“We Knew The Goals Would Come”

With St Andrew keeper Lino Amaya stranded, Mait Peterson has the easiest of tasks to stab the ball into the unguarded net to open the scoring.

With a competent and assured display, Brook Street comfortably saw off the challenge of St Andrew Paisley at the LJG this afternoon in front of a capacity 60,000 crowd. It was the first time the ‘Sold Out’ signs had gone up at the ticket office since the capacity was increased at the end of last season.

Brook Street’s midfield trio of Diego Misuraca, Banin Jiménez Iniesta and Kari Kienberger bossing the game in the centre of the park, the home side quickly took control of the game. However it was the visitors who created the first clear-cut chance when a through ball on the right sent Enrico Bani through. Jeremías Marchena however was on his toes and raced out to pounce on the ball.

Within a minute, Brook Street were in front. Banin Jiménez Iniesta fired over a corner and under pressure Lino Amaya dropped the ball which dropped at the feet of Mait Peterson who stabbed the ball home from six yards out.

Amaya made amends almost immediately when at full stretch, he turned a Charlie Benham piledriver up and over the bar.

A minute later however he was caught in no-man’s land but Joe Anderson’s shot was just too hight and it rattled the crossbar on it’s way over.

Amaya was again the hero in the sixty-sixth minute when he forced Mait Peterson wide and the angle was too tight for him to hit the target.

Banin Jiménez Iniesta went close when he was played through on the seventy-ninth minute but his shot, having beaten the outstretched arm of Lino Amaya cannoned off the far post and away to safety.

With five minutes to go Mait Peterson should probably have doubled Brook Street’s lead but for some great goalkeeping by Lino Amaya who once again kept his side in the game.

This proved to be only a stay of execution as two minutes later as substitute Balázs Polyák finished off a free-kick routine to record his fourth goal of the season and secure the points for Brook Street Athletic.

“We took control of the game early on and but from another excellent performance by their keeper we would have won more convincingly”, said Fermín Romero afterwards.

“We stuck to the gameplan because we knew the goals would come, and they duly did”, he added.

He continued, “Our midfield was superb, winning everything and dominating the game. Banin Jiménez Iniesta is developing into an excellent player and showed that today”.

“It’s just a shame that we started the season so poorly”, he added. “Had we started as well as we have been playing for half the season, we would have been challenging for the title”.

He went on, “We can’t do anything about that now but to attempt to finish the season in top form and set ourselves up to start the new season strongly”.

In the other matches, Paisley Pirates romped to an 8-0 win at Oboy shot, Badger Loyal saw off Elgin by the same scoreline and Winbat had a 3-2 homw win over Inverness.

Concentrate On Our Own Performance

Aldo Pellone scores Brook Street’s goal in the 2-1 defeat at St Andrew earlier in the season.

Brook Street’s long unbeaten run will come under intense pressure this afternoon when St Andrew Paisley visit the LJG looking to complete the double over Fermín Romero’s side.

The defeat on the third week of the season killed off any realistic chance Brook Street had of challenging for the title, being it their second defeat in just three games. Pay-back for that may be on the minds of some, but Fermín is concentrating more upon keeping the unbeaten run going.

“Although we are within touching distance of Paisley Pirates, there’s no way they’re going to drop points before they come here on the final day of the season, so we must concentrate on our own performance and keep the pressure on, even if it is just a token effort, by winning our remaining games”.

He continued, “We’ve built up a good unbeaten run and I want us to still be unbeaten going into next season”.

Key to the long unbeaten run has been the ability to field a settled side, and although he has lost the services of Raúl Colen in recent weeks Alex Marker has proved to be a more than adequate stand-in.

“Losing Raúl for so long was a blow, but I always wanted strength in depth here and now that I’ve got it, replacing him wasn’t the huge problem it would have been before”.

He added, “That said, Alex [Marker] has been a revelation at wing-back so that’s an added bonus.

Will the exception of Raúl, Fermín has a full squad to select from so don’t expect wholesale changes.

Kick-off as always is at 16:30.

A Good Day All In All

Paul Hughes rounds Elgin keeper Humphrey Cholmondley to fire Brook Street into the lead.

