Competition Game 24: Olympiakos - Daily Destroyers
We're back! Let's try to get some revanche against Olympiakos, after losing 3-5 against them in the first half of the season. No worries, we have no crazy tactics today. All player predicting a result in the thread are in the starting eleven, except for Perun (who had started the last two games) and Vertongen (because it's me).
Spoiler
Captain Perfetto tried something interesting in the opening minutes with a shot from 25 metres, but it went (very) wide and over. In the sixth minute he and Macduff bumped into one another on an Olympiakos cross, which resulted into a dangerous heading opportunity for El Arabi. He just missed the target. Macduff then ran deep into the opposing half and gave the ball away a bit too easy, luckily Bobson intercepted the Greek counter. A good save then by Maes on a shot from distance in the 17th minute, but he got beat on the following corner. Washington lost his heading duel against Masouras: 1-0 for the home team! Is Olympiakos really just a team we won't be able to beat? Moments later they were close to the 2-0 as well, but again a good interception by Bobson preventing worse.
We tried getting through their defensive line, but simply couldn't. A very unlucky moment then for us in the 32nd minute, as Macduff slightly touched an Olympiakos pass, after which Maes had been set on the wrong foot, and couldn't come back in time to prevent Bouchalikis an easy tap-in, which was the 2-0. A couple of minutes later we saw a good individual action by Martens, almost providing Torres with an assist, but his shot got blocked. Right before the half time whistle we needed another good Maes save on a Greek shot from distance. Coach Nemolito didn't like what he saw and brought in Perun and Sanchez to start the second half.
Immediately some good news for us, as for the second time in the game Olympiakos left back Reabciuk came late with a sliding tackle on Martens, and for the second time he was awarded yellow. Two times yellow still equals red, eleven versus ten on the pitch with fourty minutes on the clock! We started playing better, which seems obvious, the first opportunity then for Washington after a good Sanchez pass, but the Olympiakos keeper said no. Two minutes after that Sanchez again with a good through ball, but Huber missed a big one on one opportunity! Sanchez' great passing was not awarded, so he went for a dribble in the penalty area in the 65th minute. He was blatantly fouled, penalty! Macduff took the ball, and placed it perfectly in the upper right corner, 2-1 with 25 minutes to go!
We had them right where we wanted them, with the 'man more-situation' going exactly as you would hope. The first attack from them in the second half resulted in nothing in the 70th minute, at least nothing for them. a quick counter saw Martens receiving the ball from Sanchez, passing it in one time to our infiltrating center defensive midfielder Wall. Probably one of the worst shots of Wall's career then, straight to the middle, but also some atrocious goalkeeping by the Greek goalie, a very strange equalizer! Sanchez still with no assists, but what a substitution has he proven to be! After the goal Bookman came on as well.
The Wall goal, with Macduff celebrating his penalty goal as well: https://youtu.be/...
In the 80th minute, a perfect pass from Perun was sent to Washington for the winning goal, but our striker waited a second too long to decide what to do. After that we were unable to create any more chances, but Olympiakos finally had their first big opportunity in the second half. With less than a minute to go, Valbuena was too selfish and instead of making use of the two versus one situation, he went for a shot that went wide. 2-2 is not the hoped result, but when they scored 2-0 it definitely didn't even look like we would be able to get anything out of today.
Competition Game 25: Daily Destroyers - Mumbai City FC
In theory a home against the red lantern should be easy, right?
Spoiler
Bobson was positioned on the left flank with Callahan ahead of him, and they seemed to be bonding well. A nice action between the two led to a corner for us in the sixth minute. The corner itself wasn't amazing, but then Huber picked up the ball and delivered it nicely to Torres. Great header from our striker, but a superb save by Mumbai goalie Lachenpa kept the scoreboard at 0-0. A bit later Sanchez went for a dribble, and as he came closer to the penalty area the fans yelled at him to shoot. A hard and nice shot by our attacking midfielder followed, but once again Lachenpa denied us the opening goal. Three times is the charm though, as the Mumbai goalie had no answer on the Torres tap-in around the fourteenth minute, after a nice dribble and good pass from Huber, 1-0!
Mumbai finally started playing football as well, and had their first opportunity of the game in the 26th minute. Santana was awake and saved the ball without any problem. Sanchez then created a nice opportunity for Torres to score his second, but Lachenpa showed his great form with another impressive save. In the fourtieth minute Callahan received a yellow card for an unnecessary tackle from behind. Just before half time we came very close to an exact copy of the first goal, but Huber's pass was just a bit too hard for Torres to be able to reach it. Deserved 1-0 at half time.
Huber kept creating chances, leading to another corner for us in the 50th minute. Decent header by Perfetto, but not hard enough. Bobson then made kind of the same error as he has been doing more recently, giving the ball away too easily with a far from convincing pass on our own half. Santana showed he was keen on keeping a clean sheet and made the danger go away. Another successful Huber dribble led to a Torres shot from distance in the 62nd minute, but it went wide. Our three substitutes came on: Martens, Garner-Hammarling Junior and Washington.
The Swede immediately got a chance to score, but was tackled from the side. Coach Nemolito and the players on the pitch expected a free kick to be given, but the referee didn't agree. While the coach was shouting at the referee and some of the players went with him in his emotions, the game continued. Mumbai got very close to the equalizer on their counter-attack, but hit the post. We then countered their counter, using Washington's speed, and the American waited until the perfect moment to deliver Garner-Hammarling Junior the 2-0 in the 71st minute! The chaotic moments can be seen here: https://youtu.be/...
