A large number of the clues are related to the Norvan game but there are a fair amount having to do with general club knowledge as well. If it’s not specified, the clue has to do with the Norvan game.
To print out this puzzle click here: Printable puzzle
For the answers click here: Answers
Cheers, Andrew
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Since we’ve been putting on a show the past 14 weeks…
RINO’S & F ▪ R ▪ I ▪ E ▪ N ▪ D ▪ S SC – Season 1 – Episode 16: “The one where Peter ended the game”
Episode Summary:
The gang gets back from holidays and puts in two
good training sessions. Jeff sleeps with Rachel. The Rino’s play a game against NK Hrvat. Peter gets a red card. Rino’s with a default win. Charlie wins Nissan Man of The Match.
Full Recap:
Aches, poor touches and an inevitable drop in fitness mark the first week back for Rino’s. Christmas comes late bringing a shiner for Jordan, knee pain for Cyrus, a swollen ankle for Charlie, and a sore throat late
in the week for John Bligh – foreshadowing he and Andrew will have their very own shower scene in next week’s episode. Rino”s overcome injuries as they enter Sunday with a full roster. The pregame locker-room is ordinary. Rob touts the oppositions’ offensive threats, Ken lets the team know where the game ranks on the hugeness scale, and Jordan agrees to help Charlie wrap his ankle. The team begins to warm up. Ken and Rob discuss with Charlie whether or not he can start. He says that he can and goes to warm up with Jeff. After a few shots on net Charlie sees an opportunity to get Jeff back for sleeping with Rachel and he volleys the ball into his head. Jeff holds his head in pain and begins to get moody, but all is well and he returns to his net for the start of the game. The starting line up is the usual for Rino’s, but this isn’t the case for the Hrvat side. Rino’s is glad to see that none of the players on Robs Most Dangerous list are in Hrvat’s starting-9. The game starts, Hrvat short two players, and Rino’s begins to attack right away. Possession tilts in neither teams favour, but scoring opportunities in huge favour of Rinos’s – specifically Cyrus. Laurie mixes it up with a few Hrvat players and Ken decides to keep him cool and switches him with Andrew to the other wing. Hrvat receives another player midway through the first half and then their goalie delivers a goal kick to Charlie’s feet at the edge of the box. Charlie receives the pass, leaving himself 1 v 1 with the goalie. He shoots and scores. The game continues with Rino’s taking all the chances on net. Hrvat maintains a more than respectable amount of possession considering they are a man short. Jordan makes a few runs up the left side, Bligh, Brent and Peter pass comfortably around the back, and Dylan and Lenny easily distrubute middle. Nearing the end of the first half Charlie makes a run back to the center circle and collects a pass from Peter. He may or may not have taken it himself to the net, but gains position in the Hrvat box and takes a shot with his wrapped up left foot. The ball goes past the keeper and Rino’s are up 2-0. Ken makes some changes at half time and brings Zain in for Andrew on the right wing, Tim in for Cyrus up front and Sam in for Jordan at left back. Gameplay in the second half doesn’t change. Both teams are on the ball and chirping back and forth. One Hrvat player tries to get under Brent’s skin, suggesting that his gloves are “sweater gloves”. The episode ends here, in the most unlikely and unfortunate fashion. A Hrvat player checks back for the ball. He receives the pass and simultaneously a tackle. As he puts out his leg to brace the tackle his ankle collapses. The referee, unsure of the call to make, runs over to see the extremity of the injury. What looks to be a broken bone results in a red card for the tackle and the eventual Hrvat forfeit. A win for Rino’s and hopes of a speedy recovery to the Hrvat player.
