Match #5 vs Capital United II (8-1)
Brought to you by:
O'Hanlon's... "A place you can go to get Guinness in the bottle as well as the pint. Though you shouldn't get excited by the little Irishman behind the bar... he's not a Leprechaun."
Trifon's... "A place you can go to eat horrible food, find one beer on tap, and have your girlfriend harrassed by an old, greasy man, with no concept of loyalty to a guy who offered his help when the 'greaser' needed it. Oh wait, we were never actually sponsored by Trifon's because the guy was too cheap and stalled on giving us anything out of the deal... no wonder we only went there twice."
Well, there were still manner questions surrounding the capabilities of this Fianna team as they took to the field against a Capital United team that was currently in second place after winning their two opening games. The Fianna "dancing leprechauns" were coming off a heartening win against Austria the week before, but this competition would prove to be of a tougher metal than that which was offered against Austria. Would the "green and white" prove their courage? Would they live up to their billing as the "sassy clovers"? Would the weather finally allow a game to be played? The answer to all these was a hardy "YES"... although it took a scare and some warming up and some passing and some yelling and some blood, sweat and tears... not to give away the outcome or anything.
The two teams started the match with an old fashioned midfield battle for supremacy. The Fianna "boyz" were experiencing the better of the possession and had two early chances from Filipe Dos Santos go wide. Their spirits were up for it, their finishing was not. They were made to pay for it with what was only the second shot on net by United. United midfielder Shaun Normand took the ball just inside his own half and played a one-two with Hossein Alaghbanid and send a strike over Ash Noureldin into the top corner. Fianna - 0 United - 1... and Fianna were shell-shocked against the run of play!
The Fianna midfield used this setback as an emotion builder and began to work, shutting down the United play and rotating the ball around the field. However, there were no real opportunities to even the score, with David Parker getting a couple of half chances off of Dominique Powers' throw-ins. Then Anders Alm was injured in an incidental collision with United captain Michael Bauer's knee to the Fianna man's face. Anders had to go off with blood streaming down his face and Steven Tramer came in. This caused Fianna coach George Lucas to make a couple tactical changes in bringing on Steven Tramer to go on the left and moving Daryl Massier into the middle to take over for Anders. The result was brilliant as the Fianna midfield, led by Daryl Massier, Filipe Dos Santos and Adam Froh were allowed to dominate proceedings. The equalizer was only a matter of time in coming, and it was Froh who was the supplier with a defence-splitting pass to Jaime Valero, for the "dancing Columbian" from the Cali area, to slot home his fourth in two games! Fianna - 1 United - 1... and you could feel the tension release itself as Fianna was looking the stronger team. There were a couple more opportunities in the first half as Filipe Dos Santos, not once but instead twice, was through on breakaways, only to go around the United 'Keeper and miss open net chances! Then Fabio Fiorito missed a sitter inside ten yards. At halftime it was Fianna -1 United - 1.
The second half had Anders Alm come on for Daryl Massier, being cat-called by his teammates nicknaming him "Ellie" in derogative reference to the elephantile nose that he sported as he ran onto the field. Within the opening 5 minutes of the half, Alm was fouled on the right and the resulting cross from the freekick was floated into the box for Jaime Valero to volley magnificently into the United net! Fianna - 2 United - 1. Then the floodgates opened and there was four goals in quick succession, as David Parker was sent through on a pass from Fabio Fiorito, and Filipe Dos Santos made a run that saw an Alm ball over the top find him on a break away to make it Fianna - 4 United 1! Then Jaime was played through by a Massier ball over the top and the resulting breakaway and goal made it Fianna - 5 United - 1. Then Dos Santos weighed in with two goals, one on a sweet volley from a Parker/Fiorito string of passes, and the other from a United mistake to gift a hat-trick to the man from Portugal! Then to cap it off, Valero was played through to goal by a Powers' pass to cap off a fine performance for Fianna! There could have been more, with Kevin Walde and Anders Alm both wasting easy chances. In the case of Anders Alm, the breakaway opportunity should have been squared across goal for either Alfie Kiernan or Dominique Powers to finish... a selfish moment that should have given one of his teammates a goal! The end result made it Fianna - 8 United - 1.
his powerful offensive display made the result from the week before look justified as the Fianna team played some excellent football to erase memories of the terrible opening round defeat to Deportivo!
Where would we be without our 'keeper? Ash made a number of fantastic stops and the one diving save to deny the top corner goal in the second half was of particular noteworthy praise. A solid performance, with help from his loving defence.
Particular pride should be placed in the defence, as Simon Kostic, Alfie Kiernan, Daniel Boudreau, Brian Leitch and David Scheurwater showed why this Fianna squad doesn't ship goals easily! Alfie and Daniel played solidly the entire game,
The midfield, made up of Dominique Powers, Steven Tramer, Adam Froh, Filipe Dos Santos, Fabio Fiorito, Daryl Massier and Anders Alm were able to play as a cohesive unit with many of the players being able to play different positions to cover for eachother! In addition, the fact that this midfield not only provides the goals for the forwards, but also scores a few themselves is a testament to the diversity of the skills this team possesses. Particular notes should be made for Filipe Dos Santos and Steven Tramer who have scored five goals between them in two games! We should not neglect the hard work that both Fabio Fiorito and Adam Froh commit to in the defensive aspect of the midfield, winning the ball back and setting up the goals for the attack. In particular, special mention should be made for the goalline saving header made by Adam Froh from the freekick in our box that was the result of the back pass by Alfie Kiernan which Ash Noureldin accidentally picked up (take a breather from that sentence).
Lastly (but certainly not least), the offensive power displayed by Jaime Valero and David Parker was great! These two have formed a great partnership over the last couple games and it showed as they were able to score five goals between them yesterday!
Result: Fianna - 8 Capital United II - 1
Man of the Match: Special mention this week goes to two players. A four goal display by Jaime Valero sees him get the honours for the second week in a row, while Filipe Dos Santos sees his name appear in this slot due to his hat-trick in the second half. For Jaime, the volleyed second goal is of the special variety that had a touch of Columbian flair. Jaime is heating up on the goal-quest and this should spell trouble to any opposition that Fianna should face. While Filipe's speed and his third goal off of the nice half volley from the Parker pass shows why the man from Portugal is a real asset for the Fianna squad.
Moment of the Match: Adam Froh's goal-line clearance off of the United freekick in the Fianna box. You could actually see their players melt into the grass after this.
Quote of the Match: "If you can breath evenly through both nostrils, than it's probably not broken." -George Lucas consolling "Ellie" after his panick attack on the sidelines thinking vainly of his looks and how a broken nose would fit into the picture.