Huber really deserved a goal and had the opportunity to score in the 74th minute after some nice teamplay between him, Martens and Garner-Hammarling Junior. Indian goalie Lachenpa denied him his goal though, with yet another spectacular save. Mumbai seemed to acknowledge they wouldn't come back from 2-0 and kept passing the ball around on their own half, but an interception by Washington then led to the visitors panicking and fouling him inside the penalty area. Just like in our previous game Macduff took up the responsibility, as he blasted the ball into the upper right corner. 3-0 in minute 87! Garner-Hammarling Junior even got the opportunity to score a fourth goal in the extra time, but his shot on an assist from Martens just went wide. An easy victory and nice clean sheet for Daily Destroyers today, although Mumbai not missing in the 70th minute could have been disastrous.
Daily Destroyers 2 - 0 Club Brugge
SC Braga 1 - 2 Celta da Vigo
Inter Miami 2 - 1 Mumbai City FC
Burnley 1 - 2 Galatasaray
TSG Hoffenheim 2 - 1 Tigres
Boca Juniors 4 - 3 FC Basel
Torino 1 - 2 Dinamo Zagreb
Feyenoord 1 - 2 Seattle Sounders
Olympiakos 2 - 2 Wellington Phoenix
Week 24:
Olympiakos 2 - 2 Daily Destroyers
Wellington Phoenix 0 - 0 Feyenoord
Seattle Sounders 0 - 0 Torino
Dinamo Zagreb 0 - 3 Boca Juniors
FC Basel 2 - 4 TSG Hoffenheim
Tigres 1 - 2 Burnley
Galatasaray 0 - 0 Inter Miami
Mumbai City 1 - 1 SC Braga
Celta da Vigo 3 - 3 Club Brugge
Week 25:
Daily Destroyers 3 - 0 Mumbai City FC
Celta da Vigo 1 - 3 Galatasaray
Club Brugge 1 -0 Tigres
SC Braga 3 - 1 FC Basel
Inter Miami 2 - 1 Dinamo Zagreb
Burnley 0 - 1 Seattle Sounders
TSG Hoffenheim 4 - 1 Wellington Phoenix
Boca Juniors 2 - 3 Olympiakos
Torino 1 - 2 Feyenoord
Ranking
P
+-
+
-
W
D
L
1
Daily Destroyers
57
26
56
30
18
3
4
2
Dinamo Zagreb
51
14
40
26
16
3
6
3
Boca Juniors
47
11
41
30
15
2
8
4
Hoffenheim
45
15
42
27
13
6
6
5
Burnley
43
15
41
26
14
1
10
6
Celta da Vigo
41
4
38
34
12
5
8
7
SC Braga
40
5
37
32
11
7
7
8
Feyenoord
40
2
33
31
11
7
7
9
Olympiakos
39
7
41
34
11
6
8
10
Galatasaray
36
5
35
30
9
9
7
11
Tigres
35
6
40
34
11
2
12
12
Club Brugge
34
-1
30
31
8
10
7
13
Seattle Sounders
34
-5
27
32
9
7
9
14
Torino
28
-11
30
41
7
7
11
15
Inter Miami
22
-9
31
40
5
7
13
16
FC Basel
17
-19
30
49
5
2
18
17
Wellington Phoenix
14
-35
21
56
3
5
17
18
Mumbai City FC
5
-31
16
47
0
5
20
* Little hiccup against Olympiakos for us, but even worse news for Zagreb. First they lost against team in form Boca Juniors, then they led a surprising defeat against Inter Miami. Six points gap now with nine games to go!
* 0/9 and 11 goals against them for Basel in their latest three games. Not the best form for them.
* Three goal-less ties in game week 24, interesting.
* We are still the team with the most goals (56), whereas Wellington has the most goals against (also 56).
*
The home team, Torino, was supposed to be one of the title contenders this season. They didn't fulfill those expectations, but are still a strong team in theory. Let's see what this game brings.
Spoiler
The first ooportunities for both teams came from a cross on the right flank. Good defending by Perfetto made the danger in our penalty area disappear, whereas Martens' ball was a bit behind Huber, who couldn't put a lot of strength on it anymore. Garner-Hammarling Junior tried surprising their goalie with a shot from distance with his left foot in the tenth minute, although it was a good attempt the keeper was able to convert it into a corner kick. Martens' corner was headed next to the post by Macduff. We were definitely the better team, as a Washington shot from inside the penalty area led to another corner in the sixteenth minute, followed by another near miss from Macduff's header.
We kept a high pressure and were rewarded in the eighteenth minute. GHJ waited until the perfect moment to find Martens, whose shot went into the far corner and left the Torino goalie without a chance, 0-1! Torino immediately (finally) woke up, after which a very strong save by Maes was needed on a Belotti attempt. On the following corner a crucial Bookman block was necessary for us to remain in the lead. Then, in the 36th minute, everybody thought the equalizer was a fact as a Torino player was able to shoot from the same position where Martens delivered us the 0-1. Maes didn't let it happen though, as the Belgian goalie saved us with a superb foot reflex! Just as everyone thought we could be happy with a 0-1 going into the locker rooms, we almost had a repeat of the first goal. Our favourite Swede found Martens, but this time the Torino goalie was in the way. Centre defensive midfielder Wall followed the play attentively though, as he was at the right spot to still make it 0-2 in the second minute of the extra time!
Martens was enjoying the game and had some nice runs on his right flank. Even the home crowd applauded for him after a crazy solo, dribbling three Turinians, ended up in a corner at the start of the second half. A bit later the GHJ-Martens bromance reached the next level, when a smart move by the Swede (bringing two players with him while dribbling from the centre of the pitch to the right) enabled a lot of freedom for the Belgian, receiving the ball and rather easily making it 0-3 in the 50th minute! Game over?!
Not according to Mandragora, the Torino midfielder was left alone for a moment too long when he blasted the ball in our goal from around 20 metres. Maes was never going to save such a perfect and hard shot, as the score was 1-3 with still 30 minutes to go. Torres, Sanchez and Callahan came on for us, in an attempt to remain in the lead. Sanchez immediately found the other substitute, Torres, in the penalty area. Good shot by Torres then, but also a good save and corner kick. Torino tried to go all or nothing and pumped all balls forwards, relying on crosses a lot. Macduff and Perfetto were doing very well though, being masters in the air. Torino was awarded their third yellow card of the game in the 75th minute, when Belotti was a bit too agressive and tackled Macduff from behind.
