Palace Casuals

[talisman]

Early morning rain promised a soft-topped home pitch for the later League match, but first up was a quick trip to Belgrade, Serbia for the Round 4 Champions League match against FC CRVENA ZVEZDA, and the game can be summed up in two words 'job done'.

The management team expected a hard game following the stiff examination given the Casuals side in the Round 3 game at home, and their expectations came to pass as two teams battled it out, the home defence on top form and the Man-of-the-Match performance being given by Mihaita Dragut in the Casuals goal. Neither side troubled the scoreboard, the match finishing 0-0.



The League Round 7 match against 2nd in the table karayer FC was again a tough examination of the home side's Championship credentials, and a brace from main striker Catalin Neagu settled the game. The Palace leading scorer opened the scoring with a solo goal four minutes after the break and headed in from an Omar Hansen free-kick with the last touch of the game in the 90th minute to make the scoreline 2-0 to the Casuals, who extend their lead at the top of the table to 5 points. Ben De Wree picked up a yellow card to add to one earlier in the season and will sit out the next League game.

[talisman]

It appears the Palace Casuals squad is getting used to two matches a day for this long into the season - two more games today and more progress in the Cup, into pastures rarely traversed before...

First up was a visit to Sofia, Bulgaria for the League Round 8 game against levski. With an eye to preserving the fitness of the first XI players for the quickly following Cup match, a few of the Second XI were drafted in for a match against a team of lower quality. At first the tactic seemed to be working as right-back Sergio Gomes arrived on the blind side of the levski defence and headed in a Catalin Neagu free-kick to open the scoring after just 8 minutes. Levski gradually came back into the game and went into the break 2-1 ahead after two goals either side of the half-hour mark. A couple of substitutions early in the second half revitalised the visitors and Jack McCaul scored a fine equaliser with a 25 yard screamer 16 minutes from time. Bearing in mind the reduced strength of the side, Casuals can be fairly happy with a 2-2 draw on the road.



Having given Onur Haubner some more match time, including the full match against levski, he has still to produce a satisfactory performance - so it is with regret that he was offered to the market and eventually departed to Cedric FC in exchange for $84.9M.

2-0 down from the first leg, the Palace Casuals management decided to play a nearly full-strength team for the Cup Playoff Round 2ng Leg game at Fikikrki FC in the Czech Republic. It took just 15 minutes for the Casuals forward line to cancel out the first leg advantage, midfielder Michael Muscroft finishing off a Claude Pinto forward surge and the same player provided Catalin Neagu with an easy tap-in after splitting the home defence. Neagu scored a solo goal in the second half to put the visitors ahead on aggregate before the home side's cause was made more difficult by Balasko picking up a second yellow card. Casuals made the extra man count, Pinto was provider again as his cross was headed home by defender Anurak Arma and Omar Hansen bent a free-kick around the home defensive wall to end the scoring at 5-0 to the visitors.

[talisman]

Palace Casuals travelled to Aviron Bayonnais in France for a Champions League Group stage Round 5 match, hoping for revenge for a Round 1 home defeat, and came away with a 3-0 victory. Getting an early goal seems to be the regular occurrence for the Casuals and this match was no exception. On 8 minutes, strikers Andres Ramos and Claude Pinto combined to put the visitors ahead, Pinto claiming the goal from a Ramos cross. The two wingers combined in similar fashion 12 minutes later, Johan Shaqiri providing the cross and Andrey Tikhiy heading home. Just before the hour Shaqiri slotted home past the home keeper after a mazy solo run and the Casuals cruised home from there. Palace Casuals sit top of their CL Group by three points, and with the 2nd and 3rd to play each other in the next round and with a favourable record against both of them, even a loss in their final group match will not prevent them staying there.



The management could say that the team was tired, but only 5 of the team that played in the Champions League game started this match - so it'll go down as a poor performance against the League's form team, this home defeat in the League Round 9. The only players to turn in a particularly good game were Defenders Freddy Jones and Anurak Arma, Attacking Midfielder Andreas Graf, recovered from his recent injury, and top scorer Striker Catalin Neagu. Graf scored the home side's only goal, an unexpected long range strike which evaded the visiting custodian's despairing dive in the 36th minute. That the home side couldn't take advantage of a 10-man opposition after Olympiacos Midfielder Hjerne Sundstrom received his marching orders 3 minutes after the break for a second yellow card offence just emphasises the ineptitude of the Casuals performance.

