Young Guns keep firing: Match Report against Knox City

Young Guns vs. Knox City 13.06.09 (A)  -  8:1 (3:1)

7 weeks into the season we finally had our first away game. Not being used to this situation it was no big surprise that the team was left in the hands of fitness coach Andrew and assistant coach Hans for warm up. Why? Because the coach left everything to the very last second and ran a few minutes late. Let’s hope the disciplinary measures imposed by the Executive Director will not be too hard and won’t lead to longer term suspension.

Still an unknown force to the Young Guns, Knox City was the opponent in today’s clash. And to add to the unknown environment, the boys had to play in “The Cage” which our countless supporters were not even allowed to enter. Also, with Corey on the sick list we had a late withdrawal who had to replaced in our starting line. Anyway, with a pretty good track record there was no reason to be scared of this match against one of the better sides of the competition. And exactly with such fearless attitude the Guns started the game, with James in goals and skipper Alex, Ryan, Victor, and Callum in the backline. The 5 of them did everything they could to keep the Knox attackers away from our own goal. On the other side of the pitch the midfield and forward line with Nick, Moritz, Justin, and Josh caused a lot of troubles for the Knox defense.

It was a bit of a nervous start, but then the Guns quickly took control of the game. After a few good combinations and dangerous corners it smelled like a goal for quite some time. But it took some 8 or 9 minutes until Justin won the ball with a fearless tackle and tipped it on to Moritz. He didn’t hesitate for a second and put the ball away with a precise flat short into the left corner. 1-0.

But who might have thought this would discourage the home team saw himself proven wrong very quickly. A quick combination through the middle of the ground left the spearhead of Knox alone in front of James who had no chance against a high hard shot into the right corner. 1 all. And all of a sudden it was a very open game with chance on both sides. The next good opportunity was on Knox side when a real grenade of a shot hit the left post of our goal. Bang, that must have been the alarm bell our boys needed this morning. From now onwards the Guns again took over. Justin placed another tough tackle, the ball rolled in front of Nick’s right foot, and – in his very own style he smashed the ball into the net. 2-1, the ban was broken.

There were a few more dangerous situations in front of our own goal. But James as cool goalie and the defenders, especially the strong tackling Callum and Ryan, had everything under control now. Both Alex and Victor increased the pressure from the back and so another score was only a matter of time. Josh took the ball, dribbled around an opponent, and passed the ball on to Justin. As if he has been around for years, he looked up and saw Moritz sprinting into an open spot in front of goals. With a precise pass he put Moritz into action who had no problem to finish this nice attack off with a decisive flat shot. 3-1. And halftime, time for a bit of a breather, drink, and a vitamin C injection.

Nick put on the goalie’s jumper, Moritz took control of defense in the engine room position, and the backline was completed by Josh, Justin, and James. On the left wing we started with whirlwind Victor, on the right wing Callum took position, followed by Ryan, and power-pack Alex started as spearhead after the break. The Guns were really into it now, not leaving the opponent too many opportunities after the break. Anyway, whatever came through to Nick was in very safe hands today.

With such a good backline it was no wonder that the attacking game of the Guns was rolling attack after attack. Very quickly the boys added another goal to the scoreboard. Victor had one of his unstoppable runs down the left wing. His Harry Kewell like cross was tipped over the line by Alex. 4-1. Next was Ryan who reacted quicker than all the defenders after Victor bombed another cross into the box. From short distance he buried the ball. 5-1. Now the Guns were all firing.

A few minutes later the fans could cheer for the goal of the day. From a goal kick Bobby passed the ball to Moritz. He dribbled for a few meters and cleverly passed the ball down the right wing to Victor who controlled the ball and quickly passed it on to Alex with his right foot. Alex himself finished this awesome attack with a first touch shot. 6-1, from a 4 touch play across the whole pitch in only 8 to 10 seconds.

But who thought this is it, was proven wrong. Josh stopped a long goal kick and looked up to read the play in front of him. He saw that there was a big hole in the center of Knox City’s defense, dribbled on for a few meters and finished his run with a hard flat shot into the left corner. 7-1, but still not enough. Almost with the final whistle Alex passed the ball from the left wing. Engine room James had tanked his way through almost to the right goal post and reached the ball with a stretched tackle to put it over the line. 8-1.

Let’s have a look into some of the boys highlights of today’s game:

James: He played a great and fearless first half in goals. With big grabs and quick and long throws to the wings he started a lot of dangerous attacks from the very last line of defense. In the second half he seemed to be a bit grumpy at first having to play from the backline. But once he understood what defending is all about he really got into it. Keeping Knox’ attackers away from our goal he even found the time to sprint up front and score for our own team.

Ryan: Another solid game by Mr. Reliable. Whatever position Ryan is assigned to, you can be sure that he keeps it and makes the most out of his game. As defender he laid a few tough tackles and cleared the ball again and again. After the break he was a strong contributor to our offensive game and managed to put his name on to the score board again with a smart tackle from short distance.

Alex: Leading our team into the game as skipper he played as a real role model today. As strong defender he tried his best to keep the clean sheet for the Guns. In the second half he showed us how dangerous he can be in our own forward line. With 2 clever goals and a very precise cross leading to another goal he proofed to be a very strong contributor in today’s success.

Victor: He was out there again today to cover plenty of space. When he starts his decisive runs down the line, he becomes Mr. Unstoppable. With his dangerous crosses especially from the left wing he put a lot of pressure on the Knox defense over and over again. Three assists, one of them leading to the goal of the day were put down next to his name today.

Callum: The big wall of China is built from millions of stones. The Young Guns really only need one big stone to keep the opponents away from our goal. His strong and decisive tackles are probably the most known trademark of Callum. But he is also getting better and better with his passes finding his team mates more often now that he learns to calm down and relax when the ball is coming his way.

Moritz: Starting the game a bit further up front than usual he put the Knox defense under a lot of pressure from the very beginning. 2 precise shots lead to 2 major scores for him today. After the break he managed to organize our backline in a very calm and quiet manner making it easy for our midfield and forwards stay in the game. His best action today was probably the long well-timed pass down the right wing starting our goal of the day bay Alex.

Nick: Gone are the times when Nick van Persie didn’t really want to get involved in the game. He is not shying away anymore, goes in hard for the ball, and harvests the fruits of his good work week after week. Another great right-footed shot led to our second goal, which is already his 6^th for the season. Also after the break he convinced the crowd with concentrated and skillful goalkeeping.

Justin: Especially his enthusiastic performance up front in the first half earned Justin the Man of the Match Award. His 3 assists, 2 of them through tough tackles winning the ball for Guns, showed that he has come a long way from his first steps in the Young Guns jersey. After the break he continued his great run with good defending moves. Needless to say the he has presented himself as a very welcome addition as fantastic team player.