Bella Vista FC

Vesuvio reigns supreme over Patriots 7-1

The scoreline does not do this game justice. The Patriots contended well, and for the most part, controlled possession, especially in the midfield. But what happens to a team that tries to overplay the offside trap, and has poor execution at the offense? 7-1. Yes, 6 of the goals by Vesuvio were typical counter attacks or beating the offside trap. Vesuvio, behind the impenetrable wall of Ben and Doud, absorbed much of the possession and attack by the Patriots. When turned over, the Vesuvians let loose their strong 5: Greg, Marco, Andy and Bill, and striker Dave. What made this game different and special for the Vesuvians is that they scored on every opportunity, in sharp contrast to the 1-1 draw verses Via Bicycle, where opportunities were plenty, and execution was absent. The Patriots had just as many chances, and were not able to score. Down 4-0 at the half, you saw a glimmer of hope for the Patriots when they scored a penalty, and Paul almost put a second one in minutes later. But when it rained, it poured. Vesuvio were scoring pairs of goals at a time. Dave scored 2 in 2 minutes in the first half, and Marco did the same in the second half. That would knock the wind out of any team. Vesuvio, who proved last year as the champions, are a very tough team with a solid arsenal.

Lesson learned: no matter how well you pass or control the midfield, you need to score and defend even better.

Waffles win 4-1 over Roosters

Bonte played 1 man down, but were able to control much of the first half, and began scoring 15 minutes after kickoff. The first goal came from Deger (pronounced Dare), the Turkish international, who cleaned up a missed shot by Bula. A second goal came from Bula, who had to clean up a miss that hit the post. It was 2-0 at the half. The second half began with Jerry coming on for the Roosters. He was absent for the first half, but a couple of shots that just missed made his presence felt for the Waffle defense. The goals came 15 mins in, with Deger scoring with a shot that took a favorable bounce, and the final goal was by rightback Keith, who after beating Jerry, was fouled in the Rooster penalty area - he scored his penalty by taking the keeper the wrong way. The Roosters then began to put some pressure late in the second half. Abdul, their star player, put one into the corner of the net, and Steph, who had a strong performance on the day, tried to lob goalie Ricky. But this was too little too late, and Bonte won 4-1.

Sources say that Race Street needed to disprove their underdog status and did so Thursday night by raining goals on Fergies. Details are sketchy about who scored and how the match was played, but this scoreline elevates the giants to a respected status and perhaps the ones to beat. Fergies, on the other hand, now tops both Via and Roosters as the most “hammered” (and not from pints at the good Irish hangout) team in a game so far.

Refs are needed for Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday games. Today Bonte plays Roosters at noon, while in the most anticipated match up of the week former champions Vesuvio play favorites Patriots at 2pm. Reenforced Patriots are bloodthirsty for revenge of last year’s final. So come watch the battle at Saks.

The League standings updated!

What do you know, Patriots at the top but have played 4. Roosters need to get their act together now, or no playoffs for them. Via drew with Vesuvio! Maybe Via is finding its wheels finally!

Jerseys are here! Make sure you are at Palumbo this Sunday Afternoon for team jerseys and team photos for the sponsors.

About the golden boot… not updated yet, i need a volunteer to help get this together.. let me know if you want to do it! - Bula.

by Richie

In the other match last night, El Fuego lost 2-1 to Patriot. It was a tough, hard-fought battle of a match, with the short-handed Fuegans displaying remarkable grit. The team had several guys playing through injury, sickness, and even both at the same time.

It was a gritty display, to say the least. The first goal from Patriot was a result of an unfortunate deflection off a defender and the ‘Lanky Limey’ up front was in the right place at the right time to loop a header over your humble reporter who was desperately out of position in goal. I’m not a goalie, and I don’t play one on TV, either.

