No more fun for Daily Destroyers, only seriousness from now on, as the friendly games are a thing the past and the first competition game is upon us. We welcome TSG Hoffenheim in our home stadium, The Thunderdome, and look forward to what we can do against a team that is at least a promotion contender, and maybe even going for the title in our division. Obviously you'd always like to start the competition well, but getting a good result against the Germans would mean even more than winning a game against, for example, Mumbai FC. This is our starting eleven:



Not too much happened in the first ten minutes. Hoffenheim asked the referee for a penalty after a Bobson intervention, but our defender simply outclassed the German attacker. There was a lot of puzzling on both sides, but even though there was a lot of tension, the home crowd was happy to see the Daily defense holding on very well for the first twenty minutes. Garner-Hammerling Junior then saw Huber in the box in minute 22, but the Swiss was not able to score like he did several times in the pre-season friendly cup.

This opportunity did lead in some crazy minutes. We had a lot of chances, but were unable to convert a goal. Right after Huber's opportunity Torres tried beating the Hoffenheim goalie with his right foot, but a good save led to a corner. Defensive midfielder Rocky Wall tried to score with a shot from distance after a solo action, but another great save by the goalie led to another corner. That corner was almost scored by captain Macduff, but yet again the goalkeeper denied us the 1-0. Five minutes before halftime Ottaviani had the opportunity to open the score as well, but his shot missed precision.

The game started very slowly, but after a study round of twenty minutes we really took the matter into our own hands. The keeper denied us the opening goal though, which saw us go into the changing room with a 0-0. Before the game started we would have definitely liked this score, but with the way the game was going it was not to crazy to hope for more.

And more is exactly what we got in minute 52! Huber dived into the box of Hoffenheim and cut back, finding Garner-Hammerling Junior. The Swede had some space and curled the ball beautifully into the far corner, opening the score! After scoring the team's first goal ever our number one now also delivered the team's first competition goal, he surely knows when to score his goals! His goal was followed by some more midfield football and puzzling of both teams, as we were a bit lucky that the visitors badly aimed their first real chance of the game in minute 67. When the ball went out, The Thunderdome welcomed god of thunder Perun, Callahan and Martens as our three substitutes.

Hoffenheim started increasing the pressure without really creating danger, but it was supersub Martens who might have decided the game in the 78th minute! He received a pass from Brajkovic and started a run from the midfield line, and after cutting back like Huber did earlier in the half, the Belgian surprised everyone by going for the shot instead of passing the ball back. Being selfish at the right time can be a good idea, as the 2-0 stood on the scoreboard, making the home crowd absolutely bonkers! Martens isn't used to scoring a lot (yet) and didn't know how exactly to celebrate his important goal, so he decided to pose like the average French girl.



The other two substitutes were also present. First of all Perun played well, but had a weaker moment when giving away the ball with a bad pass around the 81st minute, leading to a Hoffenheim shot. The shot went wide, so no problem. A bit later the Germans were attacking again, and yet another great interception by Bobson, who played a terrific game, led to Callahan being sent forward. Callahan was then fouled by opponent Grillitsch inside the box, penalty for Daily Destroyers! Our favourite ginger and captain Macduff took his responsibility, and took the penalty. The Hoffenheim keeper dived into the right corner, but Macduff aimed his shot perfectly, 3-0!

After the 3-0 in the 89th minute, nothing more happened, which means we won our first competition game quite clearly. This was without a doubt the best team performance so far, and it is always nice to see it rewarded with several goals, a clean sheet, and most importantly three points. Our next game will be against the Tigres from Mexico, who beat Basel 3-1 today. Game highlights and key stats can be found under this message. Proud manager Nemolito signing off.



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