With a clinical display, Brook Street romped to a 7-0 victory in Elgin this afternoon to maintain their unbeaten run andkeep their slenderest of title ambitions alive. Paul Hughes was the tormentor-in-chief scoring a hat-trick with the other goals coming from Aldo Pellone, Joe Anderson, Alex Marker and Diego Misuraca.

Athletic were 4-0 up after only sixteen minutes through Paul Hughes (2), Aldo Pellone and Joe Anderson, and with the home side opting to ‘park the bus’ for damage limitation at this point, and with the game won and big games coming up for Brook Street, it is perhaps understandable that the visitors took their foot off the pedal.

However a half-time pep talk from Fermín Romero saw them up their scoring efforts and those bore immediate fruit when Alex Marker pounced on a defensive error three minutes after the re-start to put Brook Street five-up.

Paul Hughes completed his hat-trick around the hour mark and Diego Misuraca completed the scoring midway through the half.

Asked about what he said to the players at half-time, Fermín Romero replied, “We just went through the gameplan again and told the players what we thought they could do differently. Elgin were playing all out defence so we had vary our play to break them down”.

“No hairdryers were involved”, he added with a grin.

“We played well within our limits and I think after we went four-up we lost our way a bit and weren’t going in for the kill”.

“After the break we started strongly, quickly scored and that set us up for a better performance throughout the half, albeit we only scored another two goals after Alex’s”, he added.

“The most important things to come from the game were, we kept our winning momentum, set ourselves up nicely for a huge game against St Andrew Paisley next weekend, and possibly the most important things at this time of the season, we didn’t pick up any more injuries or suspensions. It was a good day all in all”.

In the other matches, Paisley Pirates won 6-2 away to Winbat wonderers, St Andrew Paisley snapped their two-game losing streak with a 7-0 win at home to Oboy shot, and despite looking to offload half their squad Badger Loyal won 6-2 in Inverness.

Positive Momentum

Brook Street hit eight without reply when the sides met at the LJG earlier in the season.

Brook Street Athletic will face a much easier challenge than that posed by Winbat wonderers last weekend when they face relegation threatened Elgin FC this afternoon.

The Morayshire side went bottom last week following their 5-1 defeat away to Oboy shot last weekend and now look a good bet to make an instant return to Division V.

That said, Fermín Romero has prepared his side no differently this week than he would for a game against a top side.

“We prepare the same way every week whether we’re playing the team at the top of the league or the bottom. Not to do so would not only in my mind be disrespectful and also lure the players into a sense of false security. I want them to go out and win every game and I want them to work for it”.

Turning to this afternoon’s game he said, “We rode our luck a bit last week and got a lucky break at the end, but it kept up our positive momentum”.

He continued, “It’s important that we keep that going this afternoon as we’ve got three massive games after this. We certainly won’t be treating Elgin lightly and will go with our strongest side”.

He added, “Raúl Colen misses out after picking up the injury last weekend, but he is the only absentee”.

As tradition dictates Fermín refused to name his line-up, but it would seem likely that after last weekend’s display, Alex Marker may get the nod at wing-back in Raúl Colen’s absence.

Kick-off at Elgin FC Arena is at 16:30.

Bizarre Own Goal Steals All Three Points

Charlie Benham finishes off a counter-attack with Brook Street’s opening goal this afternoon.

Seldom if ever has a match involving Brook Street Athletic finished in such bizarre circumstance as that against Winbat wonderers this afternoon.

Brook Street had been forced onto the back foot straight from the kick-off and suffered a significant setback when Raúl Colen was forced from the game with a rib injury after only twenty-five minutes.

The home side continued to press for the opener but Fermín Romero’s men held firm and got to the break with the game still tied at 0-0 thanks largely to the efforts of Jeremías Marchena.

The second half kicked-off in a similar manner to the first with all the play heading towards Brook Street’s goal and eight minutes after the re-start they survived a strong penalty claim when wonderers’ Festus Koech went down under a challenge from Jeremías Marchena. The referee however waved play-on.

Marchena played the ball out but a pass was intercepted in midfield and wonderers pressed forward again. Brook Street’s defence again held firm and when the ball broke to Alex Marker he had already spotted Charlie Benham in the clear ahead of him.

