CPR v Juniper Park (Newton HS, Queens) - December 6, 2009

The entire CPR Black season effectively boiled down to one game.  With CPR Black 2 points clear in the standings against their opponents Juniper Park, a win would nearly seal the title while a draw would keep them clear with 2 games remaining.  Conversely, a loss would put CPR 1 point behind with Juniper facing the bottom 2 squads in the league for their final 2 matches. 

Given there was so much on the line, the call went out to the squad to make sure proper numbers were on hand, perhaps generally free and clear of hangover symptoms.  From the Juniper Park side, their call seemed to go out much more broadly as a squad of players bearing no resemblence to any which had played any previous matches in the Metro League were called to action.  One thing was clear - both squads had full squads and benches a full 15 minutes before kickoff, meaning the match would be contested from start to finish with two full-strength sides (a rarity this season). 

From the opening whistle, it was clear that the talent and fitness level of the Juniper "reserves" was high.  CPR Black, having faced such token opposition for the majority of the season, struggled initially to adapt to a match in which virtually each touch was contested.  As a result, CPR squandered early possession to Juniper who through their crafty central midfielder began to probe for weaknesses in the CPR Black back line.  Though there were moments of tension, Juniper failed to generate any substantive threats at the CPR goal.

Somewhat against the run of play, CPR drew a foul near the left corner of the Juniper penalty area. Levy stepped forward and had a solid crack on goal, drawing a decent save from the Juniper keeper.  His deflection felt straight to Verdoux at the far post, granting CPR the first clear-cut chance of the game.  Verdoux took a touch to settle but the Juniper keeper reacted quickly to close down the angle and force Verdoux's shot from a tight angle to miss just wide of the near post. 

Just minutes later, a hand ball drew another free kick CPR free kick from nearly the identical spot.  This time Bustamante stepped forward and took a crack on goal.  Again called into action, the Juniper goalie managed to just get a deflection on the ball, which this time fell to Levy.  Similarly, he was unable convert CPR's second quality chance.

Gaining confidence from their back to back opportunities, CPR began playing themselves into the match and evening out the possession battle.  Smith in particular began to marshal the midfield and Phillips won ever aerial duel he entered.  However, having twice failed to convert golden opportunities to take an early lead, fate was called in to punish CPR.  In the dying minutes of the half, a brief moment hesitation in the back allowed for a speedy Juniper forward to be played through a high CPR line and earn a 1on1 against stand-in keeper Becker.  Juniper converted their opportunity and headed into halftime with a 0-1 lead.

The team talk was generally positive given the progress CPR had made throughout the half.  One tactical shift was made, bring Philips forward into the midfield to take away some of the space being given to the Juniper playmakers. 

The second half resumed just as the first had left off.  CPR were holding their own against Juniper and, if anything, seemed to generate just slightly better opportunities.  However, again slight mistake in the back put a Juniper striker through and again they were able to convert, increasing their lead to 0-2. 

Meanwhile, at the other end, the near-misses continued for CPR.  Gudkov, Bustamante and Greicius all found shots miss narrowly wide.  Levy was played in and, despite heavy pressure from a Juniper defender, got a shot off on target which grazed the outside of the post.  And the final measure of CPR's futility on the day came a few minutes from full time as Phillips saw his header off a CPR corner skip off the top of the bar.

Therefore, despite a fairly heavy advantage in scoring opportunities, CPR saw themselves on the wrong side of a 0-2 scoreline in the key match of the season, placing their chances of taking home the league hardware at serious risk.  With two games left to play, CPR can still go out and take care of their own business and hope for a Juniper slip, however unlikely it is. 

Final Score:  0-2

Man of the Match:  Smith and Phillips (again)

Team:  Ault, Bustamante, Calcagni, E Engler, Fetzer, Goertzen, Greicius, Gudkov, Levy, Lukaszewski, Phillips, Smith, Verdoux

Fans:  1 (Engler's English friend)

Team Bar Showing:  31% (Calcagni, E Engler, Lukaszewski, Phillips)

Special Thanks:  Becker, for helping to fill in between the posts