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Game Update: September 14, 2008

As starts to a new season go, they don’t come much sweeter than a come-from-behind victory to beat Fram. And on the sacred turf of Nansen field as well, where home defeats are as rare as rocking horse poo.

HBSC Division 40 underwent some major surgery over the summer, adding a bunch of new faces and several members of the “farm team” graduating from the championship-winning Divisions 30 team. Results over the summer league had been encouraging but this is where the rubber meets the road, and the team did not disappoint.

Fram are accustomed to steamrolling lesser teams on their home turf but it was clear after just a few minutes that they were in for a real test today. The game plan called for us to play it tight for the first 20 minutes or so, and everything went according to plan. Fram had much of the early possession but were never able to manage more than hopeful long range shots on Chuy’s goal. Sergio did a superb job marshalling the back line and with the imposing figure of Gregg in front of him, the Fram strikers were growing frustrated – as we knew they would.

Fifteen minutes in and the game took a dramatic turn. Gaspar chased down a 50/50 ball with the Fram keeper, and the ref adjudged Gaspar to have committed the foul. But the keeper stupidly lashed out after the whistle giving the ref no choice but to produce the red card. Kudos to the man in black – all too often refs at Nansen bow to the pressure from the sidelines, this one was not afraid to make the hard calls.

With Fram down to 10 men, the nature of the game turned significantly in HBSC's favor. Suddenly, HBSC was dominating. JC, Jose and Danny were controlling midfield while the runs of our strikers were causing the Fram defense all kinds of problems. But for all the pressure, we were unable to convert our possession into goals. The best we managed were a few wild shots and we did not seriously test the stand-in keeper at all.

Just before half-time, the numbers were evened up as Gaspar got a second yellow and almost immediately, Fram stole the lead. The ball was played in hard and low from the left, and a sharp finish gave Chuy no chance.

So 1-0 down at half-time and in previous years, this might have been the start of the slippery slope. But this team is made of sterner stuff. The second half was all HBSC – relentless pressure exposed cracks in the Fram defense and self-belief flowed through the team. The equalizer came about 20 minutes in and owed everything to Ernie’s persistence for chasing lost causes. His pressure forced a mix-up in the Fram defense, the ball ran free and he gleefully slammed it home.

Fram were now visibly tiring and within minutes we were took a deserved lead. Greg’s long ball was collected by Andrew, he left the Fram centerback for dead and slotted home comfortably. Fram heads now went down and Andrew added insult to injury five minutes later with his second goal of the game, as he turned his defender and blasted the ball superbly into the top right corner. Game, set and match.

Final whistle brought huge cheers from the traveling HBSC support and big recriminations in the Fram camp (I’m reliably informed that there was a near revolution in Fram's locker room after the game – they do *not* like losing, especially on their home turf. Over the last ten years or so, you count the number of times they have done so on one hand).

So, a terrific start to the new season and a wake up call to the rest of Division 40 – this year’s HBSC is a team to be taken seriously. A long way to go yet, but this was a day to be savored and remembered. Everyone can walk tall this week. Bring on MBSC, errr, Hollywood United, for the next game.

Go Beach!