Threadbare Blues have enough for Bulien
Time: 10am, January 17th, 2010
Venue: Bai Ling Bridge Riverside Park
By John Phillips
An understrength Taipei City side overcame a spirited performance by Bulien to maintain their challenge for a second BML crown. In the end the scoreline flattered Bulien who scored their second goal with the final kick of the game and never looked likely to upset a well-drilled City side.
Missing regular starters Calvert, Ramirez, Christie, Conlon, the Njie trio and both goalkeepers through a mixture of injury, suspension and other commitments, City shuffled their pack but still had enough firepower to see off a Bulien team that worked hard but rarely threatened from open play. With defender Wharton taking responsibility between the sticks, City brought in Mamadi Colley to fill in at left back in a new look four-man defence, while Oliver Harley returned for a rare outing in midfield.
City dominated the opening exchanges but had to wait until after the half hour to open the scoring. Good work by Denser sent wing back Cartee through on goal and the American kept his composure to slot the ball neatly past the keeper.
Following the goal, City continued to create chances, but the game’s moment of controversy came at the other end. A speculative ball by the Bulien midfield appeared to find their striker a meter or so offside, but the linesman’s flag stayed down as the striker bore down on goal. The decision was immaterial as the striker fluffed the chance but City’s players and management were incensed and made vocal remonstrations.
Leading 1-0 at the break, Daly made way for Pangborn in defence leaving City with no cover on the bench. Bulien brought on Wang to strengthen their forward line, and the rotund striker showed some good touches in the opening exchanges. But it was City who doubled their lead on 50 minutes with Dawda Fatty popping up with a poacher’s goal from inside the penalty box.
And by the 55th minute City extended their lead to three goals with a finely worked goal. O’Gorman’s through ball found Denser in an offside position but the young German smartly let the ball run through to Cartee who had advanced down the left wing. He swung in a pinpoint cross to the far post for Steve Reymond to nod home a rare headed goal.
The game swung decisively in City’s favour when a seemingly innocuous challenge on Pangborn resulted in a straight red card for a Bulien midfielder. But the red card seemed to galvanise Bulien, as the ten men upped their game in search of a consolation. They were duly rewarded when a corner was played in low to the top of the box. Bulien reacted quickest and in the resulting melee, the ball was poked home past a helpless Wharton.
Any hopes of a comeback were quickly dashed when Dawda Fatty got his second of the game with a tidy finish to make it 4-1. And with the clock running down and the victory safe, all that was left was for Bulien to grab a consolation from a scrappy corner, but it was too little too late and City got the win that keeps their title challenge on track.
Taipei City 4, Bulien 2
Calvert fires City to Opening Day Victory
Time: 10am, November 1, 2009
Venue: Bai Ling Bridge Riverside Park
Conditions: Wet
By Michael Christie
With an excellent squad assembled for the 2009/2010 BML season, the management team of Dan Calvert and Ross Conlon had a difficult job naming a starting eleven for the opening game. They decided on Dale Neal in goal, a three-man defence of Tim Murphy, Yunusa Njie and Matt Wharton, with Steven Raymond and Ross Conlon on the flanks. In the centre, City played a three-man midfield of Ebrima Njie, Mike O’Gorman and Spencer Pangborn, with Alex Ramirez in the hole behind Dan Calvert leading the line. This was the first time in the history of Taipei City FC that two brothers started a BML game together. Congratulations to Yunusa and Ebrima!
As soon as the game began, City took the ball to the Bulien penalty area–where it remained most of the time. Five minutes into the game, though, a speculative long ball from Bulien forced Dale to charge off his line. With unmatchable confidence, he caught the ball and held it to his chest, and then stood there an age, seeming to bask in the effortless superiority of his goalkeeping. That was until the referee awarded the opposition a free kick–because Dale was at least five yards outside the penalty box! The resulting deflected free kick found its way into the TCFC net, making it 1-0 to Bulien.
The response from City was swift. Bulien predictably fell back into their own half and looked to catch City on the break. But now, and for the rest of the match, it was all City. The City players on the field in the first half have all played much better in the past and didn’t do much to add to their reputations. That said, they were still far too strong for the returning Bulien side. City stuck to the game plan throughout: closing down Bulien in their own half, and passing the ball patiently across the park looking for an opening in the Bulien defence. City’s hunt for a goal finally ended when Calvert finished from a nice left-wing cross after a flowing move to level. Ed Cartee duly came on for Conlon, who is still recovering from a year on the sidelines with knee problems. It was 1-1 at half-time. More goals would have been nice, but City had successfully dominated the half.
Fifteen minutes into the second half, Ramirez made way for Badou Njie. Not long after, Calvert finished from a Pangborn pass to put City ahead. With the lead established, Pangborn made way for Michael C
hristie to maintain the pressure and close Bulien down before they could mount any attacks. Essentially, each of the substitutions was like for like, and there was simply no let-up for Bulien. Calvert somehow managed to steal a goal from Ebrimha to complete a dubious hat-trick and, sated with his goals, came off for Dawda Fatty. Wharton made way for John Phillips and, moments later, the full-time whistle was blown. City had shown itself to be a lot tougher to break down than last season, with O’Gorman proving a solid anchor in front of the defence.
The Calvert-Conlon combo has assembled a superior squad, but nothing has been proven yet. The first game is won. Job done on Sunday, that’s all.