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Joe Anderson heads home his own fourth and Brook Street’s eighth goal of the game against Livilions.
There was bad news for Brook Street just moments after the kick-off however when Diego Misuraca picked up an injury to his left foot and was forced out of the game.
Although Banin Jiménez Iniesta came on to replace Diego the change didn’t affect how the side approached the game and they took the lead ten minutes later when Joe Anderson clipped the ball home from close range after a centre from the left.
One goal became two in the twenty-seventh minute when Adam Doyle found the postage stamp with a superb free-kick, and straight from the re-start, Doyle supplied the third goal having broken through the centre of the Lions defence.
Then with thirty-four minutes played, Joe Anderson rose high to power a header in from Adam Doyle’s cross as the roof caved-in on the visitors.
Brook Street already had the game comfortably won and went in 4-0 up at the break.
That became 5-0 just two minutes after the re-start when Joe Anderson won the ball and rounded Jake Furness to roll the ball into the empty net to complete his hattrick.
Worse was to follow three minutes later when a sharp interchange of passes between Craig Smart, Joe Anderson and Kari Kienberger had the Livi defenders chasing shadows, allowing Smart in to increase the lead to 6-0.
Kari Kienberger got in on the scoring act himself just before the hour mark when he lost his marker and redirected Craig Smart’s driven cross into the net.
As if things couldn’t get any worse for the visitors keeper Jake Furness was injured in the sixty-fifth minute and was forced off, Kieran Strutt coming on for the remaining twenty-five minutes.
The substitute keeper was forced to pick the ball out of his net in the seventy-seventh minute after Joe Anderson headed Adam Doyle’s corner kick into the net. However the sub keeper was on hand to force Adam Doyle into shooting into the side netting in the eighty-first minute, before tipping the same player’s free-kick round the post a minute later to keep the score at eight.
“We showed excellent attitude and workrate and got the winning margin that I think is an adequate repersentation of the game”, said Fermín Romero at full-time.
“We had heart and desire not to concede and we had a lot of positives today”, he added.
Asked about the injury to Diego Misuraca he said, “It doesn’t appear to be serious, so he should be available for next weekend. I’ll leave him out of the squad for Wednesday though as a precaution”.
In a day of high scorelines, Badger Loyal romped to a 9-0 win over bottom side Glasgow Athletic, St Andrew Paisley thumped Winbat wonderers 6-1 and Breakfast hit six without reply against Legz 11.
Jackie Underhill will be on the bench again tomorrow but won’t play any more that twenty minutes.
Having made his unexpected debut last week, Jackie Underhill is likely to be on the bench again but Fermín Romero is unlikely to put the youngster on for any more than twenty minutes this time round.
“Connor Hutton is being rested to ensure he is fully fit for Wednesday’s Cup tie, so Paul Hughes will come in as his replacement”, said Fermín this afternoon. “I’ve not decided upon my defence yet, but it should be along normal lines”, he added.
“They’ve had a number of really bad results so far, so they’ll be desperate to shut up shop against us”, said Fermín. “They shipped eight goals without reply against Breakfast last weekend, so that is our target for tomorrow. We’ll be going out to match that at least”.
With his first goal for the seniors, Garth Wallace confirms Brook Street’s passage to the Third Round.
To say the match raced from end to end is only part of the story as this was a far more tactical game than simply ‘kick and rush’. Yes, the play raced from end to end, but the build up play and the tactics being employed made it so much more.
It was the visitors who struck first when Craig Smart and Joe Anderson dragged their respective markers out of position before playing in the unmarked Kalle Konkka to slide home the opening goal with only seven minutes played.
Back came Arci and goals from Scott Simpson and Imran Avdić had them 2-1 up heading towards half-time, but Brook Street struck within minutes of going behind through Nat Wallace who finished off a move on the left with aplomb.
Arci made a double change at the break but Brook Street raced out of the blocks to capitalise on any uncertainty amongst the home players. One of the subs was keeper Władysław Ciosmak and his first involvement in the game was to pick the ball out of his net, Callum Ironmonger rifling home a beauty from distance to put the visitors 3-2 up two minutes after the break.
Ciosmak pulled off a magnificent save just before the hour mark to deny an Alex Marker free-kick, but the Polish stopper blotted his copybook minutes later when he dropped a Connor Hutton corner at the feet of Kalle Konkka who duly planted the ball in the net.
