Nepean Hotspurs:

The Royals opened their defense of the 1999 4th Division OT title last
Friday, and did so in convincing fashion, spanking Nepean Hotspurs 4-0. It was a
solid team effort that harkened back to the best moments of 1999, and the only
concern, other than the handful of muscle pulls that goes with winding up a
bunch of geriatrics and sending them racing around after a little ball, came
from coach Harry Van Dyk, who worried that the convincing win might "go to
their heads".

The team strongly resembled that of last year's campaign, with Ken Slemko, of
Royal OT3 fame, and Brian Mackintosh, drafted in from the winter's indoor team,
the only newcomers. Unlike a number of games last year, the Royals started
brightly and, within 5 minutes, some very attractive passing from Andy Steele,
then Mario Arnone left Brian Harcombe in space on the left side of the area.
The thoroughly right-footed Harcombe took the ball off his thigh, then struck an
exquisite shot into the far side of the net - with his left foot! The tone
for the game was set, as Harcombe trotted off for a smoke break, and to receive
the accolades of his son. Another theme for the game was sounded barely 5 minutes
later, as a grim-faced Jeff McNamee hobbled off with a pulled thigh muscle, and
the comforting thought of last year's "defense of iron" had disappeared.
Lumbering midfielder Mario Arnone dropped back to replace McNamee and allowed a
semblance of speed to go into midfield. The following 15 minutes was one of the
Royals' best spells of the game, however they missed several chances to add to
their tally. Steele sent in another sweet, curling cross that just missed
finding its target. Centre forward Marwan Kassis was in top form, tormenting
Nepean defenders with his surging attacks and ball control, and right winger
Matthew Blackwell came close following one of his trademark charges upfield.
At this point, the midfield trio of Slemko, Graham Cathcart and Doug Green were
dominating the affair, and the Hotspurs were hemmed deep into their own end.
But the second goal would not come, and as the first half wound down, the Royals
pressure faded, and Nepean began getting chances of their own. An interesting
conversation between Arnone and sweeper Paul Dickins on what they wanted the
Internet to be resulted in a clean breakaway for one of the Hotspurs two number
22s. An excellent burst of speed was followed with a powerful shot that, 
unhappily for him, went straight at keeper Larry Everett, who still knows
how to appear larger than life, and block a large portion of the net. Everett's
heroics were demanded again 5 minutes later, on a partial breakaway, and Larry
was up to the task, this time blocking a shot that required a fine reaction from
him. The Royals were not without venom during this period either, with Nepean
suffering more torment from Kassis, who again came close and then with Van Dyk,
on at centre forward, quickly controlling and making a superb flick on for Green
on the left wing. The latter was clean through, but blanched at the opportunity
presented him, scuffing a shot from too far out. The final chance of the half
fell to Hotspurs, but Everett made his best save of the game, tipping away an
effort that was lobbed and perhaps deflected.

No words were needed at halftime, beyond confirmation that Doug had brought the
beer, and the Royals went back to their task immediately in half number two,
with Cathcart again the midfield's centre of gravity. While he had a good game,
Cathcart himself noted that the rest of the team were playing quite dynamically,
winning balls and moving the ball upfield well, "so I could just sit there with
my thumb up my ass". Sweeper Dickins was playing superbly, having adjusted to
life at the back with the self-professed "lazy Italian" Arnone, and controlling
anything which came through. Ten minutes into the half, he was heard to bay at
coach Van Dyk that "We'd better score!", and as if by magic, Cathcart, clearly
not wanting to hear Dickins' "or else" option, interrupted his digito-rectal
massage, made a telling move to the right by-line, and cut back an absolute gem
of a diagonal cross for the cleverly unmarked Slemko to slot home, scoring a
goal which the smart asses on the sideline were quick to label a "Harry goal" -
the kind where one has a wide open net, and simply allows a great pass to bounce
off him and in. It was a great way for Slemko to ingratiate himself to his
new teammates, as he ran over to thank Cathcart for the pass, but was careful
not to shake his hand. No longer having to fear The Wrath of Git, the Royals
relaxed, and extended their domination. Minutes later, a play started by right
back Mike Fournier (who had a quiet but solid game) resulted in Green slotting a
nice pass through to Kassis on the right side of the area. Kassis left the
keeper with no chance, and at 3-0, the game was safe. It was worth noting that
by this point, three of the Royals were on the sideline, as Nigel Parker, one of
last year's midfield stars, had taken himself off with calf problems. This was
unfortunate for Parker, who had started well and had had an exciting run at
right wing. Blackwell too, coming back from serious knee problems, pulled
himself out, for safety's sake. This didn't stop the Royals from running the
show. The game's most exciting play saw an astounding run from Kassis, who
received the ball at the centre line, beat three defenders, cut diagonally
through the area, dribbled the goalie, and then, from a tight angle, put the ball
agonizingly wide of the far post. The top drawer play deserved a better fate.
After this, Van Dyk thought it prudent to rest Kassis. Given the chance to
replace him, Harcombe demurred, preferring to savour the rest of his Presto Pak,
and attempting to teach a baffled Parker the French inhale. As the final minutes
ticked down, Fergus MacDonald, who had put in a fine performace at left back,
battling away well, and who was involved in some of the intelligent passing the
Royals showed, began to tire and was substituted, to sustained applause from
the crowd of three. There was however, time for the men in blue to put one last
stamp on the game. Fittingly, it started with skipper Van Dyk. His well-weighted
pass found midfielder Riccardo Brun del Re on the right side of the area.
Riccardo's first shot was weakly parried by the keeper, but Riccardo leapt onto
the rebound, as would a frisky coyote pup onto fresh reindeer meat, and finished
most elegantly, putting the ball in the roof of the net.

It was congratulations all around, with fans Cathi Fournier and Nigel's honey
Laura complimenting all on a well-played, attractive game, and Brian's son
commenting that he hopes he can run that well when he's old and decrepit like
us. Parker had not lost his spirit, having encouraged Jeff that, yes, he would
score a goal this year, and also having spent much of the game yelling at 
Riccardo to get back and cover every time he lost the ball. By the end of the 
game, Riccardo was looking pretty haggard, though his first goal for the Royals 
had clearly cheered him. The game was played in a good spirit, as the Hotspurs, 
who we know pretty well from the indoor season, are a pleasant bunch of guys. 
They will surely say that they will play better games this season, and one look 
at last year's results would indicate that to be true. We wish them well for 
the rest of the year. Suprisingly enough, the refereeing was generally decent too, 
but perhaps that was because of the fine gentlemen on the pitch. Hmmm... then again,
maybe not. 

We'll dedicate this win to the two players departed from last year's team,
retiree George Devlin, and ball hockey whiz Kevin Murphy. 

The Man of the  Match award goes to Marwan Kassis, who looks in fine form, not 
for his solid game, but for his fine individual effort, starting from the halfway 
line, dribbling half the Hotspurs, including the goalie, then putting it wide...

Next week, off to our new home park at Woodroffe High School, where, we are
warned, a plethora of bumps and ruts awaits us. The St. John's Ambulance have
already been alerted.