On a hot, sunny evening, as Memorial Weekend should be, the Ocean City Nor’easters coasted to a victory after scoring 2 goals to no reply in the first half.
The Nor’easters lined up in their brand new Puma all blue uniform that looked fresh in the sunshine. Captain Max Hamilton stood proudly as he lead the team for the first time. After a frantic first 10 minutes the game settled down into a distinct rhythm of wave after wave of Nor’easter attacks. On the 19th minute Nate Bourdeau put the ball in the back of the net, only for the assistant referee to rule it out for offside.
The two lumbering central defenders from the Spartans were given a torrid time by the pace and power of Zoncher Dennis. However,
the deadlock was broken by defender Jonathan Dolezal who headed home a Frank Tweneboa long throw in. The long throw in is a great weapon to have and the Nor’easters used it effectively all evening long.
Jason Plumhoff was spraying passes around for fun, on the 32nd minute finding Frank Tweneboa who had is shot turned round for a corner. Tapiwa Machingauta then had a free header in front of goal go narrowly wide after a tremendous delivery from a Plumhoff free kick as the home team pushed on to kill the game.
On the 34
th minute the injured Alexei Davies-Campbell had to make way for Ocean City High School alum Kevin Curran. Within minutes Curran made an immediate impression with a great volley from the left hand side of the penalty after a wonderful cross from Zoncher Dennis.
The Nor’easters went in at half time 2-0 up after dominating the first half. This domination continued into the second half with Lacroix being denied by the offside flag. Zoncher Dennis, Terry Gibbs and Emmannual Kollie all went close within a matter of seconds, with Gibbs movement allowing a great shot from Kollie just kissing the post. Terry Gibbs finished the game with a Cristiano Ronaldo style laser free kick that gave the goalkeeper al sorts of troube but failed to find the back of the net.
The frustration from the Spartans spilled as Jonathan Louisignau received a second yellow card and was sent off. And the game was effectively over. At the end of the day the Central Jersey Spartans could not handle the raw pace of the Nor’easters front four and were punished.
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After the performance Tim Oswald took a moment to talk to us "It was a quality match but was too close. We had good transition and a good result for our first home game for the crowd"
Goalscorer Kevin Curran told us about the goal "It was one of my first runs. I volleyed it across the ball and just wanted it to go in. It felt real good".
Throughout the game Max Hamilton continued to impress being the cool, calm and collected head within this pacey young team. His composure on the ball helps this team continue to tick and push forward in the right way. He was awarded with the MVP of the Game Award sponsored by Gillian’s Wonderland.
Ocean City Nor’easters – Starters – McCarthy, Bibbs, Dolezal, Machingauta, Davies-Campbell (34min), Bourdeau (69min), Hamilton (83min), Dennis, Plumhoff (63min), Lacroix (63min), Tweneboa (63min).
(Subs) – GK – Fogarty, Curran (34min), Davis (83min), Tacconelli (69min), Gibbs (63min), Kollie(63min), Archer (63min)
Central Jersey Spartans – Starters – Blackburn, Tessler, Whalen, Makowski, Farrell, Ockford, Tychowski, Iloka, McCormick, Louisignau, Wysock
(Subs) – Hand, Morris, Wysocki, Wiltse, Fields, Christiansen, Butcher
Attendance – 428
