“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.

The Indian Sign

Gillis Jacob lifts the ball over Andrin Fournier to open the scoring for Brook Street this afternoon.

Ever since their first meeting Brook Street have held something of the Indian sign over Badger Loyal Rangers, and that jinx came to the fore again at the LJG this afternoon as Fermín Romero’s Brook Street dismantled the league leaders by five goals to one.

After their late defeat the previous week by Paisley Pirates, Brook Street were probably the last side Gers would have wanted to face. However the fixture computer certainly did Gers no favours when it lined up a double-header against Brook Street sandwiched between meetings with last season’s Champions.

Brook Street were straight onto the front foot straight from kick-off and with nine minutes played, Gillis Jacob lifted the ball over the outrushing Gers keeper and into the net. It was one of those events when the ball seemed to be moving in slow motion but despite his best efforts to get back, Andrin Fournier couldn’t keep the ball out.

Gers fired right back and just two minutes later Zdzisław Szafruga broke through and fired Gers level.

If ever a goal spurred a side into action, this was it as Brook Street launched wave after wave of attacks on the Gers back line.

Diego Misuraca went close with a thunderous drive that left the crossbar rattling for a number of seconds with twenty-one minutes played, but Joe Anderson found the target a minute later with a low drive that went across the keeper and in at the far post.

Brook Street could smell blood now and went in for the kill. Kari Kienberger broke through on the right and when it looked like he had been pushed too far out, he whipped in a vicious shot which beat Andrin Fournier at his near post.

The home side were far from done though and with Gers reeling under the onslaught Joe Anderson found the net again in the twenty-seventh minute with a beautifully curled shot from the left that had Andrin Fournier grasping thin air.

With the score 4-1 at the break and Brook Street in complete control, it would be fully expected for them to ‘take it easy’ in the second half however this was far from the case and having survived a scare on the hour mark, set about their opponents with renewed vigour.

Seven minutes later it was 5-1 as Aldo Pellone broke through before dispatching the ball low and hard into the net.

Brook Street were unrelenting and but for interventions by post and crossbar, Adam Doyle and Kari Kienberger would both have added to Gers’ misery even before Mait Peterson blasted the ball inches over the crossbar in stoppage time.

“We were at our ruthless best today and it was probably the worst day Badger Loyal could have face us”, enthused Fermín Romero afterwards.

“We were superb all over the pitch and showed ourselves in a very good light”, he added. “Now we face them again next weekend at Smith Stadium and I would guess that they are looking forward to that a lot less than us”.

This win extends Brook Street’s unbeaten run to four games and keeps them in fourth place in the tableahead of Winbat on goal difference.

Elsewhere, Pirates capitalised on Badger Loyal’s defeat to go top with a 7-0 home win over Elgin, Paisley St Andrew remain three points off the pace following their 6-1 mauling of Inverness Motorbreath, while Oboy shot are already looking doomed following this afternoon’s 6-0 demolition at Winbat.

Confidence Booster

With only three minutes on the clock, Adam Doyle fires Brook Street into the lead against Oboy shot.

Ahead of this afternoon’s match at Oboy shot, the Brook Street players certainly took heed of their Coach’s words as they rose to the occasion and dispatched the Highland side with aplomb.

While it was not the most important game they will face this season, Fermín Romero’s side set about their task straight from the kick-off and within three minutes Adam Doyle had Brook Street in front.

With only eleven minutes played Brook Street went two-up when Joe Anderson broke through the middle and slotted the ball under the advancing keeper.

Four minutes later and the game was all but over as a contest as defender Mait Peterson chipped the ball past the home keeper with the coolness of a veteran striker to make it 3-0 to Brook Street.

Fermín Romero’s side weren’t for letting up and in the twenty-fourth minute Diego Misuraca broke through and drove the ball low and hard into the net, sparking a mass exodus of the home fans to the local hostelries.

Those home fans that remained would not have liked what they had seen up until then, but it would only get worse when with only thirty-seven minutes on the clock Charlie Benham broke through before firing home to put Brook Street 5-0 up and send the fans in the visiting section into party-mode.

Understandably Brook Street eased up in the second half, but they still operated a shoot on site policy and this bore fruit just after the hour mark when Paul Hughes thundered a volley high into the home net for probably the best goal of the game.

As is now a regular occurrence, Fermín Romero withdrew skipper Joe Anderson with fifteen minutes to go with Balázs Polyák coming on to replace him, and it only took the young Hungarian striker four minutes to get his name on the scoresheet to wrap up the scoring.

