Over 30's earn a point, but throw 2 away

Green Briar O30's 3:3 Foxboro Freaks

The away fixture against Foxboro earlier this season saw the Briar lose all 3 points from a comfortable 2-0 half time lead. The home fixture in Watertown would have similar story lines for the Briar as they yet again failed to hold a lead and relinquished their grasp on the 3 points in the last 5 minutes of play.

The opening exchanges of the game were even and Foxboro yet again proved to be a worthy match for the Greens. The opening goal was gifted to Foxboro after a poor sequence of defensive play in the Briar penalty area.

Conor Hannick seemed to have the situation under control as he shepherded the ball out for a goal kick. The ball failed to cross the line however, and having to deal with it he chose to turn and attempt a clearance on his weaker left foot. The clearance fell to a Foxboro striker 10 yards from goal whose shot somehow got through Paul Fallon when it looked like he had everything behind the ball.

In response the Briar fashioned a chance through David Coen and Leo O'Connor who played the ball through to Michael Graham down the left. His attempt to find the far corner was well wide of the mark as he let his shot go between keeper and defenders.

Parity was restored shortly afterwards. David Coen earned a free kick on the edge of the box, and stepping up for the kick himself he sent a beautiful strike to the top corner on the keeper's side of the goal.

As the second half got under way it would be Foxboro who would get their noses in front once again. A break down the right hand side was not closed down quickly enough and the squaring ball was met in the 6 yard box for the 1-time finish and 2-1 lead.

The equalizer from the Briar came 1 minute after the restart as the urgency of their play was lifted. Route 1 was chosen by Conor Hannick as he delivered a booming ball over the top with enough back spin to hold up on the dewey surface. Leo O'Connor ran onto the ball and eluding several defenders he sent a sweet shot arrowing to the bottom left hand corner of the net.

John Hickey produced the next piece of inspired play. His run down the right and delivery into the box was excellent and but for lady luck he could have added to his goal total on the season. On this occasion however, the ball sailed over the keepers head and cannoned off the far post. Michael Graham attempted to make the rebound count but the Foxboro defense held out.

With David Coen retired from the game through injury, Peter McNamee, Gavin Hall, Brenny Joyce and Conor Bagnell were all lifting the Briar's performance as they looked to gain the lead for the first time on the day.

The Briar's third goal came ten minutes from the end. Leo O'Connor sent PJ Kelly marauding down the left wing. The Clare man entered the box at full tilt and squared a beautiful ball across to Leo who followed up the play. With one touch to settle and an exquisite curling shot to the top corner to find the net, the Kerry man surely must have thought he had won it for the Briar.

It took all of 5 minutes this time for the Briar to self destruct. Entering the final few minutes of the game Foxboro sprung the offside trap but Paul Fallon was alert to the danger and rushed from goal to clear the ball from outside his area. Taking exception to the challenge from the advancing forward Fallon retaliated as he returned to goal.

The incident was spotted by the referee and resulted in a direct free kick from the edge of the Briar area. The Briar failed to set themselves up correctly for the kick however. The wall had one too many players in it and with the keeper's view obscured the Foxboro player placed the ball with ease into the keeper's side of the net.

A costly 2 points thrown away by the Briar who seem to find new ways each week of conceding goals. It is interesting to note that Foxboro are in play off contention with only 2 wins on the season (the same total as the Green Briar). Going forward, Leo O'Connor continued his fine season now totaling 18 goals in 18 games.

Division Champions United International are up next as the Briar look to secure their Division 4 status in the final weeks of the season. A clean sheet next week would greatly help in that task.

Line Up: Fallon, Glynn(YC), Concagh, Hannick, McElwain(c), Graham, Hall, Coen, Flannery, Hickey, O'Connor, Kilber-Stearns, Kelly, Bagnell, Joyce, McNamee

Green Briar end season with a win

Green Briar FC 4:2 Lowell United

Lowell United were the visitors for the final game of the season and with their team having one eye on the MSSL Cup Final the Briar players were confident of getting a good result to take into the off season.

