Palace Casuals

Champions league Semi-Final 1st Leg, away at Diptesh FC of Kolkata, India. level 22, AQ -4.8
Palace Casuals travelled to the sub-continent with high hopes of a favourable result to take home for the 2nd Leg, but ended up the wrong side of a 5-goal thriller. Midfielder Michael Muscroft opened the scoring with the only goal of the first-half, weaving through the home defence and netting past the despairing dive of the 'keeper. Three minutes after the break, the hosts equalised through McKay, but the Casuals forward duo liaised well, Andres Ramos providing Claude Pinto with the simplest of tap-ins. McKay restored parity again with a solo effort before Shamov, who had been a thorn in the side of the visitors' defence all game, put them ahead for the first time from a free-kick. Despite late pressure, Casuals couldn't force an equaliser themselves, so take a one goal deficit, but two away goals, to the home leg. Mike Christie and Freddy Jones both picked up cautions, the one for Jones being more serious as this means he misses the next game.

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Player News: After offering him to the market a couple of time without success, the club finally got an offer for out-of-favour goalkeeper Mihaita Dragut and he left for KKOOII for $89M.

League Round 21, away at Izmir SK of Izmir, Turkey. Level 22, AQ +0.2
Palace Casuals made heavy work of a game against a team in the lower part of the League Table, and only a late consolation goal stopped the score being totally embarrassing. The Hosts were playing a modified 4-4-2, and the visitors had a puzzle to sort out an effective counter. Starting with 3N-4-1-2, no headway was made, and after conceding a second goal after 54 minutes, the management decided to make a change, removing the attacking midfielder and second striker in favour of a switch to 4-5-1V. The team were just settling down when Bach added to the first two goals from Corunha and Kalouris and Casuals found themselves in deeper trouble. The switch did enable the visitors to curb the home side's attacks and enabled counter breaks themselves, but the Izmir defence was solid, and it was only when Omar Hansen was given the chance from a dead-ball situation did the breakthrough come. Arabaci tripped striker Catalin Neagu and it was left to this season's leading scorer to blast the ball through the defensive wall and past the stranded 'keeper to open Casuals' account. It was too little too late, however, despite late pressure no further opportunities arose and the game ended in a 3-1 victory for the hosts.

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League Round 22, home vs Ciclon de Tarija of Tarija, Bolivia. Level 22, AQ -1.4
With the knowledge that the team at the top of the table had registered a home draw in their game today, Palace Casuals had ample incentive to capitalise and knew that a win would move them to points parity. Most of the first half-hour was an out-and-out attack fest, in which the defences showed that nothing would pass. In the 27th minute, however, Omar Hansen got the first chance to register on the scoreboard when awarded a free-kick well within striking distance. Formalities over, and Casuals had the lead, which they held until half-time. After the break, the hosts gained an ascendancy over their visitors and more attacks were being hastily repelled. Another Hansen free-kick was brilliantly saved by Ciclon 'keeper Struiken, and moments later, another attack resulted in a corner. Johan Shaqiri swung it into the centre of the box and Catalin Neagu glanced it into the corner and the lead was extended. Two minutes later, the visitors broke and scored the only goal in the match from open play, Drew netting from a Zahana-Oni cross. Another corner for the home side, Shaquiri found Suhail Kamal and his glancing header ended up in the same place as his team-mate's ten minutes earlier. With three minutes to go, Pigott was fouled on the left wing and Hansen spurned the direct route, dropped the free-kick in the centre of the box and Neagu leapt up and headed past Struiken. Final score 4-1, Palace Casuals now second in the table, but only on goal difference.

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Champions League Semi-Final 2nd Leg, home vs Diptesh FC of Kolkata, India. Level 22, AQ -5.3
Palace Casuals' interest in the Champions League has been snuffed out on the back of a 2nd leg draw against a very defensive opponent who wanted to hold on to his 3-2 1st leg advantage. With nothing to lose, Casuals threw the kitchen sink at the Diptesh's back 5 in a bid to get the one goal that would be needed to draw on aggregate and win on away goals, but the breakthrough only came in the 76th minute when ST Ramos arrived late in the area and headed a Shaqiri corner off the bar into the net. However, the answering roar from the capacity crowd was silenced a few minutes later when the visitors had the temerity to venture across the half-way line and score an equaliser...

