(From our correspondent Michel de la Vallée-noire) Caltech, Pasadena. In a game that left a bitter taste in the mouth of many fans, PRN lost 1-2 yesterday to Latino team Sport Boys. Unlike PRN, the Sport Boys are only semi-pros -- many of them have jobs as gardeners or maintenance people -- but they demonstrated a good physical shape, and an effective command of soccer's fundamentals. Sadly, the same cannot be said about their conversance with the rules of good sportsmanship. Throughout the game they tried playing mean little tricks (like diving in PRN's penalty area), manhandled PRN's midfielders, and constantly harassed the referee as if they were playing a Copa America game, not a GSC one.

This said, the Sport Boys probably deserved to win this game, since from the beginning they exerted a relentless pressure on PRN's defenses. PRN's major shortcoming was in their unability to keep the ball in the opponents' half, contenting themselves with Peter's and Wei's episodic forays, so that PRN fullbacks were given no respite and finished the game somewhat in debt of oxygen and lucidity. And yet, in one of soccer's many twists and turns, it was PRN that scored first with a fast and effective action by Peter.

The Latino reaction was rabid, but disorderly, so that Marc and his fullbacks could initially defuse the attacks. The only way the Sport Boys could succeed was to turn the game into a nasty war of nerves, one that PRN (renowned as a "nice" team) eventually could not win. The Sport Boys scored a first, legimate goal on a nice action that left PRN's defense helpless. Their second goal, though, was marred by a blatant infraction of "hands": the referee overlooked it, but PRN nevertheless foolishly stopped in their tracks, and goalie Bill was surprised out of position by a high-arcing ball.

What can we say? We do praise PRN's sportmanship and good-will, and other mitigating circumstances might be found for this defeat (such as the absence of best-scorers Eichi and Yuri); we must however fault Netters with a serious lack of character in yielding to a meaner, but not provably stronger, team. This is something PRN should really think about.

Webmaster: Michele Vallisneri