Play it again… Tom

With only one goalkeeper on duty for the day  it was vital for any of the teams to secure his services for the match. The Orange broke the bank to have Paride on their side and it was money well spent as yet again he made all the difference.

It did start as a seven a side with a prevalence of the Colours team in terms of creating opportunities so when Yousuf joined few minutes after kickoff it looked appropriate to allocate him to the Orange team. Such a move turned out to be a game changer. Yousuf took possession of the mid-right part of the the Colours’ half operating as a ‘falso diez ’ alternating his many skills: from defending the ball, serial dribbling to acceleration with sudden incursions often ending in one on one with the keeper. When that was not possible he could always resort on his accurate shot from the distance. With such a tool kit at his disposal it was only a matter of time before he opened the score: not only he did that but he also doubled up soon after for a breathtaking brace. Still, the game was far from being unidirectional: quite the opposite.

The Colours’ despite being one man down had most of the opportunities thanks to a very mobile and young  midfield able to feed incessantly strikers who show profligacy at times while in many other instances were denied by usual Paride who could though do nothing when the two youngest  on the pitch decided to combine: Giacomo sent from the right a venomous ball into the Orange box which Gabriele with a neat and peremptory shot converted with the cynicism of someone who is used to score at least one every game. Football Kids are indeed special players as they combine the free spirit  of their youth with the gravitas of their Dads learned over 18 years of playing together.

The goal sent shock waves down the Oranges’ spines as they realised numerical superiority might not be enough to win the game. They came close few times to restore the gap as Thomas had two golden opportunities on ‘his’ right lane, one of which just shaved the opposite post with the keeper well beaten.

Hannes kept holding up the Colours’ wall while occasionally venturing forward looking for glory. Added to that there was misfiring from Giancarlo and the other strikers in turn while on the opposite front Paride continued to have a busy day: in one instance he dived to save the ball which had an odd bounce, surprise surprise, but our guardian still managed to head it off miraculously.

The pressure was unreal: Yassin could only be stopped with fouls as doubling and trebling up on him produced no results. On the opposite front Johannes was as always mastering the game but remarkably did not manage to score for the first time in as long as we can remember. The Orange defence led by Massimo with Julien in front of it stood strong deploying strong manners stamping their authority on the opposition shins.

Francesco had a quiet game but is not the kind of striker you can ignore for long: at one point he managed to produce a violent shot which Giancarlo stopped with his arm on the line. The Colours and their fans shouted ‘penalty’ as one: while the Orange player admitted he did touch the ball with his forearm, it was also evident that he didn’t make himself bigger in the attempt to stop the shot.

Penalty or not?: that was the question The VAR review was inconclusive as opinions could match facts and after a most heated debate threatening to tear apart families and long dated friendships, the penalty was awarded. Deep down every single Orange player and his fans knew that Paride could save it as he did with virtually every previous one.  The problem though was that this time Yassin took the responsibility to send the Colours’ fans to heaven and back.  His run up to the ball and the body language suggested a strong angled shot which produced an explosive dive on his left by Paride.  The ball instead stubbornly planted itself just in the middle testing the strength of the net.

It was game on after a rollercoaster 2-2 which only a drunk and optimistic bookmaker could have bet upon during the course of the match.  The elated Colours’ fans started chanting the names of their heroes, then surname, nicknames, girlfriends/wives to finish with pets for those owning one.

A game like this would have deserved to last forever but time was running out and hardly the golden goal would have been a more fitting end. Every single player knew that whichever effort was required to win, even the most extreme, it would have been justly rewarded by such a victory whose meaning was beyond football and sport. The golden goal kickoff was delayed as a bunch of fans without tickets was trying to force its way in causing safety issues.

Security asked Giancarlo to  calm them down: he reassured them that to experience such emotions again all they had to do do was turn up next Saturday few hours in advance to beat the queue.

One of the most frustrated man on the pitch was Thomas that missed twice the chance to close the match. At the third time of asking he made sure his name was still associated with the winner with a razor like shot that gave no chance to the keeper.
It was like Paul Breitner, Berti Vogts and Philipp Lahm had collectively lent Thomas their best abilities so that he could put his closing mark on such a monster of a game.

As for the MOTM it was not lost on voters that Yousuf came previously very close to snatch it and this time
his rounded performance was second to none so it was only fitting to award it to him.  Paride instead was handed the golden scooter trophy for his most valuable service in delivering the heavy goals.  That’s what goal-keepers are for!

Giancarlo Castelli

ORANGE-COLOURS 3-2

GOALS
ORANGE: Yousuf (2), Thomas
COLOURS: Gabriele, Yassin

TEAMS
ORANGE: Paride, Massimo, Thomas, Julien, Johannes, Al, Giancarlo, Yousuf
COLOURS: Hannes, Christian, Khaled,  Gabriele, Yassin, Francesco, Giacomo