The Byki Red team finally got into the win column after two losses to start the season. Josh Taylor scored early and late, as the Byki outlasted a persistent and pesky Das Magic side to win 2:0 at Winnebago on May 18. The Byki played a solid game back to front, and coach Joe Gambino was quite pleased to see his squad put together 90 minutes of consistent football.

The newly promoted Magic didn’t impress the Byki, at least based on appearances. It was clearly an older group that had played together for a long time, judging by several bellies that bulged over waistlines. One look at their rag-tag uniforms left an indication that the Magic were more vagabonds than a soccer team. But the Byki Blue Team fell into the same trap when the sides met a few weeks ago, and the Magic came away 3:2 winners. With seven points from their four matches, this group seems to know what they’re doing on the field, despite the way they present themselves.

The Byki took the early advantage and maintained ball possession in a thorough fashion. They were rewarded for their effort in the 22nd minute when Russ Haynes came hard on the left wing. He spotted Taylor open in the middle and sent a diagonal pass back to him. Taylor expertly measured a volley and crushed a shot with the outside of his foot past the stunned goalkeeper.

The Byki might have expected that sustained pressure would cause the Magic to fold their tents by halftime. But the Byki were surprised to see the visitors display a stiff level of resiliency. The Byki were certainly the better side, yet a one-goal margin at the break is just one unlucky bounce away from disaster.

Gambino made sure that his troops kept a level head in the second half. It took a while to get the traffic flowing almost exclusively towards the Magic goal, but the Byki stepped on the accelerator once they got the chance.

In the 63rd minute, the Byki patiently worked the ball left and right, probing for an opening. Gabi Dziekiewicz dribbled into the corner on the left side and skipped along the end line, finding Haynes with a subtle pass. Haynes feinted past his defender and fired a shot that flew narrowly over the crossbar.

Six minutes later, the Magic goalkeeper raced out of his box to clear out a loose ball. His awkward clearance went straight up into the air and landed at the feet of Luis Arredondo. The midfielder quickly sized up his advantage and blasted a volley at the open net from 30 yards. The keeper heaved a sigh of releief as he watched the ball barely miss the post.

In the 80th minute, the Byki had the Magic scrambling. Haynes worked a deft give-and-go with Abrahan Ruiz, freeing Ruiz to take a clear path to the goal. The keeper came out strongly and Ruiz flicked the ball past him into open space. In a move of desperation, the goalie grabbed Ruiz by the leg to drag him down, resulting in a yellow card. Arredondo stepped to take the free kick and sent a curling shot just wide of the far post.

The craziness continued unabated. Three minutes later, the Byki came on the counter. Haynes made a forceful dribbling run into the area and fired a shot at the keeper. The rebound came out to Ruiz, whose attempt from close range was blocked by the goalie. The Magic cleared the ball wide, where Jeff Samp tracked it down and lofted a cross to the far post, for the unmarked Taylor, who smashed the ball home on the doorstep of the goal.

The Byki displayed teamwork and poise, key ingredients to getting the team on the right track.

BYKI LINEUP
(4-4-2): Talpes, N. – Black, Mansur, P Jr, Daniel, Casey (c) – Bouzoukis, Taylor, Samp, Arredondo – Haynes, Ruiz. Bench: Diziekiewicz, Frischmann, Rose.

BYKI SCORING SUMMARY
Taylor 2 (Haynes); 22nd; 1:0. Taylor 3 (Samp); 83rd; 2:0.