Fans’ Reviews’:
Ask Cyrus’s dad or Shaan (Jordan’s wife)
Cast and Crew:
Stars: Jeff, Andrew, Brent, Cyrus, Charlie, Dylan, John B, John M, Jordan, Laurie, Lenny, Peter, Tim, Vinny, Zain, Ken, Rob,
Guest Cast: Referee, NK Hrvat
Trivia:
This episode was Tim Pritchard’s first call up of the season. The gloves used by Brent in the episode were actually knitted from a sweater his grandmother gave him 10 years ago. The first goal was actually unintentional – the original script had the Hrvat keeper kicking the ball to half.
(continuity) When the Rino players enter the dressing room before the game and look at the starting line-up it is actually titled Rino vs. Bingers. The game they are about to play is Rino vs. Hrvat, Bingers was 4 weeks prior.
Quotes:
Hrvat Player: (at Brent) Your gloves are sweater gloves.
Shaan: (at Peter) First you take out my husband, then you take out…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LM1ufdD8Y4
SPECIAL REPORT FROM BURNABY: A miraculous story of endurance and victory
by Brent Hanson on Monday, November 6, 2010 2:00pm
Celebrations erupted Saturday afternoon as the last of the 11 players trapped in a 90 minute battle walked from the pitch.
The last man to emerge from the pitch was man of the match Brent Hanson, whose leadership was credited with helping the men endure the final
10 minutes, during which they had no outside contact as Coach Ken and the rest of the coaching staff were too nervous to speak.
Sirens and horns blared and people cheered as Rino’s Vancouver walked to the 190-by-54-metre metal change room following the biggest win of the season.
“We have done what the entire world was waiting for,” Hanson said to Rino President Robert Freedman after the victory. “The 90 minutes that we fought so hard were not in vain. We had strength, we had spirit, we wanted to fight, we wanted to fight for our families, and that was the greatest thing.”
Hanson, Freedmen and the rest of the squad then began singing the team anthem, “Don’t go Chasing Waterfalls” by TLC.
In Vancouver, Team Sponsor Rino offered congratulations to the victorious players and their fans.
“Today we join the rest of the world in celebrating the best possible outcome: the successful victory of the Rino Players who returned to their hometown safe and sound and with a victory,” Rino said in a statement.
Game went smoothly
As the game proceeded smoothly Saturday, the time required to bring the players an early lead took just 35 minutes, thanks to a perfectly timed header by Dylan Smith after the Chilean Keeper misplayed Charlie Carrick’s shot.
The game seemed to go so quickly that barely anyone had time catch their breath and those earlier estimates of a Chilean victory were quickly forgotten.
John Bligh, the 9th player off the pitch, will get to meet his new beer after the game. His spot at the local bar
gave birth to a pint of Canadian, his second soon followed.
Charlie Carrick was the 6th player off the pitch. A 24-year-old professional soccer player, Carrick pumped his fist in happiness after he stepped from field.
Tyler Wilman, a 29-year-old father of one cat, was the 4th man off the pitch. A religious man, he prayed throughout the game and had friends even send prayers to the Rino players.
After all the players were off the pitch, the six fans sent to Burnaby to provide support followed the team to the change room to celebrate. Shaan, 23, who has played soccer for years, was among them. “I cried 39 times, for every player and for every member of the team,” she says. “It’s impossible to contain such emotions. I’m a strong woman, but I couldn’t do it.”
Jordan Haas, 45, was the 1st player off the pitch. He had taken a nursing course previously and was known as the doctor on the pitch because he helped so many fellow players with their health problems during the game.
Over the roughly 90 minutes the men spent playing the game, Haas continuously calmed the team, administered treatments and treated minor injuries, all while playing a flawless game.
Andrew Wade hugged his mistress after emerging from the pitch. His wife told a local newspaper she would not be at the sideline to greet Wade because she had reportedly found out about his mistress.
Cyrus Greenall, the 5th player to reach the sideline at the end of the game, told a Burnaby television station the game was the hardest thing he has ever faced in his life, but his faith in God got him through it.
“I was with God, and I was with the devil,” he said through a translator, his Dad. “But God won, I held on to God’s hand, the best hand, and at no point in time … did I doubt that God would get me a victory.”