“This was the kind of game we needed”, admitted Fermín afterwards. “It was a confidence booster for the lads and with seven goals from eleven chances, I’m certainly not going to be disappointed with that”.

“We dominated the game from the first whistle to last and we fully merited our win”, he said.

Fermín continued, “We face a very different game next weekend when Badger Loyal come to the LJG so it was important we got a good performance today. I can however confidently say we got a ‘very good’ performance today”.

That ‘very good’ performance takes Brook Street into the top half of the table for only the second time this season.

In the game of the day, a last minute Daniel Dyk strike saw Paisley Pirates snatch all three points away to Badger Loyal, Inverness secured their first win of the season, defeating Elgin 3-1 at home, and St Andrew Paisley had a 3-0 away win with all the goals coming in the first half.

So Badger Loyal now only lead Paisley Pirates on goal difference with both sides tied on fifteen points, St Andrew are in third three points behind while Brook Street leapfrogged Winbat on goal difference, both sides being on ten points. There is then a significant gap already back to Inverness who sit on four points, Elgin on three and Oboy who are rooted to the foot of the table with only one point.

Playing With Freedom

Brook Street players celebrate Adam Doyle’s first goal of the game from the penalty spot.

Brook Street were looking to kick-start their league season against Elgin at the LJG this afternoon and did so emphatically with an 8-0 demolition of the Moray side.

The home side had the game wrapped up before half-time with Adam Doyle firing in a hat-trick, two from the penalty spot, and the other goals coming from Joe Anderson and Mait Peterson.

Even with the foot off the gas in the second half Joe Anderson and Paul Hughes had both netted before Adam Doyle curled a peach of a free-kick with less than a quarter of an hour to go to wrap up the scoring and record his fourth goal of the game.

“The whole team played with flair and confidence today, a confidence that has perhaps been lacking recently”, admitted Fermín Romero afterwards.

“I think the players also played with a freedom and are starting to settle after the upheaval of players moving on, but lower crowds may also be taking the pressure off them as the fans’ expectations may be less for this season. I just don’t know”, he added.

“All we can do is keep doing what we’re doing and build and going by today’s performance I think we’re heading in the right direction”.

He continued, “That said, Winbat come here next week so we’ll see how we do against a better side”.

Winbat will come to the LJG next weeken on the back of a sensational 2-1 home win over Paisley Pirates this afternoon, while elsewhere there were big wins for Badger Loyal, 7-0 at home to Inverness and a 5-0 away win for St Andrew Paisley at Oboy shot.

Badger Loyal remain out in front on maximum pounts while St Andrew Paisley, Paisley Pirates and Winbat wonderers are all three back on nine points. Brook Street are on their own in fifth place on six points before a big gap already to Inverness and Oboy shot on one and Elgin who are still to register a point.

Brook Street Storm Into Second Round

On his competitive debut for Brook Street Athletic, Jānis Graubiņš score his first senior goal.

Brook Street Athletic stormed into the Scottish Cup Second Round with a systemmatic demolition of Gorgie’s XI at Powderhall this morning.

Fermín Romero had surprised a number of onlookers by fielding a predominantly young reserve side with an average age of only 21 playing a 3-4-3 formation, however the players leapt at the opportunity to impress and quickly took control of the game.

The capital side didn’t do themselves any favours though and already trailing to Balázs Polyák’s twelfth minute opener, saw their numbers reduced when Hamish Standfield was ordered off after felling Gillis Jacob with a tackle verging on assault and more suited to Murrayfield.

Gillis was unable to continue and Brook Street were forced to make an early substitution with Jake Ward coming on to make his senior competitive debut at only 17-years of age.

With an advantage in numbers Brook Street seized the initiative and despite the home side ‘parking the bus’ Brook Street finally added to their lead in the twenty-eighth minute when Jackie Underhill powers his way into the home team box before firing the ball under Roy Wilson in the home goal.

Brook Street upped their lead to 3-0 in the thirty-eight minute when Jānis Graubiņš, who was making his debut, picked up a pass from Banin Jiménez Iniesta before rounding Lee Haggard, drawing the keeper and lobbing the ball into the empty net. Simply sublime!

Banin Jiménez Iniesta turned from provider to finisher a minute later when he found himself free on the left. Having received the ball he proceeded to cut inside the defender before curling the ball into the net with the outside of his boot to make it 4-0.

