Match Report:

Les HAN RIVER HARRIERS 1 ?3 UK EXPATS

Sunday, November 21-, 2004

 A passionate U.K. Expats team raised their game and beat the Harriers 3-1. While Jackson Koffi worked his usual magic, scoring two first half goals, the rest of the Expats smothered the Harriers in a superb display of defensive football. Rarely did a Harrier touch the ball without being pounced on. Passes made under pressure were fluffed and plays were broken up.

 And then there were the miscommunications and mistakes on the part of the Harriers, especially at the back. One goal was the result of a misunderstanding on a pass-back, another came about after one Harrier defender on the wing made an ill-advised pass to his partner on the inside. Expat forwards appeared on the scene which forced a second bad pass, this time towards the Harriers?own net.?Jackson promptly intercepted and you can guess the rest. In retrospect it probably would have been better to have man-marked Jackson as we did in our last contest.

 At 2-nil down the Harriers finally started to wake from their stupor and play with some intensity. In a virtuoso performance, Jean Blaise flicked the ball up over an Expat defender. As the defender pivoted to follow the ball, JB used his superior leg reach to flick the ball back over the defender once again. Before the ball hit the ground on its way back down JB side volleyed it into the back of the net.

 JB’s goal triggered an onslaught of shots by the Harrier midfielders, especially Didi and Karl, but nothing went in. That was partly because of Jinhan’s acrobatics between the posts and partly due to the Klingon cloaking device the Expats erected around their net.

 Even as the final minutes of the game were ticking down the Harriers still held out hope they could salvage something from the game, but once So Ji Woo put one away after a scramble in front of the Harriers?net it was all over but the crying.

 Hats of to Christopher, the referee, who knew a good acting job when he saw one (on both sides of the field).

 Despite a dismal overall performance there were some shining lights on the Harrier team. Jean Blaise, Andy, Gregoire, Sylvain and especially Didi were commendable. The few passing plays the Harriers managed to string together were thanks to Didi’s faultless passing and tireless off-the-ball movement (making him available when others found themselves in a tight corner).

 The bad guys had many standout performances. Obviously Jackson comes to mind although for some strange reason he stopped running in the second half. Jinhan in nets made some brave saves and Darren had a very good game especially considering he was out with me till the wee hours of the morning. Must be something in the Rameon he enjoys so much. Jason always puts in a solid performance and his midfielders played well together instead of always attempting to dribble as they did the last time we went up against them. The Expats?win was well deserved and hopefully puts them comfortably out of the relegation zone.

Man of the Match: Didier Balistaire

 Goal: Jean Blaise

 Play of the Game: Jean Blaise’s juggling skills and goal