crowd at Colmar Manor Ballfields, Youngblood, with the blazing speed of Emeka Ileka and Ayo Goriola on the wings, plus Kevin Tabe and Manfred Tambe holding down the midfield, took the game straight to the heart of the Rovers' defense led by the mercurial Lato Achikeh. It took only 10 minutes for the Youngblood attacking force to solve the puzzle and breakdown the Raccah Rovers defense.
In a scintilating run down the right flank, Ileka squared the ball into the box for the lurking Ayo to slam it home giving Youngblood a precious 1-0 lead. From that point, Raccah took the game to Youngblood and never let them off the hook with Henry Ogege and Andy Ojinaka galloping through the 'Bloods defense at will. Unfortunately, several poor finishes by Ojinaka, plus the stout goalkeeping from replacement Obi Ezeogu kept Youngblood in the forefront for the remainder of the first half, notwithstanding a Rovers' goal that was nulified due to goalkeeper interference in the final frantic minutes of the half.
The second half was an uneventful chess match with very few chances by either side, as both teams displayed physical challenges, refusing to give an inch of space. The Rovers' offensive assault kept Youngblood pinned in their half for practically the entire alloted time, except for a couple of swift counter attacks that were snuffed out by the quick feet of Rovers' goalkeeper, Ebe Matey. With the hard earned victory, Youngblood (8 points) extended their unbeaten streak to four games, while Raccah Rovers (6 points) were sent back to the drawing board to regroup for what still looks like a promising season.
APRIL 19, 2009
VASCO vs. OGBUNIGWE: 3 - 0 (Walk-Over)
(Colmar Manor, MD)
From 500 feet away at the top of Colmar Manor Ballfield entrance was a frightening sight. The soccer pitch was empty, might have OGBUNIGWE thugs destroyed Vasco so badly that everyone went home. The soccer field looked very lonely as the cool breeze blew the lanky flags from north to south while it held on tight to the roots of the hard ground. The blue nets hung onto the goal post and made ugly faces like JJ when he ate some old akara that Mushe Mushe brought from Nigeria. There it was with only 4 cars on the field; 2 belonging to referees Oga "I will give you red card" Omo and his accomplice Oga Saro Major, the other belonged to commish and standing next to the car was Commish with his hands folded as though someone had committed an abomination. The last car belonged to Vasco manager Obi Danda, he looked tensed as he perambulated the entire soccer field on his borrow borrow leg hopping like a chicken that was half way killed. He was so tensed he failed to even greet, continuously swearing and redialing his players. I said to him "Ah ah!! mek you relax na!! No be yeye OGB u dey play". He responds with authority, did you say yeye? Did you see what those baggas did to Enyimba with no sub? Abeg man!! Again he hopped off like a rabbit in heat (don't ask me what they hope like cause I can't describe it, u will have to see to understand). I could hear him screaming, yes!! yes!! wey you dey? game go soon start oooo!! and na only 6 people dey hia meanwhile OGB full ground!! Come quick abeg, we can't loose again or else the season will be over.
