MGS appease the Father, the Son and the Holy Goals in their 7-3 thumping of the Trinity
MGS and Trinity teams with Julie Mathias before the match
Having lost 5-1 in 2009, MGS equilibrated the deficit in style in 2010. In ’09, MGS lost formation on the pitch and discipline on the bench. In response, captain Micky Crawford rigidified the ponderous 4-4-2 formation, trimmed the bench and recruited a tactical expert and seasoned player of Championship Manager, Ain (José) Simpson, to advise from the sidelines. The introduction of the fabulously talented and talismanic Jesse Krncevic (unavailable in ’09) was a key element in the master plan to reverse MGS’ fortunes. For Trinity 2010 was to be a forced rebuild, with key personnel such as Clark, Namdarian, Oppes and Gulston amongst the 8 players missing from the previous year’s comprehensive victory. Both teams entered the match sporting resplendent uniforms commemorating the day quietly confident (some less quiet than others) that a result in their favour was possible.
After formalities and a toss of the coin by Julie Mathias, the match got off to a confusing start when, just seconds into the game, the new MGS goalkeeper Adam Athorne handled the ball after a pass back from defender Daimon Goto. Panic ensued. Adam apologised profusely whilst politely explaining that he’s actually more of an aussie-rules-footy kinda guy. Calls to “start the game again” fell on deaf ears as an unsympathetic Trinity skipper Suriya Liensavanh. Paddy Grigg layed the ball off to for a dangerous free kick merely metres out which looped over the MGS defensive wall, just over the cross bar and out of harm’s way – much to the relief of the apologetic Athorne.
After the initial setback MGS lifted and began to control the possession, Krncevic beginning to take control of midfield. After a series of lung-bursting runs between the MGS left wing and wing backs, Hersh Sahai, and Micky Crawford, a foul was drawn at the edge of the area. The boy Krncevic stood up tall to the challenge and looped the ball into the back of the net leaving Trinity goalkeeper Josh Bairstow rooted to the spot. The scoring had begun and the Icelandic ‘gone fishing’ goal celebration ensued [see inspiration here: http://ow.ly/2vA6i], much to the amusement of the ever increasing crowd.
The Prized Marlin...well...
The second MGS goal came when a delightful through ball from MGS striker Jensen Baggott found Gianni Bramante’s incisive run where he outpaced Trinity left back Jon Katsanos to finish low and hard. At 2-0, the MGS boys had the clear ascendancy, holding the lion’s share of possession and peppering the Trinity goal. Despite this however, against the run of play, Trinity’s Hamish Edridge began to gain control of the right side of the field with his speed and high workrate. This hard work paid off as MGS’ Ollie Arbes DuPuy committed a sloppy foul on Hamish in the penalty area in plain view of referee Ollie Bampfield who had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Oliver Hodson stepped up to finish a coolly slotted penalty into the bottom left corner against the majestic backdrop of the memorial hall and the cheers of Trinity supporters. Pointing to the sky on hallowed turf, perhaps gods were to shine on footballers of all denominations today. And suddenly, it was game on.
If the excitement on the pitch wasn’t enough, at this point DJ Bamford fired up the decks to pump some much needed 90’s west coast beats across the pitch. It is understood that even spectators who didn’t particularly like hip-hop music welcomed the change with relief after prolonged exposure to Micky Crawford’s screeching orders to his players across the pitch. Wait ‘til you see him at karaoke…
No sooner had the music started than had Jesse, with a solo effort that reinforced his credentials, broke through the Trinity defence to claim his second goal for the day and MGS’ 3rd. Teams began playing with substitutions at this stage, which created a very different dynamic to the latter part of the first half. Prasanna Venkateraman’s shorts-to-person ratio was looking to breach the 1:1 barrier, once was thought to be the natural limit. Possession became more evenly split between the teams and Trinity took advantage with a looping cross from Hodson reaching Derek Lee, who sent the ball into the top right corner of the net for Trinity’s second.
