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Preview
We go on the road, continuing the Friendly Hippo World Tour (logo to be created later). This week we will take on the Royal Magpies of IV.41 Oceania. We match up pretty well, both putting up weak midfields with our B Team.


Game Summary
Date: 10/1/2003 at 04:00
MatchID: 9754091
Arena: Victory Park
Crowd: 4909

4909 spectators arrived at Victory Park, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. Magpies had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Ginzburg - Runcie, Hvilshøj, Jansson - Carroll, Eaton, Haynes, Warrington, Barnes - Morrell, Hayes.

Hippopotami had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Lineup: Sánchez - Miquel, Meek, Schrader - Teepen, Tryggvesson, Storm, Wellens, Starks - Solomon, Tizón.

Hippopotami saw most attack opportunites on the wings and were directing their passes that way. A mistake by the home sides central defence in the 9:th minute allowed Derrick Solomon to score 0 - 1 for Hippopotami. In the 17:th minute Magpies was able to score the equalising 1 - 1 goal. Connie Hayes picked up a pass coming in from the right and chipped it past the away teams goalie. After 28 minutes Magpies´s Connie Hayes contracted a slight foot injury, but could finish the game. Juan Miguel Tizón seemed to be floating in the air at will as he elegantly headed in 1-2. The previous Hippopotami corner kick was executed by Herschel Meek. Magpiess Troy Haynes got himself booked after a foul. Connie Hayes was just a finger´s breadth away from an equaliser for Magpies, but Ignacio Sánchez managed to ward the closing shot off for a corner. Clement Schrader of Hippopotami received a yellow card in the 36:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. The teams went for a half-time break at 1 - 2. Hippopotami held the ball, with a clear 52 percent possession rate.

Kermit Runcie received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly, probably out of lack of experience, in the 48:th minute and almost caused an opponent to score. Hippopotami´s Herschel Meek received a play slashing through the home side´s defense in the 54:th minute, chipping it past the keeper scoring 1 - 3. The home crowd was not pleased with that one. The visitors Daniel Storm took advantage of an error due to a misunderstanding between the home side´s goalie and full backs in the 66:th minute. 1 - 4 for Hippopotami. The home crowd was given a certain amount of consolation when Oliver Warrington, after a brilliant midfield combination, put the reducing 2 - 4 goal away for Magpies. In the 68:th minute Magpiess Peter Jansson received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Hippopotami´s Robert Tryggvesson received a play slashing through the home side´s defense in the 75:th minute, chipping it past the keeper scoring 2 - 5. The home crowd was not pleased with that one. Koos Teepen increased the visitors lead by putting a volley shot away on a pass from the right. 2 - 6. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Hippopotami, with an impressive 52 percent possession of the ball.

The most dominating Magpies player was without a doubt Peter Jansson. Zelislav Ginzburg on the other hand, had a terrible day. Hippopotami´s best player was Mick Starks. Derrick Solomon on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 2 - 6.


Events and Stats
A few notes:
1. Our score will always be first, whether we are ahead or behind
2. The (F) shows that the goal was scored in a friendly
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
RM: 3-5-2

Events Summary

1st Half
HH: 09: Derrick Solomon (F): 1-0
RM: 17: 1-1
HH: xx: Juan Miguel Tizon (F): 2-1
Halftime Score: 2-1
Possession: 52%

2nd Half
HH: 54: Herschel Meek (F): 3-1
HH: 66: Daniel Storm (F): 4-1
RM: xx: 4-2
HH: 75: Robert Tryggvesson (F): 5-2
HH: xx: Koos Teepen (F): 6-2
Final Score: 6-2
Possession: 52%
Final Possession: 52%

Cards
HH: 36: Clement Schrader (yellow- unsportsmanlike behavior)

Injuries
None


Stadium
Terraces: 0/20000
Basic seats: 0/8000
Seats under roof: 0/3200
VIP seats: 0/800
Total: 0/32000

Yet another huge crowd which offset the road expenses: 4909 showed up at Victory Park in the region of Victoria, Oceania.


Team Ratings

Royal Magpies
Midfield: weak (4)
Right Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Central Defence: inadequate (5)
Left Side Defence: inadequate (5)
Right Side Attack: passable (6)
Central Attack: passable (6)
Left Side Attack: excellent (8)
DataKing/Nevstar Index: 43/47

Houston Hippopotami
Midfield: weak (4)
Right Side Defence: passable (6)
Central Defence: passable (6)
Left Side Defence: solid (7)
Right Side Attack: passable (6)
Central Attack: inadequate (5)
Left Side Attack: solid (7)
DataKing/Nevstar Index: 45/49

Only held a slight edge but our attack on the wings might have helped out some.


