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Connor Hutton scores Brook Street’s third goal to secure the victory over The Highlandian Braves.
Braves again proved to be awkward customers and dealt with everything thrown at them, and it was always going to take something special to break the deadlock. That came in the eighty-first minute when Conor Meldrum got on the end of a Bogusz Cacek cross to volley home.
Cacek was the provider again three minutes later when from down near the corner flag when he managed to square the ball to Joe Anderson who swept it into the net.
Braves were crestfallen following that second goal and things got a whole lot worse for them a minute from time when Bogusz Cacek threaded the ball through to the onrushing Connor Hutton who smashed the ball past Braves keeper Doug McAinsh and into the net to secure a 3-0 win.
“We stuck to our gameplan and showed tremendous team spirit, and it paid dividends in the end”, said coach Balz Deitz afterwards.
“The three finishes were clinical and superb, but the deliveries to them for all three goals came from Bogusz Cacek and his performance was second to none”, he said.
“Bogusz does a lot of work that goes un-noticed, but he is one of the hardest-working players I have ever had the priviledge to work with. If we could just add goals to his game he’d be the perfect winger”. the coach added.
The win sees Brook Street stay in third place although they are now level on points with St Andrew Paisley following their 5-1 defeat at Ipod Utd. In other games, Badger Loyal Rangers trounced dundeFC 9-0 at Smith Stadium, and Stirling defeated Macclesfiend Town 4-1 at New Annfield.
Connor Hutton fires Brook Street into the lead the last time The Highlandian Braves visited the LJG.
Braves only have a win against bottom side dundeFC to show for their efforts this season so Athletic will be hoping to maintain that record while keeping pressure on the sides above them.
With no injuries reported, Brook Street should be at full strength as Balz Deitz confirmed at lunchtime.
“Having a full squad available gives me the option of using different formations and rotating personnel which, given the number of games we play at the start of the season, is always welcome”, he said.
Expecting a good performance from all his players he added, “We kept it tight at the back on Wednesday, and I am looking for a repeat tomorrow. I do however think we will be far more potent in attack against their defence”.
The coach gave nothing away regarding the formation or line-up, but all will be revealed tomorrow at 1630.
Mait Peterson was the only Brook Street scorer in the penalty shoot-out with jdubsbairns.
Brook Street had reverted to the tried and tested 4-5-1 hitting on the break which was probably the best wat to play the game as the visitors went for all-out attack with 2-5-3 with both wingbacks pushing forward.
The game was largely fought out in midfield with both sets of forwards struggling for service and to he honest, it wasn’t a good watch and it is hardly surprising that it was settled on penalties.
“Both sides largely cancelled each other out so chances were really difficult to create”, said Balz Deitz. “We got away with one when Alex Marker gave the ball away in a dangerous position, but beyond that I am struggling to think of any other chances”.
“When it came down to penalties I was surprised that we were so poor”, said the coach. “Nine times out of ten they would all go in, but today we only had Mait Peterson on point”.
He continued, “Penalties can be a lottery and that is how it turned out for us today. Now we concentrate on the league”.
Balz Deitz is looking for his players to turn up the heat on jdubsbairns when they visit tomorrow.
“Games against Division III sides are usually tough, but that’s where we want to be, at least initially, so it is good experience for us”, said Balz Deitz this morning.
“They’ve had a tough start to the league campaign and seem to be struggling to score goals”, the coach said, “and they were dumped out of the Scottish Cup last weekend, so we are hopeful we can turn up the heat and give them a tough time tomorrow”.
Brook Street are likely to be along familiar lines although the coach is not ruling out formation and personnel changes. Kick-off tomorrow is at 11:15.
Mait Peterson rounds the Stirling goalkeeper in stoppage time to fire in Brook Street’s fifth goal.
Brook Street’s defence was certainly caught napping this afternoon when Eamonn Munro put Stirling ahead in the twenty-third minute, and although Joe Anderson fired Brook Street level three minutes later, there was a sense of fragility about the home defence.
That proved correct three minutes into the second half when Richard Penton restored Stirling’s lead and it took until the sixty-eighth minute for Brook Street to get back onto level terms, Aldo Pellone sliding the ball home to tie the game.
Balz Deitz brought Connor Hutton on in place of Davie McKallon in an attempt to shake things up and take control of the game, and in the seventy-eigth minute Aldo Pellone finished off a counter-attack with a real pile-driver.
Brook Street appeared to have put the game to bed three minutes later when Joe Anderson fired his side 4-2 up, but back came Stirling again and with two minutes of regulation time remaining Enzo Paolo Buonincontri slammed home a penalty to set up a grandstand finish.
However it was not to be for the visitors and Mait Peterson applied the coup de grâce as the game entered stoppage time coolly rounding the keeper and firing home to make the final score 5-3 to the home side.
Asked about his powers of prophecy at the post-match press conference, he laughed and replied, “We need to do some work with our defenders this week in training on how to defend. As attackers they are formidable, but their defending is another matter”.
It was then that it was pointed out that yesterday he said, “As long as we score more than them, we win and I am happy”.
Again, the much more relaxed coach laughed and said, “Overall we scored more than them, but my defenders only scored the same number of goals as them”. Then with a wry smile he added, “There’s always room for improvement”.
Brook Street remain in third place tonight after St Andrew Paisley and Ipod Utd won 6-1 and 0-7 against dundeFC and Macclesfiend Town respectively. In the other game The Highlandian Braves lost 0-3 at home to Badger Loyal Rangers.