Playing against the wind and into the sun in the first half proved very difficult for the Greens. Although playing an under strengthed Lowell side the Briar still managed to find themselves 2 goals down at the half. And it could have been 3 if not for a great foot save by DelPieri as the half came to a close.

Despite conceding in the first half the Briar had chances of their own. Davey Coen spurning the best chance and he contrived to shoot wide from 6 yards.

Knowing that the conditions would be in their favour in the second half the Briar had a quiet confidence at the half time break. Fifteen minutes into the second half and the Greens were level, proving their confidence was not misplaced.

Firstly Tom Caldwell drove forward with the ball from midfield. His pass found Davey Coen unmarked in the box and with a cool left footed finish the Briar were on their way back.

Next Mickey Sexton was the provider as he played a squaring pass in the box for the on rushing Brian McGuinness. Brian found the net with his 6th of the campaign.

A five minute spell around the half hour mark of the second half saw a flurry of action. Mickey Sexton made his own luck from a booming kick out from DelPieri. Mickey got behind the defense and slotted home his fourth goal in four games.

Two minutes later Keith McLoughlin received a straight red card for a dangerous lunging challenge. Even Keith would agree he left the referee no option but a straight red.

Lowell would try and capitalise on the chaos in the following minutes and almost did. A shot from the egde of the box hit the cross bar and rebounded into play 6 yards from goal. With DelPieri sprawling after his attempted save, Gary Clarke came in with a timely challenge on a Lowell striker that was ready to finish. Clarke managed to disrupt the effort enough so that the goal ward header went high, clipping the cross bar and out for a goal kick.

A slice of luck that the Briar have been waiting for all season. The icing on the cake and the rubber stamp of a terrific performance by Tom Caldwell saw him deliver a freekick into the box that was met on the volley by Braima Samati. The young man making no mistake as the ball flashed past the keeper for the Briar's fourth of the half.

Finishing the season on three good performances against the likes of Lowell Utd and Olympiakos and picking up 6 points as well, is no more that the players deserve for their hard work in Green Briar's inaugural season. We'll be looking to keep the current squad together this winter in an indoor competition run by the MSSL as we look forward to building on the foundations that were laid this year. Thanks to all involved in the club who help both on the pitch and behind the scenes.

Line Up: DelPieri, Claus, Doonan, Hannick, Clarke, McCarney(YC 35'), Caldwell, McGuinness, McLoughlin(RC), Coen(c)(60'), Sexton, Samati(55'), Hennessy(30')

Good win for Over 30's

Peru Sport 3:4 Green Briar O30's

According to the 2010/2011 Laws of the Game as regulated by FIFA, under Law 8 - The Start and Restart of Play (Page 29 of Laws Of The Game) under the heading Definition of kick-off it states: A goal may be scored directly from the kick-off.

The Green Briar succeeded in scoring from the kick-off against Peru Sport, although not directly. The Pair that beat the Full House contrived to manufacture a precious assist also. John Hickey played an exquisite 6 inch pass into the path of Leo O'Connor. John also completing the difficult task of making sure the ball went forward from the kick-off. After that all the hard work was done. Leo had the simple task of lobbing the keeper from 50 yards. A great goal but it was all about the pass.

The next 15 minutes of the game saw plenty of chances go begging for the Briar. Kevin O'Donnell was enjoying the freedom of Stoughton down the left wing and was doing well with the space afforded him.

Although numerous chances went begging Kevin O'Donnell's downward header from a Kilber-Stearns cross was expertly palmed away to safety by the Peru goal keeper.

Peru's first chance at goal was converted clinically. A long ball over the top caught the Briar defence out of position. The lively Peru attacker carried the ball to the edge of the box and dispatched a great shot to the net. Tom McElwain who had started in goal was unlucky not to keep the effort out as he got a hand to the ball but was unable to turn it away.

Arriving late, but coming straight from the Office (Howl at the Moon), Paul Fallon took up his position in net soon after parity was restored.

The Electric combination of John Hickey and Leo O'Connor would again provide the Briar the lead. Leo O'Connor advanced the ball from the right into the Peru area and squared to an unmarked Hickey who slid the ball home for his impressive 7th of the season.