[talisman]

Day 12 dawned with Palace Casuals wanting to put the nightmare of the last League game behind them and looking with caution to the later Cup match.

First, some team notes - two players came off the Youth production line this morning, Jordan Bridges, a 4* (115) central midfielder and Sam Harrold, a 2* (106) central defender. The club has taken them on for the time being, and hope they will start developing further.

A lunchtime kickoff in San Salvador, El Salvador in League Round 10 saw a mixed 1st and 2nd XI squad take on mid-table Alianza FC. Striker Andres Ramos ensured the visitors were quickest out of the blocks with a 4th minute strike that kept the home side on the back foot for most of the rest of the half. In the second half, Defender Sebastian Domanski walked a tightrope after conceding a penalty and receiving a yellow card for same, but breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the home spot kick taker Abdel Meguid slide his shot past the right post. Thus reprieved, Casuals set about the Alianza defence again, Midfielder Michael Muscroft heading home an Anurak Arma corner for the second goal, and top scorer Catalin Neagu keeping his personal tally ticking over with a fine solo goal, making the final score 3-0 to the visitors.



Back home again, the Cup 'Top 16' 1st Leg match was against Glory FC, 1 Level and 2.3 quality higher than the home side. Facing a strange and unfamiliar formation, the Casuals Management decided on the 3n-2w-2n-1-2 formation which proved so effective against Sajete Boys in Round 2 of the League.



The end result was everything the Management hoped for - the mass of opposition forward players nullified due to some amazing blocking, tackling and Goalkeeper saves. The home side's counter-attacks were getting the same treatment from the away defence, so it was no surprise the first half ended goalless. The second half started with more of the same, until...



...and, after one of the Glory attacking midfielders had been given a straight red card for a trip, things got even better...



After that, the home side cruised home for a 2-0 advantage for the second leg in Cirebon, Indonesia.

[talisman]

That such a big day so far this season was full of easy matches belittles the effort that the whole squad has put into the season so far...

The Final Group Match in the Champions League was against bottom of the table ROMA - Casuals were already assured of top placing no matter what the result here or elsewhere so only pride was at stake. The Management fielded a team that just matched the visitors in quality, so it was no surprise that the match was scoreless until the 72nd minute, when Andres Ramos weaved his way through the ROMA defence and toe-poked the ball past the keeper. Five minutes later, Youth Team products Sam Harrold and Jordan Bridges were given their debuts, coming on in place of Ben De Wree and Stergios Tzanakakis, respectively. Johan Shaqiri finished off the scoring two minutes from time with another 25 yard screamer, beating the visitors custodian all ends up.




In the Knockout rounds Palace Casuals will first be pitted against the Runners Up from Group B, HOKAGE FC.

Back to the League, the Round 11 match was at home against third-from-bottom ITALIA Dalat. A full first team was fielded; not a game to relax as one objective of this type of game is to get a Goal Difference boost. In this the team were successful, running out 5-1 winners. Omar Hansen opened the scoring with a quick brace of goals, scoring direct from a free-kick before converting an Anders Graf free-kick. ITALIA Dalat countered within two minutes, Thornberg beating the home defence and the diving keeper Zoltan Bieder with a run and shot. Catalin Neagu kept up his rich vein of goals with a header from a Johan Shaqiri cross on the half-hour and the home side went in at the break 3-1 up. Neagu made a defence-splitting run before unselfishly providing Claude Pinto with an easy tap in for the fourth goal in the second half, and Shaqiri added to his recent spate of long-range solo goals with another ten minutes from the end. Unfortunately Jack McCaul picked up another yellow card and will be unavailable for the next league game, which is against second in table Dimitris FC.

[talisman]

Halfway through the season and all is looking rosy for Palace Casuals...

Cup 'Top 16' Round 2ng Leg - Casuals visited Cirebon, Indonesia looking for glory and a Quarter-Final place in the Cup against Glory FC and not only won the tie on aggregate, won the match as well against their higher level and quality opponent. Glory FC came attacking out of the blocks and put the visitors under pressure, which they soaked up just as in the first leg. Just after the half hour, Claude Pinto headed in a Johan Shaqiri corner to open the scoring, and things got easier for the Casuals when Saracevic was penalised for a foul tackle in the box and Hansen picked himself up to convert from 18 yards. The visitors picked up another 4 yellow cards as they tried to get back into the tie but more resolute defending by the visitors ensured their goal remained unbreached and they won the match 2-0 for a 4-0 aggregate win.