After weeks of waiting and preparation, it took just 90 minutes to win the biggest game of the season and Rino’s Vancouver has found themselves in second place in the standings and out of the mine that was fifth place.
It is true that the Victory has become a team-defining event. A narrowly avoided tragedy has been transformed into something triumphant. The undeniable resilience of the players, the sheer drama of their struggle and ultimate deliverance has uplifted the team in a way that can be compared to Canada’s hockey gold medals at the Vancouver Olympics, or perhaps the lunar landings of a previous generation.
To all the players…Congratulations. And thank you.
The outlook wasn’t brilliant for Rinos Vancouver Sunday;
Though the score stood two to one, with only minutes to play,
For Hanson had seen red first, then Caulfield did the same,
And when Gray went off a silence fell upon the game.
Ben, JA, Ford and Max, overcame their deep despair – they, like the rest
(Steph, Wong and Shaan) knew the boy’s’d meet the test;
They thought if only Rinos’ defence for minutes more was able,
They’d soar to that rarified spot at the top o’ the table.
For a different half preceded the second, and ‘twas a piece of cake,
A PK in minute two, Rinos game to take;
So upon that stricken sideline grim melancholy sat,
As memories floated backward, to the first half that…
Saw Flynn dance down the sidelines, to the wonderment of all,
And Lenny, the man-of-the-match, protecting every ball;
And when the initial dust had lifted, and the Army saw what’d occurred,
There was Carrick on the second and Cyrus almost a third.
And from 5,000 throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
It knocked upon the Vanouver’s mountain all the way to East Lansing,
For Rinos, mighty Rinos, were inexorably advancing.
There was ease in Brent’s manner as he dominated his place;
There was pride in Bohdal’s bearing and a smile on Wadey’s face.
But when, responding to the Army jeers, they had a little laugh,
Not a person in the crowd could’ve foreseen the second half.
Confusion, too many fouls, and then a doubtful penalty call,
Ten thousand eyes upon the spot, as he tried to place the ball.
Then while the writhing striker saw it roll into the dip,
Defiance gleamed in Jeff’s eye, a sneer curled o’er Jeff’s lip.
And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air,
And Jeff stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.
Close by the sturdy goalie the ball unheeded sped –
“Not this time” said Jeff, diving. “Corner kick,” the ref said.
From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar,
Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore.
“He’s done it! He’s done it!” shouted Rob from the stand;
And indeed the Army’d been thwarted, with a flick of Thom’s gloved hand.
But with a smile of Christian charity the referee’s bald head and visage shone;
In a matter of minutes; he bade three Rinos be gone;
Yes, they lost composure, and a glorious cross from Laurie Dylan blew;
But as a fog spread across the field, they wondered what to do.
“Fraud!” cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered fraud;
But then on the field it happened, and the audience was awed.
They saw Rinos faces grow stern and cold, they saw their muscles strain,
And they knew that something special was in those shattered remains.
The sneer was now on Marshy’s lip, Charlie’s teeth were clenched in hate;
Bligh pounds with cruel violence as he marshals the remaining eight.
And again the white team tries to attack, but no matter whence,
For now the air is shattered by the force of Rinos’ defence.
Oh, when the whistle at last blew, the lights were shining bright;
The band is playing here now, players’ and coaches’ hearts are light,
And somewhere Kenny is laughing, for despite the carded cost,
Rinos go to the top— and Bingers have finally lost.
The game report started with the customary description of the weather conditions, which were cold but clear.
This week’s team sheet contained a couple of mild surprises (nothing to compare with the cardiac arrest-inducing revelation that Cooper was starting on the wing – sorry Coop, get well soon) as Rino’s own Ivan Drago, Stefan Caulfield, started at right-back. Marshy and Mcmeners must have had a falling out on their car-ride to the game, because Kenny had to put them on separate wings, as far away from each other as possible. Rino’s also welcomed Rob back to the sideline, which was just as well because otherwise we might have talked to the ref.
