Season 2 – League Match #11
Ramblers vs. Screamin’ Seamen
Date: February 23rd, 2003
Venue: Ramblers Arena (Detroit, MI)
Attendance: 37,250 (37,250)
Weather: Sunny
This is it, the match we’ve all been waiting for. We travel to Detroit this week, to take on the 1st place Ramblers on their home turf. You may recall that we came back from a 2-nil deficit the first time we played the Ramblers, and managed to earn a draw at The Docks. But this time around, we will need more if it is going to mean anything. Sitting at two points behind Ramblers and two points ahead of Croats in Miami, the race for the title is a tight one. We have to go for the jugular here. If we manage to win, then the series title will be ours to lose. A draw or loss does us no good, and means that the best we can realistically hope for is a second place finish.
We have four things going for us today:
1. Despite forecasts earlier in the week calling for rain, it has turned out to be a beautiful day here in Detroit. This is exactly the boost we need, as we’re not a very good wet-weather team.
2. Ramblers play an asymmetrical 3-5-2 formation, meaning that they replace a wingback with an extra inner midfielder. We will be looking to attack this weakness, and praying that they don’t pull a switch on us.
3. Ramblers midfielder Eric Holmes is injured. Eric is the second best player on the Ramblers squad (currently valued at over $600,000), but was injured last week and is not expected back for the match.
4. For the first time in the brief history of this franchise, we’re playing Match Of The Season. I have refrained from doing this in the past, but simply put, it’s do-or-die time for us. Lose this one, and we have practically no shot at the series title this season.
Formation: 3-5-2
Starters
Keeper: #13 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
Right Wingback: #22 Tyler Willard
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas
Right Winger: #3 Ben McMahon
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Left Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret
Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Forward: #15 Forrest “Gump” Tobias
Set Pieces: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Team Captain: #11 Johannes Henriksson
Substitutes
-Keeper: #1 Darryl Read
-Defender: #23 William Brown
-Inner Midfielder: #19 Jerry Smith
-Forward: #9 Ruben Stewart
-Winger: #25 Paul Peralta
It’s a pretty standard line-up for us this week, as we have our best and brightest players preparing to take the pitch. Ben McMahon, our defensive-specialist winger, will try to contain Phillip Gallo, Ramblers star player (valued at over $1,000,000). Other than that, we’re focusing on our defensive efforts and attacking the Ramblers’ right side, where they typically leave the afore-mentioned weakness on defense.
Time to see if all this preparation has paid off…
Match Report
A scorching day at Ramblers Arena, where 37250 spectators were in place for today´s match. Ramblers had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Chugg - Arredondo, Marvin, Campos - Niemelä, Whittington, Maddox, Nugent, Gallo - Hansson, Barik.
Screamin' tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Jernigan - Willard, Scales, Lucas - Mcmahon, Tere, Bautista, Tomlin, Mauffret - Henriksson, Tobias.
Proving his experience, Philip Gallo scored 1-0 for Ramblers after putting some pressure on the the enemy defence at a critical moment. Barry Campos should probably have put his team up another goal in the 21st minute, but some great goaltending by Cornelius Jernigan kept the visitors in the game. Ramón Nugent almost managed to score another goal for Ramblers, but his header was tipped to a corner by the visitors goalie. In the games 24:th minute Ramblers´s Gus Whittington fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked Gus Whittington for taking a dive. Some brilliant football from the visitors right wing resulted in a 29:th minute levelling of scores as Screamin's Pete Tomlin equalised to 1 - 1. Halftime score was 1 - 1. The fortyfive minutes were dominated by Ramblers, with an impressive 52 percent possession of the ball.
Unsportsmanlike behaviour by Gus Whittington rendered him his second booking of the match, and Ramblers had to finish the game with a reduced squad. Ramblerss Perry Maddox got himself booked after a foul. Man, what a shot by Johannes Henriksson! Firing from 35 yards he didn't give the enemy goalie a chance and it was 1 - 2. Screamin' held the ball, with a clear 77 percent possession rate.
The most dominating Ramblers player was without a doubt Philip Gallo. Mark Marvin on the other hand, had a terrible day. The most dominating Screamin' player was without a doubt Cornelius Jernigan. Lucian Tere on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 1 - 2.
Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 2, Ramblers 1
Goals
Tomlin – 1 (4)
Henriksson – 1 (12)
Cards
None
Player Ratings
Jernigan: ***~
Willard: **~
Scales: ***
Lucas: ***
McMahon: **~
Tomlin: **~
Tere: **
Bautista: ***
Mauffret: **~
Henriksson: **~
Tobias: **~
Man of the Match: #13 Cornelius “Corny” Jernigan
Team Ratings
Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: World-Class (13)
-Central Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Left Defense: Excellent (8)
-Right Attack: Weak (4)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Solid (7)
Ramblers
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Inadequate (5)
-Central Defense: Formidable (9)
-Left Defense: Brilliant (11)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Solid (7)
-Left Attack: Formidable (9)
Comments
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE FIRST PLACE, BABY!
After giving up an early goal to give Ramblers a 1-nil lead, “Corny” Jernigan more than made up for it. He played out of his head for the remainder of the half, and made two great saves to keep us in the match. Pete “The Old Goat” Tomlin’s second goal in as many weeks tied it up for us heading into halftime. But the man of the hour is team captain Johannes Henriksson. A superb 35-yard strike in the second half gave us the win, and sole possession of first place. Way to go, Johan!
Luck certainly played a factor, as Gus Whittington’s second booking early in the second half left Ramblers short a man in the midfield. Which begs the question, was MOTSing the match necessary? Perhaps, and perhaps not, but I’m not second-guessing my decision at all. We did what we felt like we had to do, and for whatever reasons, it worked.
Series Scores and Standings
-Neon Genesis Evangelion demolished The Cheats, 7-1.
-Croats in Miami pushed their winning streak to nine matches, defeating Cariocas 4-1.
-Farmer of Fire shut down Gazzaly FC, 6-nil.
No. Team Played Goals Pts.
1. Screamin’ Seamen 11 45-11 29
2. Ramblers 11 57-7 28
3. Croats in Miami 11 36-15 27
4. Neon Genesis Evangelion 11 31-12 18
5. Farmer of Fire 11 15-20 14
6. Gazzaly FC 11 12-45 7
7. Cariocas 11 12-43 5
8. The Cheats 11 4-59 0
Our win over Ramblers tightened up the standings at the top even further, with only two points separating the top three teams. But the important part is that we’re the ones on top now.
Our remaining schedule:
3/2 - @ Gazzaly FC
3/9 – vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion
3/16 - @Croats in Miami
Our match against Gazzaly FC next week will be a welcome break, and should be a chance to repair the damage we’ve just done to our team spirit. After that, we’ve got two tough ones against Neon Genesis Evangelion and especially Croats in Miami. The best possible outcome is for Ramblers and Croats in Miami to draw when they play in two weeks, which would give us a little more cushion. Either way, the series title is ours to lose now.
Up Next: Our third and final group play match in the Windy City Cup, when we play host to Professor58’s High Tops. It should be another classic intra-FOFC match-up. Stay tuned!