Peru would come again however. A sweeping move across the field saw a Peru attacker strike from the right hand edge of the area. Paul Fallon seemed to be caught wrong footed but managed to parry the effort nonetheless. The rebound was cleaned up by the Peru striker and was sent home for the equalizer from 6 yards.

The Briar would come back with an immediate response. Davey Coen sent a long ball to Michael Graham who settled the ball and brought Gavin Hall into the play. Gavin beat a man and played it back to Graham who's squaring pass was drilled into the net by Davey Coen from 20 yards. A terrific finish.

Entering the second half there was a renewed sense of confidence from the Briar. Using the space that Peru were affording them the Briar wingers were creating chances and keeping the ball well, but no finished product in the final third was forthcoming.

Leo O'Connor did manage to steal a yard on his marker in the box and was brought down for an easy penalty decision. The Kerry man dusted himself off and scored from the spot, his club leading 16th of the season.

Getting our first victory in a number of weeks was never going to be easy. Peru hit the post on one break away and managed to bring the game back to 4:3 when more indecision at the back led to an easy tap in for the striker.

A more nervous finish that the performance deserved but one that the team was able to navigate in order to leap frog Peru Sport and get off of the bottom of the table ahead of the big game versus Foxboro next week.

Line Up: Fallon, Glynn, Concagh(YC), Hannick, McElwain(c), O'Donnell, Hall, Coen, Kilber-Stearns, Hickey, O'Connor, Nassar, Flannery, Kelly, Graham, Joyce

Clean Sheet + 5-Spot = 3 Magnificent Points

Green Briar FC 5:0 Suchi FC

The first clean sheet of the MSSL campaign was a while coming but was definitely worth the wait. The Briar were coming off of a great performance in defeat versus Boston Olympiakos the previous week and were looking to turn another good performance into points this time around.

Mickey Sexton put in a great effort on the day. The Englishman had been struggling to find his range in front of goal lately but would get things right on this occasion, contributing a brace and an assist for his day's work.

David Coen and Tom Caldwell both scored their first for the MSSL side this season and Eamonn McCarney added to his total with a nice finish from a Mickey Sexton pass.

The Briar have put together some good performances in the second half of the season and enter their final match versus Lowell on the up.

Line Up: DelPieri, Claus, Doonan, Hannick, McLoughlin, McCarney, Caldwell(YC), McGuinness, O'Connor, Coen(c), Sexton

Over 30's Stop The Rot

Green Briar O30's 2:2 Fernandes & Friends

Not the desired 3 points on this occasion, but avoiding defeat is certainly a step in the right direction for Gary Keane's men.

Taking the lead in the first half through Leo O'Connor, after a beautiful move down the wing by Kevin O'Donnell was the start the Briar was looking for. But with confidence levels wavering lately and without a clean sheet in the Fall season, the team was unable to stamp their authority on proceedings and went into the break 2:1 down.

Unfortunately both goals were conceded without the services of our regular starting goalkeeper (John Flannery nobly deputising between the sticks). Green Briar's #1 Paul Fallon had yet to wipe the sleep from his eyes after another long night at his favourite haunt 'Howl at the Moon'.



After the restart the Briar were looking to get back into the tie. John Hickey and Leo O'Connor, partners both on and off the pitch, managed to combine up front for the equalizer. The electricity between the strike duo has been palpable recently and yet again they would come up trumps to find the equalizer to earn the Briar a point.

An acceptable result considering the run of form recently and the Briar will look to build on this in the coming weeks.

Line Up: Fallon, Glynn, Concagh, Hannick(YC), McElwain(c), O'Donnell, Hall, Coen, Kilber-Stearns, Hickey, O'Connor, Shursky, Nassar, Flanders, Bagnell

Golden/Silver Boots Have Arrived

Here are the prestigious pieces of hardware that are up for grabs for top goals and assists contributors. One set of golden and silver boots per team.

