Palace Casuals

[talisman]

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.



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.