Match Review: Casuals FC vs Gaulois Sports Club

• DF David Phelps
• DF Frazer Young
• DF Lee Scurr
• DF Greg Ryan
• DF Mark Stead
• ST Andy Woodbridge
• -- Harry Blakey
• -- Patrick McMullen
• -- Jake Taylor
• -- Paul Cowie
• -- Lee Dae Hee

• MD Rich Simmonds
• -- Lee Burgess
• -- Dan Munns

Hard Work, Dedication – TMT

After 2 heavy defeats Casuals were looking to restart the season and make Casuals great again! The French are always difficult side to play against, Remi is always going to cause danger and we knew that we would need to show some restraint with some of the normal theatrics. Depleted squad with injuries, vacations and last min drop outs due to surprise visitors…that said a strong squad still and we were looking to get back to basics! The game started well enough with an emphasis on structure and shape – the lads up top were working hard to close stop any moves from starting, this made it a lot easier for the mid and backline. We were not terribly effective on the ball however we were limiting the French to pot shots and when did we attack we looked to penetrate the weak links at CB and LB as often as we could. Alas, it was the French that took the lead. To most it looked like 2 fouls first one Steady and 2nd most clearly on Pat which allowed the French a free shot on goal and whilst he sliced it it found its way past Harry 1-0 L Good reaction by the team which was great to see, kept composed and positive and the work rate carried on again with the 2 up top leading the charge. It was pressure form Dae Hee that caused the defender to lose control and DHL flicked it through to Pat who squeezed it with his left peg. DHL took a pretty bad challenge on the shin which could have seen punishment by the ref however a goal was enough and we were back in. Second half we wanted to be a little more positive and press slightly higher – the French had the majority of the ball but rarely threatened. Fraze wanted to keep it tight for the first 10min so we bowed to his strategic genius and off we went. Kick off and a big hoof aimlessly forward, fraze the strategic genius had it in his sights with no one around him….he then turned away from the ball and it hit him on the back of his round head and fell nicely to the winger who couldn’t get it under control and Fraze the strategic genius recovered to hoof it clear. With a ski trip to Japan the next day the strategic genius called for the physio sighting an injury after his hoof clearance. The rest of the game was pretty scrappy with only 2 chances of note. First one was with Jakey being played through and perhaps held on to it a little long allowing the defender to make a decent challenge in the box but then strangely produced a very silly challenge outside the box resulting in a FK which Cowie floated to nowhere similar to the first half effort. The best chance fell to the French with a back post cross, striker headed it across the face of the goal for an easy tap in but luckily for us there wasn’t a blue shirt in sight to tuck away what would have been the winner. DHL unfortunately looks to have torn his hamstring so we wish him a speedy recovery before he jets off to Pyongyang for Uni with his fav ‘LOL’ jumper. FT 1-1 Not the prettiest game of football, French edged possession however neither side created too many chances. Great to see the work rate back for the Casuals – when the whole team works hard like that it’s a lot easier to get results. MOM DHL – Jake and Pat were close but DHL took it after being booted all game. MOM France – Striker #10 some great touches

• Christophe Aprile GK
• Oussama Labib DF
• Nordine Talhi DF
• Francois Pannetier MD
• Antoine Lemarié --
• Remi Tache --
• Lionel Bastos --
• Samuel Heraud --
• Hugo Tauler --
• Mab Dousen --
• Iliass Tamime --

• Andy Dyne MD
• Tanguy Chandelle --
• Jean Luc De Lattre --
• Philippe Guerrand --

Good battle

Fair game on Friday night at UWC against a agressive but fair play Casual Team. We managed to open the score line but conceded a very avoidable goal just before half time. After that we battled hard and created 2 big chances but could not manage to score and wrap up the 3 points. Overall another good spirited performance from the Gaulois, a disappointing draw as we feel we had the clearest chances in the game and gave the goal away, but Casuals deserved a point for fighting hard. Good game from the ref. MOM Illias Alias for a great display for his first start with us, and a beautiful finish on the first goal. MOM Casuals: Their new young striker. Explosif.