Bogusz Cacek watches on as his shot evades the Stirling keeper to open the scoring in the last meeting between the sides at the LJG.
“The whole mood in the dressing room lifted with that win. The players were angry going into the game and they took it out on Wolverine Blues. They got Saturday’s defeat out of their system and that is behind us now”, he said.
“Now we’re looking to get a good three points tomorrow and keep in touch with St Andrew and Ipod”.
However while the other sides have easy fixtures, Stirling are anything but and on their day are more than capable of making things awkward for Brook Street.
“They’ve had a couple of heavy defeats so far, but they are scoring goals so our defence will have to be on their guard”, said Balz.
Having hit the goal trail themselves midweek the coach joked, “As long as we score more than them, we win and I am happy”.
Kalle Konkka misses out having sustained an injury in the Saltire Cup game, and Kari Kienberger seems certain start in his place.
Kick-off tomorrow is at 16:30.
Substitute Kari Kienberger slides the ball under Blues’ keeper David Colley to make it 4-0.
“We were quite simply superb today”, he enthused afterwards. “Every man played their part and we’ve come away with a result that will make people sit up and take notice”.
He continued, “At the weekend harsh words were spoken, and were deserved. Today nothing but praise is due, and I have let the players know that. From start to finish they showed the level of professionalism that we want, and they got the result that their play merited”.
He added, “Once we got our noses in front we were absolutely ruthless and killed the game in the final minutes of the first half. There was to be no coming back from that, and the goal midway through the second half was really the icing on the cake”.
On the downside, influential midfielder Kalle Konkka picked up an ankle injury that will rule hime out of the match against Stirling at the weekend.
“Kalle has twisted his ankle and will be out for a week”, admitted the coach. “It’s not broken though, so that is a bonus”, he added.
The first half was largely a tactical chess match with the only chance early on falling to Bogusz Cacek who caught out Blues’ keeper David Colley with a clever free-kick, but he over-cooked it and the ball grazed the top of the bar on the way over.
The game exploded into life two minutes from half-time when Aldo Pellone broke through the middle of the park and fired low into the Blues’ net.
The fans hadn’t even retaken their seats when, in an almost carbon copy move, Nat Wallace broke through and fired home.
From the restart, Kalle Konkka went in for a 50-50 ball but went over his ankle and had to be substituted; Kari Kienberger coming on as his replacement.
Brook Street were going for the kill before half-time and there was still enough time left after the stoppage for Joe Anderson to add a third following a fine solo run.
The home side were happy to knock the ball round as the second half started, but with seventy-two minutes played a sharp series of passes sliced the visiting rearguard open allowing Kari Keinberger in to slide the ball under the advancing Colley to make it 4-0.
But for David Colley however, it would have been five a couple of minutes later as Bogusz Cacek’s free-kick was netbound before the keeper got a hand to it to turn it over the bar.
An with that, Brook Street progress to the Second Round where they will face Division III side jdubsbairns at the LJG next Wednesday.
Balz Deitz is expecting a reaction from his players.
“Yes, of course I’m looking for a reaction from the players and this is their chance to show it”, he said. “They know what they have to do and they know what I expect”, he added.
“There were harsh words said at the weekend”, he said, “but they were deserved. The players have the chance tomorrow to turn that to praise. It’s down to them now”.
Kick-off is at 11:15.
Connor Hutton wheels away having put Brook Street 2-0 up at Woodbrox and apparently well on the way to three points. The defence had other ideas…
“Woodbrox is a difficult place to come to and when you go two-up you expect your players to see the game out”, he fumed. “Ok, there was still an hour to play when we scored our second, but even when they drew level then had a man sent off, we should have had enough in the tank to at least take a point”.
“As it was, we folded and that is simply not good enough”, he added. “I want players who will fight and scrap for everything; I want players who will run through walls for this club and I want players who don’t throw in the towel. We threw in the towel this afternoon and I will not tolerate that”.
He then fired a broadside at his players saying, “If I do not see what I want for this club, I will make changes, make no mistake”.
In the game itself, Aldo Pellone fired home after a quarter of an hour and Connor Hutton doubled the lead in the twenty-eighth minute to put Brook Street in charge.
Five minutes later however and the home side were right back in the game when Habib Kevrić rifled the ball home from close in.
Ipod’s Martyn sent the home fans into euphoria just after the hour mark when he levelled the scores, but Brook Street were given renewed hope midway through the half when Habib Kevrić received his marching orders when he picked up his second yellow card.
However those hopes were shattered nine minutes from time when a speculative chip from Miguel Caetano Fernandes Anjos drifted over Benito Buda’s head and into the net to seal the win.
Brook Street’s next match sees them face Wolverine Blues in the Saltire Cup midweek, and a repeat performance in that game will send Balz Deitz into orbit.
“We are very similar sides and although there are usually goals, the result often ends as a draw” – Balz Deitz
“We are very similar sides and although there are usually goals, the result often ends as a draw”, he said. “Margins in this tie are very slim and we have to make sure we have that edge. It could even come down to tactics and we have to make sure we have ours 100% correct”.
He continued, “We’ve got our gameplan and we’ve got the players to achieve it. Everyone knows their job and it’s up to them to get the result”.
Kick-off tomorrow is at 1630 as usual.
This is Brook Street 