Outnumbered

Another half-term sunny Saturday with half the turnout but enough to produce a 7 v 6 game of high octane.

The Colours started on the front foot taking advantage of the exuberance of the young front line with Adam, Ludo and Leo constantly testing the vintage Orange defence having the rearguard well covered by the senior household names of Massimo and Hossam, a pair more granitic than marble.

The Orange could only play the youth card with Yaya, a young rookie striker from Syria ??. His first touches of the ball appeared to be questionable not least because he was wearing sneakers but, as the Colours found out later, appearances can be deceptive.

Few minutes after the start Francesco put the Colours in front with a clinical finish, after receiving a superb assist by Adam. A perfect Dad-Kid combination.

Kids are by nature eager to impress giving everything right at start without any tactical malice. Their tempo was breathtaking and the Colours’s second goal was only a matter of time: This time Francesco instead of shooting delivered the assist to Ludo who took the keeper by surprise with a great shot from outside the box.

At that point Colours had the welcome addition of Julian from ?? Nigeria who already played for the Club, hence neither doubling the rookie count for the day nor adding a new nation. Yet his presence was influential in turning the tide.

Now outnumbered in every area of the pitch, the Oranges struggled to maintain the initial pressure and were forced to retract to the back. Fast moving the ball, the Colours played cynically, exploiting at best their numeric advantage and greater experience.  Despite Paride’s heroics a bunch of goals arrived one after the other.

One goal proved particularly controversial, as the Colours scored it while the other team had stopped playing, claiming the ball had gone out to a corner kick on the other side. Frantic discussions ensued but VAR review proved inconclusive and the goal was allowed, further increasing the frustration for the Oranges, who were seeing the match slip away.

Now seriously down in the score (7-2), the Oranges were able to get Julian to play for them. The new setup gave them some strength but there was a mountain to climb. A temporary reward came with a goal from Adam, but that was not enough as the Colours scored few more.

Massimo’s frustration was visible, his facial expression akin to the one showed by Will Smith before punching Chris Rock, and when Johannes went past him for the n-th time, he tried to get the ball with a move reminiscent of Hannes’ tackles.

With little time to go both Hossam and Massimo went upfront to attack, leaving defence in the hands of the youngster. Inevitably, the Colours scored few more.

With the result now secured, the Colours spent the last minutes delighting the crowd with skilled moves. Giancarlo got a standing ovation when he juggled the ball with 15 consecutive touches, his opponents unable to stop him and rather in awe.  He also got the satisfaction of scoring the Golden Goal, something that had not happened for a long time, so long that nobody remembers when it last happened.  An excellent performance from a player that has been with the Club from the very beginning.

Post-match, satisfaction was evident among the Colours. Yaya went home ecstatic, promising to be back with proper booths. Johannes was pleased to receive the Man of the Match Award, while Ben was all smile as he enjoyed signing autographs for the fans.

Julien felt particularly relieved.  “I am happy for the win, of course, but I am happier to be intact and able to walk!. I am going to ski in the Alps tomorrow and it’s great to know I will be able to do that. Luckily I kept away from troubles!”

Among the Oranges there were congratulations for the winners and no recriminations.

“I enjoyed the match” said Paride “although I am not sure how to explain the fact that I conceded more goals today that in the entire last year”.

The ever-optimist Francesco could take some solace in his excellent performance, and found a perfect justification for the result. “We lost because we were playing up hill” he declared in the post-match interviews, leaving pundits and spectators perplexed as it is the exact opposite of what he said last week when he was playing downhill.  Perhaps next week he will request the pitch to be rotated 90 degrees, just in case.

ORANGE-COLOURS 13-3

TEAMS

ORANGE: Thomas, Julien, Diego, Ben, Johannes, Giancarlo, Julien N, Yaya

COLOURS: Paride, Massimo, Hossam, Leo, Ludo, Adam, Francesco

GOALS

ORANGE: Johannes (5), Yaya (4), Diego (2), Thomas, Giancarlo

COLOURS: Francesco, Ludo, Adam