Going to the wire

The pitch at the Palace was all for the players but it was not a great one: other than bigger and bigger holes shaping up as capsized volcano, duly signalled with spare bibs, there was not much grass left and very little of a green colour.

This, the heat and the dust did not deter the players from producing another thrilling, non stop game going to the wire. No one on the stands would have doubted it and once again the effort to get to the pitch from their fully a/c dwellings was fully rewarded.

On the face of it the Orange with one man less were in for a tough game. But appearances can be deceptive.

The game was graced by the presence of two Rookies brought by Julian: Bastian from Germany and Mike from US (see top photo). It did not take long for them to leave their mark on the game. The Orange, though supremely skilled at individual level, didn’t not let their ego to get in the way of a disciplined, highly efficient game: the ball would invariably and naturally go to the player in the position to make the most of it. Non surprisingly few of the goals took the shape of tap ins by the relevant striker finding himself free in front of Alessandro’s goal through a web of passes cutting out Colours’ defence.

Hannes playing often rush keeper was masterminding the whole operation dictating the play from behind but also making himself available for incursion in enemy’s territory causing damages at will. Julian today could have taken up any team on his own as he both score loads and was the engine of the team playing deadly one-twos with the ever reliable Khaled and ever present Adam. In such a well oiled machine the German rookie Bastian thrived justifying yet again the CLUB policy to pay up for outstanding players.

Having said all that, you should not infer that this was a walk in the park for the Orange, especially after Adam switched side. Johannes had managed single handed to keep his team in the game and the gap was shrinking as the game approached the end.

Smelling the addictive flavour of the golden goal the Colours scored four in a row to reach 9-9. The golden goal could have not be more fitting: Julian received a low ball at the edge of the box and took everyone by surprise hitting it one touch, curling in a strong shout hitting the inside of the post which went flying. There was nothing to do about it other than joining the standing ovation. For Julian a bit of luck after three flat tyres in two weeks for his bike.

Giancarlo managed to be back to the score list with a brace: a right footed lob from midfield and a left volley inside the box. Recently he attracted some criticism as his game has become more defensive, perhaps lacking the pace of the past attacking midfielder fans would marvel at. As the only over-60 militant player he can at least let the feet do the talking.

The Man of the Match award was a 50/50 call between Julian and Johannes until the golden goal went dramatically Julian’s way.

I’m now mostly away until mid September. It would be nice if in Francesco and mine absence the commentary and photos continue to appear.

ORANGE-COLOUR 10-9

GOALS
ORANGE: Julian (4), Khaled (2), Bastian (2), Hossam
COLOUR: Johannes (4), Giancarlo (2), Mike (2), Adam

TEAMS
ORANGE: Hossam, Bastian, Julian, Khaled, Adam
COLOUR: Alessandro, Giancarlo, Mike Thierry, Johannes, Thomas.