You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘#LetsPlayHattrick’ tag.
Fermín Romero’s time as Brook Street Athletic’s Head Coach has come to an end as he stands down after four seasons in the hot seat.
To a stunned press room he said, “I spoke to the Chairman at the start of the season and told him my intentions. That we’ve kept the news under wraps for so long is incredible. We kept it quiet to avoid any unnecessary speculation which might distract the players although they all knew, and to give the Football Club time to appoint the right coach to take them forward”.
He continued, “That new coach is now in place and I am now standing aside. I have had a fabulous time here and met some wonderful people. I would have liked to go out on a high with promotion, but unfortunately that was not to be. I will be taking some time off now as this has been an intense job and I definitely need a rest. This has been the hardest decision of my life, but I know it is the right time”.
“This is the perfect time to move on”, he added. In the four seasons I’ve been here, I’ve had to bring the average age of the squad down and build the foundations of a side capable of challenging, all whilst remaining competitive, returning a profit and expanding the stadium. It was a difficult balancing act, but I think I have managed it albeit I would have preferred to have won a promotion in that time but that was a step too far against some top opposition”.
“I would like to thank the board of directors who gave me the chance of being Head Coach of this tremendous Football Club; to my players, I thank them sincerely for all their hard work and commitment to our ultimate goal and I wish them all the best of good fortune going forward. I have no doubt that they will be playing at a higher level soon”.
“Finally, to the fans I cannot thank you enough for the backing you have given us throughout good times and not so good. Your devotion to the Football Club is second to none and you will always have a special place in my heart”.
Fermín refused to be drawn on who the new coach is, saying with a smile, “The Club will be holding a press conference at 2:00pm tomorrow where you’ll all get a chance to meet him. I think he’ll be a huge success at Brook Street Athletic”.
And with that the Fermín Romero era came to an unexpected end. The new era starts tomorrow.
Fermín Romero bristled when it was suggested that his players were already ‘on the beach’.
“We were up against a very strong side who were simply too good for us and we can have no complaints”, he said.
“They are our benchmark and where we want to be, but we could be two or three seasons away from there. That’s the harsh truth”.
“We have the nucleus of a good side but it will take time to bring the youngsters up to their full potential and make us into the real force I believe we can become”.
Elswhere, the final play-off places and relegation place were decided. A 6-1 defeat at home against Inverness saw Oboy shot join Elgin, who themselves lost 4-0 at St Andrew Paisley, in the fifth tier next season. St Andrew and Inverness will both play a relegation play-off while Paisley Pirates have been confirmed in the Division III play-off.
The only game where nothing was at stake produced easily the game of the day and a veritable goalfest as Badger Loyal won 9-4 at Winbat wonderers.
So, another disappointing season for Brook Street, but there is without doubt grounds for optimism going forward.
“Tomorrow will be a very tough game as Pirates are a very strong side, but they are where we want to be, and we know what we need to do to get there”.
With two defeats in their opening three games Brook Street’s title challenge was over before it even started, but since then Fermín Romero’s side have rallied and go into the match tomorrow with another runners-up place guaranteed.
“Since our defeat in week three we have been unbeaten and have been playing some good football”, the Brook Street coach said this afternoon.
“We’ve built up good momentum and we are looking to continue it into the start of next season”, he added.
“Tomorrow will be a very tough game as Pirates are a very strong side, but they are where we want to be, and we know what we need to do to get there”.
With a full squad to choose from Fermín has options available to him regarding both formation and personnel. Whether he plays it safe or tries to be more adventurous in a game where nothing is at stake remains to be seen.
Despite his best efforts, Inverness keeper Ali Ballantyne can’t get back across his goal to deny Joe Anderson his 14th goal of the season.
“Yes it’s tedious and I’m sick of always being second best”, admitted Fermín when the news broke. “Hopefully they won’t mess up the play-off this time and we’ll get a new team in. It just enforces exactly why you have to win all of your games in this league”.