In less than 10 minutes, like a mouse race, all the Vasco DaGamerians started to crawl out from their fox holes. Ah ah!! what!! Acoording to Morgan he would say" Level is high". Men what I saw was more than Level is high. It felt as though Vasco Da Gama had imported all its players even those with EU affiliations. I whispered "Trust Danda he is going to show you how a member of another team technically belongs to him". Even their traded power forward and striker Uche Chinyere was there. Steven Nwamkpa, Mike Annagu, Kweku Amoako, David Unesco were all there. General Herve Ngueko, Commander Melvin Tamangwa and Marksman Keeper Maxille was there. Vasco was so deep in number, Commish had to lend them additional set of jersey as they could form two full squads. Looking to the field you had thought Enyimba was playing Vasco Da Gama. The next car that pulled up was Tunde Highjest Priest. He and fellow team mate goal keeper Chuks Otimkpu (aka towncrier) stood there wondering what they would do as water don pass garri. HP knowing the trouble that awaited them said quite frankly dem go kpokpo us if dem catch us. Cheai!!!! dem even carry Uche and Steven come because I tell them say I go use OGBUNIREX on them. Goal keeper Chuks then said ah, why you go talk like that? Abeg mek u no dey wake sleeping giant next time. HP gave skipper the look that one gives their housegirl when you want to meet them behind the boys quarter; then he follows up with if your team players come we for play them abi, abegii jari comot for way. I could see Danda smiling so wide he looked like Isaiah when he is done drinking ogogoro or Rangers majestic four when they have come out from their Colmar manor shrine. All of a sudden, he is no longer hopping but doing the side steps aka crip-walks of Snoop and the west coast bangers. You could hear him hollering, refer-reeeee abeg come blow this game mek my VASCORIANS punish OGB (Old Grouphome Boys). HP could only shake his head as his blue and white uniform starting to shy away from his body. The VASCORIANS looked hungry like blood sucking vampires ready to attack, you could literally see the blood drooling down their cheeks. Charles Bendu was just arriving when he saw the hungry looking VASCORIANS and quickly performed a 180 degrees in his expedition truck, screeched and sped off!! He had fear written all over his face knowing that Uche, Steve, David, Mike and Kweku were going to eat him and spit him out like an unwanted tasteless kpomo. If fact the players wanted more time to be allocated so they will really get to play and punish OGB but OMO seeing the hunger in the eyes and intensity that might have been exerted on OGB and decided to call the game a walkover. OGB players arrived 2 hours later asking how the game went. Vasco was awarded a win but they really wanted to meet OGB for all the trash talks they had. Vasco wanted OGB to be our guniea pigs on our new medication VASCULAR DA MOTOCIN CHONDRIDE.
Written by Obi Ogbu
ENYIMBA FAILS TO EXTINGUISH THE CHAMPS AS IT ENDS 1-1
(Colmar Manor, MD)
On Sunday, the eagerly awaited mano a mano between the champion Onadrix Rangers and NSL’s most-feared team (Enyimba) came and passed with no victor no vanquished. That it ended 1-1 at the famed Colmar Manor field was a testimony to a fierce battle where no inch waas given and all tricks came to the fore. In the end, Rangers Coach Ken “Beluwa” Nwafor yet another game from the fringe of defeat by outfoxing the opponent in a second half reshuffle of his “cards.” Yet, he failed to give himself credit and only issued a veiled warning to the rest of the NSL “Colmar Manor field is ours…in spite of all the Enyimba noise … that they are this and they are that … it was our game to win.” It was true that many fans expected Enyimba to rough up the champs and earlier on the champs were literally begging for oxygen to survive as they nearly suffocated under an unrelenting 20-minute pressure. The Enyimba midfield of Carmelo, Johny Sessay, Ricardo Jarrett, and Frank “Chicken” Doh simply took complete control occasionally releasing the speedy Cedric Mansaray down the right. Twice, Fela Adeyemi rose to head dangerously across the bar with goalkeeper Emeka Igwe surviving on a prayer. It worsened when Rangers’ midfield maestro LeRoy Olige limped off on after pulling a hamstring.
Rangers, imprisoned in their own half, finally generated a jail break in the 22nd minute but forward King Smith appeared to be in a dizzy trance from which he would eventually be rescued through a substitution on the hour. But the Rangers’ break was short-lived before tormentor Cedric Mansaray, again, broke away on the right and Edwin Ebai bullied him deep in the box with the clock at half hour. Fela Adeyemi, the dreaded one, walked up to the spot to side foot the penalty kick to the left corner as Enyimba went up 1-0. It was only then that Rangers mustered enough strength to mount a sustained response.
Rangers began the second half cutting off the midfield supply to Fela. Fela was to cite this change at the end when he said “my midfield support was gone. Ricardo just did not come up with the support.” The truth was that with Carmelo and “Chicken” both leaving for an early shower, Ricardo was easily closed down by the champs led by the commanding silo, Ibukun Abraham Sanni. More telling was that the Enyimba lads, exhausted by the physical exertion were limping off in droves. Gebenga Oduola, Cedric Mansaray, Chicken, Sam Taylor all had their moments of injuries. Rangers kept up the second half pressure forcing Enyimba skipper Nixon Dimkpa to earn a caution for a professional handball in the 62nd minute, barely escaping disqualification. Four minutes later, Dimkpa was judged to have pushed substitute Mohammed Sessay before heading a cornerkick out of danger. Referee Omo Esemuede pointed to the spot and Ike Oscar Akamike hit the penalty kick high right with goalkeeper Kevin “cat” Wong groping air. The champs, at 1-1, were finally back in the game. Enyimba was now backpedaling just to save a point from a game that many expected them to win.
