Season 2 – League Match #5
Gohira vs. Screamin’ Seamen
Date: January 12, 2003
Venue: Gohira Arena (San Francisco, CA)
Attendance: 3,908 (11,150)
Weather: Partly cloudy
We traveled to San Francisco this weekend to face a struggling Gohira team that had yet to score a goal this season, much less win a match. Given the tremendous mismatch that this game was, we fully expected a win, and an easy win at that.
The tricky part of the match was that our main competition for the series title, Ramblers, were facing off against the other struggling team in the series, Gazzaly FC. We went into the match in first place, but only because of a one goal lead in goal differential. If Ramblers were to score more goals than us, we could potentially lose our first place standing.
Formation: 3-5-2
Starters
Keeper: #1 Darryl Read
Right Wingback: #3 Ben McMahon
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas
Right Winger: #16 Otis Johnson
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Left Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret
Forward: #15 Forrest Tobias
Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Substitutes
-Keeper: #13 Cornelius Jernigan
-Defender: #23 William Brown
-Inner Midfielder: #12 Brooks Brannon
-Forward: #9 Ruben Stewart
-Winger: #25 Paul Peralta
Expecting an easy match, we decided to start a couple of our younger players this week. Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin was serving out his suspension, which opened the door for Jerry Smith to make his first start as a Seaman. 19 year old winger Otis Johnson also got to start for us, instead of a frustrating Max Dodge.
Match Report
In the games 10:th minute Charlie Bautista almost gave the visitors the lead, as he clipped a spectacular scissors shot just past the bar. A mistake by the home sides central defence in the 17:th minute allowed Johannes Henriksson to score 0 - 1 for Screamin'. After the ball got lifted in from the left Forrest Tobias was on his own in the home side´s penalty area 28 minutes into the game, and should have scored, but missed, probably due to lack of concentration. The teams went for a half-time break at 0 - 1. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 75 percent possession rate.
Screamin'´s Otis Johnson received a play slashing through the home side´s defense in the 50:th minute, chipping it past the keeper scoring 0 - 2. The home crowd was not pleased with that one. In the game's 53rd minute Gohira´s Vance Gomes limped slightly after a late challenge, but he was able to continue. Arlen Lucas seemed to be floating in the air at will as he elegantly headed in 0-3. The previous Screamin' corner kick was executed by Johannes Henriksson. After the ball got lifted in from the left Forrest Tobias was on his own in the home side´s penalty area 60 minutes into the game, and should have scored, but missed, probably due to lack of concentration. Forrest Tobias increased the visitors lead by putting a volley shot away on a pass from the right. 0 - 4. In the games 69:th minute Screamin'´s Ben Mcmahon fell dramatically just outside the penalty area.The referee, however booked Ben Mcmahon for taking a dive. The away team´s Lucian Tere took advantage of a mistake to the home side´s right in the 71st minute increasing Screamin'´s lead to 0 - 5. After this Screamin' lowered the tempo in order to concentrate on their defensive efforts. Chuck Scales increased the visitors lead by putting a volley shot away on a pass from the right. 0 - 6. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Screamin', with an impressive 89 percent possession of the ball.
Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 6, Gohira 0
Goals
Henriksson – 1(8)
Johnson – 1(1)
Lucas – 1(2)
Tobias – 1(6)
Tere – 1(3)
Scales – 1(3)
Cards
McMahon (yellow)
Player Ratings
Read: **1/2
McMahon: **
Scales: ***
Lucas: ***
Johnson: **
Tere: *1/2
Smith: *1/2
Bautista: **
Mauffret: **
Tobias: **1/2
Henriksson: **1/2
Team Match MVP: #2 Chuck Scales
Team Ratings
Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Excellent (8)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Solid (7)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Passable (6)
Gohira
-Midfield: Wretched (2)
-Right Defense: Weak (4)
-Central Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Left Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Weak (4)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)
Comments
We were a bit concerned at halftime, because Gohira had done a good job of containing our offense, and we only led by one goal. At the same time, Ramblers had jumped out to a huge 4-0 lead over Gazzaly FC. Fortunately for us, the flood gates opened in the second half. We ended up with six goals from six different players. Very nice all-around offensive production. Even better news came after the match, when we learned that Ramblers had won their match 6-0 as well. Of course, this meant that we would hold on to first place in the series for at least one more week.
Johannes Henriksson had a special reason to celebrate when he scored his first half goal. That goal was a milestone for him, the 50th goal in the Swedish striker’s career. Congratulations go out to Johannes. That’s quite an accomplishment.
Series Scores and Standings
-As I mentioned before, Ramblers dominated their match with Gazzaly FC, winning 6-nil.
-Cariocas appears to be coming apart at the seems. They fell 5-nil to Neon Genesis Evangelion.
-Croats in Miami put together a solid performance, defeating Farmer of Fire 3-1.
Pos. Team Played Goals Points
1. Screamin’ Seamen 5 22-5 13
2. Ramblers 5 19-3 13
3. Neon Genesis Evangelion 5 14-6 9
4. Croats in Miami 5 13-11 9
5. Farmer of Fire 5 6-9 7
6. Cariocas 5 8-10 5
7. Gazzaly FC 5 1-17 1
8. Gohira 5 0-22 0
Up Next: The 2nd FOFC Cup begins this Wednesday. The Screamin’ Seamen travel to Idaho for the first half of a home-and-home series against the Hamas Mad Bombers. Stay tuned!