2008 ROUND 13
LUSC Old Boys vs Central Park Rangers 5 - 2

Goals:

DeBon, Alfred (17)
Randla, Wojtek (25)
Pham, Cang (42)
Interligi, David (66)
Randla, Wojtek (78)

Go Back to Old Boys Team Page here


The Flight of the Bald Eagle

By mid week, the Bald Eagles looked like they were going to struggle to field a full team against the dangerous Central Park Rangers. With Lou O’Cif in Ireland growing potatoes, Robbie Slater at Falls Creek discovering which bones he has yet to break and the Gabmeister, Van der Baxter, Loz, and Luca at All Beef Patty’s 21st birthday the selectors had some big decisions to make. Fortunately, the ever reliable Jimmy and Gerry overcame life threatening injuries at the last minute to bolster the backline. With Ilias back in goals this week, Tranner joined Sava, Bruno and the Thai Superfreak in the midfield. It was a welcome sign to see Paul Cif return from his 3 week holiday in the Bahamas to join the G-Train up front. (Rumours have it that Gonis had only returned from complete knee replacement surgery that morning however he assured us he had made a full recovery and should be able to see out the full 90 seconds as per usual). Wilko decided he was unavailable as he is saving himself for finals action so we needed to bolster the attack. The Coung and Cang show hit the road and, with Dave, brought some much needed speed into the team.

However, the big recruit of the year goes to the Polish Man Mountain, Tek. Team selectors Gabmeister and Boz, along with team psychologist Moutis, met a week ago to discuss what Tek (alias ‘Thunder’) was going to do now that he was out of contract with Channel Seven’s Gladiators Series. With the contract papers signed at the 11th hour the team finally got their replacement for O’Cif. Having not done a pre-season, Thunder realizes he may have to hit the weights hard if he wants to emulate the defensive strength of his Irish Idol.

Central Park Rangers were a well organized team however they came up against a very determined and skillful Bald Eagle outfit. The backline was phenomenal in the first half with Jimmy, Sava, Thunder and the Flying Dutchman winning every ball. Frankie just did his thing – at times he looked so relaxed with the ball, he made his team mates feel like pulling up a deck chair and putting their feet up. Paul, Tranner and the G- Train were creative up front however it was the Thai Superfreak who got La Trobe on the score board with a beautiful finish after some good work in the midfield. The second goal was straight out of the Seniors 2005 Coaching Manual. When a corner was won by the Bald Eagles forwards, the ground literally rocked as Thunder approached the goal square. The G-Train whipped in the corner and Thunder showed no respect for four guys he wiped out as he rocketed a header into the back of the net for the Musashi Muscle Bar Goal of the Day. Cang and Dave came on part way through the first half and completely tore the Rangers defence apart. The third goal came from great play from Cang and provided a handy lead going into the main break.

With the score 3:0 at half time, and many players having not played for a while, it was always going to be a test to see if the score would be enough to hold off the Rangers. When Rangers scored two quick and relatively easy goals, the pressure was really on. Their first goal was due to a lack of midfield pressure resulting in an easy run down the wing and cross into the box. The second was a nice free kick shot at goal which just beat Illias outstretched fingers. Bruno and Boz tried hard in the middle but it was the Cuong and Cang show which broke open the game. The two little masters ran rings around the Rangers and created a number of good scoring opportunities. It was their work on the right wing which gave Dave the opportunity in the box. With some nice ball control, he calmly slotted the fourth goal in to give some breathing space to the Baldies and change the momentum back into their favour. Thunder finished off with his second for the day after a nice through ball from Cang. It was a hard fought win with everyone contributing well and the selectors may find it difficult slotting some of the missing guys back into the team – unless of course your name is Gab.