Torres had a monstrous opportunity to make it 1-4 from very close after another great Martens dribble, but he inexplicably missed. He got the ball again after it bounced into his feet from the Torino goalie, but missed again! Two misses from inside the little box is definitely not what you want to happen as a striker. The last opportunity of the game was for the home team, but Maes was attentive and cleared the danger. Another win for Daily Destroyers, 8 finals to go for us to be champions!
In the first round of the competition, we lost 2-1 in Braga. Let's try to show them today that we have improved a lot since then, and are ready to join the super league.
Spoiler
We had the ball in our ranks for the first ten minutes of the game, but weren't able to create anything against a closed Braga defense line. The first opportunity of the game was even for the visitors, when a Souza shot from distance missed the target. Martens, scoring twice for us in our previous game, wanted to continue his good form today and went for the shot on a great through ball from Brajkovic. The angle was rather sharp, but our Belgian still managed to hit the post! Close one! Braga immediately countered and went for another shot from distance, on which a good save from Santana was needed.
In the 25th minute, Perfetto badly cleared a not so dangerous cross from the Portuguese, after which the visitors intercepted the ball again and with two quick passes and a simple tap-in from Piazon managed to score the 0-1! Braga kept the high pressure after the opening goal and went for the 0-2 with a shot from distance again, this time Perfetto blocked their attempt. Martens was still playing rather strong, after we came close to the equalizer following his nice run on the right flank. Striker Torres came a toe short. Once again Braga created danger with an attempt from outside of the penalty area in the 40th minute, but this time their shot was too centered. The visitors really hurt us in the 44th minute though, as captain Perfetto lost his heading duel against a smaller opponent from Braga, for Ruiz to receive the leather and blast it in the back of the net! 0-2 at half time, not the score we hoped for.
Coach Nemolito felt like action had to be taken immediately, as Garner-Hammarling Junior and Perun were brought on at half time, with Bookman going back to the left back position. Braga clearly watched our last game and the strong performance by the Swede, as he immediately got torpedoed, yellow for the Braga centre defensive midfielder. Garner-Hammarling Junior is more than only assists though, he's also know as the guy who scores at crucial moments, and he stood up once again! The free kick was quickly given from Perun to Wall, Wall passed it to the Swede, who unexplicably went for a shot with his left foot instead of his better right, and it went in, right next to the far post, 1-2 in the 51st minute!
Spoiler
Seems like we were getting a bit too enthusiastic however, as a badly timed tackle from Wall led to a dangerous free kick for the visitors in the 60th minute, hitting the post! The danger hadn't been cleared yet though, as after that Perun had to clear the ball on the line as well, and then Macduff headed it into a Braga corner kick with goalie Santana flying under the ball. Our last substitute, Huber, came on the pitch as well. Braga was looking to score that 1-3 and tried their luck with several shots from distance again, but nothing that worried us. Bookman went for a run on his left flank then, and as almost everyone on the pitch was standing still, and infiltrating Perun received the ball. He ran as if his life depended on it, and when reaching the end of the field passed it to the centre of the penalty area without even looking who was there. Good news for us though, as Torres was there, scoring the equalizer with a solid shot in the corner of the goal! 2-2 in the 68th minute! Another sub making a huge impact with a formidable assist, as striker Torres was incredibly happy and ready to forget last game's big misses!
Huber also wanted to be a sub with an impact, going for the assists on a free kick in the 72nd minute. He found the head of Macduff, but his header missed the target. As nobody had noticed Martens for a long while, all of a sudden he got some freedom in the Braga penalty area. Just as you thought he had lost the ball, attacking player Piazon tackled him in the most stupid way possible: penalty! Macduff hadn't missed a penalty yet this season and went for his beloved upper right corner... 3-2 in the 74th minute, what a comeback!
Spoiler
Brajkovic thought this game could use some more drama and fouled Ruiz in our penalty area in the 85th minute! A big sigh of relief went through the stadium, as it became clear the referee had whistled because of Braga offside. The Croatian right back still wanted some more spotlights on him for a second, going for a crazy solo on the right flank. After a while he found Torres, but the following shot was from an angle too sharp to worry the Braga goalie. In the 94th minute Braga threw the ball in our box for the last time, and it was Perfetto who perfectly cleared the danger by winning his heading duel like he has been doing all season! Seems like he has forgotten his first half already, as the referee blew his whistle for the final time. Incredible comeback by the Destroyers, and although we were obviously a bit lucky as well, this shows the team has a superb fighting spirit. Title incoming?
Competition Game 28: Wellington Phoenix - Daily Destroyers
Wellington is the 17th out of 18 teams in the league. Still no reason to underestimate anyone of course. Man in form Martens takes place on the bench.
Spoiler
Only eight minutes in as the home team had already fired five (!) shots at our goal. Nothing dangerous though, but they gave us a clear warning this was not going to be the walk-over some might have hoped for. We reacted with a Bobson breakthrough then, and after a bad touch by Washington it was Sanchez who delivered us our first attempt of the game. A good save by the Wellington goalie meant we got a corner kick out of it. Following that corner, it was centre back Bookman who tried going for it from distance with his right foot. The shot went over so much it even left the stadium.
Almost the entire rest of the first half was rather trashy from both sides, with a lot of bad passing play, despite the room to do something being there for both them and us. Wall was one of our better players so far, with several strong interceptions. Then all of a sudden a cheeky Garner-Hammarling Junior dribble led to Huber swerving to the flank and getting the ball, after which he immediately found Sanchez with a very fine through ball. Sanchez had the time to choose where to shoot, and he chose the lower right corner. 0-1 for us in the 40th minute! That was immediately it for the first half, not the best start, but the score was what it needed to be. In the spirit of Roland Garros at the moment: the first set was ours.
