Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - Incompetence on Parade: The Life and Times of an Unknown Nobody(FM14)

Brian Swartz · 07-01-2014, 04:21 AM

1.10 vs. Persipon(6-3-3, 4th) We're still missing both wide midfielders, but other than that everyone's ready to go. Ferminus isn't back to full strength yet, but a couple more matches should get him there. Persipon are strong 2-5 favorites, and my biggest concern is that we pull our heads out of our behinds and start playing like we wouldn't rather be watching grass grow or scuba diving than competing in a professional football match. Nothing else matters if we don't get back to playing like we were in November and December.

Our first match was a very competitive 1-0 road loss, with Basri coming open at the near post for an easy corner score in the 62nd minute to provide the only tally.

Ain't nobody on the team happy right now after the way we've been playing. That's good, they shouldn't be -- but this could spiral downward quickly if we don't turn it around now.

Interestingly, Basri isn't even in the match squad, possibly out hurt. I implore the guys to step up their effort, most seemed to be listening but not visibly reacting.

8' -- Uropmabin is fouled and gets a freekick in front ... high and wide right. So far I'm not seeing much evidence of a better effort.

11' -- Perfect setup, Uropmabin leads Ewangin into the area at the spot, but he takes a moment too long to control it and his shot is blocked away. Those are the kind of opportunities we really need to convert. Somebody needs to make a play here.

12' -- Yogi finds Ewangin on a similar play, but the defense is closer his time and tackle it out for a corner. Nothing doing, but we are controlling play right now, an encouraging start overall.

16' -- There it is! Uropmabin plays a nice ball over the middle, Ewangin manages to get control of it and feeds right to Yogi who is all alone as all four defenders converged. Baskara gets in position in time, but Yogi puts it inside the right post from about 10 yards or so out, beating the diving save attempt. We take the lead 1-0 ... now what do we do with the lead?!

18' -- A nice move by Prayoga who shows speed and skill dribbling through our defense, but his 25-yard floater doesn't even make Ferminus move before grabbing it. I tell the guys we need to stick with him closer and make him give up the ball.

20' -- Second of a couple attempts, Oropka gets it to Uropmabin with an angled 20-yd shot, off the post but I think that would have scored short-side again.

25' -- They are called for a yellow in tripping Oropka, probably the least threatening player in our formation since he's out of place at MR. Sutanto is fortunate he doesn't get carded for a blatant trip less than two minutes later -- that's the kind of mistake he needs to grow past.

28' -- Prayoga tries to split our defense again, but Fitriandi and Sutiono converge and take it away from him. That's the kind of effort and teamwork that's been missing -- even if we lose this lead, I think we're starting to get back on track.

30' -- Ewangin to Yogi who runs through three defenders to miss badly from the edge of the area with men all around him ... the impressive part there was that he didn't lose the ball 10 yards earlier. Normally I'd expect him to pass off there.

35' -- A nice tackle by Yarangga squirts the ball to Wahyudi, who finds Prayoga behind the defense and he beats Ferminus easily. That's their first decent attempt, but that's all it took. Bit of a busted play there. 1-1

36' -- Another yellow, this time for tripping Ewangin. A minute later, they are called for third in tripping Yarangga. I don't think this strategy's working out too well for them.

39' -- A pass up the left side to Prayoga draws most of our defense, and a centering header to Lubis beats Fitriandi by a step or two. Lubis puts a volley easily past Ferminus on the left side, and in five minutes we've gone from winning to losing. 1-2

41' -- After a pair of back-to-back corners, Urwan sets up Fitriandi for an angled shot that's blocked by the defense. A third corner goes to him again at the short corner but he can't get anything through the crowd.

HT -- A pair of defensive breakdowns have cost us after an excellent first half-hour of play. I've seen too many matches like this already this season.

53' -- Yellow card for Urwan, a ridiculous call as it was a clear dive by Wahyudi. That'll get Urwan a suspension as it's his third yellow of the season.

Some of the sloppiest passing I've ever seen ensured we didn't come close to getting a chance to equalize.

58' -- And then suddenly it bounced our way. Oropka to Uropmabin up the right side of the area, but the defense was right with him. Herstianang got a foot into clear it ... off of Uropmabin ... and straight to the foot of Ewangin who put it in easily on the half-volley from just outside the box!! He found a great angle there and nobody had a chance at it. 2-2, and we're back in business!

62' -- Oropka crosses for Yogi but it's too close to the goal and Baskara is there.

69' -- Yarangga second yellow in minutes away from the ball, and he's carded. Dude is just a loose cannon! I tell him to chill for the rest of the match.

72' -- Persipon pulls back, heading for the safe waters of a draw. I'm not quite ready to do that, but we are getting tired ...

80' -- Nobody is getting an advantage right now, so I acquiesce to the draw, tell the guys to pull back, and put Setia in for Yogi. I don't want him getting hurt late in a likely useless struggle.

86' -- An opening in the area for Syafii though we converge on him quickly. He went down hard with three defenders around him, and I half-expected a penalty call but none came.

90' -- Two late corners, one fumbled out by Ferminus to give them another shot.

91' -- Our turn, Uropmabin is fouled and we get a freekick right of the area. Nothing.

FT -- We could have done worse than a draw against a club challenging for Second Phase qualification, and for a good part of the match it looked like we would. Ewangin is named man of the match largely for his equalizing goal, and of course he also assisted on the first one by Yogi. We weren't great today, but it was a big step back in the right direction, and that was my post-match focus.

Media is starting to criticize Fitrandi, who doesn't taking kindly to being put under a lot of pressure. I talk to him and support him, tell him how important he is to the team. He is appreciative and says he'll try to be more disciplined in defense ... here's hoping.

