Brooklyn Northern United Mandalorians 2-1 The Casuals
The Casuals 2020 nearly defied footballing convention on Sunday afternoon, with two small breaches in the defence ending their hopes to win with 10 men as the Brooklyn Northern United Mandalorians took the three points.
It was a spirited yet defensive performance from The Casuals as the early red card meant they played a significant chunk of the game within their defensive third. The Mandalorians largely struggled to take full advantage of their extra man despite constant pressure on the Casual goal, and for a while it truly looked as if The Casuals would prevail despite their handicap.
The goals:
Daniel Magallanes (Casuals, 38th minute) Having only recently been sent down to ten men, it would have been reasonable to sit back and expect solely Mandalorian action. Which is how it ended up going, but not until after Amir and Magallanes had their say. Amir broke out of the Casual third with a lung busting sprint, and ran all the way to the opposite goal where a pass to fellow full back Magallanes allowed him to poke it past the BNU goalie.
Vikash Naidu (Mandalorians, 67th minute) A long and low ball from Adam Wells was sent spinning out from the Brooklyn half and all of a sudden Naidu was off and away. The striker managed to round the Casual keeper (and Better Football co-founder) Mike Anderson and with that at long long last the Mandalorians had their breakthrough.
Adam Wells (Mandalorians, 75th minute) With time running out The Casuals turned into their own worst enemy. Brooklyn striker Gerado Dasso ran into the box where his shirt was pulled and body held back. The penalty was awarded, and captain Wells sent it down the left with Anderson rooted to the spot.
The pivotal moment:
In the 71st minute Andy Cockerin went down the left and was practically on the post before passing to Dasso. You’d have been crazy not to have bet on Dasso scoring, but somehow despite being mere yards from an unprotected net the ball went sailing above the crossbar. While BNU still grabbed the goal necessary for the win, it was thanks to a penalty and needing a spot kick to beat ten men says a lot.
The stars:
Mandalorians - Andy Wells The captain led by example on the day, not only by his goal and assist being crucial in their snatching of victory, but Wells was also an inspiring presence and United would have had a much tougher time without him.
The Casuals - Amir The speedster very nearly won it for his team despite both the Mandalorian tide and footballing convention. While Magallanes would put the ball in the back of the net, it was Amir who did the hard yards for that goal - literally.
The bad boys:
Red cards: Mauricio (Casuals). After an initial yellow for spitting, Maurico would then dangerously clatter into a Mandalorian’s leg just on the half hour mark. Given how late it was there could be no complaints surrounding his second yellow.
The comments:
Daniel Magallanes, Casual defender: “We played the whole second half down a number and it definitely showed when they were on the attack as they had a lot of people pushing up on us. We decided to pull one guy into the back line which made it bearable to hold off the Mandalorians, at least for a while.”
Connor Copson, Mandalorian defender: “Very very slow in the first half, but we managed to pick it up in the last fifteen once we changed our formation to a 3-5-2. That’s what led to the comeback, alongside a good half time team talk.. We deserved the win in the end.”
The meaning: The win puts some distance between The Mandalorians and the bottom pack - United sit sixth with seven points, while The Casuals, Inter Galactic, Vauxhalls, and Tim’s Boys fill out the spots below all on three points each.
The future: The Mandalorians have a chance to put some more distance between them and the rest at Alex Moore during their 10am game against Inter Galactic, while The Casuals challenge third place WCU at Boyd Wilson in their 11.40am match. Both fixtures will occur on Sunday the 22nd.
The rest:
Inter Galactic 2-3 Tang’s Tangtastic Ten
Tim’s Boys 1-2 VUWAFC Unicycles
Man Titty 4-1 Wellington Chin United (WCU
CMP FC 6-1 IBU Vauxhalls