Back to the League, and a Round 12 match which would sort out the League pecking order at the season half-way mark. Dimitris FC of Athens, Greece were the home side and Palace Casuals visited with only a goal-difference advantage over their hosts. As can be expected with such evenly matched games, it would take an act of brilliance or a slip-up to settle the game, and in this match it was ever thus. On the hour, Price took a speculative shot and Casuals keeper Zoltan Bieder's efforts at a save were in vain. 1-0 to Dimitris FC and they take over 1st place in the table.

[talisman]

Two matches a day continues for the intrepid Palace Casuals team...

In the League, the final match of the first half of the League season saw the visit to Selhurst Park-ish of PMT FC from Da Nang, Vietnam, and the home side got back to winning ways with a 4-0 demolition of the visitors. After a 2nd minute Johan Shaqiri long shot had been deflected into the corner, Claude Pinto took the kick and neatly deposited the ball on the head of the incoming Freddy Jones, and the home defender neatly nodded it into the net. Shaqiri and fellow winger Omar Hansen are working magic together and they combined just after the half-hour mark to push Casuals further ahead, Hansen providing the cross, Shaqiri the sidefoot home. Shaqiri scored again just after the break, receiving an unselfish pass from Catalin Neagu after he had done all the work getting through the PMT defence. The Casuals Management then made a triple substitution to try and preserve some players for the Champions League match later on and it wasn't until three minutes from the end that substitute Andres Ramos completed the scoring with a cracking solo goal.



Barely three hours after the League match, Palace Casuals were in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the Champions League Top 16 1st Leg match against HOKAGE FC. The match started well for the visitors, and they went into the half-time break 1-0 ahead, thanks to a rare solo goal from attacking midfielder Andreas Graf in the 26th minute. Five minutes later midfielder Michael Muscroft was fortunate to meet a lenient referee when pulled up for a foul tackle which injured home player Basile.
Midfielder Jack McCaul put Casuals further ahead in the 57th minute with a 25 yard strike, before the Management were forced to make some changes due to fatigued players. This enabled the home side to come back into the game, and they scored twice in the final 15 minutes to make the score 2-2 at full time. Two away goals and the backing of the fanatical home crowd should see Palace Casuals through to the next round - or so it is hoped...



With ever more important games ahead needing the first team squad more and more in the cup competitions some of the fringe players will be sold over the next few days - more later.

[Staggy Stagg]

CL game, 7-9 minutes after each substitution the opposition scored. Call in the X -Files.

[talisman]

Yep. Had a choice on let tired legs carry on and risk injury or put fitter, lesser quality players on - caught between a rock and a hard place...

[talisman]

Early kick-off today was in Thessaloniki, Greece for the Cup Quarter-Final 1st Leg match against Polis FC. Yielding home advantage, 1 level and 1.6 in quality, the Casuals task was always going to be difficult. Some excellent defending and inventive attacking was all in vain as the home side picked up a goal three minutes before the break through Taider. In the second half Palace players Andreas Graf and Ben De Wree picked up yellow cards but it was all for the cause. Final score 1-0 to Polis FC and Casuals have a chance in the second leg.



If the goalkeeper made a string of fantastic saves, and the defence and midfield tackled, headed and blocked everything in sight (according to the commentary), why the crap scores?

Some activity in the transfer market today saw the departure of some long-term players. Defender Lee Owens, Defender/Defensive Midfielder Sebastian Domanski and Midfielder Nataniel Pedro Silva Lima have all found new clubs. In the other direction, the club has recruited Nigerian Defensive Midfielder Charles Salami from QLTT6 FC.



Early evening start for the League Round 14 game at Flamongo FC of Bochum, Germany. Palace Casuals were hoping to make up for the dismal performance that saw them sleepwalk to a 1-1 draw in the home match, and this they did with a vengeance. With the two strikers Catalin Neagu and Claude Pinto having a quiet game, the Midfield stepped up to the plate and Michael Muscroft, Jack McCaul (2) and Johan Shaqiri scored the goals which gave the visitors a 4-0 lead in the first 52 minutes. Shaqiri included another of his trademark solo goals and assisted McCaul for his first goal, but also featured in the defensive display which held the home strike force at bay for 87 minutes, earning him the Man-of-the-Match award. New defensive midfielder Charles Salami made a most effective debut, the only blot on his copybook being the misplaced pass which led to Sweeney's consolation goal for Flamongo FC. Another League win, and increased goal difference which keeps Palace Casuals on the heels of top-of-the-table Dimitris FC.