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Raúl Colen volleys home his first goal for the club to seal the victory against Grow Your Own Trees
Trailing 0-2 with only sixteen minutes on the clock, things looked bleak for the home side, but four minutes later they were given renewed hope when Bogusz Cacek slammed the ball home to get his side back into the game.
That hope appeared to be extinguished only a minute later when substitute Jean-Philippe Boli netted with a spectacular scissor kick, but back came Brook Street when with just twenty-three minutes played Bogusz Cacek broke through from the left and kept going and going before sliding the ball under the Trees keeper and into the net.
With no further goals before the break the game seemed to be settling down, but no-one was prepared for what happened in the second half.
Benito Buda made two quickfire top class saves in sixty-seven and sixty-eight minutes respectively as Trees turned the screw, but playing a high line they were always susceptible to Brook Street’s counter-attacks and it was from one of those in the sixty-ninth minute that Connor Hutton broke through the middle before firing the ball home to tie the game.
Trees were gobsmacked following the comeback, but they were on the floor in the seventy-fourth minute by which time they had conceded another two goals within a minute through Kalle Konkka and Raul Colen’s first goal for the club to trail 5-3.
There was to be no way back for the Division II side and Brook Street progress to the Fourth Round for the first time in three seasons where they will face McBrielle, a side they defeated on penalties in the Third Round that season.
A clearly emotional Balz Deitz faced the press afterwards and admitted, “I have never witnessed anything like that in my coaching career; I am stunned and immenseley proud of my team”.
He continued, “At two goals down I feared the worst to be honest, but the boys dug deep and got themselves back into the game twice before eventually drawing level. The two goals in a minute broke the opposition spirit and we saw out the game to record probably one of the club’s finest ever results”
He added, “My boys were utterly outstanding to a man. They were incredible and showed just how much character they have. Before the match I had told them to leave everything on the pitch and to not leave it with any regrets. They did that and much much more. They were superb”.
Brook Street play host to Division II side Grow Your Own Trees at the LJG tomorrow.
“It’s not every day you get the chance to lock horns with a Division II side so you’ve got to make the most of it when these games come round”, he said.
“No-one expects us to win the tie, so I’ve told the players to go out and enjoy the match and to leave everything on the pitch. There is no point in coming off at full-time with any regrets; do your best and no-one can expect any more”, he added.
“We may experiment with the line-up tomorrow, but I’m undecided on that and may leave that until after training today”.
Kick-off tomorrow is at 10:30 and only a limited number of tickets remain.
Connor Hutton slams the ball into the net to complete his hattrick against mussy this afternoon
However, it was Brook Street’s Connor Hutton who stole the headlines with a a terrific hat-trick which sees him lead the division scoring chart tonight.
Connor opened the scoring in the twenty-second minute when he stormed up the centre of the park before slamming the ball into the mussy net, and five minutes later Alex Marker weaved through the visitors’ defence before giving Lindsie MacKernan absolutely mo chance.
The mussy keeper however was in top form and denied Brook Street time and again, and it was down to his efforts that the score was only 2-0 at the break.
However, their chances of causing an upset were extinguished in the fifty-sixth minute when defender Johnny Carson was ordered off for his second yellow card in the space of six minutes.
Brook Street took advantage immediately as Connor Hutton dribbled through the mussy defence before calmly rolling the ball into the net.
The home side were in complete control and Connor Hutton completed his hat-trick midway through the half to seal the victory”.
“I amd delighted with the performance and result”, said Balz Deitz afterwards. “It was most important that we got points on the board while keeping a clean sheet. We’ve done exactly that and looked impressive throughout”.
He continued, “Connor was excellent today and took his three goals very well, but this was a very good performance by the whole side. We scored four, but had it not been for their goalkeeper it could have been a much bigger win. The lad had a sensational game”.
Connor Hutton’s three goals saw him go to the top of the division goalscoring chart.
