Bath/Hornell Grudge Match Part I

[Rams15]

Intense would be a reasonable word to use for tonight's contest on the turf in Hornell. Bath defeated Hornell in a hotly contested soccer game, 2-1 in regulation. Justin Brown scored both of Bath's goals on fine individual efforts after receiving outstanding passes from his teammates. Dan Osrcaez (sp) a foeign exchange student scored from 8 yards out for Hornell. The score was knotted 1-1 at halftime. Steve Smith received a yellow card early in the 2nd half for faking contact and taking a " dive." This occured right after he and Lucas Wales ( from Bath ) were lectured by the official for physical play. Upon being escorted to the bench, he apparently had asked the official where he was having dinner tonight, because he was shown a red card. This was a huge blow to Hornell's efforts to come back from the one goal deficit Hornell was facing. Binder was moved from defense to attack the last 12 minutes of the game, but Hornell could not find the back of Bath's net. Bath packed it in after taking the lead and thanks to their goalie and defense, prevented Hornell from scoring over the last 30 minutes or so.

The game is so fast on turf, but Bath seemed to be able to pass and catch rather than play kickball as they have done, sometimes, in the past. Both teams now have one loss in the league and overall.

[109]

i have no idea where you got the part about smith saying that to the referee... 100% false.... get your facts correct before you post something like that

[Rams15]

It was meant as sarcasm ( that's like making fun of the truth ) because obviously he said something to the official escorting him from the field, hence the soft red card he was given.

Those are the facts !! The young man is a great soccer player. It is unfortunate that he couldn't compete the rest of the contest.

[109]

the bath players pressured him to give the card

[UNCTarheels]

Rams escape with 2-1 victory: Controversial second-half goal leads to Red Raiders' first loss (http://www.eveningtribune.com/articles/2007/09/20/sports/sports01.txt)-Tribune

[DrewVT6]

the bath players pressured him to give the card

Hey Rams15 is a poster who has established great credibility here and has a very tactful way of posting opinions that could be done in a very negative manner.

It seemed to me there was some sarcasm in his response insinuating an overreaction by the ref. Maybe I'm just reading that into it.

Right now it seems like Hornell and Bath are THE teams to beat in class B. Hopefully there will be some more very good soccer games played between them. It's not that often that you find two teams who play excellent, disciplined soccer located so close to each other.

It has been my impression that some of the Section V and Livingston County referees are a little overzealous in their pursuit of absolute authority via soccer games. Or as Dwight Schrute would say, they seek "total universal domination". Generally good referees in soccer are more friendly and willing to talk with players and coaches. Sometimes I feel like the level of play has grown quicker over the years, than the level of refereeing.

[Rams15]

It is difficult, sometimes to separate yourself from objective ( or even subjective ) viewpoints because of strong ties and loyalties to a particular school or player. I'm sure most of us have been guilty of that at some point, whether it be in public viewing or in private.

In regards to the red card at the recent Bath vs. Hornell soccer game. Of course I have no idea what was said by anyone to provoke the official to pull out the card. That was my point. Did the official over-react to said player's conduct or did the player mouth some inappropriate comments to the official causing him to pull the red card. Unless you were privy to what was said, no one knows but the official or the player. What I do know is that Steve Smith is a vital piece of Hornell's ultimate success on the soccer field, or basketball court, or baseball field.; whichever sport he is playing at the time. he is the type of player that teams love to have because he is a fiery competitor ! he gives his all on the field of play and his competitive desire to help his team win any contest cannot be carried to the point where he is ejected from a contest. Don't misconstrue any of my comments to be critical in any way of this player. What makes for healthy competiton and rivalries are strong athletes like Steve. I'm sure no one feels worse about what happened than he. He will learn from this, like all great athletes do, and come back with a vengence. However don't let your loyalties cloud your judgement and jump to unfair conclusions about what I was saying, please.

[SectionVDude]

Woohooo

[109]

i understand i just dont think it was fair to give your assesment on the situation if you were'nt there and did'nt know what happened

[Rams15]

Bath was flat and outplayed in virutally every aspect of the game in Corning yesterday. Corning was even without one of their top scorers ( college visitation ) as they clearly dominated the midfield area. Bath looked lethargic on defense on a very hot day on the turf in Corning. Both of Corning's scores were on pretty crosses that their strikers outmustled Bath's defenders and hit beautiful shots into the lower 90 of the net. Bath only had 4 shots on goal and Justin Brown had three of them. Corning tested Bath goalie Mike Rossi all day long who recorded 10 saves. " JB " was clearly marked by two defenders all day long and Bath had no one else that could step up and become an offensive threat. The better team, on this day, clearly earned the victory. Bath must re-group on Monday and play Waverly before resuming their league schedule.