The second Patriot goal was actually scored by one of our defenders - off a corner it sailed over everyone’s heads and as an attempt was being made to clear the ball to safety, the usually smooth, finely manicured Palumbo surface gave an uncharacteristic ‘bobble’ and the ball deflected in to our own net. A bit harsh, really, but the Pats were dominating possession for the first twenty minutes or so.

After that, Fuego settled down and at the half a change of formation made a huge difference to the flow of the game. We pulled one back after a sumptuous move (including a GORGEOUS through ball from Zack that completely flummoxed the Pat’s defence) ended with a wide open man blasting it into essentially an open goal - such was the teamwork involved in that goal. Perhaps there was a hint of offside but we go by the calls on the field, and Kev was right up with play so 2-1 it was.

The Stunning Burritos kept clawing and scrapping but eventually ran out of time and it finished 2-1. The effort for Fuego has been completely outstanding in both games I’ve played in - I was really impressed with everyone’s attitude last night. Hell, Jonathan only screamed in exasperation about half a dozen times so we really must be making progress !

A huge THANK YOU VERY MUCH to Jimmy and Kev for refereeing last night. It was a tough, very competitive game and it wasn’t easy to ref it. Hats off, gentlemen.

Race St. v. Patriots 1-0.

How did this happen? The team reckoned as the squad to beat in the league lost! Well, that’s not the whole truth. Patriots seemed to dominate much of the game play, and had some great chances to not only draw, but win this game. It is not easy to beat the Giants of Race St. They are solid in defense. But for the pats to give up the goal, it took just one defensive error, that the bloodthirsty hawk Conrad swooped upon. Let’s see… defender has 3 choices under pressure, pass to goalie, try to clear, kick it out, or pass across the field to fellow defender. Conrad anticipated the latter, and made them pay. Apart from that, the Patriots still lived up to their reputation.

Waffles beat Burritos 5-2

BIG KEV SCORES!

Fuego did not have 2 of their best, Darin and Jeremy. Yet, they put up a solid effort. The first goal was pin point header by Mr. Bull into the burrito net from a Jared corner. Ten minutes later, Zack returned the favor with a header of his own from Alex’s corner. The score was tied. Ricky scored the next giving the waffles the lead, and once again the burritos tied it at 2-2 at the half. In the second half, things changed a little. Ricky scored the first, and Big Kev scored the last 2, and the waffles ran away with this game in this Walnut St. derby.

Fergies dominate the Roosters 4-1.

Ok. Both teams started off slow, perhaps recovering from their Saturday games! The Roosters started off strong, and Mike Fish put his mark on the game with the first goal. Then it was Fergies for the entire match. One remarkable goal was Jason’s freekick… a highlight moment! Mike and others contributed the rest of the Fergies goals. Here is an observation… Abdul, where in the world is Abdul playing? The roosters are playing completely scattered. Positions are being violated. Few come back to defend. Ball control and possession was deteriorating. Players looked lethargic. Omar was doing his tired dance in the midfield. Sorry about the rant… back to Abdul. He is arguably league’s best player, and his efforts are being diluted from a sweeper position all the way to striker. If the Roosters are not able to collaborate, create passplay, and strike on goal, it’ll be KFC for their future opponents.

By the way, i seemed to have lost the scorers list for this game, please email it to me! cheers.

Once again, Andy amazes with his Photos!

by jmp

Sack’s played host to a hard fought draw between the defending champions, and the struggling bicycles. The game was intense, yet fair and highly enjoyable.

Via seemed to come out hard from the opening whistle, attacking quickly and getting off a few shots in the first 15 minutes. The team finally had a goal keep with a game under his belt, and the midfield was finally healthy enough to at least give it try. Diego, and Eduardo held the mid while the back line fought off any Vesuvian attacks. The calamaris countered hard any chance they could, and put a few shots on goal, only to be handled easily by Victor.

Near the end of the half, Diego penetrated the calamari defense and attempted a hard, low cross in front of the calamari goal. Alex, the Vesuvian keeper , got his fingers on the cross but spun it back into his own net. 1-0, Via up before the half!

