Another One in the Cabinet as the Lions Take Down the Reds in Championship Final

    With a score line history of 2:1 and 1:0, NYIFC (R) and CPR Reds (R) are familiar with small margin affairs when they meet up and this Division Two Reserves Championship would be no different. The match itself was predominantly marked by stiff midfield battle between both sides leaving neither with many opportunities going forward on big breaks of counters for large periods. The Lions would open up scoring in the 4^th minute with a penalty and the meat grinder began. It would take until the 65^th minute for the Reds to answer with a penalty of their own. The penalty itself was questionable. In the buildup of the play, Claisse hustled back on a Reds’ counter, slid in for a tackle and based on all other eyes on the pitch, got all ball. Unfortunately, the sideline ref disagreed and Claisse picked up an injury and the Reds picked up their equalizer. This shot life into the opposition and they began adding even more pressure, in the 85^th, they fired an absolute rocket from outside the box, but with great agility and athleticism, GK Zack Wertheim, palmed it up and over the bar. At 1:1, regulation time was ended and both sides went to penalties.

            CPR stepped up to the plate first, the penalty taker took his steps, put boot to ball, and the sidelines erupted in cheers as Wertheim saved the first shot. The game was now in NYIFC’s hands. The Lions scored and put themselves at an advantage, Reds equalized to stay alive, both sides exchanged goals until the 4^th round of penalties, where Reed’s goal was snatched up by the Reds’ keeper, getting revenge for the 4^th minute penalty. The pressure was back on with each side scoring their 5^th. The Lion’s had an opportunity to put it away after the Reds penalty taker shot wide right, but the deadlock continued as Bryan’s shot was saved. Zach stepped up in a big way again, saving yet another penalty and Sam finally put the match away, driving in the final pen as the supporter’s section stormed the field in cheers, black and gold smoke, and song. This celebration would be marred, however, by homophobic chants of “puto” by Reds’ supporters towards the Lion’s Keeper as well as the lack of the League Leadership to present a trophy that was never lifted. This would not kill the incredible work the Reserves put in the whole season, especially with a complete clean record in the spring session.

            In my interview with my MoTM, Zach Wertheim, I asked him about his thoughts of the season, the match itself, his incredible regulation time save, and his bulwark presence between the sticks during the shootout.

            Zack Wertheim: This season has meant everything to me. I joined in August and didn’t know what to expect. I was just looking to continue playing soccer on a competitive level in NYC. This team, our leader Minty, our championship season, who could’ve dreamed of anything better? We knew we had something special when we started stringing together wins early this Spring, and the finish was icing on the cake. Regarding the match? To be honest, I was nervous to start. We knew what CPR was all about and they have incredible talent, but our team was able to grind out a win against them in the regular season and we had even stronger starting XI to face them again in the Championship. Even though the early penalty conversion for us was huge, they created plenty of opportunities in the first half to keep us on our toes. The second half saw the humidity getting to us and as a result, our back line was under constant pressure and you could feel a goal coming, though through a questionable penalty call.

            ZW Continued: The tip over the bar in the 85^th minute was something else. I saw the space the shooter had, so I knew the shot was coming, fortunately I wasn’t screened on it either. Credit to the kid, because the ball had some good pace and power on it. The ball was swerving in the air but I was lucky enough to get a palm on it. It felt great to make that clutch save too and I want to think that it gave the boys a little morale boost after being under constant siege leading up to that banger of a shot. The shootout itself took 5 years off my life. As a GK, you never want it to come to a shootout. Making an opening round save was the best thing to happen for our team due to the boost in confidence it provided for myself and the team. I was able to guess the side of the opening shot before the first penalty taker stepped up. The second and final save was a combination of skill and luck. I noticed that the shooter was a lefty and they tend to prefer to pass the ball into the net (his left, my right) and I was able to get half a hand on it. The suspense from the sideline and the crowd was immense, from the silence, you could tell they didn’t know if it went in because as the ball came off my hand it did a back spin but stayed clear off the line. I was incredibly happy to help the team both in regulation and penalties to take them over and win it all.

            While this concludes the footballing season, NYIFC doesn’t sleep and there’s plenty of more to look forward to. We have end of season reviews with President Platt on an organizational level, Manager Gary Philpott on the First Team’s Season, and Manager Chris Minty going over the Reserves’. This weekend will also see the Davide 5K Run. We’ll be sure to keep everyone posted as the Lions go about town and continue to involve themselves in the community.

 

Up The Lions, NYC is Black and Gold, and Let Me Hear You Roar