Cataraqui Soccer Club

Cataraqui II 2 vs Vita Inter SC 2

With regular reporter Ross Morton on vacation, I am going to do my best to recall the events of June 10, a windy night at Caton’s I.  Keep in mind, my memory is horrendous, so the details of this report may bare little connection with the actual facts.  Those who know me can verify that I often have no idea what the score is during or after a game.  It's not funny, really.

There’s no doubt Cataraqui II has had it’s share of adjustments to make while trying to settle into their game this season.  Players transitioned to A division, new additions, injuries, recent transfers to CAT III, and a road tripping coach, to name a few.  Add to that, two absenties, Kevin McEleny on vacation and Wayne Ingham MIA, just to make things interesting.

But on this night, under the guidance of fast tracking coach Armstrong (I think I saw a dog eared copy of Jimmy Kennedy’s “Coaching 101” Cliff notes peaking out of Bobby’s back pocket), we showed ourselves and the hand full of appreciated supporters that we are a team, through THICK and thin.  Yes, some of our hearts may have to beat a little harder to support the extra winter insulation, but we were all heart, determination and control, as we fought to a 2-2 draw against league leaders Vita Inter SC.

Cataraqui had almost all the possession for the first 20 minutes.  Notice I didn't say anything about shooting, or chances on goal, but we were playing like a tighter unit, with great passing and movement, and it felt like an inevitability that something was going to happen.  And it did.  Unfortunately it was in our end, when a fast footed Vita midfielder broke through, avoided two defender’s tackles and waltzed around yours truly, standing flat footed, to pot one in the bottom left corner.  Rick Pierce, who had a solid night as usual, could do little but watch.

We shook it off, and again began setting up runs of possession and opportunity, but no final punches to challenge the solid Vita keeper.  Morale stayed positive though, and as the half time whistle blew, even though we were still down by one, the chatter was all productive and building.

The beginning of the second half was a little more shaky with Vita’s very competent (re. tunnel visioned) forwards taking it to our defensive line, with precision cutting and ball control.  A few attacking shots were handled confidently by Rick, and any crosses were cleared out of harm’s way by the defence.

All this built up energy seemed to be slowly releasing as passing began to get less precise, and frustration was setting in.  Another knock occurred as momentum was squashed just outside the eighteen yard box when Joel Badour (I honestly have no idea who it was, but I figure Joel’s a good guess as he spent much of the night pinballing off of Vita shoulders in the midfield) was taken down, resulting in a direct free kick (* I have since been informed by someone with a memory, that it was a hand ball).  As we began pushing our masses in toward the Vita line, where their keeper was preoccupied with setting up his wall, Peter Boyle did what is becoming somewhat common place, he hard “Boyled” one into the top right corner.  The score was tied and spirits raised once again.

Play continued back and forth, with few finishing chances for us, and a few scary moments in our end.  From my vantage point we began to lose our shape and the back line of Rob McDonald, Bernie Harpell, Ben Bowen (Max Steele) and James McIntyre as sweeper, was becoming less cohesive.  We switched to four man marking across the back which seemed to alleviate the pressure somewhat.

Vita’s second goal was a comedy (not funny) of errors.  Their right forward got past Rob McDonald into the corner, blasted a low cross, toward James McIntyre’s man, which arrived into a mess of legs and the wanting hands of Rick Pierce at the outside of the six yard box.  James got a foot in, which sent the ball into the air and toward the back corner of the net.  It dropped just before the line, where it looked like Ross Corcoran was going to easily clear it, from his stance inside the net.  But somehow their rushing striker got the first touch and poked it between Ross’s legs.  2-1 down.

With my memory, I’m not going to try to recall specific standout plays, but from this point in the game on, and in earlier moments, there was great effort shown by forwards Dave Rossborough, Tiago Caldas, Tyson Boehme and Dino Laurie.  The lack of finishing opportunities obviously showed the prowess of the Vita defenders.  Midfielders Peter Boyle, Joel Badour, Val Tomsons, Ross Corcoran, Max Steele and Jon Baldwin (Dave Rossborough), all controlled the tempo well, used their support and distributed with confidence.

Nearing the 90 minute mark, a corner kick (or was it a free kick, help me out guys!), had almost all Cataraqui pressing in the box, but the kick came in low and was easily sent out to the wing and out of danger, or so Vita thought.  Ross Corcoran battled to win possession of the ball from a Vita defender, and passed it back to a vocal Ben Bowen who lifted a sweet cross right onto the six yard mark where Peter Boyle made no mistake of beating his man and heading a powerful blast which broke through the keepers waiting hands and into the netting.  It was the kind of grit, smart positioning, communication and finishing we had been working toward the whole game, and it was beautiful.

Both sides battled it out for the remaining minutes and the game finally ended in a 2-2 draw.  We proved that we can play and win against any team in this league.  The process of  gelling has begun to set in.  It will take time, but the positive attitude of those setting our course is a sure sign that we will be climbing the standings board from here on.

Our next game is this Friday, June 13th at McCullough 1 against JAKK Tuesdays.  I will be away, as will Ross Morton, so hopefully someone else (much less wordy than I) will pick up the reporting duties.

James McIntyre