Palace Casuals

[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.