The second half started a bit similar as the first one, with two (non very threatening) shots from distance from the home team. Washington's shot from distance was definitely more dangerous, but after a good save from the home keeper he also denied Wall the 0-2 on the rebound with a strong save. Huber then came close to a similar assist as in the first half, but we found out Perun's finishing is a bit weaker than Sanchez' in the 65th minute, which is not a surprise as he is a defensive midfielder.
A dangerous situation arose in our penalty area around the 70th minute, but a crucial Perfetto block saved the day in a 3 vs. 4 situation. On the counterattack Bobson came very close to finishing the game, but was also denied the 0-2 by a nice parade from the Australian goalie. Three subs then came on: Martens, Callahan and Torres. Callahan was still sleeping a bit as he lost possession on our half, which led to a huge opportunity for the home team. A superb Maes foot reflex kept us alive. They immediately got another big chance after a corner, and once again it was Maes who saved the day with a miraculous save! Another corner for them then, as Maes plucked the ball and gave it to Wall. Wall sent Martens deep, but the Belgian wasn't fast enough. He kept going and pressuring the defense and goalie though. The Wellington keeper clearly isn't as good with his feet as he is with his hands, as he gave the ball away to our Belgian winger, who scored the 0-2 in the 88th minute! Three points secured! You can see the Maes save and Martens goal here: https://youtu.be/...
Torino 1 - 3 Daily Destroyers
Feyenoord 1 - 1 Boca Juniors
Olympiakos 0 - 1 TSG Hoffenheim
Wellington Phoenix 0 - 2 Burnley
Seattle Sounders 2 - 1 Inter Miami
Dinamo Zagreb 1 - 0 SC Braga
FC Basel 2 - 3 Club Brugge
Tigres 0 - 0 Celta da Vigo
Galatasaray 0 - 0 Mumbai City FC
Week 27:
Daily Destroyers 3 - 2 SC Braga
Inter Miami 1 - 1 Club Brugge
Burnley 1 - 1 Celta da Vigo
TSG Hoffenheim 1 - 2 Mumbai City FC
Boca Juniors 2 - 1 Galatasaray
Torino 2 - 0 Tigres
Feyenoord 2 - 0 Basel
Olympiakos 1 - 2 Dinamo Zagreb
Wellington Phoenix 1 - 3 Seattle Sounders
Week 28:
Wellington Phoenix 0 - 2 Daily Destroyers
Seattle Sounders 1 - 1 Olympiakos
Dinamo Zagreb 2 - 1 Feyenoord
FC Basel 0 - 1 Torino
Tigres 2 - 1 Boca Juniors
Galatasaray 2 - 1 TSG Hoffenheim
Mumbai City FC 1 - 3 Burnley
Celta da Vigo 0 - 3 Inter Miami
Club Brugge 0 - 2 SC Braga
Ranking
P
+-
+
-
W
D
L
1
Daily Destroyers
66
31
64
33
21
3
4
2
Dinamo Zagreb
60
17
45
28
19
3
6
3
Boca Juniors
51
11
45
34
16
3
9
4
Burnley
50
19
47
28
16
2
10
5
Hoffenheim
48
14
45
31
14
6
8
6
Feyenoord
44
3
37
34
12
8
8
7
SC Braga
43
5
41
36
12
7
9
8
Celta da Vigo
43
1
39
38
12
7
9
9
Seattle Sounders
41
-2
33
35
11
8
9
10
Olympiakos
40
5
43
38
11
7
10
11
Galatasaray
40
5
38
33
10
10
8
12
Tigres
39
5
42
37
12
3
13
13
Club Brugge
38
-2
34
36
9
11
8
14
Torino
34
-10
34
44
9
7
12
15
Inter Miami
26
-7
36
43
6
8
14
16
FC Basel
17
-23
32
55
5
2
21
17
Wellington Phoenix
14
-41
22
63
3
5
20
18
Mumbai City FC
9
-32
19
51
1
6
21
* Title race is still going, with both us and Zagreb scoring 9/9. In theory still five teams that could win the title with six games remaining.
* Mumbai City with their first win of the season! They managed to win against Hoffenheim, not bad. They remain last, though.
* Wellington with the first goal that has more than 60 goals against them. Basel look on their way to be there soon as well.
Competition Game 29: Daily Destroyers - Celta da Vigo
We have six games to go and six points more than title rival Zagreb, who we will meet soon as well. First, let's try to go for a three-pointer against Celta da Vigo.
Spoiler
The first opportunity of the game was for the visitors and... they immediately scored. Our defense had no answer ready for their quick passing play as Maes was beaten by a shot from inside our penalty area after only four minutes, 0-1. We answered with a big chance for Torres on a hard Martens cross, sadly the striker's shot wasn't hard enough and a Spanish defender was able to clear the ball on the line. Most of our danger came from our flanks, as the attacking Spaniards left a lot of open space there. Several decent crosses coming on, but it became clear Torres still has to work on his positioning as he was mostly positioned behind his defender when he needed to come in front of them. A Garner-Hammarling Junior shot in the seventeeth minute, after a Huber pass, didn't cause the Celta goalie a headache neither.
Although we had most of the shots, it was Celta coming very close to the 0-2 with a shot from distance in the 28th minute. Nice diving save from Maes though. On the following corner kick Macduff retrieved the ball, and soon a Wall ball through the air sent Huber running into the enemy lines. After the great opening by Wall the Swiss was able to keep his cool and find Torres standing free for a tap-in goal, shushing anyone who dared criticizing his positioning earlier in the game. 1-1 in the 31st minute, and Torres thought it was time to drink some tea!
