Saturday, August 16, 1997, 7:30pm CDT
Location: Tad Gormley Stadium, New Orleans. Pitch: artificial turf, dry. Weather: hot, with a strong breeze, cloudy but no rain.
New Orleans:
Restrepo, Edwards, Rocke, Owens, Benjamin, Trotman, John, Rhode, Farrer, Dade, O'Sullivan
Subs: Sastoque (for Rhode), Smotherton (for Dade), Jones (for Farrer), Rebuck (for Edwards), Dutra (for O'Sullivan)
Nashville: Martiniz, Rogaski, Galloway, Berbari, Stoddard, Smith, Dahlal, Cantero, Ekeme, Geltz, Dedini
Subs: Raines (for Berbari), Atherton (for Geltz), Michell (for Dahlal), Foster (for Galloway)
Scoring: Nashville 7:00, Dahlal (Rogaski), Nashville 17:10, Martiniz (Dahlal), Nashville 59:30, Michell (Smith), New Orleans 60:45, John (Sastoque), Nashville 75:35, Michell (Cantero), Nashville 83:37 Michell (unassisted).
Cautions: Nashville-Rogaski, Foster, Stoddard, Ekeme. New Orleans-John.
The Glasgow Celtic fans have the perfect way to sum up a match like this: Oh, Dearie, Me, Oh, Dearie, Me. This was not the team we last saw at home in July, whooping up on anyone who came nearby (except the Burn). The Gamblers were cold, and Nashville came out swinging, looking to avenge the shoot-out loss from two nights ago. To make matters worse, the regular starting lineup was dramatically changed because of the need to get players on loan from the Burn some playing time. The Gamblers defense was in coplete disarray for the first twenty minutes of the match, with Burn defender Eric Dade completely screwing up the rhythm of what had been a solid back 4. Defensive anchor Andrew Restrepo, who sat out Thursday's match against the Metros, also appeared to be cold, but it was Dade's unforced mental errors that contributed most to two goals by Nashville early on, one at 7 minutes and the other in the 18th minute. Both goals were classic 2 attackers on a solo Quinn O'Sullivan, the Gamblers' keeper. O'Sullivan had no help and no chance. The Gamblers started Dade in the center of the defense, them moved him to the left, then the right, and he couldn't fit in anyplace. The only significant offense of the half was a free kick opportunity missed by Linus Rhode in the 20th minute, and a solid cross from Rocke to Benjamin, which was punched over the net by Metros' keeper Randy Dedini. The rest of the first half was a tale of missed opportunities and poor play on the part of the Gamblers. It was only the personal skill of Colin Rocke, Glenn Benjamin, and O'Sullivan that kept the Gamblers anywhere near close.
The first fifteen minutes after the break was more of the same. Regular defender Glenn Benjamin was shifted to mid-field, and it was a good thing, given the poor performance of the other Burn loaner, Richard Farrer. Farrer was also shifted back in forth in an attempt to find a fit for him as well. The best fit for this guy was the bench, which is where he was relegated in the 55th minute, and Gabe Jones, up from the Lone Stars took the field. The Metros continuted to take advantage of the Gamblers off night, with Jamal Michell scoring the first of his hat trick in the 60th minute. Gabe Jones' much better ball handling skills and ability to work into team play helped set up the only goal of the match for the Gamblers, which came in the 61st minute--a good pass from Juanito Sastoque (the only Burn loaner who gave any indication he was worthy of playing in the MLS) to Stern John. While going to the back of the net to retrieve the ball, John was cold-cocked by Samuel Ekeme, and a bit of a brawl erupted. When things settled down once again, the Metros continued to pour on the pressure, with Michell's second goal in the 76th minute and the third of the evening in the 84th minute.
I didn't write down the name of the center referee this evening, which is a shame. I'm going to forward this report to the A-League office anyway, in the hopes that the report will do some good in terms of seeing to it that this guy never gets an assignment of more importance than U-8 ever again. After Stern John scored the only Gamblers goal of the night, he ran past the Metros keeper to the ball. John made no contact with any Metros player, just a simple follow-through, as if he wanted the game ball. Samuel Ekeme, #24 for the Metros, followed John into the net and sucker-punched him. It was the kind of shot you see in those stunt-man shows on movie studio tours. Ekeme cold-cocked John, and he went down hard on the turf. There was a bit of pushing and shoving as the CR and AR on the Metros side moved in to break things up. Several of the sheriff's deputies on duty also walked around (not on) the pitch to a positon behind the goal. The CR isolated Ekeme from the pack and started to sort out the situation. Ekeme immediately walked over to one of the sheriff's deputies, as if he fully expected to be shown a red card and be sent off under guard. When the CR got over to Ekeme, the yellow card was shown, and the Gamblers protested vehemently. The CR had to go over to the Gamblers bench and speak with Coach Mike Jeffries to settle him down. It wasn't a pretty scene. I don't know what A-League rules are about forfeits, but Jeffries should have immediately pull his team from the pitch at that point. What the CR had done by his actions was to give the Metros a license to maim. That license was exercised shortly thereafter by #12, Mark Foster, whose trip of Gamblers F Mickey Trotman was so violent that Trotman had to be helped off the field by two of his mates. (Trotman was sitting on the bench with an ice pack until the autograph-seekers had cleared off, and went back to the locker room in a golf cart.)
I'm not so naive to think that this poor excuse for an official's actions cost the Gamblers the match. There could be an argument that the man advantage with 20 minutes left could have changed the outcome, but the Gamblers didn't have it together enough for that sort of push. What concerns me is the total lack of control the CR had by the end of the match. Thugs have to be dealth with harshly, and Ekeme (who was sent off Thursday evening by a different referee), and Foster are thugs, plain and simple. Neither of these players had any reason to remain on the pitch, yet the CR allowed them to stay. When Trotman was carried off, I stood up in the stands at mid-field and shouted to the CR that the injury was totally his responsibility. This man's complete lack of control could have ended a player's career. This guy needs to get some practice doing 4x4 games for some U-8 league. Maybe that will give him a refresher on the fundamentals of game management.
The Gamblers go out on the road to lick their wounds, Friday night against Minnesota, Sunday night in Milwaukee, then the following Friday in El Paso. They return home on the 31st for the final regular season match agains Orange County.