Player Ratings
GK Ignacio Sanchez ***
DW Jose Maria Miguel **~
DM Herschel Meek **~
DW Clement Schrader **
WI Koos Teepen ***
MI Thomas Little **~
MI Robert Tryggvesson (x) **~
MI Daniel Storm **~
WI Mick Starks (o) **
FO Derrick Solomon *~
FO Juan Miguel Tizon **

Total Stars: 27.0
Total player experience: poor
Team Attitude: Friendly
Tactics: Attack on Wings

Poor experience in a friendly for the first time ever. I'm still not sure what that rating means, tho. Ignacio with another strong *** game as backup keeper. Btw, Little didn't play today because he was in the walkover. Thus, Wellens got to play middie and get full training. Also, that little shuffle is why Meek is playing center d this week when he usually plays midfield with the A Team. He's a passable defender, but he's also an excellent middie- but he's 28 so he doesn't need the training just a game to keep his form up.


Three Stars
No multigoal scorers makes for a mixed bag

Bronze: Derrick Solomon
Shakes off the rust and scores the first goal of the game
Silver: Herschel Meek
Dutifully plays center defender and even scores a goal
Gold: Juan Miguel Tizon
He extends his friendly goal scoring streak to an amazing 6 straight games


Game Summary
Another road game, another huge crowd, some added experience, and a fun game. I think the Friendly Hippo World Tour (TM) may keep going until the end of the year.


Press Release
11/06/2003 at 00:00 Hippos Win 2nd Straight International Friendly
In not quite as thrilling fashion as last week's shootout win, the Hippos went this time to Oceania and beat the Royal Magpies of IV.41 by the score of 6-2. Solomon, Tizon, Meek, Storm, Tryggvesson, and Teepen all scored goals as a record 4909 fans saw the Houston friendly. Neither team had any injuries, making it a successful international friendly. Next week, the Hippos will travel to Prathet Thai to face a Div III team called Samuthprakarn Eagle.


FOFC Cup
I forgot to update this last week so I have two weeks of updates to catch up with. First, last week's games.

Sweet Sixteen
Underlined Teams Won


Tom Sanders Bracket

1) Gargoyles (Raven Hawk)
4) South Bay Saints (Masked)

3) Fockers (-Hobbes)
10) Frankfort United (DukeRulesMAB)


HornedFrogPurple Bracket

9) Maniacal Misfitz (Havok)
5) Concord Assassins (BishopMVP)

3) Spring Grove Fighting Eagles (illinifan999)
7) Bees (ausonny)


Kool-Aid Bracket

1) Midwest Ice Storm FC (PilotMan)
4) Aviators (damnMikeBrown)

11) North Plainfield Plague (cthomer5000)
10) Fighting Crawfish (The Afoci)


Run & Shoot Bracket

1) Intercourse Ball Kickers (YoSoySean)
4) Arkham Avengers (Nyarlahotep)

6) West Henrietta FC (bigjdotcom01)
2) Galesburg Avengers (Coffee Warlord)

The Tom Sanders bracket looks nice and orderly... except Frankfort United just keeps upsetting teams. They have the unenviable task of facing 84-time FOFC Cup Champion Raven Hawk next.

The Assassins employed a 2-5-3 and middle attack to overwhelm the Misfitz defense. Both teams put up solid midfields and NSI's in the 60s while the Bees shut out SGFE, setting up a 5-7 matchup between the Bees and Assassins.

Midwest forgets this is a friendly and puts up a (you have got to be kidding me!) formidable midfield and shuts out the Aviators 2-0 in a game that could have been a lot worse. Franz-Bernd Popella of the Fighting Crawfish scored in the 85th minute to break a 2-2 tie and propel the into the Elite Eight.

Lastly, in our former run-and-shoot bracket, CW put up an excellent midfield ending West Henrietta's cup run. They will meet YoSoySean and the Intercourse Ball Kickers who beat Nyarlahotep's Arkham Avengers.


Tom Sanders Bracket Championship

1) Gargoyles (Raven Hawk)
10) Frankfort United (DukeRulesMAB)


HornedFrogPurple Bracket Championship

5) Concord Assassins (BishopMVP)
7) Bees (ausonny)


Kool-Aid Bracket Championship

1) Midwest Ice Storm FC (PilotMan)
10) Fighting Crawfish (The Afoci)


Run & Shoot Bracket Championship

1) Intercourse Ball Kickers (YoSoySean)
2) Galesburg Avengers (Coffee Warlord)


Frankfort put up a gallant fight before losing 2-1 to the Gargs. The Bees ran out to a 3-0 lead and hung on to win 3-2. MISFC improves on their formidable midfield to outstanding and puts up a 78 NSI en route to a 9-0 crawfish boil. Lastly, YoSoySean keeps CW's run and shoot in check, winning 4-1. So the FOFC Cup IV Final Four are the Gargoyles, the Bees, Midwest Ice Storm FC, and Intercourse Ball Kickers! The Bees may be the only non-#1 seed left but I wouldn't count them out. However, my money is still on PilotMan and MISFC.


Notes
Next week, we continue our journeys with Samuthprakarn Eagle from Div III Thailand and in our fixture, we face off against 8th place Team Groomers on the road.

SI