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Attila reacts the quickest to fire in our equalising goal.
When the sides drew four-a-piece at New Home Park earlier in the season, few could have anticipated that today’s game would have been just as entertaining, if not more so.
The home side had opened the scoring with only two minutes on the clock, and when they added a second twenty-six minutes in, it appeared that Brook Street were destined to go down to a heavy defeat, but they steadied the ship and started to edge their way back into the game.
Attila Gyöngyösi had pulled a goal back ten minutes before half-time, and it was the stand-in captain who grabbed the equaliser just after the hour mark. Parity lasted only five minutes before Blues edged in front again, but the lead was to last less than two minutes, before Oscar MacVarish struck twice to turn the game on its head.
However, the home side increased their efforts once again and gained their reward in the seventy-second minute when Blues completed the scoring from the spot after Blues were awarded what appeared to be a soft penalty.
“The lads were magnificent today”, claimed Marcus afterwards. “They showed real grit and determination; a real never-say-die attitude, and they’ve come away with a well deserved point.
He continued, “With third place assured, we can afford to take the foot off the gas in our final game next weekend. That will make a nice change as we’re usually scrambling about for points on the final day of the season!”
Brook Street are delighted to announce that next week’s friendly match will see Tunisian Hattrick Ligue Professionnelle 2 side E.S.Sayada visit New Home Park.
The side Ayranah are currently ranked eighteenth in Tunisia so will certainly pose the sternest of tests when they visit on Wednesday.
The match kicks off at 10:30 GMT, and we are most grateful to ErikDB for making the match possible.
Brook Street’s reserves swept aside their counterparts from Omoniakos this evening with an excellent display of attacking football in Cyprus. There were doubles for Lloyd Stephen and Matt Cocker with our other goals in the 6-1 win coming from Kenny Corney and Rab Henderson.
“The lads put in a good shift tonight and were well worthy of their win”, said Marcus at full-time. “We bossed the game and looked comfortable on the ball”.
The coach was also heartened by the fact that the players came through the match unscathed saying, “We’ve a big game at the weekend, so the last thing we would have needed would have been for anyone to pick up any injuries. With the exception of Leoš Loos, the squad has a clean bill of health”.
The reserves will be off on their travels again this week after Cypriot Second Division side Omoniakos accepted our challenge tonight. The match will be played on Tuesday evening with a 2115 EET (1915 GMT) kick off.
Onésimo Murube’s trickery in the visitors’ box won him enough space to slam home our third goal.
The home side had to endure a double-whammy around the half hour mark when first, top scorer Leoš Loos was stretchered off following a horrendous challenge, then Malte Feuchtersleben fired home the opener for the visitors.
However, the home side quickly regained their composure, and captain Nemanja Janković levelled with a peach of a curling shot.
The home side were flying at this point, and another cross by the captain created havoc in the visitors’ six-yard box, but Rab Henderson was just unable to make contact with the ball and it was scrambled clear.
Brook Street restarted the second half on the front foot and only two minutes in, Oscar MacVarish thundered in our second goal to edge us in front for the first time.
Any thoughts that this would open the floodgates and see the managerless visitors swept aside were quickly dispelled in the fifty-fifth minute when Miguel Urzáiz Pardo levelled.
Worse was to follow five minutes later when the visitors stunned the home crowd by taking the lead, Nathaniel Warner being the scorer.
This spurred Brook Street into action and following some trickery in the visitors’ box, Onésimo Murube slammed the ball home.
“TheSaints” were on the back foot now, and when Maranaj Batusha scampered down the left flank and fired the ball home, it was clear the home side would not let the lead slip again.
The win combined with results elsewhere all but assured Brook Street third place in the division, but it was a far from happy Marcus Lövman who attended the post-match press conference.
When asked about the injury to Leoš Loos he said, “His season is over, that’s for sure, and the challenge that did this didn’t even earn a caution. The player’s leg was straight, his studs were up and it was from behind: three red cards rolled into one, yet what did he get? Nothing, that’s what!” fumed the coach.
He continued, “I’ve lost my top scorer for the run-in thanks to an act of thuggery, yet the ref thinks it’s an ok challenge. The scans suggest otherwise, that’s all I’ll say”.
When asked about the performance in general, he admitted, “That was easily our worst performance of the season, but we’ve come away with full points. Don’t ask me how”.
“We’re becoming far too sloppy in defence and that simply won’t do”, he said. “Needless to say, the defence will be doing extra training this week”.
