CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - QUARTER-FINAL, 2ND LEG

SK Senec 1-2 July Fourth

July Fourth win 5-2 on aggregate
SK Senec 120.9 Narrow Diamond - July Fourth 124.9 3N-4-1-2 1st half, 3N-1-4-1-1 2nd half

We knew we still had work to qualify for the Semi-Finals after SK Senec scored that important away goal right at the death of the 1st leg to keep things interesting and keep things honest for July Fourth, But we prepared well once again for this game and we were about to find out if we were going to be rewarded, Pauwels was back in the team as well as 2 suspended players from the first leg and SK Senec were playing at home so they could have a "go" at us since they had nothing to lose though, However whatever they through at us in the first half, Hogan and Ramirez kept dealing with things quite well and gave away free kicks to Wessels, thankfully for us we kept blocking it with the wall or it went over each time. If SK Senec had a Mensah-like free-kick taker then they probably would of won the tie... There was a chance each for Watson and a free-kick for Beckett that hit the wall in the search of us cancelling out the away goal. It was 0-0 at HT and July Fourth edged closer to the Semi-Finals.

The 2nd half started with a bit more urgency for both teams as we knew that there was something to play for, Miku on for Pietropaolo and Pauwels stuck an early shot over the bar, Boujiri couldn't keep his shot on target and Wessels got another free-kick and that went wide and we lost Childs to injury for Calavicci to come on... Then the breakthrough we were all waiting for came and thankfully it was for July Fourth when Hogan made a brilliant sprint with the ball and decided to go all the way and he curled the shot past the keeper and the away goal was cancelled out, 5 minutes later and Coster got behind our defence and dangerman Pauwels made no mistake to put SK Senec level on the night and gave them some hope, but it was all in vein as July Fourth played superbly and didn't give SK Senec much more chances. There was another free-kick for Wessels but Knight saved it superbly and just as the game was drawing to a close Michu with a solo effort beating a defender and driving his shot low on target was powerful enough to give the keeper no chance and July Fourth sealed their place in the Semi-Finals.

Goals: Hogan (60) Pauwels (65) Michu (86) MOTM: Michu.
Injury Report: Childs OUT 4 days... 14 reds ffs.

Team Talk: We are delighted to have overcome a difficult opponent such as SK Senec in this seasons Champions League and we are now firm favourites to win the title once again. In the semi-final we will most likely face the other strong contenders Zekspor FC who average 119.0 and have some scouts and even a 7* player and could give us a run for our money like SK Senec did so we have to approach Zekspor FC in the same way as we approached SK Senec. Zekspor lead 4-1 from their QF 1st leg and I can't see them mess that up.