The game got off to a sluggish start, Desmesh looking a little more sprightly than we remembered them and Rino’s struggling to escape the general shiteness that plagued last week’s performance. We did, however, manage to score on our first attack, Laurie latching on Dylan’s through ball and doing sterling work along the left before crossing to leave Charlie a simple tap in. McMeners and Marshy continued to have lots of possession on the flanks, ably supported by Jordan and Stefan respectively, but the game settled into a generally low-key atmosphere with the help of some fussy refereeing.
Not for the first time this season, Rino’s seemed uncertain about what to do with the amount of time and possession they were afforded by limited opposition and surrendered the ball too easily and too often. This was compounded by the concession of several free-kicks which were, like Laurie’s diet (and this joke), cheap and dangerous. The rising tide of nervousness was, however, quelled on the stoke of half time when Marshy took his time to tee up a perfect lobbed pass (with the pitching wedge that both he and Charlie were credited with using in last week’s report) for Charlie to race on to and slot past the onrushing goalie. And so it was 2-0 Rino’s at half time.
The half-time break robbed the Rino’s players of their momentum and their body heat and the second half was a sluggish affair. Jeff Thom came up big with a great save from a Desmesh free-kick and when a second set-piece came back off the Rino cross bar, Bligh did well to hack it away before any of Desmesh’s goal-shy forwards could prod home. At the other end, Cyrus was hustling to try and create something and Dylan made some great runs into the corner before getting tired and passing it back to Desmesh.
The already-flailing contest was killed by Rino’s third goal, which started with substitute Sam Chow (Chinese translation: He of the Pink Shoelaces) spotting a good pass to Charlie’s feet. The ball was then dropped off with Lenny, who thread a precise pass through two defenders, leaving John ‘Cascarino’ Marsh with the simple task of playing a one-two with the keeper and tapping home. An afternoon of uninspired entertainment for the watching Cantwell clan was rounded off with a red card for the Desmesh right-back, who fell victim to the man in black’s equal opportunities refereeing, after questioning first his knowledge of football’s offside laws and then Canada’s discrimination laws. Speaking of The Man in Black, everyone apart from Brent, Dylan and enthusiastic debutant AR-JUNE was able to Walk the (Disciplinary) Line, and Rino’s go into next weekend’s huge tilt against Binger’s with no suspensions and no new injuries.
Three points, three goals, yet another clean sheet for Chinstrap and Hoof and fantastic displays by Nissan M-O-M McMeners and Stefan. Wadey and Frenchy coming back to boost a healthy squad unbeaten in 10 games.
Bingers…you have 4 days to enjoy being unbeaten.
Kenny…you can say it now, this is THE BIGGEST GAME OF THE SEASON
A perfect night for football bar the fact that it was on a Saturday night and in Surrey but none the less Rino’s played out a very comfortable four nil win. Numbers were thin on the ground but it was quality needed not quantity, and we got that in spades.
Kenny again opted for a robust team with the impervious Tyler getting the nod between the sticks. Five star General John Bligh was in command at the back with his first Lieutenant Brent just ahead of him in the trenches. A blend of youth and experience was chosen for full backs with the very composed Sam on the right and Mr. consistent Jordan Haas on the left. A hard working midfield was on show with swashbuckling Laurie Flynn and the very inventive Lenny in the center.
Andrew Wade again covered every blade of grass on the right with Cory forever being a menace on the left. And it was a familiar look up front with
Mr. Hollywood Charlie Carrick and Cyrus the virus.
