Preview
After last week's huge loss, I'm not expecting to win at their house this week. I'd like to keep it close so my goal differential doesn't get hurt too bad but I really can't guarantee that either. Miguel is still hurt so Timber will get the call at captain.
Game Summary
Date: 9/15/2003 at 01:00
MatchID: 8326999
Arena: Kaishaku F.C. Arena
Crowd: 30000
30000 spectators had come to Kaishaku F.C. Arena this cloudy day. Kaishaku had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Grayson - Kieta, Nógrádi, Ruiter - Gergöz, Belikov, Eskelinen, Neagoe, Jiménez - Reio, Ruffle.
Hippopotami started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Lineup: Kimber - Cristiano, Schrader, Bush - Wellens, Meek, Benito, Connors, Starks - Phelan, Spagnuolo.
The referee showed Kaishakus Afanasiy Belikov the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Some beautiful plays on the left side of the field resulted in a 16:th minute goal by Gigel Neagoe for Kaishaku, putting them ahead 1 - 0. Edwin Phelan came close to levelling the score in the 23rd minute, as he was set up with a through ball coming in from the left, but his shot hit the post. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, Kaishaku´s Zenon Kieta got himself booked. 1 - 0 was the half-time score. Kaishaku held the ball, with a clear 60 percent possession rate.
Kaishaku put their lead ahead another goal as Zenon Kieta struck home the 2 - 0 goal, after an attack from the left setting him up unmarked with the keeper. After this Kaishaku lowered the tempo in order to concentrate on their defensive efforts. Adalbert Nógrádi was the first to reach the corner kick, but his header was saved by the keeper. However, Kaishaku´s Zenon Kieta managed to get hold of the rebound and scored the 3-0 goal. Seemingly due to lack of experience, Eero Eskelinen needlessly tripped an opponent just outside the penalty area, but the free kick that followed didn't succeed. In the 75:th minute Kaishaku´s Gigel Neagoe tried to nail the coffin shut, but the shot rebounded off the bar to fall behind the net. Kaishaku will have to do without Gigel Neagoe for a time due to a bad foot injury. He was substituted by Evan Hijano. A speedy charge from the left side of the field put Kaishaku lead up with 4 - 0. Evan Hijano finished that one off competently, firing from an acute angle. After 80 minutes Vadim Reio put Kaishaku ahead 5 - 0 as he rose to head in a hooked ball, the result of an effort from the right side. Kaishaku held the ball, with a clear 61 percent possession rate.
The most dominating Kaishaku player was without a doubt Eero Eskelinen. Zenon Kieta on the other hand, had a terrible day. Most important Hippopotami player was Tim Kimber. Clement Schrader on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 5 - 0.
Events and Stats
A few notes:
1. Our score will always be first, whether we are ahead or behind
2. The (num) after the names is their goal tally for the season
3. "xx" means the time of the goal was not specified
4. Most stats will only be for our team
Formations
HH: 3-5-2
KFC: 3-5-2
Events Summary
1st Half
KFC: 16: 0-1
Halftime Score: 0-1
Possession: 40%
2nd Half
KFC: xx: 0-2
KFC: xx: 0-3
KFC: xx: 0-4
KFC: 80: 0-5
Final Score: 0-5
Possession: 39%
Final Possession: 40%
Cards
None
Injuries
None
Stadium
Terraces: 0/20000
Basic seats: 0/8000
Seats under roof: 0/3200
VIP seats: 0/800
Total: 0/32000
A full 30K screaming fans at Kaishaku F.C. Arena, which begs the question: why is their arena so small?
Team Ratings
Kaishaku F.C.
Midfield: formidable (9)
Right Side Defence: brilliant (12)
Central Defence: outstanding (10)
Left Side Defence: formidable (9)
Right Side Attack: solid (7)
Central Attack: solid (7)
Left Side Attack: solid (7)
DataKing/Nevstar Index: 70/79
Houston Hippopotami
Midfield: passable (6)
Right Side Defence: formidable (9)
Central Defence: excellent (8)
Left Side Defence: solid (7)
Right Side Attack: excellent (8)
Central Attack: formidable (9)
Left Side Attack: formidable (9)
DataKing/Nevstar Index: 62/68
That shatters our previous road high of 65. Those ratings look great for us. However, they were just that much better and being beaten by 3 levels on midfield cost us this game. Still, I'm really happy that 5 of our 6 non-midfield ratings were excellent or higher.