Spoiler
Nothing more happened in the first half, and there was only one small opportunity in the first fifteen minutes of the second half as well. Torres made some room for himself on a GHJ pass, but the angle was too sharp to score to surprise Celta goalie Dituro. Three subs then came in: Sanchez, Callahan and Brajkovic. Just as in the first half Celta da Vigo then outplayed us with incredibly quick passing play, but this time a superb save from Maes on an Iago Aspas attempt meant the score remained 1-1 in the 67th minute. Then, our substitutes really made their mark, as Callahan went for a dribble and found Sanchez in the penalty area, with the attacking midfielder blasting the ball in the upper right corner: 2-1 in the 73rd minute!
Almost immediately Sanchez was able to return the favour to Callahan, but a good reflex from Dituro kept the score at 2-1. A crucial interception by Macduff then in the 80th minute, as a bit later an infiltrating Wall tried his luck with a shot from inside the penalty area. Decent save by Dituro, corner kick. And it went in! Both Perfetto and Macduff went for the header but neither them or their defenders were able to do something special. The ball bounced up, and it was other substitute Brajkovic who was the first to reach the leather and volley it in from close-by! 3-1 and game played! Once again wonderful fighting spirit from the Destroyers and another strong goalkeeping performance leading to three points. It does feel like the luck has been a bit in our favor so far this season, let's hope it stays that way in the final five games as well!
Unfinished business! The season is still five games away from being done, so a six points lead over title rival Dinamo Zagreb means we need to score at least 9/15. Final game of the season is even against the Croatians. Although it would be extra dramatic and beautiful to win the title by beating them, the fans are hoping we can celebrate earlier. First out of five finals today, the flying Dutchmen from Feyenoord, currently sixth in the standings, are our opponents. This is our starting eleven.
Spoiler
The first ten minutes were hard. It was clear we hadn’t played in a while and Feyenoord had two good chances. Luckily for us their finishing wasn’t how it needed to be, and Bookman intercepted a dangerous cross just before the Dutch team could make it 1-0. Our first danger, or attempt of being dangerous, came in the 13th minute when Torres just couldn’t reach Huber’s cross. Torres then converted into the role as playmaker in minute 18 as he asked for the ball close to the middle circle, waited to give a great pass to an infiltrating Perun at the perfect moment, and the midfielder making it 0-1 from just outside the box! The title is coming closer once again!
Spoiler
Three minutes later, the title was a bit further out of reach again. After a good defensive tackle by Bookman Feyenoord quickly threw the ball in, our defensive duo of Perfetto and Macduff wasn’t positioned perfectly, and Til scored the 1-1. Feyenoord quickly took the game over again, and had two big chances of getting into the lead. With two good saves Maes kept the 1-1 on the scoreboard in minutes 29 and 30. After a failed dribble by Sanchez and another communication mistake by our central defensive duo leading to a dangerous attempt from far just over the bar, some hards words were interchanged between several of our players. The 2-1 seemed to be a matter of time.
But this could be Torres’ game! Callahan was fouled near the side line, but the jolly winger didn’t fall down like the average football player and kept on dribbling until he found Torres just outside of the box. Our striker did not hesitate for a second and aimed for the far corner… but his shot went straight to the middle! But it also went in! Some shocking goalkeeping skills by Feyenoord’s goalie Bijlow, as the score is now 1-2 in the 38th minute, with the shots 5-2 for Feyenoord!
Nevertheless, keeping a lead really doesn’t seem to be our thing in this game. Hero in the 18th minute, anti-hero in minute 42. A bad pass from Perun lead to another Feyenoord attack. Even though Maes was able to save the first attempt with a magnificent save, he couldn’t stop Sinisterra’s second attempt. 2-2 just before halftime. No more shots on goals were fired after that. In the end, we’re lucky to go to the changing rooms with this score.
The second half started similarly to what we saw too much in the first half, bad passing play for us. A badly timed through ball from Bobson lead to Jahanbakhsh scoring the 3-2 in the 51st minute. Title stress, or just missing match rhythm? Daily Destroyers really need to up their game soon in order to turn this game around. Wall replaced Sanchez right after the goal, with Huber moving up to the CAM position.
Feyenoord really made our life difficult with constant high pressure, but we were finally able to escape in the 56th minute. Huber found an again infiltrating Perun, but this time his shot went wide. Strong counterattack though, and it seemed to scare our opponents. For a first time in a long while, their passing game started showing signs of weakness. We almost took advantage of this in minute 58, when Callahan was unable to finish Torres’ assist. Nevertheless, Feyenoord suddenly kept struggling, which lead to the equalizer in minute 63! Interception by Garner Hammarling Junior, quick ball to Huber and on his turn to Callahan, and for the second time in this game the redhead found striker Torres, who tapped the ball in!
Spoiler
Feyenoord got a bit of motivation again after a Bobson – GH Junior action didn’t work out, but their final pass was just too bad and was picked up by Maes. Our goalie found Garner Hammarling Junior with a long throw, and after an impressive run from midfield to the opponents’ box he tried to find one of the Destroyers’ heads. Callahan thought he would head the ball in, but accidentally pushed goalie Bijlow into the goal and received a warning from the ref. Ottaviani and Washington were subbed in around the 70th minute, with Bookman and Perun leaving the field.
The next fifteen minutes were, contrary to the rest of the game, very closed. Feyenoord didn’t achieve anything and we didn’t come closer than a not so amazing cross from the right side. All of a sudden a good combined action by Callahan and Washington on the left side lead to Ottaviania with a chip inside the box towards Huber, who outclassed two defenders and headed it in with three minutes to go! 3-4! Daily Destroyers wouldn’t be Daily Destroyers if they didn’t give away a big chance anymore though, and Feyenoord had the perfect opportunity to equalize in the 92nd minute! Maes saved their attempt with an unorthodox foot reflex, and quickly after that the referee ended the game. What a game to get back out there!
