Season 2 – League Match #14
Croats in Miami vs. Screamin’ Seamen
Date: March 16th, 2003
Venue: Croats in Miami Arena (Miami, FL)
Attendance: 33,000 (33,000)
Weather: Partly cloudy
This is it. The match we’ve been fighting all season for. The formula is very simple. If we’re able to beat Croats in Miami today, then we will have won the series title and should receive automatic promotion to Division III. If we draw, then we will still get the series title, but will most likely have to play a qualification match. If we lose, then Ramblers will win the series and we will have to settle for second place.
For those of you with long memories, you will recall that we pounded Croats In Miami back in week one, 5-1. They were running an asymmetrical 3-5-2 defense back then, and we took advantage of that. But they will certainly not make the same mistake twice, and their team has improved considerably since the beginning of the season. This looks to be a very even matchup.
This match is so important that I actually considered “leasing” a player or two for it. That is, buy a good player or two, play them in this one match, and then re-list them on the transfer market. But I decided against that. If we don’t win the series on our own merits, then we don’t deserve the opportunity to move to Division III. It’s that simple.
Formation: 3-5-2
Starters
Keeper: #13 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
Right Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas
Right Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Left Winger: #3 Ben McMahon
Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Darryl Read
-Defender: #23 William Brown
-Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
-Forward: #14 Jesper Gravesen
-Winger: #25 Paul Peralta
We’re going pretty much with our standard line-up this week. Croats in Miami have a better midfield than we do, so we’re going to “pinch” winger Olav Mauffret to try to make up the difference. By “pinch,” I mean Olav will play towards the middle. It will hurt our wing attack on that side, as well as Olav’s star rating, but should help our midfield.
Deep breath…and away we go. A season hangs in the balance…
Match Report
PRE-GAME
Weather conditions were fairly good for football, and Croats in Miami Arena saw a crowd turnout of 33000. Croats had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Evering - Tze-Kei, Göransson, Howe - Schofield, Allen, Blackwell, Rönnerberg, Parish - Patrick, Broderick.
Screamin' started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Jernigan - Willard, Scales, Lucas - Mauffret , Tere, Bautista, Tomlin, Mcmahon - Henriksson, Tobias.
FIRST HALF
Croats could have put themselves ahead in the 6:th minute as Michael Patrick missed a volley shot on a ball coming in from the right.
In the 14:th minute Screamin's Chuck Scales received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Croats were forced to a substitution as Joe Howe couldn´t continue playing due to the rough treatment.
Clint Russell gave his Croats the lead with 1 - 0, as he successfully challenged both the guests central defenders, then placed the ball unreachably at the goaltenders right post.
In the games 30:th minute Croats´s Clint Russell head butted an opponent nastily and so the referee sent him off immediately.
Tyler Willard of Screamin' received a yellow card in the 33rd minute for unsportsmanlike behaviour.
The teams went for a half-time break at 1 - 0. Croats, bringing the final ball possession rate to 65 percent, dominated the battle.
SECOND HALF
Croats made a substitution in the 48:th minute. Alexander Parish limped off the field and was replaced by Örjan Tranwald.
After an industrious effort down the middle Michael Patrick could have closed the game off in the 57:th minute, but his finishing shot hit the post.
After an industrious effort down the middle Michael Patrick could have closed the game off in the 63rd minute, but his finishing shot hit the post.
Croats held the ball, with a clear 56 percent possession rate.
POST-GAME
Most important Croats player was Donald Blackwell. Örjan Tranwald was a disappointment, however.
The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Arlen Lucas. Olav Mauffret on the other hand, had a terrible day.
The match ends 1 - 0.
Final Score: Croats in Miami 1, Screamin’ Seamen 0
Goals
None
Cards
Scales (yellow)
Willard (yellow)
Player Ratings
Jernigan: ***
Willard: ***
Scales: ***
Lucas: ***~
Mauffret: *~ (pinch)
Tomlin: **~
Tere: **
Bautista: **~
McMahon: **
Henriksson: **
Tobias: **~
Team Match MVP: #5 Arlen Lucas
Team Ratings
Author’s Note: I will now start including the ‘DKI’ Ratings (named by sterlingice) for my matches, in order to try to gauge the ratings’ effectiveness. The rating is generated simply by adding up all of the team ratings, counting midfield as double.
Screamin’ Seamen
-DKI Rating: 59
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Magnificent (12)
-Central Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Left Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)
Croats in Miami
-DKI Rating: 55
-Midfield: Excellent (8)
-Right Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Central Defense: Passable (6)
-Left Defense: Passable (6)
-Right Attack: Excellent (8)
-Central Attack: Formidable (9)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)
Comments
Damn. Damn-damn-damn-damn-damn.
So close. One goal away from a series title and a qualification match.
The ejection of Clint Russell really opened up the Croats’ defense, but we just could not take advantage. Superior conditioning on our end helped to close the gap in possession in the second half, but our guys were never able to break free. The Croats’ midfield, combined with home-pitch advantage, was just too much for us to overcome, especially considering the form hits that our starters took this week.
I’m disappointed, for sure, but not as much as you might think. At the beginning of every season I set what I feel is a reasonable goal for my club. This season, I expected a top-four finish, therefore earning some prize money and securing our place in Division IV. The fact that we were one goal away from the series title was an unexpected bonus.
Our players have nothing at all to be ashamed of. In the immortal words of Bears and Cubs fans around the world, “there’s always next year!”
Series Scores and Final Standings
-As expected, Ramblers routed Inquisition, 8-nil.
-Neon Genesis Evangelion doomed Gazzaly FC to the lands of the auto-demoted, with a 6-1 drubbing.
-Cariocas received a 5-nil walkover win over The Cheats.
No. Team Played Goals Pts.
1. Ramblers 14 70-10 35
2. Screamin’ Seamen 14 52-16 35
3. Croats in Miami 14 44-17 34
4. Neon Genesis Evangelion 14 39-19 21
5. Inquisition 14 22-31 17
6. Cariocas 14 24-49 12
7. Gazzaly FC 14 20-59 8
8. The Cheats 14 4-74 0
Looking at the final standings, I could actually raise hairs about Ramblers winning the series title. I understand that goal differential is the first tie-breaker, but if head-to-head matches were considered like they are in many sports, then we would still have won the title (having drawn with Ramblers in our first meeting and defeated them in the second). But that is not the case. So be it.
Looking at the bottom half of the table, I fully expect to see four new teams in our series next season. Gazzaly FC and The Cheats are automatic demotes. Inquisition inherited the position of Farmer of Fire, but have made no efforts at all to improve their team, and the Cariocas ownership have been inactive for a number of weeks now.
Don’t be surprised to see a lot of new faces in series IV.49 next season.
Other News
A word of warning to everyone; Keep your default line-up up to date! The trouble that the Hattrick site was experiencing this weekend could have cost me dearly. I had not yet submitted my line-up when the trouble began, and my default line-up is a very old one. Fortunately the site came back up a couple of hours before match time. Not that it ended up mattering any.
Johannes Henriksson ended up tied for 3rd for the series scoring title with 15 league goals, and Forrest Tobias claimed 5th place with 12 scored. Ramblers’ Steffan Hansson took home the honors with an impressive 22 league goals.
Up Next: We’ve arranged for a friendly this Wednesday against Eilim’s Bull Dogs. Stay tuned!