ROADRUNNER DATELINE: NEWS & EVENTS

March 26: Roadrunners finish of season with 2-0 win over Hellas.  The Roadrunners peaked at the right time as several players returned from international duty to secure a 2-0 defeat over Hellas on the last night of the regular season bringing hope to the Roadrunner faithful.  It was a great match as the Roadrunners put out a strong defensive front and then let the forwards and mids break-down the Hellas lines.  The score could have been higher but the Roadrunners famed final touch escaped them on many occasions.  Curtis Silzer and Dave Charge score the Roadrunner goals both on brilliant passes from Adam Ailsby.  Conrad Bell had a great game and engineered the best chances of the night but could only find the post.

March 24: Roadrunners put up good fight but lose to Adrenaline.  It was a great match while it lasted.  The pace was the fastest of the season.  With a short bench the Roadrunners matched run for run.  Adrenaline eventually scored a goal off an awkward bounce in front of the net.  The Roadrunners pushed forward to get the goal back but with team fitness becoming an issue Adrenaline eventually jumped on the Roadrunners stretched defense and scored two late goals.  Keeper Mike Raymond was player of the match in this great late season effort.

March 19: Roadrunners claim 4th place for their own with shootout loss to RD Porto.  The Roadrunners gave up their customary two goals but responded in style with three goals late in the first half to secure the win (or not).  The Roadrunners let Porto back into the match with an early goal in the second half but got that goal back again to take the lead.  RD Porto then scored two more to take the 5-4 shoot-out.  The Roadrunners goals game from Bell (2), Silver and a fantastic bull dog charge and score by Steph Snider.

March 12: Week from hell continues as Roadrunners lose to Legends 2-1.  The Roadrunners seemed to be turning around their recent tired form but tonight the energy was there but it was misplaced into nervousness.  The Roadrunners rushed passes, made weak reads, failed to mark, scored on their own net, hit the opposition goal posts 5 times and sent another 5 shots over the crossbar on way to a 2-1 loss to the struggling Legends.  Luckily there is still time to finish the season off with a flurry but the Roadrunners are not currently playing as a team and will have to get on the same page.

March 10: Roadrunners lose to Chargers 2-1.  The Roadrunners have been trying to find their form all season and tonight perhaps they did in a losing cause against the Chargers.  Despite an aggressive start the Roadrunners, dressed in their traditional green, gave up a two goal lead.  Failing to give up the Roadrunners clawed back in to the match with a gutsy goal by Adam Ailsby who fought through several fouls and the goalie to get the Roadrunners back in the game.  With the minutes drawing to a close the Roadrunners put together a tremendous assault on the Chargers net but could not find a late equalizer.  While the match was a loss the men in green showed they had the spirit to fight and this form is coming at a good time with the playoffs weeks away.  Match notes: Dave Charge suffered a minor elbow injury and is not expected to miss Wednesday's Hollywood shift at the Freehouse; Eoin H-C appears to have been suffering from alcohol poisoning; and Alfie Kiernan's knee has responded well after having the gonneria drained before tonight's match.

March 5: Roadrunners beat Oskana 3-2.  Losing was not an option this evening.  The last match against Oskana, a brutal 4-1 loss with two red cards, was a low point in Roadrunner recent memory.  History could not repeat itself.  The game opened the same way as the last match-up between these two teams with Oskana scoring two goals while the Roadrunners yawned and napped.  With ghosts of the past lingering Adam Ailsby scored late in the first half to bring the game back in line.  Eventually the Roadrunners woke up in the second half and began fighting back.  Again led by Mr. Aislby the Roadrunners mustered a solid 9 minutes of classic football undressing the Oskana defense twice to take the lead.  This leads to yet another match at the top of the table on Monday against the Chargers.

February 27: Roadrunners lose to Hellas 4-1.  With a chance to take over the table tonight the Roadrunners lost a key match-up to Hellas.  The Roadrunners were well drilled for the match having spent the two weeks off in training.  Despite looking sharp they gave up two early goals and then could not find the back of the Hellas net.  Dean Puffalt was moved to defense and did an admirable job stopping the back your big ass into the net offense patented by Hellas.  That move made it possible to move Scott Dupperon to midfield where he masterfully scored the Roadrunners lone goal off a corner.  Post game reports mistakenly attributed this as an own goal.  The Roadrunners did look sharp and have plenty of time to retake the top of the table.

