You, Yes, You! I'm Pointing At You!
Im still tinkering with match reports- I'm hoping to get stuff into form by next year. Due to school, I'm really lacking in time so I want to pare down some of the more useless stuff that takes too long while still keeping the dynasty enjoyable. Plus I have a couple of simple things I wanted to add. Anyone with some ideas or feedback- post! And, remember, if you're not stealing, it's not a dynasty report! Back to your regularly scheduled dynasty report...
Preview
Oops- quite the botch. I accidentally played my starters in this friendly. Did you realize that friendlies in Israel are played Tuesday afternoon USA time? Well, neither did I so I forgot to set my lineup which means starters played. I guess it's time for another stamina week.
Game Text
Date: 10/14/2003 at 20:30
MatchID: 9856723
Arena: Teddy bear
Crowd: 4984
A scorching day at Teddy bear, where 4984 spectators were in place for today´s match. Maccabi started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Rachmo - Karlsson, Dyrander, Nachtomi - Rodowicz, Levi, Cohen, Getz, Ashkenazi - Matern, Shmuel.
Hippopotami had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Kimber - Cristiano, Miquel, Bush - Wellens, Meek, Benito, Connors, Starks - Phelan, Spagnuolo.
Seemingly due to lack of experience, Niklas Dyrander needlessly tripped an opponent just outside the penalty area, but the free kick that followed didn't succeed. Hippopotami took the lead in the games 25:th minute with 0 - 1 after some elegant plays down the middle. Lorenzo Cristiano was the scorer. Hippopotami came close to extending their lead as Stephen Connors delivered a long range shot from the right but the angle was too sharp, and the shot hit the side of the goal. The visitors Elmer Bush took advantage of an error due to a misunderstanding between the home side´s goalie and full backs in the 39:th minute. 0 - 2 for Hippopotami. The referee showed Hippopotamis José María Miquel the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. 0 - 2 was the half-time score. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Hippopotami, with an impressive 82 percent possession of the ball.
Hippopotami´s Pierre Wellens received a play slashing through the home side´s defense in the 55:th minute, chipping it past the keeper scoring 0 - 3. The home crowd was not pleased with that one. The structure of the game started to change as Hippopotami decided to pull back and meet their opponents in the defensive zone. One of many good passes from Mick Starks at the wing was recieved and skillfully taken care of by Gualtiero Spagnuolo, scoring for Hippopotami to 0 - 4. The visitors Edwin Phelan took advantage of an error due to a misunderstanding between the home side´s goalie and full backs in the 62nd minute. 0 - 5 for Hippopotami. Hippopotami, bringing the final ball possession rate to 93 percent, dominated the battle.
Most important Maccabi player was Rafal Rodowicz. Marek Matern on the other hand, had a terrible day. Hippopotami´s best player was Carlos Alberto Benito. Edwin Phelan on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 0 - 5.
Events and Stats
Sorry- I decided to ditch this section. It took too much time and I didn't figure many of you cared. Instead, I'm making the game summary section longer. See... here it is (tho I might move the summary, stars, and press release back below the stats)
Game Summary
We dominated possesion with 82% and a staggering 93% in the second half. A pair of defenders even scored in the first half (Cristiano, Bush). Our ratings were much too high for his B Team and this would have been a close game if we had actually played *our* B Team.
Three Stars
Those defenders show up here
Bronze: Elmer Bush
A defender goal
Silver: Pierre Wellens
The UberTrainee(TM) gets *** and a goal
Gold: Lorenzo Cristiano
Another defender goal, this one game winning
Press Release
10/20/2003 at 10:07 Oops!
The Hippos barely arrived in time for their friendly due to a scheduling snafu and starters were accidentally hustled out onto the field as Houston visited Maccabi "Bezeq" Tel Aviv in Israel. This resulted in a 5-0 win for the Hippos but forced them to do a week of stamina training instead of the scheduled playmaking. Next week's trip to Iceland has already been checked and double checked with the lineup set as Houston visits Real Reykjavik, in Island I.1, the equivalent to the MLS.
Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics
Stadium
Almost but not quite 5000 make it with 4985, our largest friendly ever. I blame this on 16 of YOU.
Team Ratings
Maccabi "Bezeq" Tel Aviv
Midfield: wretched (2)
Right Side Defence: formidable (9)
Central Defence: excellent (8)
Left Side Defence: excellent (8)
Right Side Attack: inadequate (5)
Central Attack: poor (3)
Left Side Attack: poor (3)
DataKing/Nevstar Index: 40/42
Houston Hippopotami
Midfield: solid (7)
Right Side Defence: excellent (8)
Central Defence: excellent (8)
Left Side Defence: excellent (8)
Right Side Attack: excellent (8)
Central Attack: excellent (8)
Left Side Attack: formidable (9)
DataKing/Nevstar Index: 63/70
Great ratings. Too bad they're from starters. A 70 NSI on the road- woo!
Player Ratings
GK Tim Kimber ****
DW Lorenzo Cristiano ***~
DM Jose Maria Miguel ***
DW Elmer Bush **~
WI Pierre Wellens ***
MI Herschel Meek (d) ***~
MI Stephen Connors (x) ****
MI Carlos Alberto Benito (o) ****
WI Mick Starks ***~
FO Edwin Phelan **
FO Gualtiero Spagnuolo ***~
Total Stars: 36.5
Total player experience: poor
Team Attitude: Friendly
Tactics: None
Again, not much of note because it's all starters. Wellens *** looks pretty. He's going to be a stud- remember, he's only 17. Phelan is still deep in a slump and stamina training isn't going to help that one bit.
FOFC Cup
FOFC Cup Finals this week! Bees v Intercourse Ball Kickers
Intercourse Ball Kickers - Bees 1 - 5
ICBK could only muster a poor midfield to the Bees poor so mutual supporter ausonny wins his 2nd FOFC Cup in 4 season. I think I have my facts straight when I say that only the Bees and Gargs have won it. Congrats to all! This was a great FOFC Cup and I can't wait until next year. Hopefully my trainees will be getting at least a passable if not solid midfield by then.
In Closing
Well, we'll get plastered in our league game this week as we PIC on the road at the Creamy Nougat Center (I can't get enough of that name).
SI