Guantanamo Heroes Against Hagan’s

23/09/09

Racing Guantanamo defied the odds against Hagan’s Heroes at Father McMahon field to make history by taking points off the men in green for the first time in the history of the B-Liga.

Guantanamo were able to welcome back some key faces to the squad, including captain Andy Smyth, Joe Tighe and Danny Pinchas, but were without dedicated defender Chris Hingston, Terry Ragoonanan and Ben Jones.

The match began well for Guantanamo, who were quick to put the pressure on the Heroes, pinning them back into their own half for much of the first ten minutes. The orange back line held strong against a few Hagan’s incursions into the Guantanamo box, keeping the Heroes attackers at bay with some strong tackles and pressure.

Martin Kessler was instrumental in the midfield, with the German really stamping his authority on the game for the Mighty Orange, his key passes and silky runs impressing the spectators on the sidelines.

Guantanamo went two-nil up before Hagan’s were able to pull one back, but the Mighty Orange continued to push, scoring another just before half time to go three-one up.

The Mighty Orange were playing some free-flowing football, espoused by the busy Tony Delaney and Jack Regan, who seemed to be everywhere to plug gaps which appeared.

Andy Chapman in goals gave another solid performance, but in the second half the Englishman was pushed into midfield, his place taken by Joel Hamling, who was suffering with blisters.

Chapman gave a polished performance in the middle of the pitch, giving a real attacking option up the right hand side, while Gareth Vickery and Danny Pinchas swapped between defence and attack on the left, keeping out any Heroes attacks.

With Joe Tighe, Andy Smyth and Ryan Platten picking up any scraps at the back, Jonny Falconer and Luke Turner up front had a field day, terrorising the Hagan’s defence with some great runs.

The match finished with an historic Guantanamo win, buoying the spirits of the men in orange and leaving them looking forward to an epic clash with Broome City in two weeks time.

Final Score
Racing Guantanamo AFC 6 – 1 Hagan’s Heroes

Scorers
T. Delaney (2), M. Kessler (2), L. Turner (2)

Racing Guantanamo Matchday Squad
Andy SMYTH, Ryan PLATTEN, Danny PINCHAS, Gareth VICKERY, Andy CHAPMAN, Joel HAMLING, Tony DELANEY, Jack REGAN, Martin KESSLER, Jonny FALCONER, Luke TURNER, Fenton ROBINSON, Jackson SMYTHE, Joe TIGHE