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September 8, 2007
Match #6: away at Swindon (currently 1st with 4 wins, 1 draw)
odds: Luton 7-4, Swindon 5-4(fav)
S: Showunmi/Vine (both with outward arrows)
AMC: Pinnock/Bridge-Wilkinson (both with outward arrows)
DM: Davis/Wellens/Foley (no up arrows))
DC: Bruce/James/O'Connor
GK: Beckwith
With Ivan Kaviedes out on international duty for a pair of Ecuador's World Cup qualifier matches, and some injuries (Neil Mellor, Lee Morris). I decide to play a bit different formation. Could be seen as a somewhat modified 3-5-2, with 2 AMC and 3 DM... James Pinnock is kind of versatile in that sense, being a F RC and not strictly a S C, I feel not so bad playing him at AMC to start the game, leaving me with Lee Mansell as a sub for later in the game.
Swindon is a very good team, as shown by their spotless record of 4 wins and a draw in 5 games. They show a 4-3-3 formation with the outside striker taking a wide stance.
2': Damn early goals! A quick throw in followed by a perfect center to the 6 yard box and they score. The goal came from our old friend Elvis Hammond... Down 0-1.
17': We get a free kick, about 35 yards out of their goal. James Pinnock, probably feeling it's out of his range, play it short to Sol Davis who swiftly centers it to the 6 yard box. Rowan Vine is there, alone with the keeper. He ties the game for us, 1-1.
The half is over on that 1-1 score. The Vine goal was our only shot of the half, while Swindon shot 8 times, 2 on target. Weirdly, we are winning possession, with 53%, but most of this ball control is happening in the midfield for us.
The second half goes scoreless, even though we increased our pressure on them, getting 6 schots, 2 of them on target.
Final Score: Luton 1, Swindon 1
Shots: Luton 7(3), Swindon 14(3)
MoM: Sol Davis with a rating of 9. He won 9 tackles out of 9 and had 4 interceptions.
Five other players had ratings of 8, while Rob Beckwith is still in his slump, getting a rating of 6...
An away game, against the top team in the league, and we come up with a 1-1 draw, I can't be unhappy about that...
Possession: (us/them)
our zone: 17/16
middle: 20/18
their zone: 17/12
Overall: 54/46
Rowan Vine Picked up his 5th yellow in 6 appearances. He's banned for one match.
International Round-Up
Ivan Kaviedes did well in Ecuador's 0-2 loss to Paraguay. He got a rating of 7.
Achievement News
Sol Davis is named on the League One Team of the Week, followin his great performance against Swindon. I praise him in the media. The fans applaud the praise, saying he is a bright spot on our squad. He's averaged form ratings of 7.57 since the start of the season.
International Round-Up
Ivan Kaviedes looked in good shape as he played the whole match dor Ecuador, getting on the scoresheet in the process. He got a rating of 8 for the game, which was won 2-0 by Ecuador over Venezuela.
Injury News
I finally think about asking my physios for a detailed report on Chris Coyne. All three physios recommend letting a specialist examine this injury to avoid further complications in the future. Chris is said to be fit in 6 days. Sending him to rehab says it could take from 2 to 4 weeks. The season is still young and I have backups at the defender spot, so I send him to rehab. The verdict comes quickly, it'll take 3 weeks of physiotherapy before he gets back with the team.
One good news on Neil Mellor though, as the physios have no immediate concerns about his health.
We currently have 8 players injured, not all starters though...
FM
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