Match Review: Singapore Vikings FC vs German-Swiss All Stars

• DF Henrik Synnes
• DF Peter Boe
• MD Casper Toennesen
• MD Tjalfe Paulsen
• MD Tomas Dubsky
• MD Thomas Domino Andersen
• -- Thomas Elbo Andersen
• -- Michael Dragsbaek
• -- Jonas Groenbech
• -- Mark Van Dalen
• -- Leslie Andersen

• DF Lasse Lund
• -- Gustav Jorck
• -- Mark James Raven
• -- John Gronbech
• -- Mark Crouch

Hard Fought Win!

What a super advert for the Cosmo league this game turned out to be and the 4-0 score line does not tell the true story of this fiercely contested fixture. Our German and Swiss counterparts played a full part in this intriguing game in the scorching afternoon heat down at Turf City. Many Vikings made their way to the game, beers in hand, and they did not go home disappointed I’m sure. The game got underway and for the first 15 min Vikings controlled the tempo of the play and held a considerable amount of possession despite not creating any clear cut chances. Our back four were completely at ease on the ball and they were backed up by Drags in goal who certainly displays an air of confidence about his new found role in the team. The midfield welcomed back the Czech dynamo, Tomas, after what has to be the longest honeymoon break in the history of marriage. He was his usual tenacious self and broke up play and set the tone alongside the impressive ‘birthday boy Casper T’. Domino played in a more advanced role to support the returning LT14 and boy did he put on a show, his presence on the team is vast and the quality that he adds is so easy on the eye. Lots of good build up play was evident but with GSAS refusing to commit players forward the game was very much a cat and mouse affair. The water break arrived much to the satisfaction of all men involved and the talk during the interval was upbeat and focused on maintaining possession and not giving anything away. GSAS were obviously concerned about how much ball possession we had had and moved an extra man forward to make it more difficult for us to break from the back. Slowly, GSAS started to get a foothold in the game and the battle that resulted in the midfield was great to watch, full blooded challenges and moments of good passing skills resulting in the game swinging from end to end- without there being any defining scoring opportunities. That was to change as the first half drew to a close when Vikings created two well worked chances, the first when Leslie was put through down the right side but his shot on-the-run fell wide of the keepers post and the second became the talking point of the first half. Once again the lively Leslie went clear but was scythed down on the edge of the box by an unknown player, cries from the crowd were for a penalty but after much consultation between the officials the correct decision of a free kick was decided upon, what couldn’t be decided was who had committed the offense and so no card was shown – our opponents had got away with one! The resulting kick came to nothing and the half was soon over. The first half was a very even affair and there was nothing in it. Much of our half time talk was about heart and desire and staying in the game for as long as possible and knowing that we would win through in the end if we gave it everything. The next 20 min continued in the same fashion as the first with the excellent Bastian Keller and co going toe to toe with the men in red. A huge chance came our way just before the second water break when Leslie went through and rounded the keeper but his shot went wide from a tight angle. GSAS had a few tidy efforts during this period but again nothing concrete. As we entered the final 20 min a number of substitutions were necessary; our bench boasted over 200 years of experience and they were to all play their part in this humdinger of a game. Crouch replaced the excellent Boe, MVD was moved to the centre of defence, Lasse in at full back, John Wayne went up top, Young Gun Jonas went wide right and Domino reverted back to his centre mid position. Around the 70 min mark a corner won on our right saw Crouch knock in one of his pinpoint crosses and the towering Henrik threw himself at it and his perfect header bustled into the top corner, the stalemate was broken and so too was the spirit of our opponents. Tjalfe, who displayed amazing speed and effort all game long (was rightly judged MOM alongside Casper T) signalled to the bench that he was done and said he could only manage a couple more minutes. What a couple of minutes they turned out to be, as our final sub was being readied Tjalfe mustered up one last effort down the left and connected beautifully with a bouncing ball to hit a ‘worldy’ goal past the unfortunate keeper. Within the blink of an eye the game had gone from a tightly fought contest to a comfortable lead for our boys. Worse was to follow for GSAS when Crouch repeated his corner taking expertise from the opposite side with a cross that finally found its way to the feet of the resilient Leslie who finally and deservedly got his goal for the day. The icing on the cake was when Big John, our Vets top scorer, did what he does best and found a way through the frustrated GSAS defence and poked the ball into the net for our fourth goal of the game. Wild celebration from the side line and our supporters had wide grins on their reddened faces. The game came to an end and our quest for three points and a clean sheet had been achieved. Plaudits to the referee and his assistants who did really well in a tough game and a special thank you to GSAS who played a great game and who will find it difficult to believe that they lost by four goals, good luck for the rest of the season. For us we move on to another tough set of fixtures, they all are, with a growing confidence and belief that on our day we are a match for anybody!

• Quirin Regensburger MD
• Benny Sattelmaier MD
• Anthony Wilson ST
• Diyar Mailepessov ST
• Matthias Spitzmueller --
• Mark Leonhardt --
• Jan Wiechmann --
• Joe Giani --
• Mishel Knezovic --
• Bastian Wolff --
• Bastian Keller --

• Mauricio Roa ST
• Hassen Kared --
• Michael Klemm --

GAS running out of steam

Scorching heat at 3pm kick-off at Turf City. Perfect conditions for 90 minutes of intense football. We had to reshuffle the defensive line up with out back four Quirin, Spitzi, Benny and Marc - some of which playing defence for the first time. First 20 minutes started slow, Vikings having most of the ball with GAS deep in their half, standing compact. GAS started to get more into the game after the waterbreak and both teams created chances, but none of the teams managed to get through. In the beginning of the second half, GAS kept pushing forward. Basti K and Anthony came close. Vikings had their fair share of chances and Joe did well to keep us in the game. After 70 minutes, Vikings scored from a corner where their tall defender did well creating some space in the box. GAS moved up further and pushed for the equalizer. Vikings sat deeper in counter-attacking mode and were able to score another three as more space opened up in our defence. Overall, hard fought match and the scoreline is too harsh. GAS felt that the referee did not have his best day and was giving most decision to the opponent. Thanks to the Vikings for a competitive game and good luck for the rest of the season.