Real's Iron Men Edge Dixon in Penalty Kicks
Real San Juan faced Dixon Leon last Sunday in the Peri Clark Cup CCSL Championship game. Under ordinary circumstances this game would be challenging and entertaining. The Dixon/Real match up has always had its share of passion and drama. With several players unavailable for Sunday's game due to injury and scheduling conflicts, Real started and finished the game with only eleven players. A strong Dixon team, no substitutes and a warm June afternoon were the challenges put forth for Real to earn the Championship. Real and Dixon went back and forth during the first half. Dixon played their short possession style and Real played slightly conservative with an occasional Pat Nelle run through the defense. The half ended with Dixon in the lead 1 - 0. The second half began with Dixon extending their lead to 2 - 0. Tired and down by two, things did not look to promising for Real, but everyone knows that a two goal lead is the hardest to defend in soccer. This is a lesson both Dixon and Real both experienced in this game. In the seventy fifth minute Ruben Mora showed up to provide some "fresh legs" for Real. Shortly after Mora's arrival, Tim Bystrowski exited the match with an injury. Real received a boost when the Dixon keeper could not handle a Jorge Fernandez shot and Ali Managhebi buried the loose ball into the back of the net to make the score 2 - 1. Then with 5 minutes to go, Kyle Navarro played Ruben Mora a beautiful driven diagonal ball. Mora beat the Dixon outside back, turned the corner and crossed a precision ball to Pat Nelle who headed it home with authority. The game finished in a 2-2 time sending it into overtime. In the first overtime, Jorge Fernandez beat Dixon's right back and sent in a cross that Pat Nelly flicked on. The flicked ball bounced off the crossbar and down to John Chimienti who put away an instep volley to put Real in the lead 3-2. In the second overtime, it was Pat Nelle once again counter attacking on his own and beating two defenders before slotting a twelve yard shot past the Dixon keeper. The game seemed sealed as Real sat back and cleared several near misses but with 2 minutes to spare, Dixon scored from six yards out on a crossed ball that slipped by everyone on the ground. The last minute became a desperate attack for Dixon as Real looked exhausted. With less than thirty seconds left, Dixon once again scored on a crossed ball that got by the Real defenders and found a Dixon player at about the six yard box. The game was finished at 4-4 and went to penalty kicks. Real converted all five penalty kicks and Real's keeper, Conor McNulty, blocked Dixon's first pk to give Real the Championship. Real shooters were very calm and took excellent pks. The shooters were, in order of their shot: Ali Managhebi, Ruben Mora, Alvaro Delgado, John Chimienti, and Marcos Mercado. This game was a good example of the character and heart that Real has played with all season. One can only speculate that the numerous games played without a full compliment of players helped prepare the Real San Juan team for Sunday's game. "Man of the Match" awards could go out to the whole Real team, but Kyle Navarro (who suffered a cut above the eye but returned to shut down Dixon's tricky forwards) and Pat Nelle for his goals in the last two games must be recognized. Click on the following link to see the Real vs. Dixon Championship Photos by Sportora
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