"So now we concentrate on the league," said the exhausted Casuals Management. "We'll PM the Semi-Final games when the dust has settled and see what lessons we need to learn about dealing with an opponent who clearly doesn't want to make a game of it..."

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League Round 23, away at FC Brandenburg in Berlin, Germany. Level 22, AQ -1.6
Having lost the chance of the Champions League earlier, Palace Casuals turned their sights on the League. Away at FC Brandenburg, again the might of the Casuals attack fell on resilient defence, and only a long-range shot in the 77th minute by the home side found the net. So the League looks like slipping away as well, as apart from an early injury to MC Christie, ST Neagu and left winger Hansen both picked up bookings, which mean they miss the next match, which is against the league leaders...

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A dull morning yielded to full sunshine as this lunchtime kick-off pitted the two top sides against each other in League Round 24. Palace Casuals away at Levski, in Sofia, Bulgaria. Level 22, AQ +0.3
With two players under suspension, the Palace Casuals Management spent a few hours in head-scratching contemplation before deciding to pit everything in this all-or-nothing confrontation to a 3N-5-2V formation against a Narrow Diamond. Club Captain Anurak Arma was the unfortunate defender to be left on the bench, Zoltan Beider being restored between the posts after his 4 days' rest and on this occasion being nominated Captain-of-the-Day. Attacking midfielder Valentin Ndjengue and striker Andres Ramos replaced the suspended Omar Hansen and Catalin Neagu, respectively, and striker Claude Pinto came in as second forward in place of Arma, restoring the famous Level 20 season striking partnership that claimed 40 goals between them. Hansen's free-kick duties were assigned to midfielder Suhail Kamal, a interesting experiment in light of the fact that Ramos has free-kick special ability.
Having sprung the formation surprise, the expectation that Casuals would operate an all-out attack was fulfilled, and the home side were forced onto the back foot for most of the first quarter-hour. A corner from the left in the 17th minute by Ndjengue found the head of Kamal and the opening goal was in the net. Levski countered immediately and Di Chiro beat Bieder with a long range shot to level the scores a mere 5 minutes after the opener. He would have claimed the lead for his side a few minutes later but Bieder this time was wise to the play and pushed the ball over the bar, and then made a confident catch from the resulting corner. Later on in the half, midfielder Michael Muscroft announced his presence in the game with a 30 yard shot which beat home 'keeper Abderazzak, to restore the visitors' lead. In the second half, home striker Biton committed a foul while assisting his defence and Kamal had his chance. A couple of free-kicks in the first half had been his 'sighters', both narrowly missing the target, but this time he was on target and the 'keeper did well to save and concede the corner. Ndjengue did the honours again, this time finding the late-arriving Kevin Pigott and he nodded the ball into the net. It would seem that the old strike force had been kept quiet by the defence for too long, and Ramos finally broke the shackles by taking the ball all the way and forcing it past Adberazzak for the fourth and final goal.
Palace Casuals go back to level points with Levski but are second on goal difference, the goals difference now considerably reduced. If they are to win the Championship they must produce another two performances like this and hope that other results go their way...

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League Round 25, home vs Daniel FC of Cartes, Spain. Level 22, AQ -0.1
Palace Casuals' last home game of the season was an evenly-matched affair with a team whose position in the table belied their AQ, thanks to a mid-season slump that they are having difficulty recovering from. Again facing a Narrow Diamond formation, the Management decided to stick with what worked yesterday, but restored the now-eligible left winger Omar Hansen and striker Catalin Neagu to their positions, in place of Valentin Ndjengue and Claude Pinto, respectively. Suspended Freddy Jones was replaced by club captain Anurak Arma.
The first half was all Casuals attack, but the visitors' defence repelled all efforts to find a breakthrough and one had the feeling that it wasn't going to go to plan, particularly when the usually reliable Hansen was given a chance from a set piece, but completely missed the target with the free kick. At the other end, Vukasovic was given a similar opportunity and was only thwarted by a brilliant save by Zoltan Bieder. From the resulting corner, however, Sifonios beat the home defence to Cygal's kick and Daniel had the lead. Despite all efforts in the remainder of the match, Casuals could not find the back of the net and suffered their second home defeat of the season.
The deep disappointment felt by the team and fans in the stadium at the missed chance at the League Championship was turned to restored wild hope when the results of the matches of the other two challengers were revealed to be defeats and that Palace Casuals had not lost ground at all; indeed the other defeats were worse and the goal differentials between the sides were more in Casuals favour.

