DEA Bedford Over 30

Seacoast FC rudely welcomed DEA to Division 1 by spanking them, 4-1, today. On the plus side, DEA handed Seacoast three goals off mistakes, but the downside is they were generally outplayed for much of the match. The pitch at Phillips-Exeter Academy was in extremely poor shape. Squishy, muddy, and not level, DEA had hoped for more quality fields now that they have finally made it to top-level football. However, the pitch made for some schoolyard play at times and directly resulted in three of the goals. No excuses, as both sides had to play on it and had to deal with the same set of circumstances. Seacoast started out dominating possession. DEA were caught in a mix of trying to spring forwards Willie Davis and Gary DuPlessis over the top, and also of trying to play to feet. The play was slow...so slow Dale Dubois even commented "It's like running in beach sand out there". Midway through the first half, Seacoast striker Brett Scaccia was sprung free on a through ball. DEA Keeper Chris Cloutier closed the angle, and stopped the initial stop. However, the ball laid at his feet and in the scrum to locate it Scaccia again broke free. With only Chris Florek behind the ball, Scaccia mis-hit his shot. Flo had a chance to clear it, but a poorly replaced field divot resulted in strange bounce and it trickled by Flo's foot. Five minutes later, another mistake in marking left Seacoast open for a cross from the right side. As Jon Cloutier stepped toward the cross to head clear, brother Chris attempted to take over with a late call. The muddy, slippery pitch prevented Jon from clearing out of the way, and the two collided and watched the ball slip in between the two. No excuse for that performance...the two of them have been in the same backfield together for about thirty years. Scaccia was alone at the back post and tapped into the empty goal. Two-nil, and both goals were trash. At this point, DEA had to buckle down to keep their composure. They didn't want to get blown out, but their offense had been lacking. The finally got their first chance when Willie Davis and Chris Laberge linked up to create some open space. After a scramble in front, the ball bounced around and DuPlessis looked to finally break the pane. However, the ball was cleared off the line and out of danger. Scaccia had one more good look at goal as the half was winding down, but Cloutier did well by diving to his right to push the shot aside. Another great opportunity was headed out by a diving Rob Cissel under intense pressure to keep the score respectable. DEA could take comfort knowing they were only down by two and had played about as worse as they could. Ten minutes into the second half, however, Seacoast effectively ended any hopes of a DEA comeback with a nifty goal. After Seacoast winger Mark Griffin tracked down a cross on the left side, he slowed the play and laid a pass back to Javier Corredor 22 yards out. Javier was heard to say "Eight inches under the crossbar, kiss the far post on the way in". Well, that's exactly where his scorching drive went, leaving Cloutier to only watch and admire. DEA finally began to play to feet at this point, and the trio of Laberge, Davis, and DuPlessis created some great passing. Their shots were left wanting, and DEA continued to be stymied. In the 68th minute, DEA pushed everyone up off a corner to exert some pressure in the box. The clearance found Scaccia, and sprung Griffin at the midfield stripe. Cloutier, 45 yards from goal, hesitated while trying to get a read on the outlet pass. The ball didn't have enough pace to it, and he could only watch as Griffin launched a shot from the bottom of the midfield arc and it settled softly into the unguarded goal. DEA was down, 4-0, and had nobody to blame but themselves for three of them. Willie Davis finally restored some measure of respectability for the squad when his smartly taken restart from 19 yards was perfectly placed. After Laberge stepped over the shot, the wall shifted and Davis had the whole right side. His bender went around the wall, away from the keeper, and in. That would close out the scoring. Highlights for DEA were the welcome of Dan Martin into the fold. A member of the DEA Indoor squad for a few years know, Martin played like a player deserving of the hefty transfer fee he demanded in the offseason. Dale played a solid match on the left flank, and Davis was energetic in the upper third...creating the most opportunities. DEA knows that in this Division, mistakes will cost you. There is no margin for error as in the lower divisions. They know that they cannot play any worse, but they also know that when they did finally get clicking in the second half, they proved they can hold their own. But, a loss is a loss and the -3 goal differential will be tough to make up. In other action, Stoneham nudged Ipswich 4-3. Hollis and Pepperell levelled at 4-4. DEA will be requesting to reschedule this Sunday's Easter Clash with Stoneham. Look for updates as them become available. If there is no match on Easter Sunday, DEA will play at rival Hollis the following Sunday morning.