Roshan Ghadamian and Prasanna Venkateraman's "Shorts to Person Ratio" (background)
The half finished with everything still to play for at 3-2 to MGS, who despite dominating much of the first half, only found themselves one goal to the good. MGS’ Ollie Arbes Dupuy came off with a worrying knee injury sustained in the first half; he would play no further part in the match. Trinity’s Chika Chandrasekar came off after a calamitous head collision with his own skipper, Suriya Liensavanh, normally not known for heading (or tackling, or decent on-field haircuts); the resultant concussion also ending his day. With Trinity point man Paddy Grigg’s early departure to a far less important football match, Chandrasekar out and perennial bench man Charlie Chaplin absent overseas, Trinity no longer had any substitutes on the sidelines and this lack of depth would prove to be decisive in determining the outcome of the match.
The second half began with a bang, and almost immediately, Krncevic completed his hat trick with a clever back heel that fooled the goalkeeper, defenders and spectators alike. However, Trinity didn’t give up with Hamish Edridge continuing to be a menace down the right side of the field. He eventually forced a Micky Crawford handball in the area, and without a moment’s hesitation referee Bampfield pointed to the spot once again, where Hodson stood up to take his and Trinity’s second penalty, sliding it effortlessly into the bottom right corner of the net for his second goal of the afternoon and 3rd on aggregate across all TLM matches.
Trinity’s Ali Alamein kept the pressure up after a ferocious strike from outside the box forced a fingertip save from the out-stretched Adam Athorne, who was only able to parry the ball against the crossbar before a hasty clearance. That strike would have leveled the scores with 15 minutes left to play.
With Trinity pressing and the match very much for anyones taking, “José” Simpson’s call to play out for the result fell on literally deaf ears as Micky Crawford and Jesse Krncevic were too busy listening to NOTORIOUS BIG’s ‘Big Poppa’ on the sound system to get the message, Micky flicking a piercing header from the midfield through the Trinity defence for Jesse to run on for a one-on-one with the goalkeeper, with Trinity having over commited forward at the last set piece. The former professional made no mistake to score MGS’ fifth and his 4th for the day. If they weren’t already there, the floodgates were about to open and MGS were about to exhibit a key trait of the man whose name of which this match was in commemoration: A complete lack of sympathy for the opponent.
As Trinity began to fatigue in a manner not dissimilar to the Wallabies, Gianni Bramante squared a ball for Micky Crawford at the top of the Trinity penalty box who thumped it into the back of the net for MGS’ 6th. Micky dedicated his goal to Tommy as he pointed skywards before being mobbed to the ground by his teammates. The Gods, it seemed, had only one victor in mind, after all.
MGS celebrate their 6th to complete the rout
Barely had a moment passed since Micky’s goal than had Roshan Ghadamian latched on to a through ball from Hersh Sahai to blast one inside the near post to register MGS’ 7th and final goal for the day. As the final whistle sounded the score stood at MGS 7: Trinity 3. Another goal fest to rival even the best EPL classics on Fox Sports, the 100 plus supporters warmly applauded both sides as they embraced, appeased by the free flowing and energetic play by both sides.
This, for all friendship and good nature, is an emerging competitive rivalry between Tom’s school and college friends. Although some would say football was the real winner, others would say that, on the field at least, MGS were the real winner. A defeat like this will only lead to a Trinity resurgence next year; as had MGS’ 2009 defeat fuelled their 2010 performance. The only thing that could make this competition any better would be for a certain #17 Lewis Mathias to play alongside us. We all miss him dearly, and can only hope that in his absence we are doing him proud.
See you all next year.
Co-authored by Suriya Liensavanh and Hersh Sahai
isft. banner perced proudly upon the MGS fence
(isft. thank all the supporters, players and organisers of what was an exceptionally entertaining and fittingly special day)
