by Gary Tim
Consuming your own gourmet setting is, often times, sweet and satisfying. And, so it was for a select Brooklyn Knights squad that bit into a sugar-coated mini triangular tourney it hosted on Friday, May 2nd, and won without any hiccups for its ‘goalie’.
In two 22-minute per half games, there were no hiccups for the Knights goalkeeper as the ‘front burner’ team kept his slate clean in two matches to win the golden Brooklyn Challenge Cup dished out for the event by the Brooklyn Community Soccer Federation, Inc. Their opponents – Brooklyn Knights reserves and
Brooklyn ’s Caribbean All-Stars – swallowed four goals and failed to register any against the 2007 PDL Eastern Conference champions.
According to General Manger Gali Maimon, the tourney and its results were a heartening for the Knights in their final gameday-simulated preparations. “The guys definitely savored the thrill of this exposure as they get ready for the 2008 USL-PDL season.”
In chilly conditions, the Knights warmed the hearts of their coaching staff and a splattering of fans with propitious play to come out on top in both encounters. Before they sautéed to the final, the Knights brushed back a valiant effort from the enduring ‘reserves’, frying them by 3 goals to nil. Earlier, the ‘reserve’ team had gone under 2-0 against the All-Stars, despite matching their opponents’ tough style of play.
In the title game, both the
Caribbean and Knights sides poached each other in an evenly contested duel, before a defense blunder instigated by the All-Stars custodian created a breakaway chance for the Knights’ feared strike force to lob the ball into an open goal for the decider in the dying minutes.
It was an unexpected climax to an otherwise gallant game that gave the Knights and their coaching staff another chance to address team make-up and strategies just days away from its season opener. “It was good to win this (tourney), but more importantly to see the guys play as a team, as well as to see the reserves and the quality of the
Caribbean guys,” exclaimed head coach Joe Balsamo. “I see potential, talent and passion within and outside our club here in
Brooklyn , and this is encouraging to our future.”
