The Kite Festival Brings Luck to the Plough

The Starry Plough won 6-2 this Sunday against Alcatraz with three goals from Julio (two of which were results of Mark's magnificent assists), two goals from Tunde (one of which had an assist from me!), and one goal from Ngong. The game had a shaky start: parking was difficult because of the nearby kite festival which caused many Plough players to arrive late and caused Alcatraz to have to start a player down. Julio scored very quickly after the game began and another goal was scored shortly after. Several minutes later, as I subbed in for Mark, a few more players showed up including Zaher, Ngong and Victor and more players showed up for Alcatraz which gave them the full eleven players. The grass was long, the wind was blowing, and the Plough played a little sloppy at some points, but while I was playing and on the sideline I heard great communication and I saw lots of passing and many great shots. Many fouls were called against both sides. Alcatraz definitely had a few divers on their team as well as some bad language, which on one occasion late in the second half got them a red card. Despite the bad tempers on the field, at the end of the game (almost) everyone shook hands. The following are photographs taken by me, Sam, Alex and Tunde and I'm not sure who took which ones except I know I didn't take the picture of the grass. 

Kite Festival!

whew

Magnificent!

Also magnificent!

Nice stop Rickster

This is one of Sam, Alex, or Tunde's wonderful pictures

Fellow photographer!

Another one! Alex was injured and didn't play this game :(

Commitment Mick

Z Winning

Intense moment

Another great save from Ricky

Bennnnnnn

Wasn't even a hand ball

Superstar

Victor using his assets

And his speed!

Nothing wrong with a little physical play

I'm flying!

A beautiful celebration dance

An Important Win

The Starry Plough beat Pixar today 3-0 and it was an important win in securing a top spot - potentially as number one. Mark made sure to get the whole squad (or at least most of them) there today because he expected a tough game and the result was indeed that. There was lots of yelling on the sideline, a yellow card for Julio and Willy, lots of fouls and aggressive language, Tunde worked on his Spanish obscenities, but on the positive side, ball possession was great throughout the game. Tons of passing and combinations as well as excellent work from the defense in shutting down their forwards and through balls made for a great game, and a couple great stops from Ricky prevented retaliation from Pixar. Julio started the game off great with a quick, as he describes, easy, goal and the pressure stayed high for a while after that. Later in the half a foul gave us a free kick right outside the box on the right side and Mo took an incredible shot over their wall of defenders that struck the top post and bounced almost straight down. While the free kick didn't go in, the ball bounced around a bit and a minute later Mo got a second chance and scored the second goal of the game. 

With a few changes up top, the second half was played well too with more great passing, plenty more fouls, trash talking, slide tackles, and great teamwork. While the Plough was ahead in goals almost all ninety minutes, the game was obviously a very physical one and in times like those it's important that a team stick together and support and encourage each other. It was great to see a lot of that on the field from and between defenders, midfielders, and the forwards as well. Mo got another goal in the second half from a hard kick that deflected off Pixar's defender and went over the keeper's head (the keeper was standing very far out). As the 90th minute approached the game got increasingly physical and the banter continued. Finally the whistle was blown, the game ended, and the Plough took one more step in securing their spot as number one. 

The first goal!

Getting it

Getting it again

The Willster

Super control!

I can count on at least ten of these pictures a game

So close Stefan

Most of the time pictures can't capture an entire move,
but this one so clearly did, got him!

Ahhhh!

The foul that wasn't

One of Ricky's great stops

So linear Zo

Some more demonstrated control

Cuidate Tunde

A new pose for Ben

Excellent form, tippie-toe!

The Plough is Back!

Today, for the most part, was a great game for the Plough. Chevron showed up in full force with sixteen men while the Plough was missing Mo, Julio, Willy, Mikey, and Mike (who hasn't shown his face in a while, where are you Mike!?!?) and the dreary weather threatened a foreboding game. But contrary to what the missing starters and dismal weather might suggest, the first twenty minutes were perfect examples of how well the team can play together: players were patient, often playing the ball back and out to the sides, some great shots were taken, great, quick and selfless passing all around, and two goals were scored by Ngong and Tunde. Yours truly even partook in the game, playing approximately 30 minutes woo! Towards the end of the first half, however, the Plough was getting a little sloppy as some of the previous composure was lost. Chevron still had very few chances to score, actually very few chances with the ball period. Perhaps some of the composure was lost when Armando went down hard and popped his shoulder out then back into place. He was out for the rest of the half but started the second half and played for thirty or so minutes. 

The Plough took advantage of the half time break to regain their stature and came out in the second half hard. Team ball control was much improved, especially in relation to these last few games, and another goal was scored. Many shots were taken by Ngong, Zaher, Victor and Tunde and the one that went in was a very simple and concise pass from Ngong to Tunde, who had to give the ball barely more than a tap into the goal. In regards to the many missed shots, some blame the long grass, some blame the wet field, some blame the evil gypsy who showed up several games ago, but regardless of the harsh conditions the Plough got the win. One goal was given up though; a slide tackle from Eric in the box led to a successful penalty kick for Chevron. I believe he also got a red card for this, and besides Mark's yellow card there were no other cards; it was not an overly physical game, unlike last week. Excellent win! I will take the credit. 

The first goal!

I don't understand why this one was called a hand ball

Completely matched in size

Ladies, he's single

Dinosaur Ben with another header!

Sacrifice

A narrowly blocked shot from Victor

Too cool for school

A Tumultuous Tie

The Plough played Benicia in the first game this season and had a great win against them, but the second time playing them was not so fortunate. The Plough happily pulled out a 0-0 tie (I say happily because it allowed the Plough to get a point for the game and keep their good standing in the league). Many players from the offense were missing this week including Zaher, Mo, Armando, Willy, and Tunde, as well as some defenders including Stephan and Ben, which made it very difficult to score. In the first half the team was structured with four defenders, five midfielders and one forward (Julio) which left Julio against three of Benicia's defenders almost every time he got the ball. Benicia's forwards broke through a couple times and Ricky had some amazing saves (pictures included!) but for the most part, their midfield would kick the ball too hard, which resulted in a lot of frustration from their forwards. Many players on the Plough were getting frustrated as well with some of the calls, with each other, with Ali yelling on the sideline, and Mark got his first yellow card!

The second half showed a huge improvement for the Plough. Whereas Benicia had the ball maybe 70% of the first half, the Plough had the ball 75% of the second half. Many great shots were taken - a nice header by Ngong, a narrowly missed bicycle kick by Julio - but the wind was fierce and could not be compensated for by the shooters. Benicia had a scary chance when their forward got a nice pass and outran the defense, but luckily he slipped and landed on his ass and Ricky was able to scoop up the ball, everyone, including the fallen forward, was giggling. Though they didn't pull through with the win, the second half was inspirational evidence that the Plough has the ability to adjust their strategy, regroup, and increase their intensity.

Such grace and poise

An example of poor outnumbered Julio

Riding an invisible bike

Not sure how this happened

A wonderful sequence! Part one

Part two

Part three - forward is utterly defeated