February 6: Roadrunners defeat Adrenaline 2-1.  With a serious log jam at second place the Roadrunners made a statement tonight beating Adrenaline.  It was a spirited match at times scrappy but the Roadrunners persevered despite not having the shape they had shown the last two games.  The defense gave up an early goal but recovered with a solid controlled performance.  Alfie Kiernan quickly leveled the score and it was a great Adam Aislby shot cleverly guided in by Darryl Luterbach that secured the win thanks to a stifling Roadrunners defense.  The Roadrunners now have three weeks off to prepare for their 1st place match against Hellas.

January 31: Roadrunners defeat RD Porto 3-1.  The recent poor form of the Roadrunners led to a grueling practice in the bye week and clearly the results paid off with a 3-1 win over RD Porto.  Many questions were left unanswered, however, as the Roadrunners returned to form.  Adam Ailsby (double lower leg injury), Eoin H-C (probably working), Darryl Hollywood Luterbach (MIA) were all out of the line-up tonight leaving the Roadrunner wondering where the goals would come from.  The game started poorly with Keeper Mike Raymond losing control of an easy shot bring back the specter of his reoccurring addiction problems.  But is was Conrad Bell, angered by his receding hairline, that scored the equalizer and then Curtis Silzer, who has missed several games due to "personal reasons", that took the lead with a patented top right boomer.  Jamie Leibel, able to play because wayward fullback Bruce Crouter is serving his suspension scored the final marker.  Note - Bruce Crouter has now been suspended by the RSA for a hand ball in the opening goal of the 1986 World Cup match between Argentina and England.  For the second game in a row the "Director", Alfie Kiernan took control of the defense and sent RD Porto packing.  With questions swirling around the team there were no answers as long time Roadrunner manager Dick Stinson is apparently on a vacation/scouting junket in Las Vegas.

January 16: Roadrunners defeat Legends 3-2.  Long-time Roadrunner manager, Dick Stinson, took control of his team and the season and made some much needed changes to reinvigorate his sagging squad.  First, he pulled Dave Charge back form international duty to add some fire power, and then benched Bruce Crouter noting that his on again/off again suspension by the RSA was proving to be a distraction to the team.  Adam Ailsby led the attack with two goals and Charge added the third.  With a week off in the schedule it is expected that the Roadrunners will take to the practice field next Wednesday to regain the potency in their legendary set plays.

January 9: Roadrunners lose again, defeated by Chargers 5-0.  Following last weeks debacle the Roadrunners recovered slightly for a few minutes tonight against the Chargers but eventually it went bad.  The Chargers began breaking down the Roadrunner defense and the offense could not get the ball on target.  Keeper Mike Raymond deserved much better and played like a champion the whole match.  While theories abound as to what is wrong with the team that was flying high at the top of the table a few games ago the obvious answer is a lack of intensity.  Luckily there is plenty of time for Roadrunners to recover and start playing like a team and playing like they mean it.  Up next on the dance card is the Legends.

January 2: Roadrunners pick up where they left off in 2007 and lose to Oskana (4-1).  In what will hopefully be the worst game of the season the Roadrunners came out flat and let Oskana score the opening goal. The Roadrunners recovered briefly regaining control of the game and Jeff Brown scored the equalizer.  From there it was all Oskana as the Roadrunners defense could not contain the clever Oskana passing game.  At the other end the Roadrunners had chance after chance but could not find the net.  The Roadrunners will need to improve their passing, marking, shooting, ball control... well everything, including composure, right away if they are to stay near the top of the table.

The ugliness continued afterwards when it was learned that "Jimmy" the captain of Hellas has decided not to play the rest of the season after a "discussion" with several members of the Roadrunners at a trendy downtown Irish pub.

December 19: Roadrunners face first defeat with a 3-1 loss to Hellas.  The Roadrunners could be accused of being complacent tonight as they gave up their first loss of the 2007-08 campaign and lost first place in the last game of 2007.  Hellas controlled the tempo and the clock as the Roadrunners were content to react instead of lead.  Hellas opened the scoring half way through the first half.  Jamie Leibel brought the game back to a tie with a brilliant close range goal.  But from there Hellas controlled the match.  As the play went back and forth Hellas eventually scored two goals on three on one breakaways on the counter attack.  The Roadrunners realized what went wrong and after the match to a man committed to take more control when these teams meet again.

