Red Hot Haledon Thrashes Denville on the Road
Neither long grass, potholes nor mud stood in Haledon's way to another victory. A great all-around effort resulted in a 7:1 blow-out and the game against Denville Derby was that lopsided. Most of the scoring was provided by a dynamic duo of Poles: Jake Witek, who bagged his first hattrick of the season and Paweł Bajon, who got his 3rd multi-goal game for Haledon this Spring.
Despite far-from-perfect pitch conditions both teams started off with relentless attacks. Denville looked more dangerous, but apart from a couple of long-range efforts the hosts could not break through Haledon's solid defensive unit, commandeered by Kurlandski, Stampone and Hausser. Haledon pressured high up the field and forced Denville to make hasty plays, which oftentimes resulted in a turnover. Once regaining possession the visitors made the best use out of their speedy wings. Jake Witek and Seba Penk made some dangerous runs and squandered a couple of chances before they finally connected for the first time. It was Witek, who sped with a torrid pace on the right flank and found Huebner, who one-timed it into the net. It was the first goal of the season for Chris (who, at some point this season, was a formidable goalie) and it could not come at a better moment.
Minutes later Haledon delivered their next punch. After a scramble following a corner kick Doug Shelley's shot somehow found its way into the net despite a mob of players in the penalty box. This goal was not pretty, but certainly it was the most important one, for - as it later turned out - it was a game winner.
Ambitious Denville did not give up and after another long-distance shot they finally broke through. An otherwise outstanding in the net Stepien had little to say after a well-placed shot went over his head into the upper corner of the goal. It was a brilliant strike and Stepien had no chance.
But Haledon was not to be denied. In a nick of time they put two more goals on the board. Witek was the first scorer, after taking advantage of a clever chip pass by Moczerniuk and beating the goalie. Then the substitute Bajon also scored from close range earning himself a cradle-like goal-celebration to honor his first born daughter Iwana.
Second half continued to go Haledon's way. They controlled the midfield through smart distribution of the ball by Haledon's veteran players: Rehberger, Mazzei and Scott. Denville tried to close the gap, but were unlucky hitting a crossbar and a post on a couple of occasions. Haledon too squandered a bunch of chances (Moczerniuk and Flores) before striking three more times and essentially putting the game way out of Denville's reach.
All second-half goals were scored by two Poles, who are the biggest contributors to Haledons attack this Spring. Jake Witek, who scored 7 of his 9 goals this part of the season tallied two more times and collected his first hat-trick of the year. His second-half brace was interrupted by another goal by Bajon, who showed some nifty finishing skills, calmly redirecting the free-kick pass from Rehberger into the net. It was his 8 goal this Spring.
With such prolific scoring and solid defensive play Haledon seems to be a legit threat to other Over-30 NJ Division powerhouses: Kearny and Mt. Olive. It is a shame that this season is about to end, because Haledon has definitely found their groove. However before the season does end Haledon should get a chance to avenge their 2:3 loss in an opening game of the season to Mt. Olive. This should be a real test if they can dance with the Stars.
Make-up game:
Denville, May 25th 2011, 9:00
Denville Derby - Haledon 1:7 (1:4)
0:1 - Huebner 0:2 - Shelley (5) 1:3 - Witek (7) 1:4 - Bajon (7) 1:5 - Witek (8) 1:6 - Bajon (8) 1:7 - Witek (9)
Haledon: Piotr Stepien - Domenic Stampone, Jerry Kurlandski, Chris Huebner, Rod Hausser - John Mazzei, Tomek Moczerniuk, Doug Shelley, Mike Rehberger - Jake Witek, Sebastian Penk (Patrick Flores, Pawel Bajon, David Scott)
other reported scores (till May 31st 2011):
Week 18:
Denville - Paramus 5:2
Montgomery - Kearny 2:8
Mt. Olive - AC Rosso 0:1
SFC 1933 - Haledon 0:1 (forfeit)
Standings after week 18:
1. Kearny Scots 15 37 12-2-1 48:13 +35
2. Mt. Olive Utd 15 35 11-2-2 40:16 +24
3. Haledon 16 34 11-4-1 56:34 +22
4. AC Rosso 14 30 9-2-3 44:22 +22
5. Nutley Krank 15 22 7-7-1 37:28 +9
6. Livingston United 14 15 4-7-3 27:41 -14
7. Denville Derby 14 13 3-7-4 36:47 -11
8. Paramus 12 9 2-7-3 27:46 -19
9. AC Montgomery 14 5 0-9-5 23:51 -28
10. SFC 1933 14 4 1-13-1 15:54 -39
Despite far-from-perfect pitch conditions both teams started off with relentless attacks. Denville looked more dangerous, but apart from a couple of long-range efforts the hosts could not break through Haledon's solid defensive unit, commandeered by Kurlandski, Stampone and Hausser. Haledon pressured high up the field and forced Denville to make hasty plays, which oftentimes resulted in a turnover. Once regaining possession the visitors made the best use out of their speedy wings. Jake Witek and Seba Penk made some dangerous runs and squandered a couple of chances before they finally connected for the first time. It was Witek, who sped with a torrid pace on the right flank and found Huebner, who one-timed it into the net. It was the first goal of the season for Chris (who, at some point this season, was a formidable goalie) and it could not come at a better moment.