If any thing, this game made a statement – in spite of the draft, the new stars, Fela and the Chicken, it is still the champs that “own” Colmar Manor field. For the rest of the NSL, the fear of another Rangers championship is now the beginning of wisdom. The message was loud and clear on Sunday –Rangers will not easily handover the mantle. A word is enough for the NSL wise.
RANGERS: Emeka Igwe (1) 6.0 – Odiansosen Igene (7) 6.0, Edwin Ebai (20) 6.5, Andrew Koroma (18) 6.0, Ogom Enwenwa (3) 6.2 – Ike Akamike (17) 6.0, Ibukun Sanni (2) 6.8, LeRoy Olige (15) 6.0, Eric Kreme (9) 6.0 – Tarawalley Mohammed (12) 6.3 – King Smith (11) 5.5.
Subs Used: Chucky Nwaochei (16) 5.8, Omotayo Coker (19) 6.0, Pillars Ogie (21) 5.8, Mohammed Sessay (15) 5.8.
ENYIMBA: Kevin Wong (1) 6.1 – Sam Taylor (11) 6.0, Nixon Dimkpa (cpt-5) 6.5, Ibrahim (4) 6.0, Gbenga Oduola (5) 6.0 – Ricardo Jarrettt (8) 6.0, Carmelo (13) 6.0, Johny Sessay (3) 6.0, Frank “Chicken” Doh (15) 6.5 – Cedric Mansaray (16) 6.3, Fela Adeyemi (9) 6.4.
Subs Used: Wale Adenola (21) 5.8, Ndubueze Onyike (6) 5.8, Afam Okafor (13) x, Bayo Brown (10) x.
CAUTIONS: Nixon Dimkpa 62nd minute.
Written by Chuka Onwumechili
APRIL 12, 2009
YOUNGBLOODS 2 : VETERANS 1
(Colmar Manor, MD)
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Short fused Bloods caged by hapless Veterans
You would have been forgiven for thinking that last Sunday cracker between the Bloods and the Veterans was something straight out of La liga, the standard of play, the flair, the regularity of breakaways and the age of the culprits who defied nature to show once again that age is nothing but a numerical
As the xmas tree formation collapsed early in the first half, the veteran coaching crew activated the freeze cage formation- it nearly worked as bloods were caught on several occasion on obvious offside position. The veterans were down 0-2 in the first half but came back in the second half fighting furiously like their life depended on it. The ageless octagerian Tunji was the tormentor in -chief against a solid bloods defence on paper. Tunji spearheaded a wave of non stop unslaught against a brittle blood rear guard. This prompted the Bloods manager to walk into the pitch on several occasion( a violation of league rule) he was enraged, dysphoric and short fused, yelling copied EPL playbook from the sidelines to no avail. A quick silver replica exchange between Ken Nwafor, Morgan, Anisha, Ike Ume found diminutive Nwafor on the right side, who nutmeg two bloods stationary defenders to earn a deserved conner kick after a sustained pressure. The crowd went beserk and perplexed with the artistry and textbook play last seen when Nigerian supereagles won Nations cup in 1994. The conner kick was masterful taken by veteran midfield orchestra Nwafor -he floated a semicolon curve that the coaching crew called from the sidelines- Zico jumped over bloods defence and nodded home a well deserved goal for the Veterans. The game ended 1-2 against a determined Veterans who had unexpected stamina to spare.....this is only the begining, other teams should watch when all veterans that missed the first game suit up for the next match...UP VETERANS | |
Written by Ezesports of Ezesportsworld/NSL
RACCAH vs. INTER NATIONALE
(Colmar Manor, MD)
“When beggars die, there’s no comet seen. The heaven themselves blaze forth the death of princes”
It was cold, windy and a depressing day. At least, that was the prevailing feeling in Raccah’s camp before their match with the New and Refurbished Inter-Nationale. In a strong show of solidarity for their new owner- TAYE, the Inter Boyz dressed in their customary Dave and Buster syrup like uniform were all over the field, choreographing their Pre-game warm up under the able supervision of their Midfield Field Marshall “Baby-Boy” Abbey.
