The Terminator is back
A shiver went down the spine of the Orange goalkeeper and defenders when they saw Tony S was back in the game. Past matches were tough enough but nowhere near the ultimate test they had to face today. Tony’s imposing figure, his ruthlessness in the fight, the wide array of tricks, the poacher’s instinct and his clinical finishing are only few of the things that keep keepers awake at night and in full red alert when in goal.
The Orange adopted an initial 6-0-0 to build a cage around Tony S as an emergency measure showing adaptability and resilience. In fact they were the most dangerous side, let down only by the misfiring in front of goal. They should have shot better as Federico on the opposite side did not return the favour taking his side ahead firing home just inside the box. That was doubled up by a fierce long range shot by Khaled. The new pins did a good job to keep the goal standing when the ball hit the net.
The Orange felt hard done by the double hit and attacked furiously with Diego scoring with a wonderful header only for the VAR cruelly denying it as the just crossed the line before the assist. In the meanwhile Yuv joined the Orange and you could tell from the cheering of the crowd that this was a game changer.
Diego got his goal back by converting a pass, as lucky as effective, by Giancarlo. Orange were back in the game and the firing this time got more accurate: Louis received a ball on the edge of the box, he took the time to look around, wave at the crowd, take a selfie with Francesco and hit the top corner: 2-2.
The Colour did not like it. Hossam was the heart and soul of the team dictating each counter and inspiring the troops. On the sides Nizard and Giacomo were thorns in the Orange defence which nevertheless stood strong and the rotating keepers kept their cool despite Tony’s sword hanging over them.
Nizard from Saudi Arabia was back after a long time: he only played few minutes before and has been working hard ever since to be sure he can make the cut. Which he did, bringing dynamism on the right flank both as a striker and passer of the ball.
It was down to unbalance the game repay the fans trust by putting the Orange in front and Francesco soon after added the forth with a deft touch in front of goal. In fact the gap could have been higher had not Alessandro performed few of his customary saves.
At this point there was only time for the golden goal which Thomas put to bed to seal a comprehensive victory for the Orange.
As for the Man of the Match the votes indicated a fragmented score: tomorrow headlines will be about Johannes not scoring a goal and this opened an opportunity for the others. The top spot was claimed by one of the unsung heroes this year: like so often his compatriot Gerd did, Thomas was in the right place at the right moment for the golden goal culminating a game of tactical awareness and fine passing, playing a game of eleven or so which in the end the Germans win.
ORANGE-COLOUR 5-2
GOALS
ORANGE: Diego, Louis, Yuv, Francesco, Thomas
COLOURS: Federico, Khaled
TEAMS:
ORANGE: Diego, Andre’, Giancarlo, Christian, Louis, Johannes, Yuv, Thomas
COLOURS: Alessandro, Hossam, Federico, Riccardo, Khaled, Nizard, Tony S
Picture: Christian’s new boots