Goodfellas 3 vs 1 EE

By Sebastian Seidel

S7 Match report: Goodfellas x  EE (3:1)


It was a hot
and stuffy sunday afternoon when the Goodfellas came together for the S7
season opener against EE. The pitch in the fairly new Sun Yat Sen
Memorial Park in Sai Ying Pun is quite big for a 7-a-side game, and the
weather conditions were not perfect - little comfort did the wind give
coming from the waterfront just off the pitch.The annual dinner the
night before seemed to have left no visible marks, so that apart from
mourning the absence of Leo we were in a good mood.

Goodfellas opening lineup:

        Jules
   
    Kettz, Bear

Koh, Dave, Sebs
     
      Howard


Subs: Belgium, Sandro, Garrow



Following
Dave's pep talk on possession, breath management and positioning, the
game started, and it started well for the Fellas. We passed the ball
around comfortably, Koh on the right side created space and
opportunities, while game happened through the centre as well with Dave
distributing balls wisely. Kettz and Bear closed off Jules' box and Sebs
on the unfamiliar but not unwelcome left wing ran a lot and studied the
offside rule (S7 refs seem to be strict but fair on calling offsides;
and one of the few things our opponent managed well is the offside
trap).

The heat quickly became the main opponent, and the newly laid out
artificial grass carpet slowed down ball movement and made running more
exhausting.  We subbed as we could, Belgium coming on to the wing,
Sandro up front and Garrow in the centre. Subbing went on throughout the
game, as much by the opponent as by us, so forgive my not mentioning
the details from now on.

Of note are several crosses who came in from the right by Koh,
perfectly placed. The first reached myself, and the attempt to convert
directly resulted in a ball that went way over the crossbar.  A second
ball just a bit later found Howard who was also denied by what we may
call reversed gravity. 

We were more lucky with yet another one of these crosses, which
first found Dave whose header met the crossbar. Howard put his head to
the rebound and converted. 1:0 for the fellas.

The heat had
become a real issue and there was a hint of the possibility this might
eventually have impact on our game. The half-time break, therefore, was
much welcomed by everyone, but not before Belgium almost had his moment
when he ran into a cross and powerfully headed just (centi)meters wide
of the goalpost.


1:0 for Goodfellas at half time


The second
half started much like the first had ended, with tired fellas being sure
of having what it takes to win this game. but not being quite so sure
how to apply this knowledge. The game had been restarted for not much
more than 5 minutes when an ambitious referee whistled for penalty
following a disputable Goodfellas handball. All eyes on Jules and EE's
"tall man". It was Jules who kept the upper hand, saving comfortably to
the delight of all of us. Still 1:0.

However the enemy had tasted blood and managed to turn their anger
over the missed penalty chance into a series of attacks, trying to
pierce our defense line. Often the ball would go wide and EE's wingers
managed to put crosses in. I don't recollect what exactly happened but i
believe it was one of these crosses that found one of their players in a
good position to shoot, which he did, and converted to 1:1.

This was not long after the saved penalty so the game was by far not
lost. Instead of letting heat and frustration overcome us, the Fellas
decided to screw both weather and opponent, which we did. During a
period of aggressive reorganizing we got back into the former state of
controlling the game, with the defense initiating ball movement nicely.
The opponents (had i mentioned they had practiced the offside trap?) 
lined up their defense almost at the middle line so that more than once
we could do a bit of piercing ourselves. Wisely chosen and well placed
balls came from Bear, Howard and Kettz in the back, allowing our
attackers to go for goal. 

Eventually Bear, receiving across the field from Garrow, dribbled
his way past EE's midfield and brought in a beautiful cross that found
yours truly's head in a opportune moment and position, in front of EE's
goalie with little intention of their defenders to stop me from doing
what i don't usually do - scoring. 2:1 for the Goodfellas, and a goal
never felt so good. Game at that point had 10 minutes or so left, and we
had no intention of giving it away; hence our efforts continued and,
what can i say, the weather all of a sudden did not seem to be so bad
anymore.  

Balls kept coming up front and we were keen to keep it there.
Possession game worked out nicely in the back whenever the opponent came
close to our goal, but the spot of attention on the pitch was EE's goal
where, it must have been about 5 minutes before the final whistle,
Howard drilled in a cross which was flicked on by Dave to Garrow, who
cunningly tricked the defender and had a shot in the bottom corner -
3:1. Awesome effort, awesome goal.

The final whistle did come and Goodfellas took all 3 points home,
successfully opening the S7 season with an exciting and well-deserved
win.


Final result: Goodfellas 3 - EE 1

Goals: 
1:0 Howard (Assist: Dave, Crossbar)
 2:1 Sebs (Bear)
3:1 Garrow (Howard, Dave)


Shoutouts to
Koh and Belgium who fought hard and came close to injury, and thew
whole team for keeping it together and making this win. Thanks also to
Belgium for cutting up the oranges in the first half….