The fans who go to a Roots F.C. home game at the MCC are “die hard” football fans, and, despite their low rank in Super League standings, the fans always get their money’s worth from a Roots football game, as they did this past Sunday afternoon, albeit in a losing 2-nil effort against visiting Estrellas F.C. from Toledo.
There were four players with the Usher surname in Roots’ starting lineup, reminiscent of the Milpros glory days with Gilroy “Coro” Usher, Anthony “Telos” Usher and Earl “Tangi” Usher, but the team from Gracie Rock still lacks the organizational depth and structure displayed by other semipro teams. Roots has some raw talent, and yes, the heart, but they are still weak in the coaching department.
But if high ranking Estrellas thought they would rack up a cricket score against their obviously less sophisticated opponent, they had to think again. Roots is not about giving up.
At first it seemed Estrellas would pile up some goals, as they had a host of early breaks. But each time there was an opening, or a break away, the Roots goalie stepped up, or a defender came roaring back to block the shot and save the day. Finally, after a number of failed attempts, Estrellas’s highly skilled left side striker, Delroy Flores, got away briefly from Roots’ tough left defender, Denfield Tasher, and drilled a hard, low shot into the left corner from inside the eighteen. 1-nil, Estrellas. But that would be all they could get in the first half. And Roots made a few serious threats at goal too; so Estrellas wasn’t resting easy.
At half time, the Toledo visitors were taking no chances, inserting their tall and highly reputed striker, Kenton Galvez, into the ball game, dropping Delroy into the midfield. Kenton seemed confident of his superior skills over the opposition, but each time he thought he had a chance, it was taken away at the last moment by a lightning fast and resilient Denfield Tasher in Roots defence, or by a spectacular save from Roots gutsy goalkeeper, Gerson Hernandez, who had an outstanding game, despite his small size.
Twelve minutes into the 2nd half, the Estrellas bench breathed a sigh of relief when Delroy Flores, penetrating deep into Roots’ northern goal area, was taken down in the box; and, compounding their woes, Roots’ sweeper, Ronald Usher, was red- carded for over-reacting to the referee’s decision to award a penalty. And Estrellas powerfully built right winger Ray Arzu walked up with a swagger and simply bombed a right- foot blast head high that almost burst the net to the right of the keeper, who didn’t stand a chance. 2-nil, Estrellas.
It was a comfortable lead, and Estrellas, now with a one-man advantage, was hoping to quickly put the icing on the cake with a third goal, and possibly even follow with a “trailer load”. But, no such thing. The floodgates never opened, as the Roots warriors held on and put up a fight all the way. There were even some thrilling moments, as Roots’ veteran striker, Maurice “Magic” Francis, who just returned to the squad after a few weeks’ absence, sent a couple screamers that just cleared the Estrellas crossbar. With a superior midfield, anchored by team leader Delroy Flores and talented Gabriel “Gabo” Hernandez, Estrellas maintained the pressure, but the Roots defense never gave up. Estrellas big striker, Kenton Galvez, whose every effort was denied today, will likely have “fond” memories of Roots defender Denfield Tasher and goalie Gerson Hernandez.
In the end, it was Estrellas, 2-nil, but the proud Roots home fans once again saw their team put on a heroic peformance. And the rejoicing Estrellas bench at the long whistle was testament to the respect they had gained for the Roots warriors from Gracie Rock.