Both teams hoped to use this early season tilt to put themselves in pole position for the sole promotion spot for the conference. The first half provided a few tense moments, most notably the sheer number of crunching tackles doled out by both squads. Interestingly enough the man in the middle kept his cards in his pocket, only issuing verbal warnings to the offending players (only one card was issued in the match, a 2nd half yellow to an Alliance defender). Some calls were justified, others got complaints from both sides. By half time "The Man in Black" (no not the atagonist from Lost Man in Black ) was very consistent with his calls. On the offensive side of things Alliance came close to putting themselves ahead in the first frame when their speedy striker sprinted in 1v1 on Brookline's netminder Brandon Nelson. Nelson came up HUGE with a breakaway save, stripping the ball off the foot of the attacker as he tried to round the keeper to the right. Meanwhile at the other end of the pitch Brookline looked like they were about to stake themselves to a 1-0 first half lead when the Alliance backline misplayed a long, high bouncing clearance from BFC which winger KG tried to lob the keeper on. Unfortunately for the boys in Yellow, their #9 was not at his best as he was recovering from a stomach virus which doctor's dubbed "West Coast Ebola" and he feebly struck the ball at the Alliance keeper instead of properly popping it over the oncoming keeper; he'll be crying himself to sleep on his big pillow all week over that miss. Nil-nil heading into the break.
Second half saw both teams trying to break the stalemate, BFC holding a slight edge on both possession and quality of chances. The thought on the sideline was not "if" but "when" they'd draw first blood. The visitors were the ones to strike first. On a quick counter, Alliance was able to get float a cross into the penalty area that a striker was able to rise up and power a header home, for a 1-0 lead. BFC not wasted little time getting back on the offensive (a testament to their grit and determination) and started pushing for the equalizer. With about 20 minutes left in the match KG found himself 1v1 with a defender just inside the box but well to the right of the goal. He pushed the ball past the defender and looked to round him but the big burly defender decided to pancake block him, the ref immediately pointed to the spot. Caley Iandorio took the ensuing PK and blasted it home to bring the home side level - game on. Both teams pushed for the go ahead, Brookline again having a slight edge in quality chances, but Alliance once again struck on a quick counter. Another cross into the Brookline box found the foot of a hustling Alliance attacker and he pounced on the low ball pounding it into the back of the net for what looked like the game winner. Brookline looked defeated, Alliance was riding high and sitting pretty. With under 3 minutes remaining the home side pushed everyone forward, lashing crosses into the box. BFC was unable to put any real threat on net, a real credit to the hard work of Alliance's backline who were throwing their bodies in front of any loose ball. With under 30 seconds to go Brookline hold one last chance to knot the score, a loose ball went out of bounds for a throw in deep in the final third of the pitch. Everyone pushed forward for the last ditch effort - everyone but Nelson who was way too lazy to sprint the 80 yards up field. The ensuing throw in arced towards Right Back Andres Rosello who was unable to get his dark, model like locks on the ball because he was promptly drilled from behind by a defender. The ref blew the whistle for what surely was the signal for the end of the game....but no he pointed to the penalty spot, Rosello had been flagrantly fouled inside the box. Iandorio once again got the nod to take the kick, he sent the keeper the wrong way once again and nearly tore a hole in the netting with his blistering shot, 2-2. Not 5 seconds later the ref blew his whistle to signal the final. Emotions erupted, BFC realizing they snatched a point from the jaws of defeat, while Alliance felt like they were robbed of all 3 points by the referee. It was a hard fought match, but the right outcome as neither team outplayed the other and deserved the full 3 points.
It's hard to narrow down a man of the match for BFC. Iandorio deservedly gets a nod for his two PKs, Nelson for his breakaway and point blank saves throughout the match, Steve Kaye for his solid performance all over the pitch, as well as super sub Dave Peterson (nursing a sprained ankle) who time and again won pretty much any ball played his way or at least put a bone crunching tackle on the attacker. However in the end it's unfair to give the MoM to just one (or even four) individuals, this was definitely a team effort. Last season I'm not so sure BFC would have been able rise up from the ashes and pull even not once but twice in a hotly contested game such as this. That's why Ed. has decided to award the MoM to the BFC squad for their efforts. There were countless other examples of the boys doing what the can to win the match, but Ed would like to make it known that he's now nursing a back ailment so he's been hitting the bottle hard since Sunday afternoon, my apologies if I've neglected to mention individually your outstanding performance.
And so it begins, the rivalry between BFC and Alliance Soccer Club. Things definitely got chippy and mouthy by the end of the game. It's safe to say that the next contest between these two teams will be a hotly contested one and full of emotions left over from this match. Mark your calendars for the 14th of October when these two titans face off for what could be the deciding match in the conference. Neither team can afford a dip in performance between now and return match at Gann Academy. Any dropped points over their next 4 matches could eliminate either team from promotion contention. Next Sunday will see Brookline FC host former D5S team Irish Village while Alliance host Brookline FC's crosstown rival Brookline M.T. in Waltham.
I'm off to pick up a case of Zinfandel to ease the back pain, you stay classy BFC supporters.
Epic.
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