The match is nearly under way with CAFA 3 men down. It would have been easy for Rino’s to get complacent but that was not going to happen with John Bligh in command of the battle cry. (Did anyone see “Braveheart…”). The first 10 minutes belonged to Rino’s and in particular Andrew Wade. He had 3 chances come his way and was unlucky not to have got one in the onion sack. After Rino’s dominance for the first 10, CAFA suddenly seemed to string a few good moves together and carved out the first corner of the game, but to no avail. Brent cleaning up the mess at the back (His lips miming “not on my watch”…). With only 1 up front, Rino’s full backs were given plenty of ball, as instructed by coach and director of football, Kenny. He also re-jigged the team with Cory moving to top of the left and Jordan on the flank. It immediately payed dividends. With Charlie and Cyrus always snapping at the heals of the back 4 like 2 Jack Russell terriers, there was always a chance that they would cough up the ball at some stage. And that chance fell to Cyrus who duly dispatched with disdain. A relief to all involved. The game was all set for a Rino victory.
Crowd trouble threatened to finish the game early with one of the CAFA “Ultra’s” showing his frustration to the ref with a tirade of abuse reminiscent of Sir Alex Ferguson. He was duly sent to the stands for the duration of the game.
Half time comes with only the slightest of margins separating the teams. The introduction of Stefan and John Marsh did nothing if bolster the team. Stefan was sent on to replace Sam, who had a fine game and continues to get better with each game. John Marsh was sent in to complete an all Irish engine room.
The second half started a lot better for Rino who were a lot more composed and inventive on the ball. The mystro Lenny was on everything through the middle. With Cafa now having 9 players they decided to go 3 at the back and tried playing the off-side. Not a good idea. Jordan Haas picking up the ball on the left and sent a heat seeker over the top to john Marsh who took one touch and saw that the keeper had encroached, and sent a pitching wedge “chip” and the ball nestled into the bottom corner. Delightful football.
From here on it was sexy football of the Ruud Gullit Newcastle United era. Rino continued to pass it around like it was going out of fashion but were missing that final ingredient. That ingredient came in the form of Laurie Flynn. A passage of play that saw 16 passes ended with John Marsh playing Laurie Flynn in who sent an unstoppable shot from an acute angle into the top corner. Game over.
“WAIT, I’M NOT FINISHED!!!!”, says Charlie. Cafa already had the white flag raised but Carrick was not going to be denied his goal which extends his incredible goal scoring form, which could net him the biggest individual prize of the tournament if he keeps it up, the coveted golden boot. A defensive corner was headed away to Carrick on the edge of his own 18. He put the blinkers and the after burners on and headed straight for goal. Avoiding 4 tackles, it was now down to him and the custodian. He waited for him to go to ground and took a loan of John Marsh’s pitching wedge and chipped it over the keeper. Superb individual goal.
The final whistle blows and the away fans (Cyrus’s Dad and Jordan’s girlfriend….) are in full song. They have their money’s worth tonight. With owner Rino looking on from the stands it will be comfort to Kenny as he surely now has funds to buy in new players in the January transfer window to bolster the squad.
After the match Kenny was quick to extinguish any thoughts of overexuberence with his rescinding of the man-of-the-match award telling Setanta sports that “no one deserved it”. You can’t doubt his aspirations for the club.
So, another clean sheet for the back 5 including the keeper officially describes them as “Stingy’. Midfield is becoming more creative and inventive as the weeks pass and up front its raining goals. With players to come back next week there is going to be a headache in picking the team Life is good in Rino FC. Roll on next week. Good thoughts go out to Rob as he still struggles with his “bad back”, hopefully he will be stomping the sidelines next week.
Ominous clouds loomed over Kensington Park South as the teams arrived to contest the latest VMSL Div 1 clash. Rinos, form favourites and especially on song in recent weeks, held high hopes, eager to avenge a loss in the season opener.
Despite widespread relief that the match had been relocated to the better of the baseball fields on offer at Kensington, Rinos appeared slow to adjust to the local, organic surface. In line with the culinary delights on offer at club affiliated sports bar, the Sin Bin, flat, fast and rubbery seem to be qualities the team prefers.