07-01-2014, 04:21 AM	#27
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	1.10 vs. Persipon(6-3-3, 4th) We're still missing both wide midfielders, but other than that everyone's ready to go. Ferminus isn't back to full strength yet, but a couple more matches should get him there. Persipon are strong 2-5 favorites, and my biggest concern is that we pull our heads out of our behinds and start playing like we wouldn't rather be watching grass grow or scuba diving than competing in a professional football match. Nothing else matters if we don't get back to playing like we were in November and December. Our first match was a very competitive 1-0 road loss, with Basri coming open at the near post for an easy corner score in the 62nd minute to provide the only tally. Ain't nobody on the team happy right now after the way we've been playing. That's good, they shouldn't be -- but this could spiral downward quickly if we don't turn it around now. Interestingly, Basri isn't even in the match squad, possibly out hurt. I implore the guys to step up their effort, most seemed to be listening but not visibly reacting. 8' -- Uropmabin is fouled and gets a freekick in front ... high and wide right. So far I'm not seeing much evidence of a better effort. 11' -- Perfect setup, Uropmabin leads Ewangin into the area at the spot, but he takes a moment too long to control it and his shot is blocked away. Those are the kind of opportunities we really need to convert. Somebody needs to make a play here. 12' -- Yogi finds Ewangin on a similar play, but the defense is closer his time and tackle it out for a corner. Nothing doing, but we are controlling play right now, an encouraging start overall. 16' -- There it is! Uropmabin plays a nice ball over the middle, Ewangin manages to get control of it and feeds right to Yogi who is all alone as all four defenders converged. Baskara gets in position in time, but Yogi puts it inside the right post from about 10 yards or so out, beating the diving save attempt. We take the lead 1-0 ... now what do we do with the lead?! 18' -- A nice move by Prayoga who shows speed and skill dribbling through our defense, but his 25-yard floater doesn't even make Ferminus move before grabbing it. I tell the guys we need to stick with him closer and make him give up the ball. 20' -- Second of a couple attempts, Oropka gets it to Uropmabin with an angled 20-yd shot, off the post but I think that would have scored short-side again. 25' -- They are called for a yellow in tripping Oropka, probably the least threatening player in our formation since he's out of place at MR. Sutanto is fortunate he doesn't get carded for a blatant trip less than two minutes later -- that's the kind of mistake he needs to grow past. 28' -- Prayoga tries to split our defense again, but Fitriandi and Sutiono converge and take it away from him. That's the kind of effort and teamwork that's been missing -- even if we lose this lead, I think we're starting to get back on track. 30' -- Ewangin to Yogi who runs through three defenders to miss badly from the edge of the area with men all around him ... the impressive part there was that he didn't lose the ball 10 yards earlier. Normally I'd expect him to pass off there. 35' -- A nice tackle by Yarangga squirts the ball to Wahyudi, who finds Prayoga behind the defense and he beats Ferminus easily. That's their first decent attempt, but that's all it took. Bit of a busted play there. 1-1 36' -- Another yellow, this time for tripping Ewangin. A minute later, they are called for third in tripping Yarangga. I don't think this strategy's working out too well for them. 39' -- A pass up the left side to Prayoga draws most of our defense, and a centering header to Lubis beats Fitriandi by a step or two. Lubis puts a volley easily past Ferminus on the left side, and in five minutes we've gone from winning to losing. 1-2 41' -- After a pair of back-to-back corners, Urwan sets up Fitriandi for an angled shot that's blocked by the defense. A third corner goes to him again at the short corner but he can't get anything through the crowd. HT -- A pair of defensive breakdowns have cost us after an excellent first half-hour of play. I've seen too many matches like this already this season. 53' -- Yellow card for Urwan, a ridiculous call as it was a clear dive by Wahyudi. That'll get Urwan a suspension as it's his third yellow of the season. Some of the sloppiest passing I've ever seen ensured we didn't come close to getting a chance to equalize. 58' -- And then suddenly it bounced our way. Oropka to Uropmabin up the right side of the area, but the defense was right with him. Herstianang got a foot into clear it ... off of Uropmabin ... and straight to the foot of Ewangin who put it in easily on the half-volley from just outside the box!! He found a great angle there and nobody had a chance at it. 2-2, and we're back in business! 62' -- Oropka crosses for Yogi but it's too close to the goal and Baskara is there. 69' -- Yarangga second yellow in minutes away from the ball, and he's carded. Dude is just a loose cannon! I tell him to chill for the rest of the match. 72' -- Persipon pulls back, heading for the safe waters of a draw. I'm not quite ready to do that, but we are getting tired ... 80' -- Nobody is getting an advantage right now, so I acquiesce to the draw, tell the guys to pull back, and put Setia in for Yogi. I don't want him getting hurt late in a likely useless struggle. 86' -- An opening in the area for Syafii though we converge on him quickly. He went down hard with three defenders around him, and I half-expected a penalty call but none came. 90' -- Two late corners, one fumbled out by Ferminus to give them another shot. 91' -- Our turn, Uropmabin is fouled and we get a freekick right of the area. Nothing. FT -- We could have done worse than a draw against a club challenging for Second Phase qualification, and for a good part of the match it looked like we would. Ewangin is named man of the match largely for his equalizing goal, and of course he also assisted on the first one by Yogi. We weren't great today, but it was a big step back in the right direction, and that was my post-match focus. Media is starting to criticize Fitrandi, who doesn't taking kindly to being put under a lot of pressure. I talk to him and support him, tell him how important he is to the team. He is appreciative and says he'll try to be more disciplined in defense ... here's hoping.