Og shpwed two faces during this game. An amazing first 20min where we created many chances and converted 2. Then we put Latini back on track with a poor alignment allowing fede to tale 1 goal back before he equalized within a few minutes. We managed to take the lead again thks to a great solo run from kike. But latini leveled up before ht. 3-3. Second half was even but they scored the 4th goal first from a completly imaginary corner. We then pushed allowing Latini to create many chances in the break which they converted to seal the game 6-3.
Olympic Gaulois and 1 Tanah Merah met again in the cup on Friday night. The last clash between these two teams was still very fresh in the memory of 1TM after being thrashed 8-2 just a couple of weeks ago. With injuries, key players away and last minute drop outs, we welcomed Woody Wildebeest, Phil Bradshaw and Miguel to ensure we had a competitive squad for this fixture. Some early contenders for DOD started even before kick off! Leo went to the wrong ground and POB turned up 20 minutes late after telling everyone to be on time. Fortunately, when Baker makes the squad there is always hope. In recent weeks, 1TM could always be proud of their starts to matches. We always looked to play with intensity and get the ball down and play. In the opening exchanges, we were simply not at the races and a lack of quality on and off the ball saw us deservedly punished for several sloppy passages of play. OG, with Kike, were always dangerous in and around the box and one assist and one goal from the OG No.10 saw 1TM facing the prospect of another difficult night against the French. 1TM played with great character from that point on and started winning 50-50s again. After some decent work in the middle, the ball was passed back to centre half, Mallet, who delivered an inch perfect cross field delivery over the opposite CB and into the path of Flat White, who finished well. It wasn’t long before 1TM were on equal terms after great skill from Duplo out wide saw him beat his man, drive into the box and deliver a low cross that our Italian Stallion, Fede, finished first time. 1TM posed the bigger attacking threat as the half went on and our fan(s) on the sidelines thought it would only be a matter of time before a 3rd would be scored in our favour. With Kike on the pitch, there is always a goal threat. On the half hour mark, a high ball was played out wide in which he did well to control, dodged a couple of tackles and then hit a shot across POB which clipped the underside of the bar and into the net. 3-2 down and our heads could have followed but within minutes we had won back a penalty. Fede stepped up to score his second, but the ball cannoned off the post and out for the goal kick. Undeterred, 1TM continued to fight and on 44 minutes Leo created space out wide and found WW who then delivered onto Flat White’s head who rose well at the back post for his second of the night. HT 3-3. Despite a rallying and controversial half-time chat, 1TM didn’t learn from the lessons at the start of the first half and took a while to compose themselves. OG had a couple of chances and POB was able to turn each one away. On 55 minutes, after some tactical reshuffling, 1TM managed to win a corner and a great delivery from magic man, Raver, and bullet header by Mallet saw 1TM take the lead for the first time in the night. OG continued to press and 1TM’s solid defence and Gibbo, making his first start, made a couple of excellent interceptions to protect our lead. On 62 minutes, Duplo found himself 1 on 1 with the OG keeper and finished well to give us some breathing room and get a goal his performance deserved. With OG continuing to push forward, space was opening up at the back and Leo found himself 1 on 1 with the keeper to grab a 6th and a hard fought victory. Thanks to OG for the competitive match. It’s always a tough, but entertaining fixture. Credit to the referee and officials for keeping it fair. Already looking forward to the next game. Huge thanks to the traveling support of JR, who looked like he was wearing less tape on his legs this week so surely will be back playing soon. MOM Flat White for being a menace all game and finishing 2 well taken goals MOM OG - Kike for being Kike DOD - Baker for losing a ball and reminding us all that we are sh** amateurs at half time