“We will go about our work professionally and should be good enough to see them off”
Tomorrow’s visitors might be considered unfortunate to not take something from last weekend’s match against saints are coming who clearly underestimated their opponents by fielding an understrength side and it took two goals in the last eleven minutes to secure the 2-1 win.
There is absolutely no danger of Brook Street making such an error tomorrow as Balz Deitz will be determined for his side to get points on the board following last weekend’s disappointing defeat to Red Star.
Missing out on a competitive match on Wednesday threw his preparations into turmoil however, but he believes the squad is ready for the task tomorrow.
“We had to think on our feet after the call-off, but we rearranged our build-up programme and we’ve got everyone fit for the game”.
He continued, “We’ll not be underestimating their ability, and they certainly gave saints are coming a fright last weekend, so we are determined not to fall into that trap. We’ll treat them with respect, but we will go about our work professionally and I should be good enough to see them off”.
Brook Street’s injury list is shrinking and with the exception of long-term casualty Tibor Koteczky, Balz Deitz has a full squad to select from.
Brook Street coach Balz Deitz was less than impressed by Edinburgh Wizards’ failure to take the field this morning.
He said, “That was the most important aspect of this morning’s game as far as I am concerned. We’ve been deprived of a competitive match to field our fringe players, and although we’re through to the Third Round, I would much rather have given my players a thorough work out. Instead we had to improvise a training session”.
He continued, “I wanted to rotate some players and get them up to speed ahead of the weekend, but now even our plans for that game will now have to be revised. It’s certainly not the best way to go through to the next round”.
Brook Street’s ‘reward’ for advancing to the Third Round is another home tie next Wednesday, this time against Division II side Grow Your Own Trees.
Brook Street face fellow fourth tier side Edinburgh Wizards at the LJG in the Second Round of the Scottish Cup.
However, as his side having picked up a number of knocks already this season he may feel the risk is too great and he may decide to field his second eleven, although as usual, the coach refused to be drawn.
“At the end of the day, we are not going to win the Scottish Cup so it gives us the option to experiment without putting some first-team players in the firing-line”, he said.
“It’s all about managing the resources available to you, and the league is more important to me”, he added.
Kick-off tomorrow is at 10:30 and tickets are still available.
Substitute Gillis Jacob coolly fires the ball home to draw Brook Street level against Red Star this afternoon.
To make matters worse, Balz Deitz had been forced to make two substitutions when the scores were still 0-0, when first Diego Misuraca then Craig Smart picked up injuries that forced them out of the game.
Misuraca’s injury in particular riled the Brook Street coach given that it was sustained in a brutal challenge that the referee deemed fit to administer only a yellow card.
“Everyone including the player anticipated a red, so I have no idea why the ref saw it as a booking only”, he complained afterwards.
Benito Buda’s crossbar had been hit twice early in the game, but it took until the thirty-third minute for the home side to get a shot on target.
Unfortunately Mauro Dani’s turn and shot gave the big Italian absolutely no chance and it roared into the net.
Brook Street had an early chance to get back on level terms when they were awarded a dubious penalty four minutes later for an infringement that only the referee saw. Even Balz Deitz was mystified and afterwards put it down to the referee having realised he should have sent Larry Turcq off for the challenge on Diego Misuraca.
The normally lethal Bogusz Cacek stepped up and wasted the chance by blasting the ball over the bar, leaving his gaffer shaking his head in disbelief.
As the match passed the hour mark, Brook Street finally drew level when Gillis Jacob, who had come on earlier for Diego Misuraca, got on the end of a pass from Bogusz Cacek and fired it low past Setrak Badrigyan into the net.
The sides were only level for six minutes however before the home side edged back in front, Erik Waldron firing home after a set piece move, straight off the training ground.
Despite their efforts to get back on level terms, Brook Street just couldn’t make the breakthrough, and they were always susceptible to a Red Star counter-attack, and when pushing forward as the game entered stoppage time, it was from one of those that Janne Heikura sealed the win for the home side.
It was a tough way to lose a game, but Balz Deitz was in no mood for sympathy at the post-match press conference.
