JDF Masters FC

JDF-40 Thumps Fernwood, 4-2
March 24, 2018, 5 PM, UVIC Turf #3
All in all this was a very competitive match between two strong teams. JDF had more of an attacking presence, centrally and on the wings, with a solid defence and skilled midfield; while Fernwood showed their highest skill also in the midfield, but with only one relentlessly running attacker who showed some promise up front.
1st Half
JDF Goal #1: Paulo off of a long JDF goal kick by Kevin Assisted by: Kevin?
Kevin and Dave shored up the back line and made some decent overlapping runs when the space opened up.
Shane “computer tech extraordinaire” was jockeying well for JDF in the right back position, but having exhausted himself in an earlier baseball game, frequently panicked and made erroneous passes directly to Fernwood’s midfield; so, he had to come off to get his mind back in the game.
Later Shane, now playing as a striker, was in a great position to score but got caught just a foot offside when Brandon passed him the ball…

JDF-40 Makes A Spirited Comeback Over Bays United, 4-2
March 14, 2018, 7:30pm, Royal Bay Turf
Dan’s Recap:
Gord and Brazilian magic in the middle , Scott “I am not playing” had a great 90 min game :)
Brandon “I did not touch him but almost broke his leg” had also a great game.
But the best is Jorge “I didn’t play but forgot my bag” made the difference in our bench.
Dave and Brendan were perfect in the back line too.  We all had a great game.
Feels great to come back JDF style!!!
Cunger’s Recap:
Quick recap of last nights game against Bays At 7:28pm we only had 7 troops reluctantly strapping on the boots. So Bays lent us 4 players to kick off. Seemed to b a cold windy boring game.We went down 2 nil right away. Then Sean shows up 25 min in. Then Gord show up 35 min in. Still down 2 nil at half. They asked me if we wanted 2 guys to make it 11 players. No was the answer as everyone looked at me in confusion. One of our players blurted out they are a good team we should take the player. I an…

JDF-48 Holds On for Win Over Vic West-48, 4-2
March 14, 2018, 8:15pm, Finlayson Turf

On the big Finlayson field where the ball rolls faster than anywhere else, we buffered against an initial onslaught of attacks by the quick and skilled Vic West midfield for the first 5 minutes of our game.  With perhaps a bit too much confidence in the initial outlook, their stunned defense didn't quite anticipate the speed and scrappiness of Paulo and Ric who would combine for three quick goals in almost immediate succession.

With a few of our regular guys injured, we had help from Kim and Tommy in the back, and we managed to keep them scoreless for the first 45, going 3-0 into the half.  We thought we were coasting to an easy shutout when early in the second half  Paulo chased down a mismanaged loose ball, and from about 40 yards out, blasted a nice arching shot over the goalie who had reluctantly come out of his area, undecided about what to do.

But then the true highlights of the game were re…

JDF-55 Nails Coffin on Pen Masters-55, 3-1
March 11, 2018, 2pm, Blue Heron

On a beautiful, sunny, and mild Sunday afternoon we faced a Pen Master team that was eager for a win over the JDF-55 squad.  We had a solid roster that showed, with Rick P back from injury and enough of the regular group to give us about 13 or 14 players.  The play was quite evenly matched for the first half.  They surprised us with an energizer bunny center midfielder who ran all over the field and created some danger against us.  But we persisted with our attack, and our first goal came about 30 minutes in when Dwight took a through-pass to the left corner, then worked it in and made a sharp ground-cross to Paulo in the goalie area.  Paulo slid his shot under the diving goalie and into the right corner of the net.  We would have gone into the half with a two-goal lead, but the ref said Joel's header off a corner kick didn't actually cross the goal line...everyone else knew it had, even the other team.…

JDF-40 Upsets Gorge-40, 3-2
March 7, 2018, 7:30pm, Royal Bay Turf

No match report, as yet, but we won...

JDF-48 Wears Down Vantreights-48, 4-0
March 7, 2018, 7:30pm, JDF #2 Grass

We burst out of the gates early, ready to get on the board quickly against this Vantreights team.  When we had several near-goals in the first five minutes, we thought we'd have a blowout by the end of the first half.  But somehow, Vantreights managed to thwart our attempts again and again.  If it wasn't a great save by their goalie, Darcy, it was one of us missing a shot that should have been in.  It was probably a bit comical to watch us getting agitated that we couldn't score, and one of their defenders began to taunt and laugh at us in jest.  Fortunately, Cory gave a compelling speech at half, full of metaphor and nuance, which left us calmed and inspired.  Our defense was particularly moved, as they played with increased finesse, cutting off attacks and then moving forward by patiently switching the ball around to the other side.  Kudos to Stu, Dave L, Arv, Lyle, and Dave O who formed the "…

JDF-55s Capitalize Over Bays-55, 5-1
March 4, 2018, 4pm, Oak Bay Turf

We had a solid crew out for our game against the Bays last Sunday afternoon with as many as four or five subs, though some of us were nursing minor injuries.  The game started well enough and within the first 10 or 15 minutes we were on the board with a header off a free kick that Dave O crossed in nicely to Joel from about 45 out.  This spurred the Bays to action and they retaliated quickly, managing to score with their most talented forward after he controlled a bouncing cross and walked it into the goal.  The game was well-fought, and both teams were moving the ball nicely, but neither managed to score again in the first half.  We came out ready to fight in the second, pressuring their defense and pushing forward when Joel blocked a defender's clear and  trapped the ball alone in front of the goalie...only to shank it wide left after swinging way too hard.  Not too long after, their goalie coughed up the ball…

JDF-48 Retaliates Over Gordon Head Gunners, 7-1
February 28, 2018, 7:30PM, Royal Bay Turf

Cory called it "one of our best games of the season", but was this because he was barely on the field due to his gimpy right knee?  Or was it because (even though he was barely on the field) he managed to score a beautiful goal?  Let's just say that Paulo, who usually shows his elegance through fancy dribbling, decided that if he is going to pass, he will also do so with elegance.  So our first two goals came from nifty heal passes by Paulo in the area.  The first came from a classic Ric crusher after a nice heal pass, and the second came from Cory.  This was a pretty one because Paulo embarrassed the two defenders who surrounded him on the ball, only to watch it heal-flicked back between them to Cory who was wide open just in front of the penalty spot.  Cory slammed it home with his left foot.  I can't really remember how the other three goals of the half were set up, but I do …