He continued, “We’ve got the foundation of a really good side in place here and if everyone plays to their potential, we will have a side capable of finally getting out of this division.
Turning to this afternoon’s match he said, “We got goals early on and that set the tone of the game. Three in each half is a good return and what is more pleasing is that they came from all areas of the park”.
He continued, “We played at a high intensity and our passing and build up play were both excellent”.
“Needless to say, our finishing wasn’t too bad either”, he added with a smile.
Aldo Pellone got the ball rolling in the sixth minute when a reverse pass caught the home defenders out leaving him free to drive the ball low into the net.
Five minutes later Adam Doyle swung over a free-kick that was headed on at the near post by Paul Hughes. Expecting him to go for goal took the home defence on the hop leaving Joe Anderson free to roll the ball into the net at the back post.
With only twenty-two minutes played Brook Street went three-up when Diego Misuraca pounced on a short backpass and fired high past Ali Ballantyne in the Inverness goal.
Ballantyne however saved his side from going further behind just after the half-hour mark when he got his fingertips to a powerful Aldo Pellone drive which looked netbound all the way.
Twelve minutes into the second half the Inverness keeper was left horribly exposed when his central defenders were posted missing, allowing Paul Hughes a free run through on goal before unleashing a real thunderbolt of a shot that gave the keeper no chance whatsoever.
A minute later Brook Street looked to have messed up a free kick routine when it landed at the edge of the box, but no-one had noticed Raúl Colen edging into position and he blasted the ball home to put Brook Street five-up and out of sight.
Raúl went close to adding a sixth goal in the sixty-fourth minute but his diving header was turned round the post by Ali Ballantyne at full stretch.
That sixth goal would come however Brook Street fans had to wait until a minute from time when a superb through ball played in Kari Kienberger who made no mistake.
And with that, some of the outstanding issues in the league were decided. Paisley Pirates 4-0 win over St Andrew Paisley ensured the title would remain in Paisley for a second season and that Brook Street Athletic will finish second. At the other end of the table Elgin were relegated after only a season in the fourth tier, however the final automatic relegation place along with the relegation play-off places are not quite yet decided.
Oboy shot are favourites to go down trailing Inverness by only three points but a vastly inferior goal difference, and with the sides meeting next weekend , it would take a 9-0 Oboy win to send Inverness down and Oboy into the play-offs. The other play-off place is a straight fight between Winbat wonderers and St Andrew Paisley. Winbat have the harder finish as they are at home to Badger Loyal while St Andrew Paisley are at home to Elgin. Time will tell.
Joe Anderson nets Brook Street’s opening goal the last time the sides met earlier in the season.
After a disasterous start to the campaign which saw them pick up only three points from their first three games, Brook Street’s unbeaten run now extends to nine games with seven victories on the spin and a win today will see a second place finish guaranteed.
Speaking from the team hotel this morning Fermín Romero said, “That bad start start in the league has cost us dearly, but ironically I think that it combined with the early Cup exits has improved us as a team.
“We are in a far better place now that we were at this point last season and we want to finish with as many points as possible and take this form into the new season”.
On today’s game he said, “Barring any disaster for them next weekend, Motorbreath should be good for a relegation play-off spot so it remains to be seen if they decide to just park the bus this afternoon and save themselves for the game next week”.
“Whatever they decide, we are ready for them. We have trained really well this week and everyone has a clean bill of health and with no suspensions it’s good to have the entire squad available”.
Kick-off at Millburn Stadium this afternoon is at 16:30.
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.
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.
Aldo Pellone scores Brook Street’s goal in the 2-1 defeat at St Andrew earlier in the season.
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.
Paul Hughes rounds Elgin keeper Humphrey Cholmondley to fire Brook Street into the lead.
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.
Brook Street hit eight without reply when the sides met at the LJG earlier in the season.
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.
Charlie Benham finishes off a counter-attack with Brook Street’s opening goal 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”.
This is Brook Street 