Contrast this with the Raccah Pre Game warm up: 4 and half Raccah players were on the field five minutes to the start of the game. With their NSL borrowed jerseys in his Duffy bag, Raccah Coach/GM Stone “Bengay” Igwebuike was busy working up his free weekend minute Cell phone, giving bus routes and metro stops directions to some of his players apparently, but as usual running late. His Assistant, “Franchise- Killer” Abbey doubling as the team’s Training Manager, started warming up the available players and some ineligible Veteran players. The picture as pathetic as it may look is A typical life in Raccah Organization: an organized madness!
The Commish in a rare moment of “Focused Fear” reminded Raccah Coach of the minimum number of players required for a game. With each passing minute came the looming and ominous sign of a Walk Over, and like JESUS: THE COMMISH WEPT! However, the Commish’s fear was allayed when on the Referee’s whistle for the start of the game, Raccah’s players started emerging from nowhere like Somalian Pirates in the Gulf of Aden. More shocking was that seven of these Raccah players have a median age of 21, thus completely changing the age old conception of Raccah Rovers from a Nursing Home Academy to a Generation X Yuppies. With heads high, shoulders broadly stretched, and three deflated chest pushed forward with the confidence of Somalian War Lords, Coach Stone, TM Abbey and Raccah Defensive maestro, Lato walked these “juveniles” into the pitch like three proud parents walking their teenager sons to a prom night.
No sooner had the referee’s whistle blown, that Raccah goal merchant, Andy began to display series of foot work, taking advantage of his lanky figure and speed. Twice in the 5th and 10th minutes, he was able to pierce through the Inter Nationale porous defense like Danda working a fat Caribbean woman at the crossroad parking lot.
In the 12th minute, TM Abbey contributing to the delinquencies of four minors, lead a riot squad of Kunle, Henry Agege, Tunde and “Galloping” Andy in series of beautiful TAM- TAM passes, that saw the Inter Nationale defense grasping for breathe, and Tunde finishing with an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile [ICBM] shot that left Inter Nationale owner and goaltender singing R.Kelly’s Grammy award winning song:” I believe I can fly”. Raccah’s first goal was not just amazing, but equally amusing, because of the group dynamics.
Inter Nationale looked like a team that was getting ready to wave the white flag of submission, as Stone and TM Abbey firmly in control of the midfield, haven subsumed “Baby-Boy” Abbey, like two Somalian pirate mother ships, intermittently unleashed these “four Running Rebels” on Inter Nationale’s defense, with Andy making series of deep incursion into Inter Nationale goal area. These dare-devil attacks forced Inter Nationale’s Coach Anisha and TM Richard, formerly known as Zico to recall the offensive duo of Fode and Wale to help their overstretched and under-manned defense.
Respite came for Inter Nationale, when their three musketeers of “Baby-Boy” Abbey, Fode and Wale mounted a surprise counter-attack in the 15th minute. That attack caught the erstwhile robust Raccah defense “Sleeping -On -Duty” thus Wale scoring from an off-side position. Though that goal was disallowed, that was the closest that Raccah Defense Committee of Lato, Isreal, Kingsley and Segun allowed, before building a “Wall of Jericho” around their Toys R Us goaltender.
Capitalizing on an Inter Nationale defensive error in the 20th minute, Raccah’s TM Abbey emailed a well tailored pass to “Galloping” Andy, who in a bid to be more stylish than Maradona, shot wild in front of an open net. Raccah’s Stone Igwebuike did not help matters, when in the 30th minute shot wide a free kick less than ten yards away from the penalty box; in the dying minutes of the first half, Raccah’s deployed a Phil Jackson’s Triangular Offense that saw Kunle, Henry, Tunde and TM Abbey making deep incursion into Inter Nationale goal area, which saw Taye diving full length to make a spectacular save.