Games for Oct 16th

Please be at the field at least 30 minutes in advance of Kick Off

Peru Sport vs Green Briar O30's ( 10:00AM Kick-Off  )

Stoughton High School (Grass)

232 Pearl Street

Stoughton MA 02072 (Map)

Green Briar FC vs Lowell United ( 4:00PM Kick-Off  )

East Bost Memorial Park (Turf outside stadium)

150 Porter Street

(Intersection Porter St and Logan Airport Service Drive)

East Boston, MA 02128 (Map)

Games for October 9th

Please be at the field at least 30 minutes in advance of Kick Off

Green Briar O30's vs Fernandes and Friends ( 9:00AM Kick-Off  )

Fillipello Park (Grass)

110 Arlington Street

Watertown MA 02472 (Map)

Green Briar FC vs Suchi FC ( 4:00PM Kick-Off  )
East Bost Memorial Park (Turf outside stadium)
150 Porter Street
(Intersection Porter St and Logan Airport Service Drive)
East Boston, MA 02128 (Map)

Training Wednesday 12th

We will attempt to hold Club Training on Wednesday October 12th at Rogers Park in Brighton under the lights.

Rogers Park (Map)

90 Rogers Avenue
Brighton MA 02135

Over 30's yet to turn the corner

Medfield 2:1 Green Briar O30's

 

The half way point in the fall season was reached on the worst possible note, with a fourth consecutive defeat. Sitting on a total of 3 points for the season one would think the campaign is well and truly over, but hold the phone. First place (11pts) may be a tough ask but second place (8pts) and a playoff berth is still attainable, albeit the second half of the season would need to be navigated flawlessly.

On Sunday the Briar opened brightly. Michael Graham spurned a glorious opportunity in the opening minutes. A cross field ball skipped passed the last defender on the slippery surface. Reaching the ball just on the edge of the box he took the shot on the half volley and got it woefully wrong, sending the ball skywards instead of goalwards.

A costly miss, as the Briar would fall victim once again to two more catastrophic lapses of concentration when defending set pieces. On both occasions the Greens were punished from corners by 1: losing the first ball in the air and 2: reacting slowly to the second ball allowing easy tap ins. The quick succession of both goals conceded and the striking resemblance between them was a total embarrassment to everyone in a Green jersey.

Yet again the Briar found themselves behind the 8-ball and yet again it was all their own doing. At 2-0 down it would be difficult for the Briar to overturn the lead as they've struggled to find consistency in their build up play and in front of goal recently.

At the end of the 1st half the Greens sparked into life. Vlad Shursky retrieved a cleared ball from the Medfield area and with a spinning shot caused all sorts of problems for their keeper. The rebound was not capitalized upon and the chance to enter the half with a sense of renewed purpose went awry.

In contrast to the 1st half, the Briar took complete control of the ball and the tempo of the game in the second, in search of a way back into the tie. Davey Coen and Gavin Hall were gaining the ascendancy in the middle as they tried to get the front men and the wings involved in the play.

The lead was halved half way through the second half. A free kick from a central area was delivered long to the back post. Michael Graham timed his run to get behind the defense and headed across the keeper to the far side of the net.

With renewed vigour the Greens pushed for the equalizer. Davey Coen worked the keeper with a stinging shot on one occasion and Marty Tiffany was bundled over clumsily in the box but no decision was forth coming from the referee. Petey McNamee was unlucky not to get on the end of a decent cross from the left wing, as it seemed like nothing good would fall the way of the Green Briar.

Leo O'Connor had the ball in the net from a good pass fed into him down the right hand side by Conor Hannick. However the bane of the Green Briar's existence on the day was not the Medfield players but the trigger happy Assistant Referee who seemed to flag off side every time a ball was played into the danger area. On this one of a multitude of occasions the flag was raised incorrectly.

Though playing with a desperation their league standing deserved, the Briar were unable to convert their will into an equalizer and slipped to a fourth defeat on the spin. With 5 games remaining and a return tie with each of their opposition to come, the only way is up for the Green Briar O30's.

Line Up: Fallon, Glynn, Concagh, Hannick, McElwain(c), Flannery, Hall, Coen, Graham, McNamee, O'Connor, Shursky, Higgins, Nassar, Tiffany, Gillick