Season 89 Are you ready?

[talisman]

Desert Rats FC played at home in their first Champions League Group match, with a 24% advantage over their Level 8 opponents, and turned on the style. Playing 3N-4-1-2 against 4-4-2 Classic, the Rats started quietly, with AMC Patrick Tillmanns producing his Mr. Hyde performance, missing with his first two free-kick attempts and prompting the Management to consider either changing the player or reassigning the free-kick responsibility. Before he could decide, Matt Goggin broke away on the left of the Penalty box and his cross found Tillmanns surging through the defence and he shot first time past the 'keeper for the opening goal. Two minutes later, Tillmanns got another tilt at goal from the Penalty spot after an infringement that earned the visitors' left-winger a yellow card, and he slotted the ball just inside the left post to extend the home sides' lead. Four minutes after that, the same player offended again and received his second yellow card and an invitation to an early shower, but the resulting free-kick was well saved by the visitors' custodian.

2-0 at half time, and the Management was much more relaxed for his half-time team talk. Striker Emanuele Imbimbo got the scoreboard moving five minutes after the restart, and his strike compatriot Goggin made his contribution to the scoreline on the hour. Imbimbo offended far out on the right and the free-kick bounced invitingly in the box for a striker to reduce the arrears, but the hosts hit back within a minute, Filip Andersson producing a pin-point corner onto the head of left-winger Unal Ozdemir and the four-goal lead was restored. The strikers then linked up, Imbimbo spotting Goggin unmarked on the left and giving the veteran scorer a pass it would have been rude to miss. Tillmanns made a contribution to the final move of the game, right-winger Emerson de Alencar Arraes firing his free-kick pass home through a crowded box to make the final score 7-1.