[DataKing]

Season 2 – FOFC Cup Round 1 – First Leg

Hamas Mad Bombers vs. Screamin’ Seamen

Date: January 15, 2003
Venue: Hamas Mad Bombers Arena (Idaho)
Attendance: 485 (7,000)
Weather: Partly cloudy

We’ve drawn astralhaze’s Hamas Mad Bombers in the first round of the 2nd Annual FOFC Cup, and we open the home-and-home competition at the Bombers’ home stadium in Idaho.

As much as I would like to play my starters in this matchup, I simply cannot bring myself to do it. My first priority is doing as well as possible in league play, and since we’re currently in first place, I cannot bring myself to run the risk of injury to my starters. I also insist on playing all of my players in a given week if at all possible, so as not to damage their form. Having a back-up who is in decent form and is ready to rumble when the call comes can be a big factor late in the season.

Formation: 5-4-1

Starters

Keeper: #13 Cornelius Jernigan

Right Wingback: #23 William Brown
Central Defender: #21 Zarpas Lerma
Central Defender: #17 Luis Javier Prada
Central Defender: #20 Keith Stubbs
Left Wingback: #24 Christian Kvam

Right Winger: #25 Paul Peralta
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #12 Brooks Brannon
Left Winger: #8 Max Dodge

Forward: #9 Ruben Stewart

Team Captain: #25 Paul Peralta
Set Pieces: #12 Brooks Brannon

Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Darryl Read
-Defender: #5 Arlen Lucas
-Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
-Forward: #15 Forrest Tobias
-Winger: #16 Otis Johnson

You may notice that there are a few changes here to our typical starting eleven for friendly matches.

1. Recent youth call-up Keith Stubbs will make his first appearance wearing the black and red. Because he’s untested, we’ve sandwiched him between Prada and Kvam, two of the better defensemen who will see the pitch today.
2. Bill Rubin is no longer a member of the Screamin’ Seamen. Airhog’s Oklahoma City Rednecks snatched him up off the transfer market earlier today for $3,000. Hopefully the warmer climate down there will suit Bill better, and we wish him and the Rednecks all the best.
3. Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin served out his suspension this past weekend, and was unable to play in our league match. We don’t want the old man to get rusty, however, so #4 gets the nod at midfield.

Match Report

Screamin's Brooks Brannon got himself booked after a foul. Bombers´s Jacob Hendrickson left the field after 10 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was Jimmie Carroll. In the 16:th minute the home side managed to get a 1 - 0 lead as Austin Atkins flipped the ball after a cross pass from the right. David Cornelius of Bombers received a yellow card in the 20:th minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. The teams went for a half-time break at 1 - 0. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 65 percent possession rate.

Screamin' got a chance to level the score as Zarpas Lerma suddenly found himself free with the goaltender but the finishing shot hit the bar. Keith Stubbs of Screamin' received a yellow card in the 61st minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour. The crowd was silenced in the 62nd minute as the visiting teams Luis Javier Prada came in from the left, levelling the score to 1 - 1. This was a good period for the visitors with several opportunities to take the lead, in particular when William Brown slipped through the defense to come up alone with Alejandro Bayo - but the home side´s keeper showed some lightning reflex Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 88 percent, dominated the battle.

Final Score: Hamas Mad Bombers 1, Screamin’ Seamen 1

Goals
Prada – 1

Cards
Brannon (yellow)
Stubbs (yellow)

Player Ratings

Jernigan: **1/2

Brown: **
Lerma: **
Prada: **
Stubbs: *1/2
Kvam: **

Peralta: **
Tomlin: **1/2
Brannon: *1/2
Dodge: *

Stewart: *

Team Ratings

Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Solid (7)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Solid (7)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Wretched (2)
-Left Attack: Wretched (2)

Hamas Mad Bombers
-Midfield: Wretched (2)
-Right Defense: Solid (7)
-Central Defense: Solid (7)
-Left Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Right Attack: Inadequate (5)
-Central Attack: Weak (4)
-Left Attack: Weak (4)

Comments

We certainly had out opportunities, especially in the second half with a whopping 88% of the ball possession. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t finish on the opportunities that we had. Lerma’s shot off the bar really hurt, as that could very well have been the difference. I am particularly impressed with the Bombers’ keeper Bayo. He snatched the ball away from William Brown, who is one of the fastest guys on my team (specialty: quick).

Ruben Stewart continues to frustrate the hell out of me. He has been going steadily downhill, and now has a four game scoring drought. As much as I hate to buy backups (my theory is to let starters who are surpassed become the backups), I may be forced to sell Ruben and do just that. Right now, an injury to Henriksson or Tobias would really hurt my team.

As disappointed as I am with Ruben, I still have to come away from the match satisfied with the result. Aside from Stewart and Dodge, our reserves played well, and we managed a 1-1 draw on the road. In my mind, that’s the equivalent of a victory in a home-and-home situation. Now its up to the Bombers to come to Chicago and beat us in our own back yard next week.

Up Next: Training results occur on Fridays, and I plan to start documenting the highlights of our weekly training then. Stay tuned!