Arci were far from spent though and Herbert Anneser reduced Brook Street’s lead back to one goal thirteen minutes from time to set up a grandstand finish.
However, Brook Street having recently been criticised by coach Fermín Romero for not defending well have certainly been practicing as they shut down any avenues and home side just could not find a way through. Then with the classic sucker-punch Brook Street broke out just as the game entered stoppage time and Garth Wallace became the unlikely hero firing home his first goal for the senior side to send Brook Street into the Third Round.
The Brook Street coach was however much more satisfied with his side’s battling qualities saying, “We had to dig deep today as we were up against a very good side. At the end we were forced to defend strongly and that’s exactly what we did”.
He continued, “We came here with a set game plan but to leave with a win against another Division III side is a huge boost for us. We can match and beat these sides, it’s just a case of us escaping Division IV now”.
Fermín added, “It was a good game for the spectators, but it’s just a shame there were so few of them in this huge stadium”.
Brook Street will now face another Division III side in the next round with RHINO HORN the visitors next Wednesday, although it will be played on a neutral ground.
Zak Ailstock fires home the only goal of the game against Arci Turano the last time the sides met.
“Everyone has been looking forward to the match since we found out who we would be playing; from those like Andrew Cleary who remember actually facing them to other younger players who simply want to pit their wits against another higher tier side”, said Fermín Romero this afternoon.
The Brook Street Coach refused to name his match squad but said, “We’ll mix up the line-up and probably play that old cliché of ‘a blend of youth and experience’ tomorrow as I’m more concerned with ensuring the whole squad recieve some game time”.
With that in mind it is fair to assume that Saturday’s playing squad will not be involved.
Kick-off tomorrow is at 11:15 and given the size of the ground, tickets are of course still available.
Promoted just this week from the Academy, striker Jackie Underhill unexpectedly played almost the whole game against Badger Loyal this afternoon.
However, they shut up shop to secure what was a hard fought three points.
Fermín Romero was unhappy at the way his side twice squandered a two-goal lead but was generally satisfied with the final outcome.
“We let them back into the match twice and that is a real concern”, he said. “You simply can’t let them get back at you”.
He continued, “At 2-0 had we scored the next goal the game was over, but they got it and we’re on the back foot as they push for the equaliser”.
“We go 3-1 up and we are back in the driving seat again. However we let it slip again and they come back into the game to make it 3-2.
“We’re forced to spend the last eighteen minutes defending deeper and deeper, and we couldn’t get the ball away from our eighteen yard line. Clearing the ball up the pitch only gives it straight back to them. We have to play smarter than that”.
He concluded by saying, “We need to finish teams off and shut the door at the back. We’ve let both St Andrew and Badger Loyal back into games recently. We’ve got to cut this out of our game”.
The coach was however delighted with the debut Jackie Underhill made for the senior side after being brought in from the Academy earlier this week.
“We certainly did not plan to give him almost an entire game, but Paul Hughes rolled his ankle in the warm-up and as soon as Connor Hutton felt the twinge in his hamstring we got him off immediately as a precaution”, he admitted.
“We had intended giving Jackie ten minutes or so at the end of the game, but it didn’t work out that way. We didn’t want to change formation and as he was the only forward on the bench we had no option”.
“He was out on his feet at the end of the game but he’s a big lad and can cause a number of problems for opposing defenders, so we told him to stay on and keep pressing their back line as best he could”.
He continued, “To his credit he kept going and tied up their defenders which helped us out at the end”.
The win ended Badger Loyal’s unbeaten run leaving Breakfast Football Club out in front with maximum points following their 8-0 demolition of Livilions. St Andrew Paisley got their first points on the board in style with an 8-0 rout at Glasgow Athletic, while Winbat wonderers had a 5-0 home win over Legz 11.
Balázs Polyák sits out tomorrow’s League match following his red card in Wednesday’s Cup tie.
The Smith Stadium side have made a solid start to the league campaign and remain tied with Breakfast Football Club on maximum points.
“They fought back from a goal down to Winbat last weekend to come away with an excellent 3-1 win, which ended the unbeaten start Winbat had made, so we know their battling qualities”, said Fermín Romero at this afternoon’s press briefing.
“They also had a narrow win over St Andrew Paisley on the opening day, so they can also grind out results when needed”, he added.
“We know we are in for a tough game and have prepared well for it. We believe we can score against them, but we need to keep things tight at the back as they are more than capable of hitting you on the break”.
