Palace Casuals

[talisman]

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.




100% shot efficiency! Not that hard, though...

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.



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.



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.