Match Day Five
Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Adrian Elmer 1 – Steve Diasinos 0

A tense game to get things underway for the evening. Adrian started better than he often does and controlled much of the first half. Some delicate build up play led to a chance midway through the half and the shot, which Steve thought was being powered into the far corner, actually found its way meekly into the near side of the goal to put Adrian ahead. In the second half, the play shifted completely, this time Steve controlling things much more. A few reasonable chances fell his way and he finished the game with more shots on goal, but couldn’t find a way past Adrian’s ‘keeper, while Adrian still kept Steve honest with his counter-attacks. In the end, the early goal was enough to get Adrian over the line.

Raffaele Lombardi 2 – Paul Magee 3

A cracking game that had a bit of everything. Paul was trying out new figures tonight and, within the opening couple of minutes, found himself a goal behind when some innocuous passing in his own goal area saw him place the ball gently into his own goal without any pressure on him. This seemed to fire him up and he began to carve some holes through Raffaele’s defense. He then went on a bit of a scoring spree – the first was a low rocket that somehow found it’s way through the back of the net. The second saw Paul risk the odds – with a defender directly between the ball and the goal, he smashed his shot into the defender from close range. The ball looped wickedly through the air, so high Raffaele lost sight of it in the lights, before dropping delicately into the far side of the goal. A third goal before half time meant that Paul had scored all 4 for the half. As with the first game, however, the tide turned in the second half. Raffaele came out and attacked from the kick-off, committing more players forward. His touch was delicate and he fired a number of shots on goal, only some good goalkeeping maintaining the scoreline. One particular long distance pass was pinpoint accurate through Paul’s solid defense, giving him a shot on goal that was somehow connoned away by the ‘keeper for a corner. His good work

eventually did pay off, however, and another slick passing move put him through on goal. He made no mistake meaning the closing 5 minutes were very tense. At one stage, Raffaele’s travelling ‘keeper was stranded, Paul got into the goal area and shot with his 4th possession flick. The ball hit the upright and stopped on the line. The only figure with a clear view of the shot was on his defensive line. He was launched upfield at the ball, missing by millimetres, the figure finishing in the back of the net while the ball remained tantalisingly on the goal line with Raffaele regaining possession. Paul did manage to hold on though, as Raffaele continued to push for an equaliser, meaning Paul picked up a vital 3 points in his final game of the tournament.

Paul now holds the outright lead on the table, though everyone else has games in hand to try and catch him. Adrian has a tough run in while Eliot and Steve Dettre will make up their games over the next couple of weeks. Rob is missing in action again though has had his clash with Steve Diasinos reinstated so can try to make a late run. Steve has made a habit of losing by one goal margins so will be looking to improve over the next few weeks. Raffaele is growing in confidence and has a good chance to pick up points in his remaining matches while Gordy is back in action next week, looking to add to his solitary point.