MADRIDS MAGIC CARPET RIDE Beat the Ukraine again? You better believe it.

REAL ALE 3             UKRAINE 2

Jack 2

Louis

Man o’ the match : Jack

I must be dreaming. Somebody pinch me, because this is too good to be true. To say that I am impressed and proud of this lot would be a huge understatement. In true Madrid form yet once again, the boys trotted out last night and dominated from start to finish against a good team making it seem like we were the ones who should have been feared last night. Relentless pressure from the forwards and mids, and the stoutest of defenses stymied this Ukraine squad into frustration. And the netminding? Karsten as always playing one hell of a game. Let us recap..

Good - mids and forwards playing out of their cleats last night right from the whistle. Greek’s goal less then two minutes in could be the fastest scored this year, and Jack’s shooting and even passing ( yes kiddies….passing!) had Ukraine reeling in the back. This game was dominated in the middle of the park by us….so to those who were in the middle of the mid-field the props go out to you. Even you Paul Grimes. - Defense solid as a rock…………..applause to the back line that played one hell of a game. Thanks to Russ who made an appearance and played like a bulldog last night. Darren sweeping and playing field general just reaffirmed his stellar play so far this year. The defense was good…no doubt about that. - Karsten…..rebounded beautifully after his little gaffe last week, and as the year goes on he gets better at rushing out and grabbing those balls. Good stops last night and booming kicks out relieved any pressure the Ukraine tried to muster. - Special shout out to Mark……….. the hero from Saturday was great on the field even though he didn’t score. His pressure led to the first goal, and when he deked out 4 Ukraine players late in the game and came ever so close to scoring was pretty damn entertaining to watch. - Oh the beers…….. once again the taps flowed after the game and everyone was happy.

Bad - nothing at all………..well except………. Up 3-1 the greek plays a not so great pass back to Thomas that takes a funny hop and sees Thomas fall flat on his face. The Ukraine picks up the ball and scores. Louis’s $hitty pass, Thomas lack of co-ordination, all to blame here. Very minor stuff…

Ugly - Mario wearing Louis’s # 3 jersey and stretching the crap out of it. This shirt can no longer be worn by me as a soccer jersey, but as a mumu like Homer Simpson wore when he gained 300 pounds when I’m lazing around my house.

Next up… The lush fields of Centennial Stadium beckon us this monday as we have a game against the ever so surging Astra squad that is licking at our heels. This division is tight, as we are only 4 pts out of first with a game in hand, yet 4 pts out of not making the playoffs if we don’t be careful.