Daily Destroyers 3 - 1 Celta da Vigo
Club Brugge 1 - 1 Mumbai City FC
SC Braga 2 - 0 Galatasaray
Inter Miami 1 - 2 Tigres
Burnley 4 - 1 FC Basel
TSG Hoffenheim 1 - 2 Dinamo Zagreb
Boca Juniors 1 - 2 Seattle Sounders
Torino 1 - 0 Wellington Phoenix
Feyenoord 1 - 1 Olympiakos
Week 30:
Feyenoord 3 - 4 Daily Destroyers
Olympiakos 1 - 1 Torino
Wellington Phoenix 1 - 2 Boca Juniors
Seattle Sounders 2 - 3 TSG Hoffenheim
Dinamo Zagreb 2 - 1 Burnley
FC Basel 0 - 2 Inter Miami
Tigres 0 - 1 SC Braga
Galatasaray 0 - 2 Club Brugge
Mumbai City FC 2 - 2 Celta da Vigo
Ranking
P
+-
+
-
W
D
L
1
Daily Destroyers
72
34
71
37
23
3
4
2
Dinamo Zagreb
66
19
49
30
21
3
6
3
Boca Juniors
54
11
48
37
17
3
10
4
Burnley
53
21
52
31
17
2
11
5
Hoffenheim
51
14
49
35
15
6
9
6
SC Braga
49
8
44
36
14
7
9
7
Feyenoord
45
2
41
39
12
9
9
8
Celta da Vigo
44
-1
42
43
12
8
10
9
Seattle Sounders
44
-2
37
39
12
8
10
10
Olympiakos
42
5
45
40
11
9
10
11
Tigres
42
5
44
39
13
3
14
12
Club Brugge
42
0
37
37
10
12
8
13
Galatasaray
40
1
38
37
10
10
10
14
Torino
38
-9
36
45
10
8
12
15
Inter Miami
29
-6
39
45
7
8
15
16
FC Basel
17
-28
33
61
5
2
23
17
Wellington Phoenix
14
-43
23
65
3
5
22
18
Mumbai City FC
11
-32
22
54
1
8
21
* Four games to go, final game against Zagreb, and we have a six points lead. Let's grab this title!
* Bottom three will remain in the bottom three. They tried hard, but didn't succeed.
* Fight for the podium still open as well.
The title is getting closer and closer. Will it impact our playing style today, or are we able to play totally stress-free? Burnley is our opponent, and they are definitely a force to be reckoned with. Our starting eleven is similar to the Feyenoord game, with Torres and Sanchez starting on the bench this time. Wall and top scorer Washington take their places.
Spoiler
Not a lot of fireworks in the first fifteen minutes, with the only shot of the game being a shot from distance from Burnley from quite far away, which was blocked by Bobson. Perun did receive a yellow card in the fourteenth minute though, after his tackle simply came too late and he mowed down his direct opponent. Towards the thirtieth minute we had seen two chances for both teams, but nothing too spectacular. Washington tried scoring from both a Bookman and Bobson assist, but it proved to be too difficult both times.
Burnley was starting to get some bigger chances. A two versus one had to be their opening goal, but their left winger was selfish, and Maes saved us with a good reflex. On the following corner in minute 38, Maes was beaten, but Perfetto cleared the ball on the line. The English kept coming though, and they were rewarded in minute 42 after a quick and deadly attack. Washington tried equalizing before half time, but alas, his shot from distance on a Bobson pass got blocked.
The first fifteen minutes were similar to what we saw so far. We mainly tried and only were able to create some danger with crosses from our wingbacks towards Washington, but never enough to really be very dangerous. Burnley on the other hand was a bit more dangerous, but luckily good clearances from Macduff, Perfetto and Bookman kept the score 0-1 so far. Sanchez and Torres were subbed in, hoping to get some more attacking creativity.
The substitutions didn’t help much. Burnley was just one step ahead of us and more agressive towards the ball. Minute 70 saw Gudmundson come eye in eye with Maes, as the Icelander made it 0-2. Luckily for us the score didn’t become 0-3 three minutes later, after a weak shot from their striker. We could have gained some hope in minute 81, when Sanchez had a scoring possibility on a Perun pass, but it got blocked. The situation became even worse in minute 91, when Burnley’s Westwood scored the 0-3 on a counter. With a loss today and 6 goals against us in two games, we are definitely no champions yet.
Competition Game 32: Boca Juniors - Daily Destroyers
We need to bounce back from a loss against Burnley, as title contender Zagreb is breathing in our neck. This is our starting eleven against Boca Juniors, as we meet them in Argentina.
Spoiler
Forgot to take a pic. Maes (GK), Callahan (LB), Macduff (LCB), Perfetto (RCB), Bobson (RB), Perun (LDM), Wall (RDM), Huber (LAM), Sanchez (RAM), Garner-Hammarling Junior (RAM), Torres (ST).
Exactly one minute in the game as Sanchez was taunting our opponents, who tackled him and received a yellow card. Sanchez decided he was going to be a superstar today, as three minutes later he opened the score! Torres came back to the midfield, created room for Sanchez in the box and gave Garner-Hammarling Junior the ball on the right side. A good move by the Swede followed by a good medium-height ball to a free Sanchez, with our little midfielder opening the score with a header!
Spoiler
GHJ seemed to have a lot of space to run behind the opponent's defenders, but even though some decent long balls went to him, the defenders outpaced him most of the time. A first dangerous shot from distance from our opponents came in minute 13’, luckily Maes was awake and able to save it, after which Callahan cleared the ball. Drama for us then, as early hero Sanchez was injured after an air duel and was subbed by Bookman. This meant moving Huber to CAM and Callahan to LAM. Compared to our previous two games we were definitely doing better defensively, as we didn’t give away big open chances.