“They should have been down to ten men from the sixteenth minute; that was a diabolical challenge and merited a red”, he said.
He continued, “I am convinced that the referee tried to level up his earlier error by giving us a penalty, but we failed to take that opportunity and therefore lost out twice”.
“We did well to get back in the match, but we got caught out by the set piece, then succumbed to the sucker-punch in stoppage time as we pushed forward”.
He added, “I don’t think there was much between the teams, but we’ve made it difficult for ourselves and will need to up our game if we are to challenge for the title”.
Attention now shifts to the Scottish Cup and Brook Street’s tie against Edinburgh Wizards at the LJG on Wednesday.
Brook Street will be without Diego Misuraca and Craig Smart for a week so both will be missing on Wednesday and possibly also Saturday’s League match against Muzzy.
Kalle Konkka has been given the all clear to join up with the rest of the squad for tomorrow’s game.
Brook Street were given a significant boost ahead of the game when it was confirmed that Kalle Konkka will be available for selection having recovered from injury.
“This is terrific news for us and gives us more options for the line-up”, said Brook Street coach Balz Deitz this afternoon.
“Wednesday’s game was too soon for him, but he’s trained without any adverse effects yesterday and today, and has been given a clean bill of health from the physio, so he goes into the squad for tomorrow”, he added.
“Our record against Red Star is not the best, so we’ll be looking to make a strong start to the season”.
Kick-off tomorrow is at 16:30.
Mait Peterson shakes off his marker to fire home the opening goal of the game.
The home side did well to keep themselves in the game, but after Mait Peterson fired Brook Street into the lead with twenty-one minutes on the clock, there was no way back for the Division V minnows.
Joe Anderson added a second seven minutes later then two goals in a minute from Aldo Pellone and Connor Hutton eleven and ten minutes before the break respectively, killed off any thoughts of an upset.
Mait Peterson slammed in the fifth goal four minutes after half-time and a minute later Bogusz Cacek scored from close range to make it 6-0.
Adam Doyle hit a perfect free-kick midway through the second half to put Brook Street 7-0 up before Joe Anderson wrapped up the scoring two minutes later with a long range effort.
“We were superb today”, said Balz Deitz at the post-match press conference. “We scored goals from all areas of the pitch which is all we could wish for, and our movement and passing were excellent”.
“It was the perfect outcome for all our hard work on the training ground”, he continued. We are posing threats from all over the park and this bodes well for the new league campaign”.
Brook Street’s reward for the win is a tie against fellow Division IV side Edinburgh Wizards at the LJG next Wednesday.
“That will be a much tougher prospect”, said the Brook Street coach, “but it’s a game I believe we have every chance of winning. It will certainly be much closer than todays game though”.
That match will however be pushed into the background as attention now shifts to Brook Street’s League opener away to Red Star on Saturday.
Veteran midfielder Zak Ailstock has left to join Spanish HIL side Hospital El Bierzo on the eve of the first game of the season.
Balz Deitz said this afternoon, “It was a move Zak was very much interested in and after so many years of exemplary service for this club, there was no way we would stand in his way”.
He continued, “We discussed the potential move [at that time] and it was clear he was very interested in it. To be fair, he knew that opportunities to start matches here in the forthcoming season would be limited, so this move to Spain came at the perfect time for him. That it was with a Hattrick International League side was the cherry on top of the cake”.
Balz added, “Zak was a big character in the dressing room so he will undoubtedly be missed, but he leaves with all our very best wishes and profound thanks”.
The coach also confirmed that it looks increasingly unlikely that Kalle Konkka will make the game and he may even miss the league opener on Saturday.
“He’s not responded as well as we’d hoped to treatment, so I’d only rate his chances of featuring tomorrow at only about 25% and 50% for the weekend”. Craig Smart and Gillis Jacob are on standby.
There was however some good news in that Tibor Koteczky is recovering well and may be back in only four weeks.
Tomorrow’s game kicks off at 10:30 and fans should note that the match is a sell-out and are urged not to travel without a ticket.
This is Brook Street 