Cup Game Preview
Last week, I already mentioned the rotten luck that this was a derby so only a limited midfield advantage. We get to play all of our best players after holding back a little in series against The Bridgemen. Unfortunately, if they play as well as they can, we still will likely lose with percentages running about 35/20/45 (W/D/L) against us.
He has been playing two different teams, similar to what I have been doing- holding back some players and making sure to get some others in. He played pretty much all of his big guys this past fixture so we might catch a break if he keeps the pattern up.
Cup Game Box Score
Kits
Hippopotami 4 - 1 Crizackheads (219999361)
3-19-2009 01.00
81000 spectators arrived at
The Hippodrome, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. The derby had been the talk of
Houston all week and fans of both teams could be seen throughout the stadium. A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Hippopotami. The following players had been chosen: Özkutay - Delcarte, Huenul, Cyburt - Partridge, Marsh, Thacker, Quijada, Regúlez - Tetlie, Angulo.
Crizackheads decided to use a 4-5-1 set up. The following players took the field: Jansen - Ogén, Aguiar de Luque, Mclain, Sepulveda - Procner, Jágerský, Rotheigner, Torres, Groise - Wu Han.
Hippopotami demonstrated their creative tactics on the field. Using their counter-attacking abilities was the strategy of choice for Crizackheads on this day. A lovely rush by Crizackheads's
Otto-Jan Groise past
Chema Delcarte should have resulted in a goal, but the finish was just wide. Given a free kick at a sharp angle, Hippopotami went for a variation that loyal fans may recognize from training. A sideways passing move moved the defence out of position and let
Aurelius Huenul slip through on goal. No hesitation - and it's 1 - 0, 5 minutes into the game. Crizackheads almost scored after a swift counterattack 17 minutes into the game, but
Hoss Sepulveda put the shot from the left flank just outside the goal. A lunatic dribble by
Ives Torres, in front of his own keeper, set up Hippopotami's
Tor Tetlie for an embarrassingly easy strike after 20 minutes. 2 - 0! After 27 minutes, a couple of quick and successful challenges followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area by
Charlie Partridge might have resulted in another goal for Hippopotami. However,
Christopher Jansen made a spectacular save. 2 - 0 was the halftime score. This half belonged to Hippopotami, who controlled the ball 59 percent of the time.
Things were deteriorating for the away team as Hippopotami scored another to make it 3 - 0 after a left side attack resulted in a goal for
Oliver Angulo after 62 minutes. A well placed corner kick from
Chema Delcarte was followed by
Zacarías Regúlez's hard but accurate header. The nice combination marked a goal for Hippopotami, the score now 4-0. A great pass from the defensive line of Crizackheads resulted in a counterattack that was smoothly brought under control by
Hoss Sepulveda in the centre of the opposition's penalty area, but his finish went high. The away team reduced the score to 4 - 1, as
George Mclain struck home, set up well by a play on the left 86 minutes into the match. Crizackheads's
Otto-Jan Groise got himself booked for a foul.
Oliver Angulo should probably have put his team up another goal after 88 minutes, but some great goalkeeping by
Christopher Jansen kept the visitors in the game. With 88 minutes played, Crizackheads's
Santiago Ogén fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked
Santiago Ogén for diving. Hippopotami held the ball, with a clear 56 percent of possession.
Hippopotami's top performer was clearly
Carlos Thacker. On the other hand,
Arkadiusz Cyburt's play was disheartening. Crizackheads's best player was
Lee Wu Han.
Mieczysław Procner turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 4 - 1.
Rating details
| Houston Hippopotami | Crizackheads |
| Midfield | world class (low) | formidable (low) |
| Right Defence | outstanding (low) | brilliant (high) |
| Central Defence | formidable (very low) | magnificent (very low) |
| Left Defence | inadequate (very high) | outstanding (high) |
| Right Attack | weak (low) | inadequate (very high) |
| Central Attack | formidable (very low) | inadequate (high) |
| Left Attack | excellent (very low) | excellent (high) |
| |
| Indirect set pieces |
| Defence | passable (low) | inadequate (very high) |
| Attack | solid (very low) | weak (high) |
| |
| Team Attitude | Normal | (Hidden) |
| Tactic | Play creatively | Counter-attacks |
| Tactic skill | - | world class |
Highlights
Possession
59%
41%
56%
44%
Cup Game Recap
This was a mirror of last week's game. Last week, I saw us down in possession at halftime and was really worried. This week, with a 2-0 lead and 59%, I knew that barring something crazy we had this one in the bag.
It seems like we've been smashing records every week this season, and this game is no different.
This will be the first season ever we have advanced to round 9 in the cup! We had been to round 8 three times but never had won our round 8 game. Looking at the calendar, there is no week off for the Masters so I was incorrect on that account.
That undefeated streak is now up to 13, which is good for 6th in the entire USA. Like last week, our next cup opponent is on the list as Max's Marauders is 5th with 15 in a row. This means he has won (14) or drawn (1) every game this season, starting with the cup in week 1 until now. The top streak in the US is 17.
Speaking of Max's Marauders, if they play their best game and they play ours, we win. We should have elevated team spirit from another game against The Bridgemen and their midfield is ok but not spectacular and we've been putting up crazy midfields this season with a combo of good health, good form, and good card status. I'm hoping to keep that up.
Also, after the Wahoos game, I touched on the "best game" rating and how we hit 90% in that game. This game, we tied our best ever, a 306 Hatstats end of the season MotS in January of 2008. This one was a 317, our highest total ever.
With all of these team records falling, I think it's time for another little feature, this time about Achievements.
SI