The reserves have won their friendly match with Howles Bowles 4-2 in Benin this morning. First-half goals from Kenny Corney, Lloyd Stephen and Garaben Palasyan were added to just after the break by Phil Mullally, and although the home side rallied with goals of their own from Abazu Rouga and Cyril Quénel, Călin Litvin’s ordering off for a second yellow card ended their hopes of completing a comeback.
“We were a bit slack in defence after the break”, admitted Marcus, “and their goals certainly gave them a lift, but once again a red card has proved pivotal”.
He continued, “It’s hard to say how exactly the game would have panned out had they kept eleven players on the field, but after they scored their tails were up and we were certainly on the ropes. We weathered the initial storm though, and once they went down to ten men you saw them lose heart a bit”.
Kenny Corney picked up a slight knock in the match, but is not anticipated to be kept sidelined.
The comeback is complete as Andy Harte blasts in our third goal this afternoon.
Trailing 0-2 to strikes from Paolo Fanello and Alexandre Camboim at the break all seemed lost for the New Home Park side. However two goals from Oscar MacVarish and an Andy Harte strike had the visitors in front before Paulo Fanello levelled with a controversial penalty.
“I didn’t see where the referee got the penalty from, and the players are equally mystified”, admitted Marcus at the post-match press conference. “Even their players didn’t claim for anything so I think that is very telling. Players by nature claim for everything, so the fact that they didn’t says it all as far as I’m concerned”.
“All the same, if you’d offered me a point at the start of the game I’d have taken it, so I guess I can’t be too disappointed”, he conceded.
When asked if ‘the hairdryer treatment’ had been used at half time, the coach laughed and said, “No, there was no need for that. I simply pointed out that they always leave a flank exposed and that’s where we should concentrate our attacks”.
He continued, “We’d been drawn into the middle of the park in the first half and that had cost us, but in the second we got things right and it showed”.
Elsewhere, Wha’s In Cherge Here’s 4-1 defeat at home to Carbrain saw them relegated, while sooside athletico’s 11-0 mauling by Blue Order all but consigned them to the drop too. In the other game, Vines Cross kept up the pressure on Blue Order in the title race with a 6-2 home win over Airth Castle Rovers.
Brook Street’s reserves will travel to Benin next week to face Howles Bowles for the second time this season after the friendly match was confirmed this afternoon.
Brook Street won the first match 6-2 at New Home Park a month ago, but with the side from the Alibori Department going well and looking set to win their league, the return match could prove to be a little trickier.
“Getting there will be a bit of a logistical nightmare”, admitted Media Director Kyle Fair, “but we’re genuinely excited by the prospect of travelling to Benin and it’s great to be playing against Howles again”.
The match will be played at Howles Bowles Arena next Wednesday at 11:45 WAT (10:45 GMT).
The reserves fly home later tonight following this evening’s comfortable 9-0 demolition of Golden Sand in Saudi Arabia this evening.
There were braces for Matt Cocker and stand-in winger Marcus Lövman, with our other goals coming from Attila Gyöngyösi, Rab Henderson, Lloyd Stephen, Emanuel Bohucký and Garabed Palasyan.
Speaking briefly afterwards Marcus said, “The lads put in a good shift and were well worthy of their win. Our passing was first-rate and finishing clinical. I can’t ask for any more than that”.
Nemanja Janković opens the scoring this afternoon with a brilliant half-volley.
Our other goals came from Oscar MacVarish, Onésimo Murube and substitute Germán Olmos Ribas as the Glaswegian side were comprehensively dismantled and utterly destroyed.
For once, the scoreline as an accurate reflection of how one-sided this match was; “contest” would be a gross exaggeration of sooside’s involvement. With the match won, Brook Street were even afforded the luxury of withdrawing Onésimo Murube and bringing on new fans favourite Lloyd Stephen for the last quarter of an hour, much to the delight of the home supporters.
The teenager had a quiet league debut, as Marcus was quick to acknowledge, but Marcus was quick to point out, “Everyone’s got to start somewhere”.
It wasn’t all good news for the home side however as Jake MacConnechy picked up what looked to be a nasty knee injury, but Marcus was able to reveal that it wasn’t as bad as was feared, and he should be back for next week.
Meanwhile, as the game was in progress, it was announced that the reserves will travel to Abha, Saudi Arabia tomorrow as Saudi Division IV side Golden Sand have confirmed our friendly match on Wednesday. The game itself kicks off at 18:20 local time.
This is Brook Street 