In what was sure to be one of our toughest tests in the short two year history of our club, Barra Brava FC Premier took the field Saturday to take on the defending WISL Saturday 1^st Division Champion and defending Terrill Cup Champion, British Tigers FC.  For us, this game was a welcome challenge and a preview of what our top 1^st Division competition will be like come this Fall and we were all eager to take the pitch and measure our recent progress against the team widely considered to be the class of WISL’s 50+ teams.

The British Tigers have been a mainstay atop the WISL Saturday 1^st Division for a few years and this Spring, ran through their 1^st Division competition with an undefeated record of 8-0-1 and an impressive +32 goal differential.  It is well known among the Barra Brava circles that one of the goals of Barra Brava FC is to become the top men’s amateur team in the DC area and in order to reach that goal, clubs like the Tigers stand in our way.  The match against the Tigers, while not yet indicative of success in our lofty venture, at the very least would provide a valuable progress report.

So on Saturday, the British Tigers, the undisputed heavyweight Champions of WISL, found themselves taking the field against the also undefeated Champions of the Emerald Division, the Bhoys in Black, Barra Brava FC Premier, in a game whose result seemed to many non-believers to be a foregone conclusion.    Well, as many teams have already discovered, and the rest of the league will soon discover, Barra Brava FC Premier is for real.

In one of the most well-played and dominant halves of football to date, we absolutely took the Tigers by storm during the first period.  Our guys came out hungry and seemed to have something to prove.  It was hard to tell if the British Tigers were taken by surprise or just overlooked us, but I think it was pretty clear that they were not expecting to get run all over the field by a newly promoted side with barely two years of history.  From the start, Trevor Jacka, Brian Roche, David Rosenbaum, and Oscar Feliu all dominated the play around them.  David Brodian, Ryan Rose, John Henderson, and Troy Caruso were very strong in the back.  Just like last week, all the pieces were falling into place except that we couldn’t quite get that first goal to put us on top.

Then came the second half.  Oscar Feliu, bless his heart and his bruised ankles, took a beating all game.  Abundantly quicker than all comers, Oscar repeatedly put his first touch past embarrassed defenders who resorted to the tried and true tactic commonly known back in Her Majesty’s Kingdom as “kicking the crap out of the bloke.”  Oscar drew three cautions and probably 9 free kicks before he finally got the last laugh by feeding Fernando Sattori on a beautiful through ball and first time finish to bust open the game mid-way through the second half. Major kudos to Nano who delivered a beautiful and unstoppable finish after being away from the team for weeks!

We lost Sergio Soria, whose hammy clearly didn’t get the memo that this was an important game, and then Jacka went down to an ankle injury after he found himself on the wrong end of a 50-50 challenge.  With no subs, the heat beating down on our guys, and British tempers and accents running equally high, it was a tense and hard-fought struggle to the end as we did everything in our power to defend the precious lead for the final 20 minutes of the game.  Scottish Barra goalkeeper Stephen Elliot, with no love lost for the English, had a superb game and made a few fantastic saves and smart plays to keep us ahead.  Every man on the field was not only battling the opposition but also his own body as they were asked to dig deep and go a full 90 minutes, in sweltering heat, and through the pain all the while remaining free of error.  I know some guys needed a sub and some needed water but they had to stay out there and fight which made the 1-0 win all the sweeter when the final whistle sounded.

I think this game, while just one game, meant a lot to the boys as the result was a satisfying moment validating all the hard work we have put in this year.  It is proof that the club is pointed in the right direction.  Winning, while always good, seems sweeter when it comes at the expense of abundantly worthy opposition.  We now have stood toe-to-toe with the best and proven ourselves.  We have advance to the Semifinals past the favorite to win it all and yet we aren’t satisfied.  If the rest of the 1^st Division still doesn’t know who we are, they will soon find out!