Match report
Honours shared in one sided affair
Renaissance 1 - 1 Venezuela
6 December 2006
Chidi Umeh
Haverstock witnessed another close encounter between Renaissance and Venezuela and it will be Renaissance who return home the happier of the two teams. Venezuela will rue chances missed and curse their inability to convert domination into goals.
Renaissance were on the back foot from the start. Mark Bradbury, keen to amend for mistakes in last week's game with Ted Baker, was forced into making a couple of fine saves in the opening salvoes.
Rembrandt came closest to scoring for Renaissance after a quick exchange of passes with The Realist but the goalkeeper did well to smother his effort.
Venezuela began the second half with a masterclass session of keep ball. It was an impressive spell which saw Renaissance on the defensive for about five minutes, seemingly unable to retrieve the ball for a sustained length of time. Had you been watching this game on Sky television, a statistic would have popped up on screen reading something like: Renaissance - 11% possession, Venezuela - 89%.
But however fancy this demonstration may have appeared it was one of all flap and no take off. For despite having the lions share of possesion precious little was being created and Bradbury was not unduly tested in this period. Renaissance did well to keep up in a battle between arguably the two fittest teams in the league.
Renaissance were forced into sending 'Hail Mary' long balls to lone striker Cartman but this tactic was never going to succeed against a tall Venezuela defence. As the game continued there was an impression that Venezuela would have to score before Renaissance weathered the storm and created a few thunder clouds of their own. And this impression soon materialised. The Artist striking a wonderful and emphatic drive on the half-volley to give Renaissance the lead.
It was against the run of play but it served as a notice for Venezuela to be more incisive. They soon hit the cross bar from close range, and Bradbury pulled off a fantastic reflex save, but minutes later they grabbed a deserved equaliser after some good approach play on the right flank.
The final few minutes saw both teams looking to sew up victory. Brunelleschi came close after whipping out a snapshot as defenders closed in. Cartman made what seemed to be a professional foul on a Venezuela forward but play was waved on as the forward's effort struck the post after he somehow managed to stay on his feet. There isn't much to seperate these two teams and likely won't be come the end of the season.
Renaissance glossary
button moon
(more popularly known as heighting, rainbow, and sombrero)
used when the ball is deftly dinked over an opponent's head and collected with minimal fuss on the other side.
taken from an 80's Thames TV production where a home-made Heinz rocketship arches over the moon.
hot cake (also known as hot potato)
a stray pass made in a rushed manner.
usually said when a number of quick passes result in the oppostion regaining possession. (e.g. "It's a hotcake!")
Check out more definitions from the Renaissance Glossary.