The second half resumed with an Inter Nationale moving from a Matador defense to a well oiled attacking machine.”Baby-Face” Abbey haven regained his composure led his three musketeers of Clemens, Fado and Wale in a Kamikaze attack on Raccah defense, but like ”Baby-Face” Abbey four pregnant shiwawa, this spirited offense found Raccah defense insurmountable.
The 55th minute saw Stone Igwebuike and TM Abbey treating ”Baby-Face” Abbey like one of Franklin Ekechukwu foreclosed homes, by taking full control of the midfield again. Even the insertion of Cross Road Maverick, Johnny Egbuchinamu up into the midfield, was no match for the combined experiences of these two Raccah Rover’s “dancing Papas”. While Stone Igwebuike religiously shored up the defense from the midfield, TM Abbey “spiritually” ignited the offense from the midfield. This complete dominance of the midfield by Raccah forced Inter Nationale coaching crew to move to a Sarah Palin type offense, by shuttling from defense to the attacking duo of Clemens and Wale, but like a Bridge- To- Nowhere, Raccah’s Isreal and “elastic” Kingsley singing “Yes We Can”, had that move checkmated.
In the 60th minute, a Raccah’s Kunle and Henry combination, culminating in a left flank in-swinger that left Andy to aerially dribble pass Inter Nationale’s full back, Henry, and Andy taking advantage of his chopstick long like legs, galloped like a gazelle pass two “stranded” Inter Nationale defenders, but that move was gazetted by the quick thinking of goaltender Taye, who parried the luck lustered shot away from the goal net, for a corner kick. Bending it like Beckham, Stone attempted to tuck the corner kick to the far end of the net, but it sailed aimlessly away.
Raccah in the last ten minutes of the game saw a committed attempt by TM Abbey to increase the goal number, but Andy out of youthful exuberance and inexperience became a liability rather than an asset. This must have informed TM Abbey’s decision to lead a Peanut[Kunle] , Butter[Henry] and Jelly[Tunde] type offensive, but Coach Anisha and TM Zico borrowing a page from Veteran Team controversial Coach Tino playbook, employed a Christmas Tree Formation[5- 4-1]to stop any further goal. It worked; Raccah were unable to make any further head way, in this Market type defense. Raccah threw all it had in a bid to decode this well executed Christmas Tree defense, but to no avail.
Frustrated by its inability to pierce Inter Nationale Defensive veil, Raccah deployed some its defensive arsenal, by allowing “elastic” Kingsley and its own Washington Monument, Lato Achike upfront to play offense, thus for the first time in the second half, exposing their defense. It was this mistake that Veteran Midfield dynamo, “Baby Face” Abbey saw, when he sent a floater to Cross Road Maverick, Johnny Egbuchinamu, who had only the Raccah goalkeeper to beat, but shot not into the goal post, but in the direction of Cross Road, leaving other Cross Road Mavericks like Femola, Zion, Jasper, Ifediora [coming out from the bush] screaming:”whata gwan?”.The answer came when the referee Omo, whistled in response: “na da thang!” for the end of the game.
Raccah : 1, Inter Nationale: yet to score!
Notes written by Ike Ezekwu
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OGB vs. Enyinba FC: Easter Battle to Remember
(Colmar Manor, MD)
The game kicked-off at 2pm with the weather a little breezy with clear skies. A little later than slated but in front of a large turnout crowd. The game was all it was billed to be with OGB coming off a 3-0 trouncing of Eastern United last week, and Enyimba showcasing their multi-talented squad of individual superstars in their first appearance of the season. Enyimba was in white tops, while OGB wore their signature blue gear.
The game starts of with a lot of back and forth motion by both teams seemingly trying to get a feel of their opponents style of play…
10mins. Cedric shoots at goal off a pass from Benji from the left flank. The ball rolls in front of the goal mouth but no contact with any Enyimba player
15mins: Benji passes again to Cedric who hit the ball over the bar
20mins: Benji receives a through ball from Ricardo. Benji flicks the ball over back pedaling OGB defenders to Chicken from the right side. Chicken tries to settle and place the ball to the right side of the net, but never saw reliable OGB strong man Felix sweeping the ball of the goal-line area
In general the first 20mins brought a lot of ball movement from both teams. OGB never really seemed to settle down in these early stages of the games as they were clearly on their heels defensively. This continued right up to about the 25mins when….