Balázs Polyák sits this game out courtesy of his red card on Wednesday and long-term injury victim Bogasz Cacek, while edging towards a return, is still some way from appearing.
Gillis Jacob breaks up another GETAFF A attack with a timely interception during this morning’s game.
Coach Fermín Romero recieved a considerable amount of criticism before a ball was even kicked for fielding a ‘weakened side’, however he was unrepentant afterwards saying, “These players earned us the right to play this match so it’s only right that they get to play it. A Lot of these players could be playing for this club for a number of seasons so this experience is invaluable in their development”.
He continued, “I could have played the first team and ended with the same result and would have been criticised for playing them instead of the young players, so I couldn’t win either way. No-one expected us to take anything from today and some pundits were suggesting that it could be ‘double-figures’, so my second string coming away with a 6-0 defeat is two fingers up to them as far as I’m concerned”.
Asked about the red card for Balázs Polyák he said, “It wouldn’t be a Brook Street match without one of our players being sent off”. He went on, “I didn’t see what started it, but I think that he has perhaps got caught up in the occasion. I don’t know but will have to watch it back to see if further punishment is merited. As it stands he will be fined and that will be the close of the matter”.
Brook Street will now drop down to the Saltire Cup where they will enter in the Second Round. Following this afternoon’s draw, Brook Street will travel to face old rivals Arci Turano.
Fermín Romero knows there is a significant difference in class, but that his side will give 100%.
“The town and the club have been buzzing since the draw was made, but we must all remember our opponents are from three tiers above us”, said Brook Street coach Fermín Romero trying to play down the game.
He continued, “This will be a game like no other this club has ever played before. To say it’s a ‘step up in class’ or even a ‘significant step up’ is only scratching at the surface. We are all hugely excited to put ourselves up against a top tier side”.
“We can use the game to gauge how far we are from Premiership standard, but we have to be realistic. Anything at all positive we take out of this game is a bonus”.
“The players are all keen to face Premiership opposition so it will be easy to go into the game with a positive game plan”.
Without naming his starting line-up, Fermín Romero said, “I know who I will be fielding tomorrow”.
Kick of is at 10:30 as usual.
Kari Kienberger celebrates scoring Brook Street’s third goal, but the home side weren’t finished yet.
“Complacency crept in as we went into the last ten minutes two-goals up and eleven against ten. They got the goal back then it’s all back in the melting pot”.
He continued, “Fortunately we scored the next goal, but they hit back instantly and we were left holding on for the final five minutes against ten men. That just isn’t good enough; we should have shut up shop at 2-0 up, and if they had equalised there’s easily the possibility they could have taken all three points”.
On form Diego Misaruca hit the opening goal in the twenty-seventh minute before Dexter Dearmouth was ordered of for an off the ball incident in the thirty-fourth minute, presumably for speaking out of turn to the officials.
Diego put Brook Street 2-0 up with twenty minutes to go before Helmer Dalsgård threw the cat among the pigeons with his goal nine minutes from time.
Brook Street rallied and Kari Kienberger steadied the ship with Brook Street’s third goal six minutes from time, but the home side weren’t finished yet and Fayz Slemanhad the home fans back on their feet a minute later.
With Fermín Romero barking instructions from the sidelines it was unsurprising that his voice was so gravelly post-match, however it did the trick as his players finally shut the door and saw the game out.
In other matches, recently resurgent Winbat wonderers were brought back down to earth by unbeaten Badger Loyal, losing 3-1 at Smith Stadium, while Breakfast Football Club stay on top courtesy of a thumping 8-0 mauling of Glasgow Athletic. In the other game, Livilions got their second win of the season, 2-1 against Legz 11 in the North East.
Aldo Pellone nets the first of his two goals in the 4-2 win the last time we travelled to St Andrew Paisley
“To be honest, it hasn’t been too difficult as we have a very hard-working squad who are 100% committed”, he admitted this afternoon, “and it undoubtedly helps that tomorrow’s game is away from home”.
He continued, “St Andrew have had a difficult start to the season with defeats from Badger Loyal and Breakfast but their current position is false and we know they are a good side”.
“We know that we are in for a very hard game and that makes preparing for it so much easier. We can’t afford to let our minds wander otherwise we are likely to be punished”.
Brook Street have everyone free from suspension and with no new injuries being reported are likely to be along familiar lines.
Kick off at St Andrews Paisley Arena is at 16:30.
This is Brook Street 