This was the most important game of the season so far for Brooks. Unfortunately, only one team was ready for the opening whistle. It was not Brooks and they sit looking up from third place this morning. As I watched the warm up, I paid close attention to Rivers. They looked small and young. They did seem to have quite a bit of energy but I assumed Brooks would be much more physical and control things. Well, was I ever wrong!
From that opening whistle, Rivers flew all over the field. They didn't allow Brooks any breathing room when they had the ball. That, combined with the postage stamp sized field, really had Brooks looking disorganized and unlike a team vying for first place. Give Rivers credit, they had a plan and executed that plan extremely well. As soon as Brooks had the ball 2 Rivers players converged. Bumping, pushing, grabbing shirts, everything they could possibly do without getting a foul called they did. And they did it well. They were clearly the better team today.
Rivers pressured Brooks for most of the first half and controlled the play. Going the other way, Brooks would attempt passes and they would either go to long and end up being picked up by the keeper or go out of bounds. This is a result of the small field for sure. One defensive mistake and a nicely placed shot had Rivers up 1-0 and the homecoming crowd went nuts!! Sixty-two minutes to go. I assumed plenty of time to pull even and win this. But, Rivers continued to play swarming defense frustrating Brooks. The frustration led to more turnovers and pressure for Rivers. Mattie made a couple of great saves to keep the score steady.
Second half, more of the same. Thirty minutes to go. Still time. Brooks seemed to be waking up. Corners, pressure, 2 spectacular saves by the Rivers keeper. A cross bar, shots high or wide. And with just under 10 minutes to go, a bit of a scrum out front. The ball back to Zach about 12 yards out. He takes a shot. Looks like it is going in. It hits the back of a defenders foot who is chasing one of the Brooks guys and deflects wide. Disbelief. A couple of more attempts softly bounce into the keepers hands. The final whistle. Rivers and their crowd go wild. Brooks team dejectedly shake hands and gather out of the way for their post game talk with Dusty. The better team won today.
After the game Zach talks to me about playing that team on a normal field. He has a point, but today they played on the Rivers field...
As a side, the Brooks team has been suffering from the flu for about 10 days. Alex couldn't even stay on the field today. I'm sure other teams are dealing with this also. The boys were a little shorthanded today as well. Coach Willie and 2 of the players were in New Jersey attending the funeral of the father of a close classmate. Coach Julius was also absent. Not looking for excuses for today. Just making a note of reference for when Zach looks back at these some day in the distant future (Hopefully).
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