The second half saw relentless attacks by the resurgent Vesuvian side. Brian, Andy, Bill, and a freshly arrived Greg P ran us to near-death. Finally a calamari (do not remember who) took a long shot on Via’s goal, deflected off the head of a Via defender and over Victor’s head. 1-1. The game ended as a draw.

Great effort on both sides.

Vesuvio Beats Cocks on Saturday by Ben Graff
Vesuvio started with 10 players while Happy Rooster had about 73 subs
(actually, 4, but it seemed like they were yelling “Ref, sub” about
every 2 minutes).  This was especially difficult because (i) the clouds
blew off and it was very hot and humid and (ii) Sacks is a legit
regulation field (lotsa room to cover).  Roosters started off strong
with Abdul and Jerry linking up on the forward line, with Bill doing his
best to chase Abdul all around the field from the defensive mid
position.  Rooster struck first off a nice shot from Amidou (I think
after a corner kick) to put them up 1-0.  Around this time, Robin had to
leave for work.  I’m not sure if they scored before or after she left.
Anyway, after a while of watching Vesuvio chase while down a man, our
wounded warrior Walter yelled out “who’s got some friggin’ socks?”.
Yes, he was coming in like Willis Reed, bad leg and all.  Walt ended up
playing out wide in the mid and did a great job harassing the Rooster
left back and interfering with the their offensive build-up.  Dave got
the first goal for the Calamaris with just a few minutes left in the
half.  It looked just like Hurst for England in ‘66.  The ball hit the
underside of the bar and deflected down, then out.  The linesman
confirmed that it crossed the line, so the game was tied.  The second
half was more of the same, with the both sides generating good chances
while their respective defenses and keepers held tight.  Marco ended up
putting in the game winner for Vesuvio who then held on for the victory.
It was a well fought game from both sides, with good sportsmanship all
around.  Ricky reffed, while Kevin, Zack and Golden Boot British James
ran the lines.  Thanks to them.

Fergies 3, Via 0 by jmp
In the other game, Fergies beat Via 3-0. It was a much closer game than
the score implies and the struggling bicycles actually played well. We
had several penetrations and opportunities in the Fergies
box, but could not convert. In all, a less than desired result but one
more chance to play
and gel as a team. 

As stated in the comments, Jimmy O., Tri, and Tim scored for the
lucky charmers.

As I mentioned before, the Patriots are the best team in the league. The have solid players from back to front. The game was closer that you would think though. Bonte began with a shot at goal in the first 10 seconds that was tipped onto the crossbar by Max. Eventually, the first goal came from a counter attack.. Ricky to Adel up the right side, who shot the ball low to the far post in a clinical finish giving the waffles a 1-0 lead. The waffles were not up for long. A corner from Patriot striker Jimmy was punched out only to be deftly placed by Loren. It was 1-1 at the half.

The second half was more of the same, with some solid defending an passing by both teams. A dangerous play due to a high boot led to a free kick for the patriots in their half. The ball took a good bounce over the waffle goalie, who was blinded by the thursday night lights. After some contemplation, the referee intended an indirect freekick (dangerous play verses a blatant foul), but awarded a goal. Chris, the Patriot Captain, in typical fairness and benevolence, calmly agreed to a replay of the freekick. Even though the second time, it did not result in a goal, a few minutes later, Chris was handsomely rewarded by an assist. Attacking the right wing, Chris had Bula and Heri commit as he lofted a pin point cross into the waffle penalty area onto the head of Mr. Holt who guided it above Fabio into the net. Both teams had one other chance to score… but remarkable saves by Max and Fabio goalies denied solid shots by Ricky and Jimmy. This was a tough game that the Patriots won 2-1.

“Patriots are solid. They have fast, skilled players. And they are good sportsmen. Chris and his boys deserved the win yesterday, but we look forward to an epic battle the next time around.” - Bula.

Diego did an awesome job refereeing, and Conrad as the linesman.