December 12: Roadrunners hold off Adrenaline, win 2-0.  On the twelfth day of Christmas, well December anyway, the Roadrunners took to the pitch against Adrenaline.  Steph Snider and Bruce Crouter were out with lower foot injuries but keeper Mike Raymond was back between the pipes tonight.  Adrenaline attacked early raining shots on Raymond in the early going but luckily for the Roadrunners few were on target.  Slowly the opportunities began for the Roadrunners and eventually they broke down the Adrenaline defense and a Conrad Bell header was guided into the net behind the Adrenaline keeper by Adam Ailsby.

The second half was much of the same as the Roadrunners controlled the Adrenaline offensive drives.  The match was finally put away by Eoin H-C, back from battling off the Plague, when he smashed a ball through Ailsby's legs into the net.  The Roadrunner Goal Assignment Appeal Committee is awaiting protests.

December 5: Roadrunners defeat RD Porto 3-0.  It was a match-up we have not seen for several years, RD Porto vs. the Roadrunners.  While this match used to fill the stands a manageable crowd estimated at five was here tonight to see if the rivalry still existed.  Porto came out firing on all cylinders attacking every ball.  The Roadrunners held them off thanks in large part to the brilliant goalkeeping of Curtis Silzer (filling in for Mike Raymond who is out east dealing with family matters).  Eventually it was the Roadrunners new signing, danger man Jeff Brown, who smashed in the opening goal.  It was a great match played wide open.  Over time Porto seemed to loose their grip on the game but it was an unfortunate deflection off a Jeff Brown volley then a long range goal by Adam Ailsby that eventually sealed the game's result.

The match saw the return of Alfie Kiernan, and with rumours that Johnny Gibbons is ready to return it was perhaps not a surprise that absentee owner and ex-Roadrunner legend Bryan Sigurdson reportedly watched the first half of the match.

October 31: Roadrunners defeat the Legends 2-1.  On a brisk Halloween night with the souls of the un-dead swirling on and off the pitch the Roadrunners took to the floor after a week of unparalleled controversy.  On Monday Curtis Silzer was suspended for one game by long-time Roadrunner manager, Dick Stinson, after he told reporters that Stinson had announced that if the team did not finish undefeated this season there would be serious changes to the line-up.  On Tuesday, veteran defender Bruce Crouter was also suspended for one game when it was reported that he was overheard in the wee hours of the Morning at a downtown pub following last weeks game against the Chargers that the tie "wasn't a bad result".

With the line-up depleted attacking danger man Eoin H-C was called back from Europe to reinvigorate the Roadrunners midfield.  The match was a classic with the Roadrunners eventually taking the lead as Eoin buried a penalty.  The Legends, not to be outdone, leveled the score with a dramatic breakaway after catching the Roadrunners on the attack.  Eventually it was left to Adam Ailsby to finally miss the goalie and claim the winner.

The Roadrunners now have a month off to recuperate from a great start to the season.

October 24: Roadrunners tie Chargers in battle for first place.  The Roadrunners were forced to settle for a tie against the upstart Chargers. The match was a defensive battle for most of the night as the Chargers pushed up fast and hard and the Roadrunners countered with  skilled passing and control.  Conrad Bell looked to open the scoring from his newly acquired mid-filed position but alas his header glanced over the top bar.  Eventually Steph Snider wore down the defense and the Chargers guided a Dave Charge shot into their own not rather than deal with Steph on the rebound.  The second half was more of the same as the two teams tested but could not score on the other team.  Finally it was left to a confused situation with a Roadrunner being sent off for failing to enter the field of play appropriately and a late free kick that led to the Chargers finding the equalizer, apparently as the game ended.  Man of the night was Mike Raymond in net and the Roadrunners welcome newcomer Jeff Brown who looks to be all that his scouting reports said.

October 17: Roadrunners welcome Oskana FC to Div III, win 6-2.  Long time Roadrunner manager Dick Stinson was challenged this year to put  a team together to finish off the work started with last year's outdoor campaign.  With negotiations stalled with Niall O'Hanlon and Eoin H-C on international duty,  Stinson closed long tern deals with Dave Charge and Adam Kletchko.  Rumours are also circulating about another signing from disbanded Fianna.  Despite the off field distractions the Roadrunner put in a solid performance against recent arrivals to div III Oskana.

The Roadrunners were slow out of the gate as always leading only 1-0 at half thanks to a smasher by Adam Ailsby.  Steph Snider then stole the show with two goals of his own.  With other goals by Jamie Leibel and returning legend Darryl Luterbach the Roadrunners built up a 5-0 lead.  Late game lapses led to two Oskana goals but it was Dave Charge, back from suspension, that sealed the sixth goal to finish the match.