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Palace Casuals' Annual Dinner and Awards were held after the match, and the following players nominated for Player of the Year:

Left winger Omar Hansen (44 matches, 3 MoM, 25 goals (4 penalties), 3 assists)
Central defender Ben De Wree (37, 4, 1, 0)
Right back Juan Sebastian Garcia (44, 3, 4, 0)

With a season that relied heavily on defence and with important contributions from all other outfield players, it is not surprising that two of the nominees were defenders, and the other the really standout player of the rest. Both the defenders have made important contributions to the stingiest defence in the League in terms of goals conceded, and Hansen (the current PoY holder) has taken the vast majority of the on-field set pieces, and has stats to prove it. The great pity is that the main strike force has not been as potent as in previous seasons, and when this is the case then over-reliance on one man distorts the analysis one can make of the team overall. So it came down to stats or contribution and the committee debated long and hard before deciding on Juan Sebastian Garcia as the Player of the Year.

League Round 26, away vs Ahmed FC in aa(?), Germany. Level 22, AQ -3.0
Of the three matches that involved the three competitors for the Championship, this one was the most difficult as it also involved a team who needed a win to have a chance of Championship League football next season. Palace Casuals made a slight formation change, Mike Christie coming into a three-man central midfield in place of Kevin Pigott in the defensive midfield position. Ahmed FC attacked from the off, and in the first twenty minutes or so the Casuals defence showed the grit and resolve needed to repel all boarders. When Suhail Kamal conceded a free-kick goalkeeper Zoltan Bieder was equal to the task, making the first of a string of saves that kept the score goalless. In a brief respite, Visser gave Omar Hansen a chance from a set-piece, but the free kick just skimmed the crossbar. Another chance on the half-hour and although on target, the Nunez finger-tipped the ball away for a corner. Score at half-time, 0-0. The second half was more of the same, and on 77 minutes, the Casuals Management made a striker substitution, Andres Ramos coming on for the largely anonymous Catalin Neagu. Immediately afterwards, a long-range shot was beaten out for a corner by Bieder, and he also defected out a header from the resulting corner. He was to be unlucky with the second corner, though, as Birtalan sneaked in at the far side of the box and headed the home side ahead. Despite a late rally by the visitors, they could not open their account and the game ended in a 1-0 win for Ahmed.

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Again, unknown to the team, the Nordeus Gods were working their mischief, and the other two games ended in a goalless draw for Levski and a home defeat for FC Zvaba. So a little more luck and who knows what might have been?

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League: At the outset, Palace Casuals' AQ was 8th out of the 14 in the League, and bearing in mind that they were to be left mostly on their own during the middle two weeks of the season due to the Management taking a well-earned holiday, there was not a lot of emphasis on competing for the Championship this season. Early on, the decision was taken to replace where necessary and pare the squad down to 14-16 players, and this was done by the end of the first week of the season. In fact, only five players were purchased during the season and 9 released, adding a net $575M to the Club Finances, and the squad ran to 16 players for the last three weeks of the season. This reduced squad was to be well used during the season, and to a large extent belied their AQ deficiency such that they topped the table for 14 days during the season. The strike force, to be blunt, was largely absent during most of the season, but with a strong defence that conceded the least number of goals in the League and a left-winger/free-kick specialist who early on was scoring with monotonous regularity, the lack of end-product from the strikers was largely overcome. In the end, it was a 5 match winless away run at the end of the season which proved the team's downfall, and two losses at the very end of the season when wins would have been sufficient to take the Championship meant that the team had to settle for second place for the third season running. At least they were able to bask in the semi-glory of doing the double over the eventual Champions, the 4-1 away victory with two key players suspended was a particular highlight.

