Classic matches
Renaissance 8 - 2 AFC Westfield
19th April 2006
Colin Presly
In the penultimate game of the Camden 7-a-side league, Renaissance put AFC Westfield to the sword, in a devastating 8-2 victory. Hat-tricks from The Artist and Brunelleschi, along with The Shaman's first for the club and a late Seedi strike, left their opponents shellshocked and demoralised.
Renaissance were eight men to the good for this match. Sadly, neither Rembrandt nor the Realist were able to shake off their respective injuries, and thus had to watch events unfold from the sidelines.
In the early minutes of the game, Renaissance had the lion's share of possession. A barrage of shots from Col, The Artist, Michaelangelo, and Seedi, tested the Westfield keeper, but without altering the scoreline. Although Renaissance enjoyed the better of the early exchanges, their passing was inconsistent, and this gave Westfield a chance to get back into the game.
They duly did when they got the game's first goal. The veteran Westfield player finished smartly from a well placed pass. This setback was soon remedied though, when The Artist equalised with a shot which slipped out of the goalkeeper's hands and dropped into the net.
Westfield continued to plug away after the second goal, and their endeavour was rewarded when they took the lead with about five minutes to go of the first half. It was a silly goal for Renaissance to concede and only seemed to add unneeded pressure to a game which was always theirs for the taking.
At half time Brunelleschi replaced the frustrated Col who appeared to have strained his wrist as a result of an earlier incident with a Westfield behemoth.
In the second half, Renaissance simply ran amok. The substitute made an instant impact. A left wing strike by the towering Nigerian, hit the post, leaving the keeper well beaten. However, he was not to be fazed by this. A few minutes later he got the all important equaliser. Despite having a close range shot saved, Brunelleschi made no mistake with the rebound. It was soon 3-2 to Renaissance. The Artist got his second after a well hit shot found the back of the net.
From here on in, Renaissance dominated the half. A tremendous curling effort from The Artist gave him a well deserved hatrick. Such was the magnificence of the strike, that the normally controlled Xawfrus could not resist in joining in with the wild celebrations.
A well taken free kick from Renaissance soon made it 5-2. A clever one touch move involving Da Vinci, Seedi and Brunelleschi, finished with the latter sending the ball firmly into the net. It was another free kick which was to give Brunelleschi a memorable hatrick.
His shot from wide right managed to pass a mass of bodies without changing direction, and ended up in the goal. At this stage, the Westfield keeper collapsed face down just like Elvis, hoping that the ground would swallow him up whole. Unfortunately for him, this was not to be the end of his nightmare on Haverstock Street.
In a moment that will be long remembered in the Renaissance Pantheon, The Shayman, following a terrible miss placed pass, ran unchallenged from the half way line and duly dispatched the ball into the back of the net with all the panache of a seasoned centre-forward. His first in the famous colours will not be forgotten anytime soon.
At 7-2, Westfield were a sorry sight. They had long given up the ghost, and their defensive attempts were non existent. Seedi added a final nail to their coffin when he ran onto Michelangelo's pass and cooly slotted home.
There is now one game to go before the end of a memorable season. Renaissance need to score at least five goals, without conceding, in order to finish with a positive goal difference. A testing task, although on this scintillating form, who would one bet against it??!
© 2007 Renaissance | site by: chingo
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.
whale of a time
used to describe individuals having so much of a good time that they're fit to burst.
emphasis on the "whale".
(e.g. "Those fellas are gonna have a whaaaaaaaaale of a time!")
Check out more definitions from the Renaissance Glossary.