No time for golden goal
Winter is knocking at our doors but the colours in the park still scream autumn at its best.
Brown and yellow leaves filled the Pond green pitch yesterday, creating a delightful polychromatic background for the match, while adding an extra layer of complexity to the already unpredictable turf.
Luckily, it’s in the FDs DNA to play with every condition, no matter what, accepting irregular ball bounces as a fact of life, and treating gigantic holes like respectable opponents to be avoided at all costs. It wasn’t unfortunately the case for Julien who felt on one of them twisting his ankle, after 90 minutes of furious play. In name of fair-play, both teams agreed it was time to end the hostilities without golden goal, allowing the Orange Team to get home with a well deserved 4-1 victory.
Blessed by an Adam as uncontainable as a neutron in the Large Hadron Collider, the Orange team was able to move the ball at an astonishing speed. Still they were able to score only when Giancarlo suddenly appeared and joined them, 25 minutes into the match.
Is there a correlation here? As he himself admitted, Giancarlo didn’t do anything special on the pitch, but it can be safely assumed that his presence was enough to give Oranges the confidence they needed. That’s the power of true legends.
Within few minutes after Giancarlo’s appearance, the Oranges scored twice, with Adam and Julien, in both cases exploiting a precise assist from the ever reliable Thomas, one of the unsung heroes of his generation.
The Colours’ attacking efforts had been frustrated by an impenetrable defense. Johannes, AndreaR, AndreaM and Diego were creating chances but were not being dangerous enough. Man-marked by Keith with the intensity of a young Gattuso, Francesco struggled to get past him and was unlucky in the rare occasions he find the space to shoot in goal.
Eventually though, the Colours’s efforts were rewarded with the 2-1 scored by Diego. Incidentally, Giancarlo had left the match minutes earlier ghosting his team, a circumstance that again raised questions about his subtle influence.
Suddenly, the Oranges’ defence didn’t look as impenetrable as before, and things seem to go even better for the Colours when Hannes suffered from a muscle tear. Certainly, with the Orange’s top defender unable to run the match would have gone the Colours’ side? Wrong. Swiftly, the Oranges adjusted to the situation by changing goalkeeper, putting Hannes in goal and moving Paride in defense. A tactical masterpiece. Not even Pep Guardiola would have been done better.
When Francesco hit the post, missing the chance to get even, the Oranges were quick to launch a counter-attack and score their third one (3-1). A decisive moment of the game, but there was still time.
The Colours knew they had to give it all to get back in the game and went ahead in full attacking mode.
Somehow scared, the Oranges tried another tactic, complaining that they were being confused by the colour of Andrea’s shirt. The young Italian was wearing a red Monaco shirt, not really an orange one, but they demanded that instead he put on a yellow bib, which ultimately had the effect of confusing his Colours teammates.
With time running up, the Colours saw all their attempts frustrated. Hannes in goal performed like a consummate goalkeeper and Paride captured every ball that ventured in the area.
The only way to find the net for the Colours was to score on their own goal. It was Andre to oblige, with a venomous pass that his goalkeeper Alessandro couldn’t catch in time. An episode that sealed the score at 4-1.
After the match some were tempted to offer Giancarlo the Man Of The Match Award, in recognition of his mysterious inspirational force. Others insisted the reward was given to Hannes, for his spectacular performance in goal.
Eventually, the jury assigned it to the unstoppable Adam. Should he decide to study theoretical physics at university, we will really be in big trouble.
ORANGE – COLOURS 4-1
Orange:
Paride (1), Julien (1), Hannes, Thomas, Adam (1), Hossam, Chetan, Keith, [Giancarlo]
Colours:
Alessandro, Massimo, Andrè (OG), AndreaM (Puskas), AndreaR, Johannes, Francesco, Diego (1)