Palace Casuals

[talisman]

Champions League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg, home vs Prayong FC, Thailand. Level 22, AQ -6.3
Palace Casuals looked to build on a workmanlike 2-2 draw in the first leg away at their visitors, and the packed stadium was not disappointed. The first half was all about defence, both sides working well but no breakthroughs. Casuals midfielder Suhail Kamal was cautioned for a tackle which caused the substitution of Aura-ngam through injury, and half-time was reached with the score still goalless. The home side came out in the second half all blood-and-thunder attack, and in the first ten minutes scored two goals, through Michael Muscroft, and Juan Sebastian Garcia, a header from a Johan Shaqiri corner. The Management were just preparing to replace Kamal when he transgressed again, and the Order of the Early Bath resulted. Catalin Neagu has been on-and-off scoring form recently, and this was definitely an off-day, but it didn't stop him from providing the cross from which Muscroft scored his second of the match, and the 'Flying Wingers' combined well for the fourth goal, Omar Hanson netting from a Shaqiri cross. Mike Christie replaced Kevin Pigott as the midfield was shuffled after the Kamal dismissal, and Garcia scored at with literally the last play of the match as he forcefully headed in a Shaqiri corner to make the final score 5-0. Palace Casuals march onto the Semi-Finals 7-2 on aggregate.



League Round 19, away at Graziano FC, of Bari, Italy. Level 22, AQ +1.5
A tired-looking Palace Casuals team travelled to Italy for this League game and came home pointless and even more exhausted. Despite having greater possession and better statistics in most categories, the result on the pitch was too-many sub-par performances and the home side won through goals from Babak and Sadikov. A series of late substitutions failed to put a spark in the visitors and the game drifted away from them.



With the ongoing series of poor performance ratings from goalkeeper Zoltan Bieder, the Management decided give him a few days' rest and looked to the market for a temporary replacement. A potentially useful 1T purchase followed:



Existing second-string keeper Mihaita Dragut and new recruit Tran Cong Vinh will share keeping responsibilities for a while with the hope that Bieder will benefit from the rest.