DEA Bedford Over 30

DEA couldn't break through against Hollis, dropping a 2-0 decision as this tough season winds down.  DEA is currently 2-5-2 on this disapointing campaign.

First half play was scoreless for the first 25 minutes, as each side had chances.  Reyad Mohammed was the catalyst for Hollis, attacking the DEA backline with fury while Jerold White held him at bay.  Those two classy players would battle all day.

DEA's offensive thrusts were led by Willie Mungere and the central midfield duo of Elvis Zukovic and Ryan Carvalho.  On a couple of occasions, Willie was sprung clear but Hollis' mammoth keeper Billy kept coming up big.  DEA's best chance came from the air.  Elvis sent a long cross into the box that found Chris Laberge's head.  He nodded back against the play, just missing the post.

Hollis broke through on a miscue in the backfield.  When Chris Cloutier's backpass to keeper Chris Harrington was mishandled, it fell right to Peter Crouch on the front line.  He lanky striker had an open goal in front of him, and pushed it home to put Hollis ahead.

Harrington would stay in the game, however.  First Brendan Gilmarton crossed into the box and Harrington punched away.  The resulting rebound saw Reyad get good wood on it, but Harrington's kitten-like feet sprang into action and corralled it.

As the first half came to a close, Laberge had one more chance that went victim to a tough field bounce.  After latching onto a through ball, he lined up a right-footer with an open side of the net in front of him.  Unfortunately, the ball came up on him and he could only shin it wide of the goal.

Early in the second half, the slippery pitched doomed DEA for the day.  With Reyad tracking Jerold with his fin up, Jerold slipped down and Reyand walked in clean.  He finished clinically and DEA now had a big hole to fill.

Play became disjointed as DEA pressed to get on the board, leaving Gilmarton and Reyad to attack the DEA backfield.  Jon Cloutier blocked a Gilmarton scorcher from close range, and Jerold teamed with Chris Florek to stimy another sortie inside the area.  Harrington blocked one more from Reyad when he side-volleyed a drive from close range.

DEA's best second half chance saw Willie go in high and strong to meet a header.  He and the keeper collided, and Willie tumbled to the pitch in a heap.  His shot bounced off the bar and out of harm's way, but the same could not be said for Willie as he went down with a knee injury.

A 'thanks' must be extended to the Hollis squad which invited DEA over for a bite and a few socials after the match.  With Reyad quarterbacking the grill in a similar manner he plays on the pitch, burgers and dogs were flying off the grill.  A classy touch by Hollis.

DEA closes out the season at Seacoast next week. 

DEA fought back from an early 1-0 deficit to level with bottom-dwellers Windham, 1-1.  The tie gives DEA 8 points, and with two matches left Windham cannot get more than 7 points, ensuring a quick stay in Division 1.

DEA saw Benedict Gagnon launch a dipping drive from 30 yards that snuck under the bar past DEA keeper Chris Harrington to give them an early lead.

DEA held play for much of the match, but couldn't get any real chances before Elvis let fly a screamer from the right side that bounded off the cross bar.  Fortunately, it landed at the feet of Chris Laberge who dicked it home from close range to finally get DEA on the board.

It wasn't all roses, however, as DEA finished play at Legacy Field 0-3-2, their worst home record in history.  They finish out the season with road matches against Hollis & Seacoast. 

DEA again brought a short squad on the road, this time to Ipswich.  However, their efforts this time paid off with a 2-0 victory.  Kudos must go to Chris Harrington, Jerold White, Chris Florek, Chris Jones, Chris Laberge, Elvis Zukovic, Ryan Carvalho, Barry Fitzgerald, John Leblanc, and Jon Cloutier for making both of the tough road matches in the last two weeks.  DEA Management thanks them for their efforts.

 The game was delayed due to a scheduling conflict.  Once it finally got underway, both squads took the action right at each other.  Ipswich figured they could run DEA off the pitch with their deep bench.

 Two early chances by Ipswich were smartly saved by keeper Harrington.  He has come into his own as the season has progressed.

DEA countered smartly, but their chances were off frame.

Ipswich kept the waves of subs coming, rotating four midfielders and four forwards through the lineup.  DEA was content to let Ipswich switch throughout the midfield, but locked down as play moved toward the red zone.   DEA kept the defense compact and utilized some strong defensive work from the forwards to keep the pressure on.

In an effort to keep Ipswich off balance, DEA mixed in some long balls to Peter Cline and Gary DuPlessis up top with some short passes to possess when the chances arised.

As the first half wound down under ten minutes, Ipswich had a flurry of chances but came up empty.  Harrington again came up with a save, and the defensive quartet of Laberge, Florek, Jones, and White (with some help from Elvis) threw themselves in front of shots to keep the shutout in hand.