GOAL!!!!!!! 21mins: Enyimba’s new ‘foursome’ of Benji, Ricardo, Cedric and Fela continued to move the ball around the OGB midfield when upon receipt of a nice left wing lob... Benji dials up a through pass right in front of the OGB’s goalie for his friend (Ricardo) to calmly slot the ball into the net
28mins: OGB begins to push a little harder with a lot more pressure in the midfield with their new acquisition (Nana) taking matters into his own hands. Nana begins to titillate the crowd with his balls skills and several quick drives down the left flank. Enyimba’s Gbenga was definitely feeling the pressure of this young ball handler from Ghana
30mins: Freekick!!! The tables turned for the last five minutes of the 1st half with more pressure from the OGB midfield and offense. This results in a little more physical play on Enyimba's part, hence the bringing down of Josie right at the top of their 18yard box. Tunde (Yellow) hit the freekick over the bar though...
35mins: HALF TIME (Extra Notes)… The game saw a short 1st half due to delays in kicking off the game
Right before half time… 2 yellow cards were issued to OGB players for offensive remarks made to the NSL appointed referees. The two culprits were the Goalie and Defender (Alhaji) from OGB
2nd Half Begins…
Something must have been said to the members of the Enyimba squad that wasn’t said on the OGB bench as the first 5 minutes saw the Enyimba quartet moving the ball through to their offense in haste to score. It paid off….
GOAL!!!!! 5mins. Ricardo pushes his way down the left flank taking on Tunde on the speed tip. Ricardo unleashes a sweltering shot at the OGB goalie that deflect the ball to an oncoming Benji. Benji finishes the job by burying the ball in the back of the net making the score line 2-0
10 – 15 mins: The game continues to be played in the middle as Fela begins to try to show himself in the game. He had been very dormant for a 1st round draft by Enyimba. Obviously, the OGB defenders were ready for him. Despite their two goals down, OGB defense continued to play very physical as they began to show some of that ‘Gri-Gbo’ play they are know for with Felix and Alhaji making sure their presences were felt on the field.
10mins: Pushing the ball upfront and sending their defender (Charlie ‘Rude Boy’) up as well finally pays off….
GOAL!!! OGB gets a corner from the left flag post of Enyimba that deflects off an Enyimba defender before being nodded to the roof of the net by the ever lurking Charlie for his 2nd goal of the season… to put the game at 2-1
12mins. Enyimba is (now suddenly) fighting to sustain their lead as Edwardo receives the ball of some very entertaining ‘tip-tap’ play down the middle between Fela and Benji freeing him up for a one-on-one with Felix. But Felix is up to the task as he cleans the area with Ricardo in it. A freekick is awarded at the tip of the OGB 18-yard box.
19mins: A little squabble ensues as Alhaji is about to throw in a ball on the right side of the field between Dozie, Alhaji and Felix. The problem is quickly quelled by the officials before any escalation
25mins: OGB is mounting pressure from all angles now with Josie penetrating from the left and Nana from the middle. This continues to draw the Enyimba defenders to the left leaving the right defensive back to fend with an onrush of OGB’s cards of midfielders and wingers.
38mins: The constant pressure to the left flank finally subdues the Enyimba defense whereby they had to bring down a member of the charging OGB offensive line. OGB is running out of time so they are playing with unparalleled urgency. This resulted in a freekick...
GOAL!!!!!! 39mins: Jasper (goal scorer from last year’s final stages) gets his freekick deflected by an Enyimba defender, leaving the ball afloat and dropping in the net … with the goalie already displaced off to the right-side. The whole field is sent into pandemonium. The game is now tied at 2-2.
With the knowledge of little time left, both teams played with greater intensity and physicality. Enyimba’s Fela, Benji and Ricardo continued to mount pressure in the middle but were never able to get past the ‘bullying defense’ of Felix, Tunde and Alhaji
45mins: The referee calls the game as the ball is cleared out the OGB’s defensive area to keep the scores level at two a piece
Final Score: Ogbunigwe vs. Enyimba... 2 : 2 ...
Goals: Enyimba Ricardo (1), Benji (1) ;OGB Charlie (1), Jasper (1)
Notes written by Ogom Enwemnwa | |
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