Player Ratings
GK Tim Kimber ****
DW Lorenzo Cristiano ***
DM Clement Schrader **
DW Elmer Bush **~
WI Pierre Wellens **~
MI Herschel Meek (d) ****
MI Stephen Connors (x) ***~
MI Carlos Alberto Benito (o) ****
WI Mick Starks (o) ***
FO Edwin Phelan ***
FO Gualtiero Spagnuolo ***~
Total Stars: 35.0
Total player experience: poor
Team Attitude: Normal
That defensive rating is the more impressive since Miguel was out and Schrader was stinking up the middle with his poor form. I can't say enough about how Herschel Meek has helped shore up the midfield this year. The veteran only cost us $129K in the offseason and is putting up **** most weeks now. Speaking of which, Benito got his first ever **** game, being just the third Hippo to gain that distinction. Also, Starks is finally back out of his slump (mostly) and delivered a *** performance. Now to get him that last half star he's been missing lately. Even with Schrader in, that 35.0 stars is a new high.
Three Stars
See below... (none awarded)
Bronze: None
Silver: None
Gold: None
Game Summary
Phelan missed the only shot we had but it wouldn't have made a difference. Timber couldn't keep us in the game either. The midfield lost possession. We had good individual performances but the team did not perform as a whole and got creamed by a better club. No stars are awarded for this game in an attempt to get the team to respond. Last year, it did the trick and we went out and manhandled CC's Dragons the next time out. Hopefully the same can happen this year as we now need to win down the stretch.
Press Release
9/17/2003 at 17:53 Run and Shoot Shut Out
While the Hippos defense may have failed them in the tougher Div IV, their offense had always produced. However, on the road and following a crushing home defeat last week, the Hippos were shut out for only the third fixture in their history, losing 5-0 to Kaishaku FC. Barring major upsets the rest of the year, this loss combined with Iowa's draw at Brooklyn will prevent the Hippos from finishing in the money their first year in Div IV and forcing them into a qualification game.
Around the League
zfan is officially a walkover, Chock essentially had a walkover, and a huge upset that hurts us bad in the standings
The Champion - zfan 5 - 0
The Champion is really charging hard and has taken over 5th place from us. Fortunately I'm counting 3 points in the bag against them as we have them at home in the last couple weeks of the season- this may be a bit premature as they are greatly improving and almost as good as the Hippos. zfan's lineup has officially been reset so they are a walkover until they are taken over by another team. With that, they will be guaranteed one of the autorelegation slots with Team Groomers...
Chock Full of Wholesome Goodness - Team Groomers 7 - 0
If I had to guess, I think Chock actually PIC'd this game. Too bad we have Team Groomers on the road or I'd probably PIC them in our second half game. However, other than how to build a good training program, there's one thing DK's dynasty report definately showed me: never PIC a person the road unless you are 100% certain you can win.
Brooklyn United - Iowa Enforcers 1 - 1
Last week, at home, Iowa lost 1-0 on a goal in the 87th minute. Joaquin Otegi, who scored the winning goal last week, missed 2 of his 3 shots, and Iowa escapes a soggy Champions Park with a draw. As you can see below, this really screws us. I was hoping to track down Iowa for that #4 spot by beating them at the 'drome in week 12. If Brooklyn ties or loses again, they may not be going to Div III next year and that's no good for anyone here in IV.21.
League Standings
Code:
N Team Goals Pts NSI
1. Brooklyn United 33 - 4 22 93
2. Kaishaku F.C. 21 - 11 18 78
3. Chock Full of Whole 26 - 18 16 81
4. Iowa Enforcers 15 - 11 13 68
5. The Champion 15 - 10 10 9
6. Houston Hippopotami 16 - 24 9 68
7. zfan 11 - 32 6 9
8. Team Groomers 7 - 34 0 51
Iowa's draw with Brooklyn all but eliminates our chances of finishing in the money. I was expecting to beat Iowa and The Champion down the stretch and hope to leapfrog them but I don't see it happening now. I will have to beat or draw Brooklyn or Chock or hope for Iowa to stumble against The Champion.
Hatstats
We dropped again, this time to #26. The series is getting softer as we get further away from the cup and that's a good sign for the Hippos. Brooklyn was still good for the 3rd best team in Div IV with a 93 NSI, even in a draw to Iowa and their(?!?) 68. Huh? I don't get it. Chock is 37 and Kaishaku is 76 in Div IV. Then again, I just noticed that because zfan went computer controlled, both them and The Champion got 9's. If they had gotten a conservative 60 apiece, IV.21 would have been in the top 10 so I guess it's not as weak as it appaears.
Notes
We are now in a bit of a hole. We now need a really lucky break to finish in the money. The last of our really brutal sketch ends next week with a shellacking by Brooklyn. The little bit of hope we have is that Brooklyn takes it easy against us and our home crowd ignites the team.
After the game, we had to hire three sports psychs to counsel suicidal players and rehire the two spokespersons (back up to ten) to counsel suicidal fans after the upcoming Brooklyn game.
SI