Match Day Six

New Trafford

An unpleasant Tuesday evening’s weather greeted Mat and Daniele when they met in the CBD, to make the venture to the New Trafford complex. The evening started with Daniele’s back complaints which found Mathew thinking to himself that he may be able to possibly skank a point from their match up. Would this be the case, or would a rejuvenated Napoli line-up, fresh from the 1980’s via the 2015 Subbuteo World Cup (Maradona equipped with ‘fro) play through injury and prove to be the favourites they were entering into the match.

Play got underway, minus David in the early stages, so Mat and Daniele had to play fair for the first half until David had arrived. Daniele soon showed dominance, with some classy build up play and Mat struggling to get any real possession. Only some last ditch defensive flicks from Mat, coupled with some nice saves kept the score at 1-0 at half time. Daniele’s goal came from some sustained pressure, and scoring with about 5 minutes left in the half. David then arrived at half time, and the game could resume with referee as per the norm. The 2nd half was a much more even encounter, with both players having some decent chances. The score was maintained until the end, with Mat putting a late equalising chance wide of the mark. Daniele 1-0.

Match 2 saw David take on Mat in what was the first match-up between Manchester UTD and Newton Heath at Old Trafford. This proved to be a good match-up, Mat trying a new formation, and David finding his best form of the competition. Mat jumped out to an easy lead and continued to pile forward. Some impressive pressing and marking flicks from David prevented Mat from getting any more clear cut chances on goal, creating some easy work for David goal keeper. As Mat continued bringing players forward, a mistake saw David quickly sweep up-field. And with his first shot of the match score an equaliser in the bottom corner. A good reward for some great defensive play. They went into the break at 1-1. The 2nd half saw more of the same, with Mat creating many chances to shoot poorly and wide. Eventually he got a late goal to take out the match 2-1.

Match 3 had David and Daniele facing off in the final match of the evening. Daniele soon got to a 1-0 lead. Again Daniele continued to pile forward. This match he couldn’t seem to get the ball off the felt when shooting. David made 3 impressive “Phantom” saves without even getting his hand on his keeper. The score line was maintained until the break. The 2nd half saw Daniele continue the pressure and score 2 more to take out the match 3-0.

(report by Mat Barrie)

Mat 0 – Daniele 1
David 1 – Mat 2
Daniele 3 – Dave 0

for full results and table click here