Gorgie’s XI were spent by this point and Brook Street Athletic killed the game stone dead in the forty-fourth minute when Janko Fila launched a cross over from the right. Jackie Underhill looked to have over-run the ball before turning and launching himself into the air and battering the ball into the net with a spectacular scissor kick.

This was the cue for many of the home fans to head for the local hostelries.

Things went from bad to worse from the home side eleven minutes into the second half when Callum Ironmonger broke through and dispatched the ball past Roy Wilson with a superb low drive.

Brook Street were toying with their opponents and the outcome was almost inevitable when Remmel Demarsin carved his way through the home defence in sixty-second minute; 7-0 to the visitors.

In the sixty-fifth minute Mait Peterson beat the home side’s poor attempt at an offside trap to be left one-on-one with Roy Wilson. The home keeper did his best to put the Estonian off but the finish was clinical and the score was eight without reply.

Janko Fila went close to making it 9-0 a minute later but his lob was cleared off the line, and with that Brook Street eased off and freewheeled to full-time knowing they were safely in the Second Round draw.

Asked why he had gone with an a young line-up and an unfamiliar formation Fermín Romero said, “These are the kind of games we can do this. We can try out new ideas and do ‘something different’. I went with the players who had not had gametime this week and this was the line-up that fitted the players best”.

Turning to the match itself he said, “We took control of the game early on and eventually turned our dominance into goals”.

He continued, “My players did everything I asked of them and we produced an superb team performance, and achieved an excellent result with individual milestones. We had Jānis Graubiņš score his first goal on his competitive debut for us and Remmel Demarsin scored his first competitive goal for the Club and Jake Ward making his competitive debut”.

He concluded, “At the end of the day we are in the draw for the Second Round and that’s what we wanted”.

In that draw Brook Street Athletic were rewarded with another away tie against fourth tier side Whisky Barrel Football Club.

Kick-off at Moonshine Arena next Wednesday will be at 10:30.

Ten-Man Brook Street Secure Vital Win

Paul Hughes blasts Brook Street’s opening goal past Glen Cooksey in the wonderers goal.

Ten-man Brook Street held on to secure a 3-2 victory at Winbat wonderers this afternoon, a win which coach Fermín Romero described afterwards as ‘vital’.

The home side had set up with a a 4-5-1 formation with the emphasis on smothering the midfield and closing down Brook Street’s ‘engine room’ who had lined up in a 3-5-2 formation.

However initially it was hard to see how they would keep out the Division’s highest scorers until the ninth minute when they successfully swamped the box to give the Brook Street strikers no chance of getting the ball which was successfully cleared.
The home side showed in the eleventh minute that they weren’t about to sit in and watch Brook Street play pretty passes when a ball from the wonderers’ left found Festus Koech who fired it goalwards. Unfortunately for him and his side the ball rippled the outside of the net.

The home side were playing much better than they had recently and this appeared to have caught Brook Street on the hop. However following a save by Benito Buda from a wonderers attack Brook Street went ‘Route One’ as Mait Peterson launched the ball forward out of defence.

Up front Paul Hughes had anticipated the clearance and was already off and running. The ball dropped over his shoulder as he raced in on goal. One touch had the ball under control before blasting it beyond Glen Cooksey in the wonderers goal.

Five minutes later and it was Hughes again who broke down the right before cutting in and firing the ball low and hard into the net to put Brook Street 2-0 up and apparently heading for another comfortable win.

That all changed two minutes from the break when Brook Street skipper Joe Anderson picked up his second yellow card in only three minutes and with it his marching orders.

The home side immediately tried to press forward and won a highly dubious free-kick at the edge of the Brook Street box after referee Scott Kelly managed to see an infringement that no-one else either on the pitch or in the stands saw.

Within the space of three minutes Brook Street coach Fermín Romero had been irritated by Joe Anderson’s red card, furious with the referee for giving a dubious free-kick, and apoplectic when Festus Koech netted from it. Two minutes later his assistants were on hand to usher the raging coach down the tunnel and into the changing rooms before he could confront the hapless Mr Kelly.

The Peruvian had calmed down somewhat by the time the teams came back out and his mood appeared to improve when the referee had no option but to award Brook Street a penalty in the fifty-fifth minute when Adam Doyle was up-ended in the box with the defender getting no-where near the ball. The Irishman stepped up and coolly slotted the ball away to put the ten men 3-1 in front.