Champions League: After a smooth transit through the Group Stage, where qualification was achieved with a game to spare, and large aggregate wins in the 'Top 16' and Quarter-Final Rounds, The Semi-Final was a different scenario. A narrow defeat in the away leg was followed by a 2nd Leg where the visitors came to defend, and at all costs. A draw was insufficient and the Casuals went out with one round to go.

Cup: Again playing with teams of higher levels, Palace Casuals had a modicum of success, progressing to the 'Top 16' round, where a home 2nd leg defeat ended their participation.

Playing Squad: The team played 46 competitive matches this season. The players statistics are below, along with their Palace Casuals career statistics.

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Season 24 for Palace Casuals

Palace Casuals start their 24th season in Level 23 with an AQ of 129.1. Last season they finished 2nd in the League and have a 3rd place shield for the Champions League.

Cup: drawn in Preliminary Round against FSM1453 FC, from Annecy, France (Level 24, AQ -1.0) - 1st Leg at home.
Champions League: Drawn in Group H again. Opponents in Group stage are:
jcm cf, of Madrid, Spain. Level 23, AQ 126.5. 2nd in League last season.
Raikko5 FC, of of Terengganu, Malaysia. Level 23, AQ 128.0. 3rd in League, Champions League Runner-up last season. Friend.
iNtiKaMm FC of AMEDDD, Brazil. Level 23, AQ 127.1. 4th in League last season.

Playing squad is the same as the end of last season, at the moment. Arma and Neagu have been re-signed after their contracts ended at the end of last season. Of course, everyone has lost a star so the squad is a 5*/4* mixture, with a couple of 3* strikers who will be replaced in due course.

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...or not, as the case may be.

Cup Preliminary Round 1st Leg, home vs FSM1453 FC of Annecy, France, Level 23, AQ -1.0
The excitement of the first competitive game of a new season was quickly tempered by the realisation, early on, that this match was not going to live up to its billing. Palace Casuals started brightly enough, putting pressure on the visitors defence for almost the entire first 20 minutes of the match, but as Catalin Neagu(2) and Andres Ramos both spurned chances and the usually-reliable Omar Hansen missed badly from a free-kick, the atmosphere got a little more subdued. The visitors eventually got back into the game, and the defence was its usual efficient self, and when called-upon, Zoltan Bieder made confident saves and generally gave a performance that belied his final Performance Rating. Just before half-time, De Miguel fired FSM1453 into the lead, but Casuals reacted immediately and Valentin Ndjengue beat Aite-Ouakrim in the visitors goal in identical fashion. After the break, midfielder Michael Muscroft picked up a booking for a foul, and he was substituted soon after by Mike Christie, but not before FSM1453 took the lead again through Prieto. Claude Pinto replaced Ramos late on in an effort to kick-start the attack, but to no avail and the match petered out into a home defeat.

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After the game, the Management decided that they really had to do something about the striker situation, and after a couple of failed attempts in the open market, they turned to the Scout and he unearthed a striker who, after a few tokens were scraped up was signed for $107M/49T.

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One in, one out (at the moment) - Claude Pinto's 13 minute cameo was his last in a Casuals shirt as he was offered to the market, and after a lengthy bidding war, departed to Remax Team for $114M. Pinto had been with Palace Casuals for nearly 4 seasons and had 104 appearances, scored 60 goals with 31 assists.

Cup Preliminary Round 2nd Leg, away at FSM1453 FC in Annecy, France, Level 23, AQ -2.0
Palace Casuals gave a debut slot to new striker signing Reda Mourad as the only change in the team from the 1st Leg. Trailing from the home 1st Leg, the Casuals gave an improved performance overall, defended well as usual, but failed to find the net as the match ended in a 0-0 draw. So Palace Casuals exit the Cup at the first hurdle, 1-2 on aggregate. Central midfielder Suhail Kamal picked up a Knee Cartilage tear injury and will be out for 6 days.

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Earlier in the day, the Casuals Management made an approach to Psycho SV for their central midfielder Emrah Topalan. after a wait, the $136M/6T offer was accepted.

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