25 August 2013
Rosport 2-0 FF Norden 02
We treated a crowd of 230 to a season-opening victory, thanks to two very unusual goals.
I'm still trying to figure out what happened with the first one. Laurent Schiltz didn't strike the ball well--he might have hit it with his knee, not his boot-- and it skipped in front of the Norden goal on three or four bounces. As their keeper, Mike Thunus, came out to grab it, he slipped and fell, the ball rolling beneath him before he hit the ground. The ball then ticked the post and hopped into the goal.
On the second one, Billy Bernard took a throw-in from Andy Rakic on one bounce and, from at least 35 yards away and at an angle, drove it toward the goal. Several feet in front of his goal line Thumus froze, captivated by the ball's flight, before seeming to realize it was about to go into the net if he didn't do something about it. Only then did he leap up to stop it, and it sailed over his fingertips for a goal.
They don't ask how, they ask how many.
Bernard was Man of the Match, and our whole back line played well.
On the other hand, Alex Pott kept cranking long shots, none of which went on goal. I finally pulled him and his 5.5 rating on 66 minutes. I've never read a comment as sassy as the one Pott received on the game report:
"The striker's wayward shooting was not only frustrating for his team's supporters but very tiresome for me because I had to endure this horrid display of finishing."
And, more bad news concerning injuries. Alphonse Leweck will be shelved for 2-3 weeks while he recovers from a strained neck.
By the way, the full name of our opponent's club is
FF Norden 02 Weiswampach-Hupperdange. Weiswampach and Hupperdange are towns in the northern tip of Luxembourg, so the name makes sense.