That mood started to deteriorate when Adam Doyle was booked for pulling his opponent’s shirt when both players were equally guilty and a ‘stern word’ would have been sufficient.

It went from bad to worse in the seventy-third minute when Winbat were awarded a penalty for what appeared to be a foul outside the penalty area. The Brook Street players protested but those were all waved away and Festus Koech fired the ball just beyond the reach of Benito Buda to reduce the lead.

This set up a frenetic last eighteen minutes but Brook Street were resolute in defence forming a blue and black wall that was going to let absolutely nothing through. Time and again they thwarted the home attacks and broke out taking the ball deep into the opposition half and running the clock down.

“Our game management at the end was exemplary and straight from the textbook”, said Fermín Romero at the post-match press conference. “We closed them down at every opportunity and were resolute in defence. The players were outstanding”.

He continued, “Going down to ten men and losing a goal so soon afterwards could have seen us put under intense pressure, but the break came just in time to break up the momentum and going 3-1 up knocked wonderers back”.

Asked about the performance of referee Fermín replied, I’ll only say that it is on the flick of a coin whether he or Koech was wonderers’ biggest influence on the match. Let’s just say he’s not on the Christmas card list and I hope we don’t encounter him again”.

“Losing Joe [Anderson] is a a blow for next weekend but I’ve just found out Adam Doyle is out now too. That certainly changes my plans and it could force us into a change of formation which is less than desirable for such an important game”.

In the other games, Bonnybrig ran out 6-0 winners at home to Livilions, Badger Loyal hit the goal trail at Eilean Donan hitting eight without reply and in the ‘Battle of the Paisley’ Pirates won 3-1 at St Andrew. So, as far as the league table is concerned, it’s very much as you were.

In The Driving Seat

Mait Peterson knocks home what would prove to be the decisive goal against Bonnybrig Eagles at Ochilview this afternoon.

With a battling 2-1 win in the top of the table clash at Ochilview this afternoon Brook Street now find themselves in the driving seat of the championship race with almost half the season gone.

At times it wasn’t pretty; at times Brook Street rode their luck; and they most certainly got that rub of the green that has been missing for so long when with fourteen minutes to go Rui Dias blazed a penalty wildly over the bar. But as Fermín Romero said beforehand, it was all about getting the win, and he certainly appeared to be more relieved than happy with the result when he faced the press after the match.

“We were slow to get going and Bonnybrig put us on the back foot straight from the kick-off. They had the edge in midfield and we could have been a goal down before we started to get ourselves into the game”.

He continued, “We took the lead with a really scruffy free-kick from Adam [Doyle] but no matter how ugly they are they all count. We were maybe unlucky not to go two-up just after the break but we were absolutely taken apart for their equaliser which was very disappointing given how well our defence had played until then”.

“However with about a quarter of an hour to go, we got what proved to be the winning goal and at the end of the day we achieved what we set out to do”.

He concluded by saying, “Now we are clear at the top we have the chance to build on it. We’re currently in an automatic promotion place but only just. We have to keep winning to ensure we have the best possible chance of automatic promotion”.

In the other matches, Paisley Pirates consolidated their third place with a 5-0 away win against Winbat, St Andrew Paisley recorded a 7-0 win in the Highlands against Eilean Donan Devils, but Badger Loyal Rangers’ recovery lasted only one game as they foundered in West Lothian, going down 4-2 against Livilions.

Cup Win Earns Brook Street A Glamour Tie

Diego Misuraca fires home his second goal to put Athletic 3-0 up with less than half an hour played.

Brook Street Athletic stormed into the Third Round of the Scottish Cup with a thumping 5-1 win against Stucastle United at Buckie Lane today and were rewarded with a home glamour tie against second tier Caerlaverock Knights.

A devastating display in the first half saw Brook Street race to a 4-0 lead at the interval which killed off any challenge from the home side.

Mait Peterson finished from close range after only fourteen minutes before a brace from Diego Misuraca in twenty-three and twenty-nine minutes had Brook Street well in control.

Kalle Konkka struck in thirty-seven minutes to put Brook Street four-up eight minutes before the break and Adam Doyle fired Brook Street’s fifth goal with sixty-six minutes on the clock.

Benito Buda was forced out of the game with just six minutes to go and was replaced by Jeremías Marchena, making him a doubt for Saturday.

The outcome of the game was already decided but as it entered stoppage time United got a consolation goal through Jorge Tarín although were it not for some outstanding saves by United keeper Pedro Ulises Jiménez Brook Street could have added two goals in stoppage time.

