Season 77 - Week 4

[ponzu]

Orange Roughies make the first Cup finals in 8 seasons!

Win 39: Home League match, 5-1: We needed this easy win over a down-and-out league rival to lift our spirits and settle the nerves. Attacking from the start, we did not manage to get on the board until the second half, when our superior preparation and fitness level shone through, and the floodgates of scoring opened. The ever-lethal AMR Willemse scored twice to cement his league leading scorer status. Turkish ST Kara, widely believed to be on his way out, was given a chance to relieve the "Polish Monster" Monasterski and did not disappoint, converting a PK, adding an assist, and earning a 9.1 rating -- not quite high enough to challenge Willemse for the MOM honors, his seventh this season and the most on the team. AML Orue scored and finally cleared the 5* rating threshold. A third year holdover, and not considered to be one for training, he is by far the lowest rated active player on the squad, yet the fifth most prolific scorer, and certainly a more consistent presence than some of the strikers. With this win, we maintained the 9 point lead with 4 games left to play in the season. We are not celebrating yet, but we have quietly started calling around for prices on various banquet venues.

Win 40: Away Cup match, 4-2. This was a huge win over an evenly rated and cunning opponent, delivering a major emotional high to the squad and the management. The opposition had surprised us with a 1-1 draw on our turf, and the scouts confirmed that they planned on replaying the formation matchup, going 3N-1-4-2 against our 3N-1-3-2-1. We made a late formation change to blindside the rival scouts, and opted for an off-balance 3N-5-1AML-1, rationalizing that 3DCs could handle the opponent's two strikers, while the extra AML (the ever dangerous Coronel) could wreak havoc on their center-heavy defensive line. We also chose to go with an attacking mindset, press high and sink the training bonus in the attack as well. Our gambit paid off. ST Monasterski scored right off the bat, and Coronel followed up quickly with a marker of his own. Up 2-0 by the 20th minute we switched the bonus to possession and were "rewarded" by two goals against. While the score 2-2 suited us, the balance was too precarious. Noting that offense appeared to be the best defense, at least for us, we once again shifted the bonus to attack, and the reinvigorated Coronel drove in two more goals, earning MOM, dashing the opposition's hopes and paving our side's way into the Cup final.