Guantanamo Pillaged By Pirates

9/9/09

Racing Guantanamo hit the ground crawling in the opening round of the B-Liga season, the first held under lights at the new Father McMahon Field.

With expectations high, the Mighty Orange were unable to contain the rampant attackers of the Pirates, and were left ruing the loss of several keys players to injury.

Legendary goalkeeper Francois Kruger, Irishman Joe Tighe, Kath Dabrowska, Luke Turner, Andy Smyth, Tim Gray, Drasko Jankovic, Danny Pinchas and Kane Fitzpatrick were all unavailable for selection, while Ryan Platten was still struggling with a knee injury.

It was not all bad news however, with Guantanamo welcoming back Joel Hamling and Johnny Falconer to the side, while adding new recruits Andy Chapman, Jack Regan, Gareth Vickery, Michael Strappa, Ben Foster, Jackson Smyth and Fenton Robinson. Part-time Guantanamo player Tony Delaney also confirmed the signing of a season-long contract earlier in the week and was named in the side.

The match began at a ferocious pace, and Guantanamo pieced together some excellent pieces of play, with Delaney in particular using some glorious one-touches to bring the rest of his team into the game.

The lack of team understanding was evident however, with some excellent passes not being met by runs, and the defence struggling to patch up the holes at the back.

With the Pirates rampaging through the midfield, Guantanamo managed to rally, and went on the counter attack, using the speed and pace of Joel Hamling and Jonny Falconer to cause devastation in the Pirates defence.

Michael Strappa was looking strong in the centre of the Orange defence, but managed to push forward during a glorious piece of Guantanamo play to send a lobbed shot over the top of hapless Pirates keeper Richard Brunger.

Falconer also completed a wonderful run to put one in the back as well, with Guantanamo looking dangerous on the break.

Terry Ragoonanan put himself about, with the big Trinidadian coming back into the midfield to help, while Martin Kessler again showed individual brilliance to create chances throughout the game.

With the final score ending 11-4, the Mighty Orange fans on the sidelines cursed their injury luck, and were left looking forward to the next match against Hagan’s Heroes in two weeks time.

Racing Guantanamo Matchday Squad
Chris HINGSTON, Andy CHAPMAN, Ryan PLATTEN, Jack REGAN, Mike STRAPPA, Martin KESSLER, Gareth VICKERY, Tony DELANEY, Joel HAMLING, Jon FALCONER, Jackson SMYTH, Fenton ROBINSON, Ben FOSTER

Final Score
Racing Guantanamo AFC 4 – 11 Pearl Coast Pirates

Scorers
T. Delaney, J. Falconer, J. Hamling, M. Strappa