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Shanghai Shooters AFC vs |
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Azzurri |
3 |
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Game Played 10/31/2009 11:00AM
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Shooters fall to Azzurri
A top of the table clash between the Shanghai Shooters and the Italians kicked off on a bright sunny morning at Tianma with an 1100 start. The Shooters brought a big squad and due to an earlier cry-off from Junior decided to line up with a 4-5-1 formation playing into the wind. The opening period proved a difficult and decisive one for the Shooters because after a very poor 20 minutes we were 2-0 down. We gave the ball away a lot and conceded many free kicks in our own half. With this formation we should have been able to gain the majority of possession but this wasn't the case. That could possibly be put down to us playing in a formation we were not use to or could not adapt to quickly enough. From that perspective the manager should take the rap - lesson learned. In fact the formation got changed back to a 3-5-2 after 15 minutes and shortly after this reshuffle we went one down. The Italians had a good midfield and an accomplished forward line who could finish. A poor cross-field pass from us was intercepted and the Azzurri swept forward. Their centre forward hit a low shot which cannoned off the post but the ball rebounded back into the penalty area and their other forward curled the ball past Banners (who could do nothing about it) into the far right hand side of the goal. Within a minute the Italians then had a headed goal disallowed for offside. This was given by the referee after the linesman made no attempt to flag during the move. We were probably a little fortunate with the decision although to be fair the ref was close to the play. Little matter for them because just 5 minutes later they were two up. What seemed like a fairly innocuous ball into a crowded penalty box somehow was missed by the Shooters defenders and the goal was tucked away with a minimum of fuss.
After going two goals down the Shooters settled down somewhat and actually got back into the game. In terms of possession we dominated not only the rest of the half but the entire second half. However, despite the amount of time we had with the ball we didn't create anywhere near enough chances over the duration of the game. Only 3 (maybe 4) times did we get around the back of their defense and deliver 'difficult to defend' crosses and on two of these occasions we actually turned them into goals. The first of these came in the 35th minute when, after some decent interplay, Jon Banks did well to ride a few challenges, got the by-line and pulled the back for Mikel to steal in and finish with a strong shot a into the roof of the net. In fact this was one of the topics at half time from Zippy. Keep the ball, get some width and stop crossing the ball from 20 yards or more out from goal. We took to the field in the second half 2-1 down but still very much in the game. However, despite Zippy's advice we continued in the same vain as the first half. Too many balls in were delivered from the wrong angle - this made it easy for their defenders to handle and we failed to get into the wider and deeper areas that are far more penetrating and difficult to defend. Our defense rarely looked troubled since the opening 20 minutes. Marcus was had a fantastic game after his introduction and deserves a special mention for his all round performance. As mentioned, we had a lot of possession and forced more than 10 corners in the second half. Despite this we never really threatened the Italians goal other than a direct effort from Liese that hit the bar and must go down as a deliberate effort as he scored doing the same thing last week. Despite looking comfortable at the back we were made to pay after the ball was given away upon 70 minutes which allowed the Azzurri to break fast in a 3 on 2 situation albeit against the run of play. They delivered what seemed a knock out blow by making the score 3-1 and mass celebration for the Italians ensued. Paddy Linehan took the field with 15 minutes to go and provided some energy into the proceedings. With five minutes remaining he picked up the ball on the right wing around the half way line and went on a determined run which saw him beat 3 or 4 players on the way up the pitch. He did what we speak about all the time which is hit the goal line and he pulled over a fabulous cross to the back post. After a small melee the outstretched boot of Jon Banks steered the ball home. Still 3-2 down but a life line extended. With the Italians wasting time for most of the second half the referee played around 5 minutes extra time and during this period there was one notable incident that left a someone sour taste. Jon Banks was put through on goal with the ball bouncing out in front of him. It turned into a race between him and keeper. Banksy got there, nudged the ball past him and was then clattered to the ground by the on rushing keeper. A nailed on penalty (which even the Italians agreed to) but the ref inexplicable didn't. To rub salt into the wound he actually gave a free kick against us!! So what could have been 'the great escape' ended in a 3-2 loss. On the day, despite our greater possession we did not create enough chances and the Italians certainly finished theirs off very well. All in all we cannot argue too much about the result because overall our performance was not up to our usual high standards. We now need to regroup, show some character and bounce back with a win next time out against the French. There is clearly still a lot of play for and I have confidence we will remain united because that is one of the strengths of the Shooters.
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