** Note: It would appear that roster strength has something to do with the star rating. We lost our half-star and are back down to zero, while doing nothing but transferring out players. Either that or it's bugged(just as likely).
2.2 Stuttgarter Kickers(0-3-4, 7th) vs. SC Wattenscheid 09(2-0-5, 6th)
They come out in a 6-2-2 arrangement, featuring former Stuttgarter regulars Landeka, Scepanik, and Pfeiffer as their new top forward.
G Komolong
D Ortag/Doringer/Weibenfels/Neageli/Degner
M Preiss/Tujic
M Jedin/Tiel/Mengele
Jedin is good enough to take low-percentage shots now against this quality of foe. It was blocked away, but he's definitely the future scoring option here.
Dias, the Wattenscheid forward who scored on us in the season opener, got through our defense with back-to-back Rainbow Feints ... but he couldn't get away with that against
Komolong now that he's got Reaction. He's not a good shooter and his try was blocked out for a corner.
Weibenfels controlled the pass into the box - it totally messed up our defensive structure, but they would not get another chance in the half. Another weak shot attempt for us and that was it.
Pfeiffer attacked our defense at the second half kickoff. Weibenfels was there again to make the tackle, but it messed up our structure and he got a close-range cannon shot later. Thankfully Komolong was up to the task on a weak attempt, but that could have gone either way.
First time using
Mengele's slide tackle here. We had
Tiel hold the ball on the last turn; they pressed twice and then tackled it away with their final action. 86 minutes into a scoreless match, it's the last chance to make something happen although I don't see us scoring regardless. He rolled a 2 vs. a 7 anyway, so that was that.
Stuttgarter Kickers 0, SG Wattenscheid 09 0
Obviously we'd prefer a win but realistically this isn't bad. Stats were nearly identical each way, but they definitely had the best scoring chance.
Levels -- Komolong(14) was the only one
*** Tunjic
** Komolong
* Ortag. He ... uh, fought for control on a corner(lost though) and made a completely routine pass.
Jedin is now a universal forward(FW). He jumps up to level 11 and 32 accuracy.
** Balance: 16k(+105). Our match-day income is now absurdly irrelevant compared to what we are getting from selling players these days.
** Glory: 22(+4). Which we wouldn't have gotten without losing that half-star of club reputation. Thanks!
2.9 Energie Cottbus(7-1-0, 1st) vs. Stuttgarter Kickers(0-4-4, 7th)
We move past Offenbach, who lost, on goal differential. This one will of course be tougher against the dominating leaders of the Amateur League. They beat us 2-0 the first time out, and deploy a 4-3-3 here.
G Komolong
D Ortag/Abruscia/Jager/Doringer/Weibenfels/Schluter
M Maslanka/Muller D
F Jedin/Tiel
Six defenders might not be enough to stop them, but it's the only way I see us having any real chance to. This is one of those where I'll put on another midfielder for balance and experience's sake if we fall behind early, but I don't want to give up before the match has even started. I thought about playing
Zeitz, but frankly their midfielders are good enough passers that he'd be irrelevant.
They start off by attacking the middle of the line.
Jager makes the play but once again we are out of position now.
Ortag's long pass skill works for us on the counter, as we are able to get the ball up to
Jedin in position for a decent shot. That's something we couldn't do previously. Their keeper makes the save. I reposition our defense as best I can; they get a shot from just outside the box, and
Komolong knocks it out for a corner. One of their forwards,
Stolle is too good for us to move him out of position, and their corner-taker is too good a passer to keep the ball from getting to him. A bad effort this time by Komolong and they score on a cannon shot. We made them work for it is the best we can say. Fortunate in the last match, not this time.
Preiss on for
Doringer at the half since we're losing this match anyway. After Jedin's third failed shot of the day they try to run it out wide, first on the near flank and then on the far one.
Abruscia and then
Ortag are good enough to take the ball back in both cases, and there's only 10 minutes left when they shoot through the line and Komolong gets some more business, keeping the rebound in play this time. Jager intercepts their last-second lofted pass after we run it up the wing, and that's it.
Energie Cottbus 1, Stuttgarter Kickers 0
A quality showing under the circumstances. One goal on the road is better than two at home.
Levels -- Tiel(6)
*** Ortag
** Abruscia
* Muller D - his usual quiet but reasonably useful game, a couple passes, pressed a bit.
** Balance: 16k(+30)
... and we're back up to a half-star of reputation because who knows why. Best guess; we're right at the threshold between nothing and the half-star, and we keep flipping back over it at the slightest provocation. I've seen that happen before.