It was route one stuff, but the ball landed in front of the winger who raced through on the counter-attack and fired it low past the onrushing Robbie Archdeacon in the wonderers goal. It was Brook Street’s first attempt on goal and totally against the run of play, but the Monifieth side had their noses in front.

The question was, would them manage to stay in front for the remainder of the game?

The home side continued to pummel the Brook Street back line without any luck and as the clock ticked on they became more and more desperate.

With sixty-six minutes on the clock Garth Weakley crashed to the turf in the Brook Street box looking for the penalty, but despite being mobbed by Winbat players, the referee held firm in his view that Weakley had gone down far too easily and point-blank refused to give the spot-kick.

The wonderers’ player was perhaps a little fortunate that the man in the middle didn’t see fit to book him for simulation but instead a simple, “Get up son, you’re better than that” was deemed to be enough.

Play became scrappy as the clock ran down and it looked more and more as if Brook Street would see out the game with their lead intact.

However with a minute of regular time and another of stoppage time remaining the game turned completely.

Charlie Barr picked up the ball in midfield and raced forward. Kari Kienberger dropped back as the wonderers midfielder advanced and but when he went in for the challenge Barr back-heeled the ball to Garth Chalmers while continuing his run forward.

Kari went to close down Chalmers but this left Charlie Barr in acres of space and a deft pass had him played right through. Bearing down on goal he took a couple of touches before firing the ball under Jeremías Marchena to tie the game.

The crowd went wild and to be fair the goal on the basis of how many chances they had had was probably deserved. However fate had other ideas.

The ball had been played forward from the restart as Brook Street set about keeping it as far from their goal as possible. It found its way all the way back to Robbie Archdeacon who set up to clear upfield, but in a freak set of events he miskicked and the ball rebounded off Barry Glasser’s foot and bounced into the net.

The stadium fell silent in disbelief until the Brook Street fans realised the ball was in the net and as the final whistle went, their side had completed the perfect smash and grab win.

Speaking at full-time, even Fermín Romero was struggling to comprehend what he’d just witnessed.

“Normally I’d say I don’t care how we score, even if it bounces off someone’s backside, but in all my career I have never seen a goal like that”.

“Would I say that our win was undeserved? Absolutely! Does it bother me? Not in the slightest”.

He continued, “We’ve had plenty of our own kicks in the guts down the seasons so it was good to get a rub of the green for a change”.

“To be honest, when they got the equaliser with a minute to go i thought, ‘well that’s just typical, we’ve dropped two points in the final minute’, and with it we had to look more towards holding on for the point. Then”, he added, “that happened”.

Asked about Raúl Colen’s condition he replied, “It’s not great and he could be out for a few games. He may have bruised or even cracked a couple of ribs so we’ll just have to see how the scans look”.

“Alex [Marker] came in and played well at wing back despite it not being his best position. He linked up well and played the ball that Charlie Benham put us ahead from. He has come in under unfortunate circumstances and taken his chance to impress”.

He went on, “We now have strength in depth at the Club and this is a good example of it. We are building solid foundations and we can grind out results when needed. We are building a side fit to challenge for the title”.

A Close Game Anticipated

Joe Anderson fires Brook Street in front earlier this season. Two late goals for the visitors would see it end 2-2.

With both sides in good form, Brook Street Athletic travel to face Winbat wonderers this afternoon in a game that Fermín Romero is expecting to be “awkward”

“Winbat always load one side and it’s a lottery as to how they’ll line up on the other”, he said when he spoke to This is Brook Street this morning.

He continued, “You’re always tempted to load your attack on the other wing but that can play against you, especially at their ground”.

Alluding to the result at the LJG earlier this season when Winbat secured a draw with two late goals he added, “You also have to be alert to them catching you on the break”.

“There isn’t really much between the sides so it will probably be a tight game”, he added. “It might come down to a single goal”.

Janko Fila looked to be Brook Street’s only doubt for the game having picked up an injury midweek, but the German has been passed fit to play and is included in the squad.

Kick-off as always is at 16:30.

Two Hat-tricks As Brook Street Run Riot

Joe Anderson sets Brook Street on course for their third highest win ever with a third minute strike.

