With 8 wins out of 8 and giving us a 9-2 drubbing earlier in the season it was always going to be a tough match on the big
Opting for 2 sweepers in a defensive 2-3-4-1 formation the line up as follows
DaveP
Ed-Adam-Tom-Cowley
Steff-Henry-SteveY
Scott-TonyC
Bertie (GK)
The formation worked well with speedy Scott & TonyC both able to cut our their attackers, the formation was a bit more fluid morphing between the above and 4-5-1 as H pushed up and Stef & SteveY dropped but it served us well in the first half.
Some highlights:
- Tom made a great run down the right wing into the box only to cross the back line
- Adam put a through ball only for DaveP to be ruled offside
- Tom did a nice pull back in midfield, passed the ball to unmarked DaveP edge of the box but shot pulled wide
- Cowley pulled a rugby move hoofing the ball towards the corner flag before sprinting onto it before their defender put the ball out for a throw in
- Some end to end stuff with FC ShowdeBola down the left into the box and passed across the goal mouth but no one followed up for them
- Back up the other end from a Stef throw in DaveP pulled the ball back to Ed who dribbled into the box however his low shot was saved
- Their 22 unmarked on the edge of the our box shot wide, then Cowley latched onto an Adam long ball but ruled offside
- Jason Lee for the opposition had a huge run from his half however TonyC closed him down before he could shoot and then he came off the pitch (que a 5 minute substitution while their player did his hair before coming on)
- Their number 24 found some space down the right cut in and hit a dipping thunderbolt that was heading in just under the bar, Bertie reacted quickly and punched the ball out for a corner, the ball dropped into the box and somehow evaded all the Spartans and the opposition slotted in to take the lead.
- DaveP found himself onside with only the keeper to beat however his chip was caught
- With the half nearly up Tom dribbled his way into the box, with time on his hands picked his spot only for their keeper to get down and save, however off the resultant corner debutant Adam slotted in the equaliser 1-1.
Straight swaps at half time Scott-Ed, Jeff-SteveY, 10 mins in AndrewMk-DaveP with Adam pushing up front and AndrewMk in midfield.
- The second half saw the opposition pack their midfield more than before which saw our advantage there cut, we had a lot less possession however we were breaking well.
- Cowley, especially when he stayed out wide on the wing, provided an out for our under pressure defense, his quick runs down the wing resulting in either nice crosses into the box or winning throw ins gave us our best chances to score.
- Henry had a great chance to volley in however the ball did not fall quickly enough and went sky high.
- As the half went on tired legs left no one really following into the box on our breaks and we looked unlikely to score.
- 15 mins to go Kenny going up front for the the injured Stef and Adam dropping to left back
- 4 corners and 2 free kicks for the opposition in the final 5 minutes saw Bertie with his hands full and pulled off some excellent saves.
Thanks to all those that made the effort to travel to Tai Po and a thoroughly deserved draw, a few more subs and we could have bagged 3 points.
Back in the bar Cowley took home MOTM in the absence of Bertie and Terry "I’m saving my legs for tomorrow" Graham picked up MOTD.
FC Show de Bola don’t play such attractive possession/passing football as LTF however they are strong on the counter and technically strong all round, 2 draws against the 2 best sides in the league show we should at least be pushing for 3rd spot.
This season’s cup draw is at the end of the month, 8 league games to go and a good chance of some silverware if we play the remainder of our games.
With the summer fast approaching the Legal League and Yau Yee League will come to and end and with a distribution list for nites/soho of 72 people, competition for places will be hot as we still have plenty of games to play – those that have made the effort to travel to the dark and distant corners of Hong Kong over the year won’t be forgotten.