In minute 27 they were back with another nice shot from distance, which hit the bar! They might have had trouble creating big opportunities, but the same could be said for us. Nevertheless, a good action between Huber and GHJ lead to the Swiss with an open shot for the 0-2 in minute 43, but he clearly missed his timing. GHJ tried finding Torres in the box in extra time, but his attempt got blocked. We thus went into the locker rooms with a 0-1 lead. Not a great passing play or anything spectacular happening, but at this point in the season you could argue the score is all that counts.
Second half started similarly to what we have seen in the first 45 minutes. Them trying to find an opening, and us really keeping it tight very well in the centre. A quick counter then went from Wall to Huber, who cleared some space and saw a free GHJ running deep on the right. He cut inside, into the box, and shot the 0-2 in the far corner in the 56th minute! Our joy didn't last very long, as two minutes later we were very unlucky. Perfect through ball on their striker Orsini, with both Perfetto and Macduff too slow to catch up with him. Maes went outside of his box, tackled the ball, and via a lucky touch it came back tot he striker who had to tap it in. 1-2 with half an hour to go.
Another close call then in minute 67, Maes with a good reflex keeping our lead alive. The pressure was getting higher, as Maes withheld striker Orsini from a brace. Once again Maes had to save the day in minute 80, but during the same chance we were unable to clear the ball and this time Orsini easily scored the 2-2.
Washington and Brajkovic were brought on then, which is rather late. We had the chances to win then. First a Brajkovic hard low ball passed three of our players, and then Torres got ahead of their goalie in minute 90, but his shot was way off target. Boca tried surprising us again with another shot from distance in minute 92, once again hitting the crossbar! 2-2 in the end. Not ideal, two more games to go to decide the championship…
Daily Destroyers 0 - 3 Burnley
TSG Hoffenheim 3 - 1 Inter Miami
Boca Juniors 1 - 1 SC Braga
Torino 2 - 1 Club Brugge
Feyenoord 0 - 0 Celta da Vigo
Olympiakos 4 - 0 Mumbai City FC
Wellington Phoenix 0 - 2 Galatasaray
Seattle Sounders 2 - 1 Tigres
Dinamo Zagreb 1 - 0 FC Basel
Week 32:
Boca Juniors 2 - 2 Daily Destroyers
Torino 1 - 2 TSG Hoffenheim
Feyenoord 0 - 2 Burnley
Olympiakos 2 - 1 Inter Miami
Wellington Phoenix 0 - 2 SC Braga
Seattle Sounders 1 - 1 Club Brugge
Dinamo Zagreb 3 - 1 Celta da Vigo
FC Basel 1 - 0 Mumbai City FC
Tigres 2 - 1 Galatasaray
Ranking
P
+-
+
-
W
D
L
1
Daily Destroyers
73
31
73
42
23
4
5
2
Dinamo Zagreb
72
22
53
31
23
3
6
3
Burnley
59
26
57
31
19
2
11
4
Hoffenheim
57
17
54
37
17
6
9
5
Boca Juniors
56
11
51
40
17
5
10
6
SC Braga
53
10
47
39
15
8
9
7
Olympiakos
48
10
51
41
13
9
10
8
Seattle Sounders
48
-1
40
41
13
9
10
9
Feyenoord
46
0
41
41
12
10
10
10
Tigres
45
5
47
42
14
3
15
11
Celta da Vigo
45
-3
43
46
12
9
11
12
Galatasaray
43
2
41
39
11
10
11
13
Club Brugge
43
-1
39
40
10
13
9
14
Torino
41
-9
39
48
11
8
13
15
Inter Miami
29
-9
41
50
7
8
17
16
FC Basel
20
-28
34
62
6
2
24
17
Wellington Phoenix
14
-47
23
69
3
5
24
18
Mumbai City FC
11
-37
22
59
1
8
23
Two games to go, one point between us and Zagreb. Nobody would have expected this title clash to happen, but here we are. Like Fabianski said, winning our final game against them would mean we are champions. Nevertheless, that doesn't mean we are not going to try and win our next game (against Galatasaray) as well. To answer sammy's question what happens with the same amount of points: goal difference is most important, so that's good news for us, at least it looks like that for now.
Competition Game 33: Daily Destroyers - Galatasaray
Penultimate game of the season. A 1/6 in our most recent matches, whereas title rival Dinamo Zagreb is in great form, winning game after game after game. Although Sanchez got injured in the last game, he's back today. The rest of our starting eleven looks like this:
Spoiler
The first five minutes were all Galatasaray. Except for possession, they didn't get a lot out of it though, thanks to interceptions by Macduff and Perfetto. The Perfetto interception even lead to a quick counter going from Wall to Huber, but a perfect pass by the Swiss did not lead to the 1-0, with Torres inexplicably missing a one on one with their goalie. Galatasaray was really playing offensive, leading to more danger in the following minutes. Strong interceptions by Callahan and Perfetto kept us alive. Then we had another chance on a Bobson counter on the right, which lead to our second corner of the day. Not ideal to have no left footed player except for the left footed striker Torres though, as he needed to stay in the box to possibly head one in.
Perfetto really proved his worth in the first half of the first half (yes, I meant to write that), with another vital interception in minute 20. It seems unreal after all this defensive play, but the first Galatasaray shot was actually only in the 25th minute. The angle was sharp, Santana was attentive. Corner kick. They went for passing play instead of a long ball, which seemed to surprise us, as Diagne suddenly stood ahead of Santana and did not hesitate. 0-1 for the visitors, and not an undeserved lead to be fair. They were simply quicker on the ball and showed more guts than we did.
So we tried to be a bit more like that as well. They crossed the line in minute 38 after a hard tackle on Huber and received a yellow card. Great ball in the sixteen from Huber on the free kick, as a powerful header by Macduff was spectacularly saved by the Galatasaray keeper. We wanted that equalizer before half time really hard, as the following quick throw in went to Garner-Hammarling Junior who found Torres, but our striker with his second big miss of the first half. Good corner kick by Callahan then, as our attempt by Ottaviani was cleared from the line! Callahan immediately intercepted the ball again and via Sanchez it went to Ottaviani again, but his shot went wide. We definitely played very well in the final minutes of this first half, we need to continue like this in the second half and preferably finish the chances we get.
