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Day 17 - Careful does it...
Palace Casuals continue to make progress against the laid out objectives at the beginning of the season...
The lunchtime match was League Round 15, the return game against last season's League Champions - although they have a superior quality rating they appear to be having a bad season, being mid-table and certainly not producing performances on a par with last season. At home this time, the match started with both sides attacking and defending well, and it took the Casuals set-piece machine, absent in the past few matches, to click back into gear to get things moving for the hosts. After 28 minutes, a free-kick on the left was taken by left-winger Omar Hansen and he planted the ball in the net to open the scoring. Two minutes later, top scorer Catalin Neagu got back into scoring mode with a mazy run through the defence and beat the keeper to increase the lead. Sajete Boys then suffered three minutes of madness as Xaysensourinthone picked up two yellow cards in that time and departed for an early bath. Claude Pinto made them suffer further with a defence-splitting run of his own and then had to retrieve the ball for a corner after his shot was tipped over the bar by the visitor's keeper; the set piece kick was headed in by Neagu to make the half-time score 3-0. The second half started slowly, but the visitors continued to tackle clumsily and two further yellow cards followed; from the second of those, the free kick taken by Johan Shaqiri was met in the area by defender Freddy Jones and he easily beat the keeper with a header. Casuals then took it easy for the last quarter of the match and run out winners 4-0. Michael Muscroft picked up a late yellow card and will miss the next League game.
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Another speculative visit to the transfer market saw a candidate for backup Right Winger and after a short tussle Dario Otazu was added to the roster, from Krodchu FC.
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Previous owner(s) have distorted his skills a bit so looks like any skill points from now on will be devoted to boosting his defensive attributes.
Evening kick-off in the Champions League 'Top 16' 2nd Leg match against HOKAGE FC with Palace Casuals in the box seat, only needing a win, or goalless or 1-1 draw to proceed to the next round. As with the 1st leg match, clear chances were in the minority and it took until a minute from the break before the first clear-cut chance was taken, Catalin Neagu providing Claude Pinto with a tap-in after dividing the defence with a strong run. With the second half providing more of the same, it was only after substitutions by both sides did the game become more free-flowing, and six minutes from full time, HOKAGE equalised through substitute Filipovic. Final score was 1-1, aggregate score 3-3, and Palace Casuals go through on the Away Goals rule...
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Day 18 - onwards and upwards...
A couple more wins to continue the successes of this campaign...
The introductory match today was the League Round 16 match in Milan, Italy against bottom-of-the table and winless Dennie FC. Casuals got off to a flyer and were 3-0 up in the first 11 minutes. Striker Andres Ramos spent his day as provider, and his first effort was to supply defensive midfielder Charles Salami with the opportunity to open his account, which he did with ease. Omar Hansen continued his success with the set-piece by curling a free kick into the net for the second goal and the two central midfielders combined, with Jack McCaul weaving through the home defence and giving a tap-in to Stergios Tzanakakis. In the 26th minute, Hansen repeated his free-kick routine for 4-0, but the lack of activity and the dreams of a half-time orange must have clouded the thoughts of keeper Mihaita Dragut as he allowed a speculative shot from Dennie's left winger Osuna to end up in the net. In the second half the strike force woke up and Ramos provided partner Claude Pinto a brace of opportunities in the 54th and 80th minutes. Final score 6-1 and Palace Casuals have now chalked up 51 League goals this term.