Minutes later Haledon delivered their next punch. After a scramble following a corner kick Doug Shelley's shot somehow found its way into the net despite a mob of players in the penalty box. This goal was not pretty, but certainly it was the most important one, for - as it later turned out - it was a game winner.
Ambitious Denville did not give up and after another long-distance shot they finally broke through. An otherwise outstanding in the net Stepien had little to say after a well-placed shot went over his head into the upper corner of the goal. It was a brilliant strike and Stepien had no chance.
But Haledon was not to be denied. In a nick of time they put two more goals on the board. Witek was the first scorer, after taking advantage of a clever chip pass by Moczerniuk and beating the goalie. Then the substitute Bajon also scored from close range earning himself a cradle-like goal-celebration to honor his first born daughter Iwana.
Second half continued to go Haledon's way. They controlled the midfield through smart distribution of the ball by Haledon's veteran players: Rehberger, Mazzei and Scott. Denville tried to close the gap, but were unlucky hitting a crossbar and a post on a couple of occasions. Haledon too squandered a bunch of chances (Moczerniuk and Flores) before striking three more times and essentially putting the game way out of Denville's reach.
All second-half goals were scored by two Poles, who are the biggest contributors to Haledons attack this Spring. Jake Witek, who scored 7 of his 9 goals this part of the season tallied two more times and collected his first hat-trick of the year. His second-half brace was interrupted by another goal by Bajon, who showed some nifty finishing skills, calmly redirecting the free-kick pass from Rehberger into the net. It was his 8 goal this Spring.
With such prolific scoring and solid defensive play Haledon seems to be a legit threat to other Over-30 NJ Division powerhouses: Kearny and Mt. Olive. It is a shame that this season is about to end, because Haledon has definitely found their groove. However before the season does end Haledon should get a chance to avenge their 2:3 loss in an opening game of the season to Mt. Olive. This should be a real test if they can dance with the Stars.
Make-up game:
Denville, May 25th 2011, 9:00
Denville Derby - Haledon 1:7 (1:4)
0:1 - Huebner 0:2 - Shelley (5) 1:3 - Witek (7) 1:4 - Bajon (7) 1:5 - Witek (8) 1:6 - Bajon (8) 1:7 - Witek (9)
Haledon: Piotr Stepien - Domenic Stampone, Jerry Kurlandski, Chris Huebner, Rod Hausser - John Mazzei, Tomek Moczerniuk, Doug Shelley, Mike Rehberger - Jake Witek, Sebastian Penk (Patrick Flores, Pawel Bajon, David Scott)
other reported scores (till May 31st 2011):
Week 18:
Denville - Paramus 5:2
Montgomery - Kearny 2:8
Mt. Olive - AC Rosso 0:1
SFC 1933 - Haledon 0:1 (forfeit)
Standings after week 18:
1. Kearny Scots 15 37 12-2-1 48:13 +35
2. Mt. Olive Utd 15 35 11-2-2 40:16 +24
3. Haledon 16 34 11-4-1 56:34 +22
4. AC Rosso 14 30 9-2-3 44:22 +22
5. Nutley Krank 15 22 7-7-1 37:28 +9
6. Livingston United 14 15 4-7-3 27:41 -14
7. Denville Derby 14 13 3-7-4 36:47 -11
8. Paramus 12 9 2-7-3 27:46 -19
9. AC Montgomery 14 5 0-9-5 23:51 -28
10. SFC 1933 14 4 1-13-1 15:54 -39
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