The action was picking up, and back at the other end DEA was not content to settle with defending all game.  Leblanc's header off an Elvis pass just went wide.  Cliney and Gary both missed from either side of the net.  Then, with only minutes left, DEA finally broke through.

Jerold's long goal kick found Cliney's in the middle.  Cliney headed down to Ryan's feet, who smartly one-timed a through-ball to Gary.  Gary wrestled his defender aside and left-footed his first touch into the upper left side and DEA had a 1-0 lead at the half.

Ipswich still played with confidence, knowing they had defeated DEA twice in recent meetings and felt it was only a matter of time before they broke through.

Instead, DEA got a break when the Ipswich sweeper poorly cleared and Gary again was the beneficiary.  He took the gift and calmly left-footed home the insurance tally.

DEA had to fight off one more flurry which saw a header go wide; a drive just past the woodwork; and the last hitting the post before being cleared by Barry and Elvis.

DEA smelled blood, and Jerold stormed through the middle and sent Peter in clear.  His shot would miss.  Another long pass from Flo found Gary who fed Leblanc in the middle.  He tried to chip the keeper but he wouldn't bite.

An all-around team effort that saw offensive chances come from everywhere and defensive help from all 11 players.  Jon Cloutier, nursing a bum ankle from last week's game, even chipped in with some important minutes to give Peter and his bad back a break when needed.

DEA is now in a solid position to avoid relegation after the rough start.  Winning the division is already out of the question, but with Windham coming to Legacy Field next week DEA can assure themselves of staying in D1 with a win or a tie in any of their last three games.  Windham must run the table to stay up.  A tall order indeed.

GREAT EFFORT by the players who made the trip!

(DEA's regular reporter was in holed up in a hotel room in Boston with his wife on top of him and could not make the game.  Fill-in reporter Elvis Zukovic contributed to this report.) 

DEA travelled with a short bench again to Stoneham. And, again, came away with no points. Injuries and familial commitments (and total lack of responses) forced DEA take on high-flying Stoneham. The results were as to be expected, with Stoneham squeaking out a 1-0 win. The game did take on a moral victory feel, as Stoneham was averaging over four goals a game and had already trounced DEA earlier in the year.

DEA hung tough, staying level at the half. Play was no more dominant on either side as DEA held their own. Down the middle, Ryan Carvalho, Elvis Zukovic, Chris Florek and Jerold White clogged up any Stoneham possessions. Jerold in particular was outstanding all game.  Players on Stoneham commented to the field reporter "That defender is pretty f**ing good, huh?" 

 Stoneham was forced to try through-ball after through-ball, and tiny field they were playing on would have none of that.

Chris Harrington had his best game since sporting the DEA colors. Making a handful of great saves and didn't allow any rebounds.

Early in the second half, a short-little pudgy player from Stoneham shot from 35 yards out. His drive brought down rain, but knuckled as it neared goal. With the uneven field, his shot began to zero in where the goal was it's highest peak...upper ninety. Harrington had virtually no chance, as the shot entered into the penalty area over 15' in the air before sharply dipping. "Shot of my life" he would later say to the on-field reporter. Yeah, I thought the same thing" was the reply.

DEA had some chances in the second half, the best was Willie Mungere's chip that was swallowed up by the unrushing keeper. Elvis' and Barry Fitzgerald worked magic on the right side to send Slick Willie through. Jeff Bailey also had a scrorcher pushed aside with the clock running down.

DEA drops to 1-4-1, but remain four points ahead of winless Windham. With Seacoast and Stoneham well ahead with 15 points, it looks to be a scrum between Hollis (9 points) and Ipswich (8). DEA travels to Ipswich this week having lost to them earlier in the year, 4-2. Ipswich brings it for the third half, so be prepared. Reminder, this game is as the Iron Road Fiels, which is a change from last year. Check the Locations for directions. Or, one could read Dale's e-mails and respond with "yes" as he will have attached the directions for you.

DEA went down early to Seacoast, levelled, and gave up a late goal in accumulating their third loss of the season, already matching their total from the spring season.

After a giveaway in the opening minutes, Seacoast roared through and made it 1-0.

DEA levelled when Ryan Carvalho sprung Barry Fitzgerald down the right flank. Barry crossed to an oncoming Willie Mungere. Willie slammed home from close range to make it 1-1 before the half.

Late in the match, a free-kick just outside the area saw a partial block before it rattled around in the area. Seacoast finished and vaulted themselves to first place with a 4-1 record.

DEA wallows near the bottom with a paltry 4 points after five matches. With only one home game the rest of the year, one cannot predict how this season will go....

At Stoneham next week. Dying to find out how many players show up.