“We put the game to bed early so we could ease off which was always the game plan”, said Fermín Romero afterwards. “It was disappointing to lose Benito Buda, but he will be ok for the weekend”.

When asked if Benito would play at the weekend he replied, “No, I was planning on giving Jeremías Marchena some game time anyway on Saturday so it wouldn’t have been an issue anyway. It’s only a minor knock but we don’t want him aggravating it to make it a problem”.

Asked about the draw for the Third Round he replied, “I would have preferred to get an easier tie, but we have a chance to go toe to toe with a top side”.

“It’s a massive step up in class for us, but we won’t let ourselves down. We’ll go into the hame hoping to cause an upset, and it certainly would be quite an upset, but it’s the romance of the Cup and we’re up for the challenge”.

Every Game Is A Cup Final

Adam Doyle fires Brook Street 1-0 up in the corresponding fixture last season.

Brook Street’s title challenge will be put to the test over the next two games and they face the first of those this afternoon when they travel back to the Lothians to face Badger Loyal Rangers at Smith Stadium.

Gers’ challenge has faltered in recent weeks but Fermín Romero is well aware of the danger posed by them to his own side’s title bid.

“Realistically there is not a lot between the sides so we know we will have to be at our best”, he said this morning.

“We can’t afford to drop any points from now on in and I am all to aware of that having handed the title to Stirling last season when we drew 2-2 in the corresponding fixture”.

“We’ve got four Cup Finals coming up in the run-in and we need to win them all. Breakfast have the easier finish to the season and I would have liked to have a bigger goal difference going into these games, but it is what it is”, he added.

Fermín goes into this afternoon’s game with a full squad to choose from although Diego Misuraca, Mait Peterson, Adam Doyle, Connor Hutton and Jackie Underhill are all a yellow card away from suspension.

Kick-off this afternoon is at 16:30 as usual.

Seven-Up

Skipper Joe Anderson fires Brook Street into the lead against Glasgow Athletic this afternoon

Brook Street stormed to an emphatic 7-0 win against Glasgow Athletic at the LJG this afternoon, a win that now gives Fermín Romero’s side the best goal difference in the division.

Before the match the Brook Street Coach had stressed the importance of scoring goals and to “win big”. His side certainly did that this afternoon without realistically getting out of second gear and posted a marker to the rest of the league.

They started slowly but took the lead in the eighteenth minute when skipper Joe Anderson shrugged off the Glasgow defenders and fired the ball low and into the net.

Seven minutes later, Craig Smart picked up the ball on the wing before setting off towards goal. Having dodged two attempts to stop him, the veteran fired home across the keeper into the far corner of the net.

Brook Street were in complete control now and made it 3-0 three minutes after their second when Connor Hutton went on a solo run through the middle before slamming the ball past Thomson in the Glasgow goal. And it was Connor who scored the fourth ten minutes before the break with an almost identical move.

Things could have got worse for the visitors five minutes before the break whe Glasgow keeper Abbie Thomson was caught in no man’s land as Adam Doyle lobbed a ball over him following a free kick, but fortunately for him the ball hit the bar and rebounded into his arms.

This was a let-off for the keeper but he was given absolutely no chance when Aldo Pellone broke through the Glasgow central defence six minutes into the second half to put Brook Street five-up.

With sixty-five minutes on the clock Glasgow shot themselves in the foot when they lost the ball to Joe Anderson on Brook Street’s left wing who raced in on goal, sold the Glasgow keeper a dummy and rolled the ball into the net.

Glasgow were doing all they could to stop Brook Street scoring any more but they were left chasing shadows in the seventy-second minute when Bogusz Cacek played a swift interchange of passes with Joe Anderson and Kari Kienberger before playing a killer pass to Mait Peterson who was racing through unmarked. The central defender took a touch before rifling home Brook Street’s seventh and final goal.

With the game won and a big score in the bag, Fermín Romero had the luxury of withdrawing his strike pairing and giving Balázs Polyák and Jackie Underhill the last quarter of an hour; the latter being unfortunate not to score his first competitive senior goal in injury time when he rattled the bar.

Fermín was pleased with his players’ performance saying, “We worked hard, we had togetherness and our work ethic was first rate. They did everything we wanted them to do right down to the letter and they got the win they deserved”.

“Now we just need to ensure we have the same work-rate in the run-in”, he added.