Perhaps the dirty tricks employed by the Vancouver Olympics team also unsettled Rino’s play early on? A sneaky attempt to plant a couple of spies in the Rino’s dressing room before kick-off was foiled by Ken ‘I’ve seen it all before’ Adlof. Despite this embarrassment, the Olympics squad saw fit to delay their entrance to the field. One can only wonder what was going on in the dressing room for so long, though by the look of at least one of the players it is strongly suspected that some form of steroid was involved.
Olympics certainly appeared to be pumped up, fielding a number of mid-season additions including the notorious Serbian shoe shiner of seasons past, and it was they that had the better of the early exchanges. Rino’s battled hard and managed some neat exchanges but Olympic’s keeper, namesake of old Leeds United legend John Lukic, remained barely untested aside from a decent stop from a long range effort from Dylan.
A number of attempts on the Rino’s goal were met by fine saves from man-of-the-match Jeff Thom. Bligh marshaled his troops at the back and attempted to shut down the Olympics attack by launching the ball out of danger and almost out of orbit. One clearance went so high that it almost brought an air hostess down with it. But before long the deadlock was broken, possession was lost, Olympics stole in and tucked the ball in the net.
Rino’s tried to find a response, although it was all looking rather pedestrian until Paul – in what looks to be his last game for the club – pinged an excellent ball out to the left to Dylan who played a perfect ball back across the box which Charlie finished with aplomb.
Cue Sasha the Serbian shoe shiner. A great tackle from Dylan on the edge of the box was judged a foul by referee Miro, and the resulting free kick was nicely curled round the wall and in.
The half time team talk from coach Ken was a tough one. It ended with a rallying cry to take the second half, the prize at stake: a potential move up to first place.
Rino’s responded with a more coherent, compact and generally much improved showing in the second half. The introductions of Lenny, Sam and Cory each providing a boost when it was needed. Though chances were few and far between, tempers flared and a rash of bookings followed. It would take something special to get this much-needed equalizer.
And sure enough it came. A surging attack up the right side, resulted in a corner, and Andrew lined up to take the kick. Meanwhile Charlie and Bligh were setting up a special Andy Carroll inspired move that they have surely been practicing at home. Charlie grabbed on to Bligh and waited for the corner. Wadey sent a great ball in and Charlie put that work
in the gym to good use, propelling Bligh through two defenders and against the ball which then zipped happily into the bottom right of the net. What a goal.
With Bligh’s right boot still sparkling, both teams pressed until the final whistle. Rino’s had the better of the closing stages but couldn’t find that extra impetus to secure a winner.
That’s it then for another week. Best wishes to Paul for his future endeavours, and congratulations to Jeff for his man of the match display.
As kick off approached, a beautiful, sunny day in Vancouver turned grey and chilled as clouds gathered over the Rino’s home turf in Point Grey — surely it must be a clever metaphor. Inside the dressing room, anxiety grew as the Rino’s squad prepared themselves for an important matchup against the table leaders and former premier squad, Norvan.
Just when Rino’s chances looked most grim, general manager, Robert Freedman, announced that his back problems had improved! Was it a sign of better things to come?
Coach Ken
Adloff, much to the delight of Norvan’s strikers, opted for a warm and fuzzy-feeling defensive lineup, made up of Jordan Haas, Brent Hanson, John Bligh and Peter Bohdal. Throughout the game, they presented Norvan with ankle-embracing tackles, offering plenty of material for Norvan’s vocal coaching staff.
The first half was a tight engagement between both sides with several goal-scoring opportunities exchanged. The best of them came from leading goal-scorer, Charlie Carrick – he drove a low cross into the 6-yard box that was narrowly deflected by a Norvan defender leaving Charlie’s shorter and prettier sidekick, Cyrus Greenall, unable to continue his 6-game goal scoring streak (note from author: “F%@$!”). The rest of the half could be summed up with the following: late tackle outside the penalty area by Rino’s; dead ball for Norvan followed by a free kick over the net or into Tyler’s hands. Rinse. Repeat. The first half ended 0-0 with both sides unsatisfied as neither had really tested the keeper.