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With an 0-1 deficit from the first leg, Palace Casuals entertained Polis FC in the Cup Quarter-Final 2nd Leg. Much like the first leg, chances were rare early on, but when the Casuals wingers combine, anything can happen, and in the 26th minute, it did. Omar Hansen ran down the left and crossed from the bye line, for Johan Shaqiri to head the home side in front and level the aggregate score. Early in the second half, Palace suffered a setback when Jack McCaul was injured and the Management took the risky opportunity of putting in attacking midfielder Andres Graf instead of replacing midfielder like-for-like. On the hour, Michael Muscroft showed what a match off can do when he showed great energy in a quick weave through the visitors defence to fire Casuals into the lead on aggregate, before the substitution paid off when Graf was on hand to nudge a cross from Shaqiri over the line to make the home side's lead unassailable. A 3-0 win gave Palace Casuals a 3-1 aggregate win and their third Level 22 scalp of the season. Semi-Finals up next and Casuals will definitely play a Level 22 club as they are the only Level 21 left in the competition.
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Day 19 - 'Tiptoe, through the Tulips...'
Two late games on today so a bit of extra training for the whole squad before getting down to the competitive nitty-gritty.
Teatime kick-off for the Champions League Quarter-Final 1st Leg match with Hakan FC of Ordu, Turkey. Despite their superiority in quality, the home side made heavy weather of this tie. Starting with a Butterfly formation vs 3-5-2F, the first half was a war of attrition with defences holding firm against all comers. The visitors managed the only on-target shot of the half, and that was a header from a corner which was dramatically saved by Mihaita Dragut in the home goal. Half-time came with the match goalless, and the Casuals Management waited until 10 minutes into the second half to make changes to try and kick-start the home goal machine. Out went wingers Dario Otazu and Andrey Tikhiy, in came attacking midfielder Andreas Graf and striker Catalin Neagu in a change to 3-4-1-2, which unfortunately changed nothing. It took a set-piece opportunity to break the deadlock; with 11 minutes to go, Hakan FC's Pettarin was penalised for a foul tackle and Omar Hansen took the opportunity to register the home side's only on-target shot of the game, which this time ended up in the back of the net. 1-0 to the Palace Casuals and a slim advantage to take into the 2nd Leg in two days time.
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100% shot efficiency! Not that hard, though... :rolleyes:
A quick look-see in the transfer market saw a 1T purchase, with quality very close to changing to 6*. Youth products Sam Harrold and Jordan Bridges have left the club, bringing in much-needed finances.
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In the other game, Palace Casuals entertained Stahladler FC of Casilda, Argentina in League Round 17. The home side made another uncharacteristic slow start, and were shocked into action by going behind in a league game for the first time in many matches. In the 18th minute, Messi combined with Braga for the latter to put the ball past home custodian Zoltan Bieder to put Stahladler ahead. It took 6 minutes for Casuals come up with an equaliser, and it was Catalin Neagu who obliged, picking the ball up from a defensive clearance and running through the Stahladler defence to plant the ball past Gordon. In the 36th minute Claude Pinto emulated his strike partner's actions, but at the last moment provided a square ball for top-scorer Neagu to side-foot home and put the home side into the lead for the first time. In the second half, it seemed that counter-attacking was to be the most effective way of breaching a resolute visiting defence, and in one of these, Neagu provided the run and pass which enabled Stergios Tzanakakis to increase the Casuals lead, which they held onto until the final whistle.
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This win strengthens Palace Casuals grip on second spot in the League, hot on the heels of Dimitris FC and with a superior goal difference. If it stays this way, then the penultimate game of the season will be very interesting indeed.
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Day 20 - The devil finds work for idle hands...
Only one match late on today, so a full set of training chosen instead of a couple of friendlies.
Early evening start for League Round 18 match at Suppellettile FC in Galatea, Italy, and the visitors obviously did not travel well. Utilising this season's favourite formation, 3N-5-2V against Narrow Diamond, neither side found it easy to break down resolute defences. Very little of note and nothing controversial in this match of equally matched teams and the final score was the same as at the start of the game, 0-0. Home Manager failed to show, but no less than 9 supporters turned up - if Casuals hadn't had a couple of supporters with the Manager then the result might have been a little more disastrous for the Palace Casuals Championship aspirations.
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Day 21 - Attack, attack, attack...
...was the order of the day as Palace Casuals turned on the goal machine again.
