Match Review: German-Swiss All Stars vs Hotspurs FC

• DF Takahiro Kawabata
• MD Quirin Regensburger
• -- Jonas Hess
• -- Matthias Lezsak
• -- Jordan Fitzharris
• -- Juergen Stich
• -- Jeff Janivel
• -- Maik Schaefer
• -- Bastian Wolff
• -- Jan Wiechmann
• -- Teo Premto

• DF Jens Martin
• -- Stephan Lutz
• -- Dennis Mecklenburg
• -- Michael Klemm

Only a draw.....

it was a humid and cloudy yet warm Saturday early afternoon and we were facing Hotspurs with a strong will to win and to keep us on track to stay up high in the league table by securing three points. Some players returned from their travels and injuries so we've been able to get a decent squad on the pitch, despite having a field player as a goalie. The game was on and GAS had more ball possession in the first 25 to 30 minutes by creating some chances and put some pressure on the Hotspurs defence, but without anything to put on the scoreshield. Hotspurs kept fighting and used their physical fitness as well to create some attacks in the mid of the first half. Especially with some long throw ins on the height of our box which led to the lucky first goal for Hotspurs. Lucky in the sense that they haven't had so much possession and forced danger prior to that on our goal. Being pushed by that they had another nice attack over the right side but the finishing just hit the inner post and could be cleared to corner. GAS tried to get back to the match and we did by having some further dangerous attacks of which on cross led the defender of the Hotspurs to deflate the ball into the own goal. Half time score 1:1. We agreed to get more consequent into the challenges and putting our physical ability to 100% in the second half. Some changes had been made and Quirin shifted to create danger over the left wing and Micha Klemm up front to create further danger. The absolute will of the team resulted in a Goal just minutes after Kick-off. Quirin nicely cutted through some Hotspurs players from the left wing and hammered the ball in the short corner. Score 2:1. At that state, a result which reflects the run of play so far. GAS pushed further and the game was getting more physical were each and every challenge in midfield was crucial. We have been able to keep more possession and to create more chances. There have been 4 very good chances which would have been needed to be further goals for the Germans. Quirin and Micha both had been stopped in last second by either the keeper or defenders of the spurs. Both teams kept going on and the challenges became rougher. On of those challenges resulted in two players being sent off after their foreheads touching and "kissing" in an argument after one of those tackles. Referee decided to send off both. Mid of Second half - each team got their central midfielders removed - the score at 2:1 - it started to be an open game with danger on both sides. The germans had some clearer chances but again no further result. At that stage we've missed to 'close the bag' and as the football god never sleeps we've been punished by a long ball going through and clinically turned into a 2:2. Only few minutes left wasn't enough on either side to score a winning goal. As a conclusion it feels for us more as a loss of two points then a gain of 1 point. Next match facing Gaelic Lions we try to give more on the pitch and finish our chances accurately.Only

• Igor Stojanac DF
• Barry McVeigh DF
• Charlie Moss DF
• Tom Hine DF
• Lionel Kong MD
• Martin Lawrence MD
• Nick Kouvaritakis ST
• Thomas Greene ST
• Matthew Shoult --
• Adam McCarthy --
• Jack Munday --

• James Keane DF
• Fu Cheng Wei ST
• Richard Lenton --
• Guy Turton --
• Matt Young --

King Fu rescues a point for Hotspurs

Red cards, yellow cards, fisticuffs, an own goal, a last-minute equaliser, water breaks (oh no, wait)...this game certainly had all the drama...if not quite as much of the quality! Sitting pretty towards the top of the League, an in-form German side faced off against a Hotspurs team whose more lowly league position certainly doesn't reflect their recent form. This was BHFC's third (well actually 'second and a half') game in seven days, and despite the warm-up (which thanks to Charlie's fitbit, we now know burns approximately 103 calories per player), it didn't take long for the injuries to start cropping up- talismen Lawro and Jack, who were both looking very solid in the middle of the park, limping off in fairly quick succession. The first half was a tight affair in general- Hotspurs pressing well and creating opportunities, while the Germans prodded and probed looking for openings of their own. To the delight of the sellout crowd of Hotspurs supporters (we had at least 3 WAGs and 1 dog for this game), it was Macca who broke the deadlock, heading in from close range off the crossbar following (yes, you guessed it) a Lionel Kong javelin-esque throw-in. Hotspurs were 1-0 up and looking strong- defending fairly solidly against German set-pieces, and knocking the ball around much better than in their midweek cup loss to the Gaelic Lions. It was a bit of bad luck which followed next though, as a dangerous German cross from the right into the Hotspurs box left centre-half Barry with no choice but to head the ball in any way possible, unfortunately finding the back of his own net in the process. A tough break, but Barry will take solace in the fact that he'll be going up for attacking corners from now on. Hotspurs were unlucky again not to regain their lead just before half time as the dangerous Macca hit the post with a low first-time shot, but ultimately the sides went into the break level at 1-a-piece...and the players were finally all allowed to have a drink of water. The Germans started the second-half at top speed, catching the re-hydrated Hotspurs off-guard almost immediately- the left winger cutting in on his right foot and slotting a well-placed shot into the bottom corner of the net from the edge of the area. To say that Hotspurs responded well to going a goal down probably isn't the best choice of words...but they certainly managed to hang in there against a re-motivated German side- some good goalkeeping, scramble-defending and general hard work across the park keeping the deficit to just one goal. The game opened up as players on both sides began to tire, and with that also followed some pretty 'clumsy' challenges- Matt Young feeling the full force of a particularly bad one in the middle of the park. Normally calmness personified, Young (understandably frustrated by the tackle, and of course the lack of yet another water break) was pretty keen on this occasion to let his opponent know what he thought of him. The ref decided that the resulting 'scuffle' deserved no less than a straight red for both players- no more than handbags. Another bust-up shortly afterwards, this time between the German striker and Keano, could certainly have seen another German red card, but the officials decided that a yellow would suffice. It was Hotspurs who had the last laugh however, and in what was a frantic finish to the game, Fu latched onto a long ball into the box, rounded the keeper and slotted the ball into the empty net from close range. 2-2 the final score, and despite the injuries and suspension, Hotspurs will be pleased with the point- making it 4 games undefeated in the process. The week in numbers... 177 - Charlie's heart-rate immediately after the warm-up 79 - The number of times Hotspurs players called for a water break during the match...it never came 2 - The number of players we now have in the top 5 in the assists chart (Lionel & Nick K) #selfless 5 - The number of places Hotspurs have dropped in the 'Fair Play' table since last week #wellard 2 - The number of games Matt misses because of his red card 2 - The number of games Matt would have missed anyway because he's not here for 2 weeks #timing