Match report
Renaissance falter as the tough gets going
Renaissance 3 - 4 Venezuela
15 August 2007
Colin Presly
Renaissance's OMT campaign has sadly been extinguished tonight at the hands of Venezuela. In a high scoring, end to end affair, the men in blue just could not find the victory needed to keep alive their hopes of winning the Haverstock league. They must now battle it out in their remaining two games to finish as runners up.
The night had all started so well though. Within a couple of minutes, Renaissance were one goal to the good. After breaking up a Venezuela raid forward, Megatron picked up the ball and drove in on goal. He spotted the run of Michelangelo, and slotted him through on goal perfectly. The striker responded with a cool finish.
This strike should have been the impetus to spur Renaissance on. However, in Venezuela, you have a determined opponent who refuses to give in. Always dogged and combative, they got joy from the fact that Renaissance did not have a midfield enforcer of their own. Unfortunately, it was a rather soft goal that gave Venezuela their equaliser. A poorly judged throw from Masaccio immediately put the Shaman under pressure. He could only clear as far as a Venezuela striker, who placed a shot beyond the reaches of the Renaissance custodian.
So began an intense period of pressure from Venezuela. They nearly made it 2-1, but Masaccio saved well from close range. But with a few minutes remaining before the break, they eventually took the lead. Giving a Venezuela player too much time and space, he skipped past a few challenges before firing low into the bottom right hand corner. HT 2-1.
A massive response was needed from Renaissance, and in the second half they looked lively and gradually began to get back into the game. It was Megatron who evened things up, using his quick feet to turn well with the ball and smash in his shot.
Renaissance looked to make it three, but The Artist's tame shot when in space, left a lot to be desired. Almost immediately, Venzuela were back in front. With Renaissance out of position, a cross field pass found a player clear on the right wing. He cut in and beat the exposed Masaccio. 3-2.
All over? Think again. Renaissance's own battling qualities shone through when they pulled it back to 3-3. Following a long ball from Brunelleschi, Megatron was in the right place at the right time to grab his second of the night. Sensing victory and with renewed spirit, Renaissance surged forward. The Artist was dreadfully unlucky not to grab a potential winner. After a pull back from Megatron, his shot hit the left hand post. But that was not the end of the action. The ball came back out to the number four, and his second shot beat the keeper again, but this time hit the right hand post. Unbelievable stuff at Haverstock!
Renaissance's pre match fears were confirmed when Venezuela soon made it 4-3 and delivered a fatal dagger blow. Perhaps still bemused by the woodwork miracle, the blues were caught out at the back on the counter and a forward sealed their fate. At the death, Scholesey's close range effort was well saved by the keeper, but in truth a draw was never going to be enough to stay in the title hunt. FT 4-3.
© 2007 Renaissance | site by: chingo
Renaissance glossary
shoot her!
used when a player is within shooting distance of goal.
taken from one of the Jurassic Park films.
it's all about...
a phrase used to wrap up a general idea or rant.
(e.g. "it's all about positional knowledge")
(e.g. "it's all about Mr. Lee")
Check out more definitions from the Renaissance Glossary.