Season 40

[Ljepoje]

Balkan Boyz - Matchday 23 (Sz.5 - lvl5)



HEADLINE: Balkan Boyz beat LS 11 in the 1th leg of their semi-final game

CL: LS 11 (Q45) Formation: 3-4-1-2/3W-4-3 >> 1 - 2 << Balkan Boyz (Q51) Formation: 4-5-1V/4-2N-2W-2
SCORERS: S.Kolašinac (1min.ass:S.Lulić), H.Salihamidžić (61min) and R.Peters (86min.ass:S.Starchak)
SUBS: M.Kovačić < > S.Jovetić L.Cana < > S.Sušić
MOTM: Hasan Salihamidžić (Rate:8)


Balkan Boyz claimed a important 1 - 2 away win and overcame the "LS 11" in their way to a 3rd consecutive Champions League final this evening at "YRA Stadium". The Balkan Boyz were making most headway with Olić and Salihamidžić on the wings, supported by Kolašinac and Vranješ on the flanks. And that’s where the first goal came from, as Kolašinac made it through the midfield and pass through the "LS 11" 3 man line-defense, assisted by Lulić. The second goal came in the 61th minute half as Salihamidžić scored from a long-distance shot and The Balkan Boyz seemed to get a grip on the game. Manager -Ljepoje- decided to make a tactical change in the 63rd and 73rd minute as Mateo Kovačić was subbed out in favour for Stevan Jovetić and Lorik Cana in favour for Safet Sušić, which meant The Balkan Boyz went from 4-5-1V to 4-2N-2W-2. The same minute as the substitution took place, LS 11 made a offensive tactical change and subbed two of their players as well, playing a hard attacking 3-4-3 formation the last quarter. Something that seemed to pay off as LS 11 began to attack bravely and in which R.Peters scored a goal in the final minutes just before the end.

Manager -Ljepoje- seemed quite satisfied with the performance of his team and in a short post-game interview he said, "Well, somebody would say that a 1 - 2 is a "good" result and some would say it's a bad one. I can't put my finger on it since I feel a sense of satisfaction and disappointment at the same time. First, we started of quite well with the 4-5-1V formation. Blocked their AMC and controlled the game, created a couple of great goal scoring opportunities and scored twice. Then the last 20minutes we switched to the 4-2N-2N-2 and our opposition to a 3N-4-3, 5 minutes after. They pushed, pushed and pushed and finally got a goal in the 86th minute, a minuter after they subbed Y.Heo for R.Peters. This means that we need to go "all-in" in the return, and play Džeko + Jovetić from the 1th minute. We could also use Mandžukić as a 3rd striker if needed since we need that CL Finals spot!"


In other news, Balkan Boyz managed to beat the Italian team "Benevento" with 0 - 3 after goals by Safet Sušić (x1), Ivica Olić (x1) and Stevan Jovetić (x1). A game in which Nenad Tomović was declared as MoM (rate:8). The win means that Balkan Boyz holds onto first place with 57 points and are 2points clear in front of The Vietnamese team "Tay Ninh FC" (55points) with FC Kula at a 3rd place (52points) and Vanspor FC at a 4th place on 38points. Balkan Boyz will play The Vietnamese team "Tay Ninh FC" tomorrow at home. The kickoff is set at 14:46CET. Later on that evening, Balkan Boyz will play the 2nd leg in the T11 CUP semi-finals against FC Köln. The kickoff is set at 23:20CET

Over&Out!