The second half started off with an eager Rino’s offense that delivered several counterattacks. The best came from a well-timed through pass from Charlie that a sprinting Cyrus managed to receive and touch past Norvan’s keeper. Unfortunately, a Norvan defender swept in and cleared the ball for a corner. On the ensuing play, a two-man corner led to a low, far post shot that just barely glanced the glove of Norvan’s keeper. The ball, now slightly redirected, hit the far post and bounced across the goal line until a Rino forward struck the ball only to have the Norvan keeper make another acrobatic stop.
Rino’s hard work eventually paid off after a brilliant diagonal pass from Dylan Smith that found Charlie Carrick inside Norvan’s 6 yard box. Charlie first-timed the shot into the back of Norvan’s net. 1-0, Rino’s. The goal charged up Norvan’s attack as they pressed nearly all of their players into Rino’s third of the field. Rino’s defense admirably weathered the proverbial storm and frustrated Norvan’s attack until a dangerous cross from Norvan’s wing landed on the foot of a Norvan attacker inside the 6-yard box who first-timed the shot into Rino’s goal. Score 1-1.
With only a few minutes left, each side traded chances but neither would test the keeper. Rino’s left the game with a hard-fought draw, but unsatisfied as 3 points were nearly within grasp. By the Norvan coach’s own admission, Rino’s defense “took no prisoners” – an apt description of the entire match.
Week 7 saw Rino’s take on NK Hrvat at Van Tech turf in Vancouver at 8:00 pm. In preparation for the Friday night lights, some of the lads met before the game for a bite of pre-game supper and playful conversation with the waitress. Charlie loaded up on electrolytes, while Brent, already coming off a cold, ate what looked like three week old BP chicken parmesan. This proved to be a mistake as he had to evacuate no less than four times before the game (luckily, there were two porta-potties at
the pitch; one had to be razed in order to prevent the spread of what would have otherwise been a killer mutant virus following Brent’s last pre-gamer).
The game kicked off with Jeff Thom in net and Cooper, Bligh,
Brent and Jordan in the back line. Andrew, Dylan, Peter and Paul were in the midfield with the dynamic duo of Cyrus and Charlie up front. The match started poorly for Rino’s, with a lot of missed balls and less than characteristic defense (Coach Kenny nearly loosing his voice from yelling “don’t dive in” so many times), allowing Hrvat some early possession deep in Rino’s half. One particular instance saw Jeff give the ball away just outside the 18, perhaps just to challenge himself with an early breakaway?
Once things settled down Rino’s was able to tally a couple of notches before halftime (the soccer kind, not the “Ultra Violet” kind). The first goal started with a solid challenge from Wade in the middle, then a pass to Cyrus who took it out wide and crossed shot the ball at the net with some help from a confused Hrvat defender who hammered it home just to be sure. The second goal started with a magnificently placed pass from Dylan to Charlie, who calmly tucked it far side pass the keeper. A couple of bright periods of football in an otherwise mostly frantic game. Reinforcements came in the form of Vinny Martin before the break; Peter having had to leave the pitch briefly to reapply his mascara before returning to the game.
The second half of the game resembled more of a tennis match at times than soccer and highlighted the general lack of discipline in the game, both technically and emotionally – despite the referee giving 147 “last warnings” over the course of 90 minutes. There were a few guys shown cards. One of particular note went to Charlie for pushing a player after the whistle (although he later admitted he was just really upset about having to miss his performance in Supernatural, “Live Free or Twihard”……Seriously?). Cyrus was also surprised to get a yellow card for pretending to be Peter, a crime punishable in most developed countries and clearly outlined in the FIFA rulebook.
As the game wound down, Hrvat pushed an extra man up front, but to no avail for the home team. Rino’s made a couple late subs of their own with Laurie and Marsh coming on to help seal the deal. After 90 minutes, the final score stayed at 2:0, Rino’s tallying another clean sheet and 3 points.