We were unable to create something in the first fifteen minutes, but we were clearly playing better than in the first half. The visitors's only attempt was a shot from distance that missed the target by a couples of metres. In minute 64, our patience was rewarded! The Turkish defence waited too long to clear a ball, and Garner-Hammarling Junior was just too quick for them to block, as he managed to touch the ball slightly and diverted it to Sanchez. Sanchez did the same as in our last game, not hesitating for a second and blasting the ball towards and in the far corner! 1-1!
Spoiler
Washington, Bookman and Brajkovic were then subbed on, changing our tired defensive backs and assist man GHJ. Brajkovic immediately showed his worth with an important interception. Galatasaray was getting into the game a bit more again, but at that moment Sanchez stood up and proved to be immediately valuable yet again. A very patient attacking play between Washington and Torres lead to the latter passing it to Sanchez around the half moon of the opponent’s box, Sanchez outplayed his direct opponent with one touch, and immediately yanked the ball into the far corner, just like he did 16 minutes earlier! 2-1 lead for the Destroyers with ten minutes (and extra time) to go!
Ladies and gentleman, if you ever wanted to meet a man with literal balls of steel, I’d like to introduce you to Robert Macduff. The Turkish pressure was getting higher again and our defence seemed to have difficulty to gain control of the ball and clear it, and this is what our centre back does in minute 89…
It even lead to a great counter chance with Washington delivering the 3-1 on a silver platter to Torres, but our striker was really not feeling well today, as he waited too long to actually shoot and the chance was gone. Nevertheless, Galatasaray was unable to cross the field again from there on, which means we win 2-1! Zagreb has also won their game, which isn't surprising by now, so it will all be decided in the final game.
Competition Game 34: Dinamo Zagreb - Daily Destroyers
This is it. The 34th game of the season, and what a game it will be. The thirty-three previous games were sometimes legendary, sometimes not at all. But all those games are a thing of the past now, as today is the day where the championship will be decided. We take on title contenders Dinamo Zagreb at the Wembley Stadium! The Croats expected tens of thousands of fans to come and watch the game, and a special arrangement was made. Gökberk Topaloglu is the Turkish referee that is about to whistle the most important game of his career, but more importantly, in the history of the Daily Destroyers. 90 minutes are between us and the title. Equalizing will do the trick, but we wouldn’t be true destroyers if we would be happy with just equalizing. Let’s crush our enemies.
Spoiler
We took the initiative, but couldn’t create a real chance in the opening minutes. Zagreb on the other hand ran straight through our defensive centre in minute seven, but then Pareja shot from too far away and it went wide. Ottaviani found Garner-Hammarling Junior on the right side in the tenth minute, good opportunity for us with a free Sanchez in the box, but bad assist. We quickly regained possession though, and once again Ottaviani found the Swede. This time it was in the opponent’s penalty area, and after creating some room for the shot, Garner-Hammarling Junior scored the opener in minute 13! One step closer to the title with this 0-1!
Spoiler
But Zagreb was not going to let themselves get slaughtered at all, and that became painfully clear only five minutes later. Good defensive work by Garner-Hammarling Junior first as he recovered the ball, but when keeper Maes tried to pass it to Bobson, our right back didn’t come into the ball and let the opponents regain possession. Perfetto and Macduff couldn’t correct Bobson's mistake anymore, as Orsic scored the equalizer in minute 19. When we were attacking, Ottaviani and Garner-Hammarling Junior seemed to have some good chemistry going on. In minute 26 the CDM was just unable to put enough power on his shot, after being assisted by the Swede. The Croats were dangerous on the counterattack, luckily we had Macduff spectacularly saving us with a karate kick in a two vs. one situation in minute 32.
Spoiler
It seemed like all of our (and Zagreb’s) danger seemed to be coming from our right side. This changed in minute 41, when striker Torres fended off his defenders and passed the ball back to CAM Sanchez. The Spaniard tried scoring with a curved ball, but Livakovic saved it into a corner kick. Nothing came out of it, as we went into halftime with a 1-1 score. Still virtually champion. 45 minutes remaining.
Spoiler
A rather easy shot to save from Zagreb in minute 53 was the first attempt in the second half, but Maes didn’t look very secure and the ball slipped out of his hands. Both Perfetto and Macduff were luckily paying attention and made sure the ball didn’t go in. Still a corner for Zagreb though, but that lead to nothing. The fans in the Wembley Stadium witnessed a superb action from Torres five minutes later, outplaying two defenders. His following shot was too centered and easy to save. Around thirty minutes to go and the tension is rising.
And then, in minute seventy, the sky became even darker for the Destroyers. Some bad positioning play by Perfetto and a free Ademi lead to the Zagreb player in a one on one with goalie Maes, and not missing. 2-1 for the home team with seventeen minutes remaining. Perun, Martens and Washington were subbed on.
We went all-in, and it lead to some dangerous counters. Zagreb hitting our crossbar was definitely some centimetres away from deciding the title. Left back Callahan stopped defending, and just became an extra attacker, and that clearly helped into pressuring them into making mistakes. First a shot from distance from Callahan was saved by the goalie, and moments later he hit the post after receiving the ball from Wall! On the rebound the Zagreb defenders started panicking, and instead of calmly playing it out they gave away a free corner!
In tough times, leaders stand up. And that’s exactly what our captain did! Great corner kick from Callahan, and there stood Macduff, heading the equalizer into the net! 2-2 in minute 87, and we’re the virtual champions again!
Spoiler
From all-in we now changed to park the bus... And it worked! Zagreb did not come even close to scoring anymore!
Ladies and gentlemen, the Daily Destroyers have won the league! Thank you for being here with us this season, and I hope you’ll enjoy the title celebrations in the video below!