The small band of Oboy shot fans who entered the LJG this afternoon did so with no small degree of trepidation and fearing the worst. That fear proved to be well founded as Brook Street proceeded to systematically and quite brutally dismantle their side with a display that Fermín Romero later described as “absolutely sensational”.

Sensational it certainly was and the 11-0 win was the third biggest in the history of the Club, as well as the biggest since Brook Street’s record 13-0 win against Carlton Hill in Edinburgh fifteen seasons ago.

Brook Street declared their intent straight from kick-off when after only three minutes Joe Anderson broke through on the left and fired home.

The home side doubled their lead on fourteen minutes when Banin Jiménez Iniesta picked up the ball in midfield and took on the whole of the Oboy back line before firing past the unfortunate Al MacGlashan in the visitor’s goal.

Then three minutes later Kari Kienberger marked his return to the side following suspension with a break through the middle and thunderous drive high into the rigging.

With less than half an hour played, Kari doubled his tally for the game following a free-kick move straight off the training ground which had the visiting defenders chasing shadows.

Brook Street were playing well within their capabilities but were still too far good for their opponents, and this was apparent five minutes from the break when Charlie Benham sauntered down the left wing before cutting inside and curling a peach of a shot past Al MacGlashan.

After the blistering pace of the first half, the second started very sedately but Brook Street stepped up in pace in the fifty-seventh minute when Paul Hughes broke through and fired home. Within the next ten minutes Brook Street found the net three times as the roof caved-in on the visitors.

Two goals from Joe Anderson within the space of three minutes saw the skipper complete his hat-trick before Aldo Pellone nutmegged Al MacGlashan to put Brook Street 9-0 up with twenty-six minutes left.

That would have been Oboy shot’s worst defeat of the season, but worse was to follow ten minutes later when Kari Kienberger completed his hat-trick.

In the regular substitution with fifteen minutes to go Balázs Polyák replaced Joe Anderson, with the skipper receiving a standing ovation as he left the field. However it was Balázs who wrapped up the scoring six minutes from time when he rounded the keeper to fire home.

Speaking afterwards Fermín Romero rang the praises of his side, saying “The boys were absolutely sensational today and showed everyone exactly what we can do. They barely got out of first gear but showed just how good they can be”.

He continued, “I’ve never witnessed a performance like it and to have two players hit hat-trick’s was simply superb. They also recorded the third highest victory in the history of this Club and that is truly sensational”.

“We are now up to second place which, after the way we started the season, is phenomenal”, he added “but we have too much to do to overhaul Pirates’ lead at the top so we are building for next season”.

“I feel we have the nucleus of a side that can get us back to the third tier”, he said. “However we need to ensure that side will at worst keep us in the third tier and preferably win us promotion to the second for the first time”.

As Fermín Romero said, the win saw Brook Street go into second place in the league on goal difference from next weekend’s opponents Winbat wonderers who had a good 3-2 win away at St Andrew Paisley albeit at a cost, as first choice keeper Logan Rowbotham sustained an injury that looks to have him out of next weekend’s clash.

The defeat saw St Andrew drop to fourth, while Badger Loyal’s 3-2 defeat at Pirates sees them back in fifth on fifteen points.

Then there is an eight point gap back to Inverness who took the points back along the A96 from Elgin with a 4-1 win, Elgin in seventh place with three points and Oboy shot who look to be all but doomed on one point.

No Bus Too Strong

Adam Doyle fires Brook Street on their way to a 7-0 win the last time the sides met.

Oboy shot visit the LJG later this afternoon and will do so with damage limitation high in their priorities. The Highlanders have had a difficult time in the fourth tier since their promotion last season, and with forty-three goals already conceded and facing the third highest scoring side in the division it could make for an uncomfortable time for the visiting defence.

“We are in excellent form at present and playing some terrific football”, said Fermín Romero this lunchtime. “We are back to full strength too with Charlie Benham and Alex Marker available following injury and Kari Kienberger free from suspension, so will be looking to put this game to bed as fast as possible”.

“We know they’ll try to ‘park the bus’. but we have more than enough ability to break them down”, he added.

Kick-off is at 16:30.