Fixture Preview
This is the first of two walkovers in series and it's starting to sound like a broken record what with my cup games: win, no injuries, no cards. I'll put in the backups and concentrate on the cup for the next couple of weeks. I'm hoping to build up some team spirit to take as much advantage as I can of my schedule as others in this series will be doing.
Kits
Kickers 0 – 7 Hippopotami (217931283)
2-16-2009 01.00
The 27867 fans in attendance at
The O.G. Corral were roasting in the hot sun. Kickers tactics involved an interesting 4-4-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Temkov - Anderson, Dubois, Vidal, Gabriel - Parson, Moeller, Pipała, Mobley - Boling, Alhinho.
A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Hippopotami. Lineup: Milam - Delcarte, Linneberg, Williams - Partridge, Little, Brik, Vickers, Weissglass - Masereel, Treibahs.
Hippopotami decided to play creatively. The left side created an opportunity for the visitors 8 minutes into the match, and
Erwin Vickers wasn't about to let it go by. He got past the defenders and fired a shot that the keeper just missed. 0 - 1 for the visitors. After 16 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for
Adrien Masereel who increased Hippopotami's lead to 0 - 2. Hippopotami's
Stephen Williams left the field after 17 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was
Aurelius Huenul. The visitors'
Charlie Partridge took advantage of an error due to a misunderstanding between the home side's goalie and central backs 25 minutes into the match. 0 - 3 for Hippopotami. With 26 minutes played, a phenomenal play on the left side freed
Volfs Treibahs, of Hippopotami, to dash through and score another goal for the visitors. The score was then 0 - 4. 32 minutes in, Kickers's
Theron Gabriel received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Halftime score was 0 - 4. Hippopotami held the ball, with a clear 64 percent of possession.
Hippopotami's
Chema Delcarte received a play slashing through the home side's central defense after 57 minutes, and chipped it past the keeper to score the 0 - 5 goal. The home crowd was not pleased with that one. The structure of the game started to change as Hippopotami decided to pull back and meet their opponents in their own half. 65 minutes in, Kickers's
Ken Moeller received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. A loud groan was heard from the fans of Hippopotami, as
Volfs Treibahs left the pitch in too much pain to finish the match.
Tor Tetlie took his place on the field. Hippopotami came close to extending their lead as
Thomas Little delivered a long range shot from the right after 69 minutes, but the angle was too narrow and the shot went harmlessly into the side netting. After 70 minutes, a mistake by the home side's left defence allowed
Adrien Masereel to get through. He outclassed the home side's keeper, adding another goal for the visitors. 0 - 6. A thrilling play through the middle 71 minutes into the match gave Hippopotami's
Tor Tetlie a chance to increase the lead, and he did not disappoint. The score was then 0 - 7.
Theron Gabriel knew he was in trouble after pulling back an opponent. Despite his pleading with the referee, the Kickers player was shown a second yellow card and dismissed from the game. When
Juliusz Pipała left the game because of a back injury after 74 minutes, Kickers had to continue a man short due to there being no more available substitutions. Hippopotami claimed to be the more dominant force in the game, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 72 percent.
Kickers's top performer was clearly
Ken Moeller. However,
Dave Mobley made a disastrous appearance. Hippopotami's top performer was clearly
Tor Tetlie.
Tomas Milam on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 0 - 7.
Rating details
| O.G. Kickers | Houston Hippopotami |
|---|
| Midfield | poor (high) | passable (very low) |
| Right Defence | wretched (low) | passable (low) |
| Central Defence | poor (low) | passable (very low) |
| Left Defence | poor (very low) | inadequate (very high) |
| Right Attack | wretched (low) | poor (low) |
| Central Attack | wretched (low) | inadequate (low) |
| Left Attack | disastrous (high) | wretched (very high) |
|
| Indirect set pieces |
| Defence | weak (high) | inadequate (very high) |
| Attack | weak (high) | passable (low) |
|
| Team Attitude | (Hidden) | Play it Cool |
| Tactic | Normal | Play creatively |
| Tactic skill | (no tactic) | - |
Highlights
Possession
36%
64%
28%
72%
Series Standings
Fixture Recap
Another week, another two injuries. We're up to 3rd in the series but it's going to be screwy looking at the series table from one week to another due to the walkovers. Now onto our cup game with mostly starters.
SI