Man of the day was utility left winger Omar Hansen, two 9/10 performances with Man-of-the-Match awards to go with them...
First objective of the day was to get an away goal in the Champions League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg match in Ordu, Turkey against Hakan FC. One goal to the good from the 1st Leg, an away goal would need the hosts needing 3 goals to win the tie on aggregate. The intention was to set the side on attacking to get an early away goal then switch to defensive for the rest of the game and rest players for the League match which would follow soon after the cup game. The Casuals Manager was having to attend the match over a dodgy mobile connection, so having seen the home side go ahead in the 4th minute and level the tie on aggregate, a certain amount of head-scratching went on. All this was to be pointless as the visitors wingers got into their stride again and dominated procedures from the 21st minute onwards. Hansen netted a free kick from the left and then turned provider as the Palace flying wingers got their act together again, Johan Shaqiri gleefully ramming home a cross. Ten minutes into the second half, a recognised striker got into the act, Catalin Neagu waltzing through the home defence to put the visitors 3-1 up on the day and into an unassailable lead on aggregate. The home side briefly threatened on the hour when Trabelsi scored a second goal to add to Amenta's opener, but Hansen added a second goal soon after with a dose of individuality and recent midfield recruit Ayman Gomaa opened his club account by slotting home a 25 yarder four minutes from time.
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A tired team bolstered by a liberal application of green packs greeted today's visitors in League Round 19, xhxcx FC of Jeli, Malaysia. After a disappointing goalless draw on the road and seeing the League leaders thereby extend their lead yesterday, the chances of a Championship depend on Palace Casuals winning all their games and maintaining a healthy goal difference advantage over Dimitris, so a good win here against a low-placed team would do those chances no harm. A couple of early fouls by the visitors gave the set-piece team some early target practice, and after a great save denied Omar Hansen, a minute later captain Anurak Arma seized the opportunity to lead from the front and scored direct from his centrally-placed free-kick. Just after the half-hour, the wingers combined as Hansen crossed and Johan Shaqiri headed home. Early in the second half the flying wingers combined yet again and this time the roles were reversed, Hansen side-footing home from Shaqiri's defence-splitting pass. A couple of substitutions followed as tired legs were replaced, and soon after, Hansen was involved in goal scoring again, his free-kick from the left being headed home by midfielder Michael Muscroft, and then weaving though the defence to beat the visiting keeper one-on-one. For the last half-hour, the pressure was eased and the home side cruised home for a 5-0 win.
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Day 23 - Still down in the Abyss...
Another two vital games today.
Early evening kick-off in League Round 21 at home to old adversaries Levski of Sofia, Bulgaria and a game of two halves. Two goalkeeping howlers by Levski keeper Abderazzak gifted the home side with a two goal lead by the half hour mark, letting goal bound shots by eventual Man-of-the-Match Charles Salami, and Omar Hansen reach the back of the net. Something like that can knock the confidence out of a team, and it was no surprise that Casuals took advantage by doubling the lead by the break, Johan Shaquiri's corner being headed home by Hansen and Catalin Neagu firing home a 25 yarder past the diving keeper. It was obvious the visitors had had a stiff half-time lecture and in the second half provided sterner opposition, such that the half was goalless and the final score was 4-0. Casuals have now guaranteed promotion and Champions League football next season.
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Fellow League members Suppellettile FC from Galatina, Italy provided the opposition in the home 1st Leg of the Champions League Semi-Final. The recent League game in Italy had been goalless, and it took until the 53rd minute for the deadlock to be broken by Casuals in this match, Catalin Neagu hurrying through the defence and prodding the ball past the visiting keeper. 16 minutes later, he repeated the feat to make the score 2-0, which it stayed until the end. The long injury-free period that Palace Casuals had enjoyed was broken late on when team captain Anurak Arma pulled up with a heavy ankle strain. The medical team will be working overtime to get him ready for the important games ahead.
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