Matchday 1 Report - Green vs Kay's Lagers

DATE OF MATCH: September 13, 2015

OPPONENT: Kay’s Lagers

LOCATION: Gladstone High School

FINAL SCORE: Lagers 18, OGFC Green 0

SCORING SUMMARY:

None

MISCONDUCT:

None

LINE UP:

Green Players: Eric Berg, Jamey Billig, Stephen Chen, Tim Dibble, Jonathan Drews, Jeff Ekdahl, Rex Forkner, Gavin Granmo, Kip Kesgard, Lance Lile, Rob Lusardi, Chris Owcarz, Bob Roberts, Rich Sheals, Rich Ybarra

Green Managers: Eric Berg, Jamey Billig

GAME SUMMARY:

It’s been a while since the Old Growth Green side took to the pitch, but there have been plenty of changes within the roster and framework of the team. After Old Growth split off the new Over 50’s team that started play in the fall, a reorganization pulled many players from the Green and Gold over to that club, so the Green found itself having to adjust slightly. Team managers Jamey Billig, Eric Berg, Rustam Kocher and Dale Montgomery were excited about the potential of several new players to add to the core of the Green in the hopes to get them their first official victory – the Green side has tasted victory before in a previous term with a win back in Winter against OGFC Gold - and they were wanting to see the new mix in action against Kay’s Lagers to start the Fall campaign. However, the plan took a big hit with the news that several regulars were not available – due to illness, invalid credentials, schedule conflict or other roadblocks.

As the teams started arriving for the noon kicktime, there were a grand total of 13 OGFC Green players that were available – and with Kocher out for illness and Montgomery out for work, it was up to Berg and Billing to come up with a strategy with the available charges. One big change in the attack plan was the addition of Rex Forkner as the team’s new striker – Forkner has been the team’s goalkeeper for the past several seasons, but he’s played up top on other clubs in addition to Forkner switching about during OGFC’s first year – as the team welcomed Gavin Granmo in goal. With the conditions hovering over 80 degrees on the hot turf, it would be imperative for the Green side to be smart with ball control, especially with the limited numbers of players and many folks playing out of their usual positions. Billig had a very stirring pre-match speech that involved quotes about looking good in shorts and something French like, and with the team fired up and ready to go, it seemed like a great time to start the match.

I wished I could say more positive about the experience, however, as it became a true bloodbath with Lagers tallying a goal in the match’s first few minutes. The onslaught kept coming throughout the first half as the Lagers pressed and Old Growth was powerless to stop them in most cases. While the defense did put forth some resistance on several runs – and actually did make the Lagers work on many occasions – the problem was that too many unforced errors put the match out of reach early. The scoreline hit 8 to 0 at the break, which was somewhat respectable considering that the heat was sapping strength from players and the subs were starting to become an issue. The second half saw more of the same, but the news was made worse with Billig taking a shot to his ankle during a play that kept him from finishing the match. The score kept getting worse, and even with Lagers shifting more of their defenders forward, they just never stopped running and pressuring the goal. Even when they were attempting to take just headed shots late, they were still putting efforts on frame with the intention of adding more to the score. The end result was an 18 to 0 thrashing that really didn’t need to be that way – but Lagers felt it was more important to score and Old Growth was just not in a position to stop them.

There were some encouraging signs as the offense found room to move – several runs forward to challenge the defense and get movement – but they weren’t able to put anything on frame to give them something to hang their hat on. While the result was frustrating, the hopes and fortunes for a better result were pinned on the calendar for September 19 when OGFC was slated to play Highlanders 0/40 at Delta Park. While Billig’s availability might be in question, there was talk that many of the players that missed this match would be available, thus to give the group a better bench for substitutions and tactical changes.