Kisling's Tavern
HANGOVER UNITED
Soccer Club
Baltimore, Maryland USA - Est. 1995

HANGOVER UNITED - MATCH REPORT 2003 WEEK 4

HANGOVER UTD WIN IN DRAMATIC FASHION 2-1 OVER PERU
By David Jones for soccernet.com
28 SEPTEMBER 2003

BALTIMORE, MD – Hangover United kept their undefeated season alive Sunday at Patterson Park against Peru. The beautiful afternoon set the stage for a hard fought match on both sides of the ball. Hangover came out and dominated possession but couldn’t create any really opportunities on goal in the early going. Around 15 minutes in, they started to crack the Peru defense with long balls over the top. Forwards John Jenkins and Aron Shea with support from the midfield play of Art Mullen and Dan Gerbasi started to create good chances. Most notably a beautiful little cross that Art Mullen nodded on goal but only an excellent save from the goalkeeper and only English speaking member of Peru prevented it from going in. In the 27th minute a Peru counter attack lead to a 2 on 1 down the left wing where the Peru striker was forced out wide but got a quick unexpected shot shot off with the outside of his right foot beating a surprised Jon Pitonzo in goal to the near post giving Peru the 1-0 lead. “One shot, one goal – that’s the way it goes sometimes” player/manager Chris King commented after match. The half ended 1-0 to Peru.  

In the second half, the Hangover looked a bit tentative, losing 50/50 balls and not going hard after balls in the air. This lead to a noticeable shift in possession in the midfield favoring Peru. Strong play in the back by the whole Hangover defense,time and time again shut down Peru before they were able to get a good look at goal. Tom Burgoon, the welcome return of Brian Yankle, and Lee Collins had a fantastic matches all around. Hangover started to really create some real trouble in the box for the Peru defense. Anthony Menegatti tracked down a ball in box after a corner kick and although the defender had excellent position pinning him along the end line decided to try to wack the bouncing ball basically kicking Menegatti square in the chest, and the ref then awarded a penalty kick to Hangover for the silly foul. John Jenkins stepped up and and tried to place the ball in the lower left corner but the ball went just wide of the post to the delight of Peru. Hangover although disappointed kept there chins up and soldiered on. “We really didn’t feel that the match was lost at that moment. We played with confidence and poise and it made us even more determined to find the net.” King commented. Jenkins found himself in all alone on goal and this time plays the ball right and calmly knocks the ball back by the keeper only to watch it bounce off the post. Aron Shea got to the rebound but his left footed volley went wide. Another golden opportunity went begging. But still no panic on Hangover. Then in the 62nd minute Aron Shea instinctively puts a blind pass right down the line by a Peru defender to the streaking Jenkins who nonchalantly pops up and bends the ball around the approaching Peru keeper to level the match at 1-1. "Jenks picked the most difficult shot that he had in the entire match to make" King said. You could feel the relief on the Hangover side which relaxed the Hangover side and made them play with more confidence. The in the final moment of the match a beautiful cross to the back post was met by Hangover newcomer Chris Hastings who played a perfect header back to the goal mouth where Art Mullen bangs home the header low that the keeper got a glove on, but only after it was over the line and in the net. The final whistle blew less than a minute later and there was much rejoicing… final score: Hangover 2, Peru 1.

At the post match press conference at Kislings, player/manager Chris King said, “This was, without a doubt, the most gratifying win in the history of Hangover United.” King then added, “We played a composed confident match. We all knew that we were the better side and didn’t give up. This win puts us in an excellent position for MMSL Division II. We have to keep this momentum up as we face P.J.’s Pub next week.” P.J.’s Pub are also undefeated at 3-0-0, which means it is a battle for top of the table on Sunday morning. A large turn out at Kislings afterward had roughly 15 players + friends running up a $350 tab.

After 4 weeks, John Jenkins is still the MMSL point leader for both Div I & II with 15 points (6 goals, 3 assists). Hangover next take on P.J.’s Pub on Sunday at 12 noon at Patterson Park in Canton.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Lee Collins (great game at defense)
GOAL OF THE MATCH: Art Mullen’s header (perfect cross, beautiful header back in, excellent finish)
FOUL OF THE MATCH: Ben Hinceman (push on the header).

NEXT MATCH: SUN OCTOBER 5th -v- P.J.’s Pub @ Patterson Park ko 12:00 PM
followed by the FELLS PT FEST Micro-Brew Beer Garden (Thames St & Wolfe St).