City hands Mitsukoshi another defeat
by Michael Christie
Location: Bai Ling A
Time: 1pm
Opposition: Mitsukoshi
Conditions: very hot and humid
Formation: 3-5-2
Team: Sam, Spencer, Christie, John, Steve, Chris, Tim, Alex R, Danny (Rojen (Alex D)), Gustavo, Dan.
The last time Taipei City played Mitsukoshi the score was 6-2. It was the same this time. In the hot midday sun, City put together a good performance against uninspired opposition. Though not without talent in some positions, it seemed like Mitsukoshi were firmly put in their place after just a few minutes. Even for the first ten or so minutes, when the City midfield hadn’t yet clicked, Mitsukoshi didn’t threaten much. When the midfield did start playing neat, passing football the domination was near total. Alex R, Tim and Chris started combining very well with short passes, cutting through with regularity, and they also spread the ball wide to Danny and Steve a lot. The widemen worked hard coming back but were certainly able to enjoy themselves most of the time going forward, which they did to great effect. Mitsukoshi sat back quite deep and tried to stifle play around the penalty box. Most of the time they succeeded in limiting chances; given the possession enjoyed by City, 3-0 at half-time was hardly cause for celebration.
The goals in the first half came from deflections. The build-up was always good, but the ball didn’t seem to want to go in for the best combinations, which is a shame because sometimes it was excellent from several players in succession. Anyway, it took sharpness from Gustavo, Alex and Dan to put those bobbling balls away.
The defensive three in the first half held their own although they were hardly tested. Mitsukoshi relied on the long-ball up-field break-away, but they only ever had two forwards on their own against Spencer, John and Christie. There were no incisive balls for the Mitsukoshi forwards to feed on and they never received any meaningful support from their midfield when they did have the ball. They were on their own!
For the second half Danny gave way to Rojen. Unfortunately, Rojen suffered an ankle injury quite early on and so had to be replaced by Alex D. This gave Spencer the chance to move up into the right wing-back position. He performed well here, just as he’d performed well as the right full-back in the first half. Steve moved over to the left and was just as effective on that side.
Very early in the second half, there was a balls-up somewhere when the City defence stopped still for an off-side decision that never came. Sam was powerless to prevent the Mitsukoshi forward, as carefully as he liked with all the time in the world, slot home. This was 3-1, and perhaps there was now going to be a game! A matter of minutes later, first Dan and then Alex scored to make it 5-1. For the rest of the game it was literally a walk. Tim netted a fierce shot to make it 6-1 and then Christie hit a cross-field pass too short from deep to gift Mitsukoshi a late consolation, but these were bizarre spasms of life in an otherwise dead game.
The sloth near the end was understandable given the conditions and the fact that many City players were playing their second game on the day, but it would have been dangerous against a team like the Lions, say. Against a good team there are no hiding places for 90 minutes.
Linuep
Dribble 2
Alex scores a goal.
Battle
Tim crosses one in.
No tie for San Chong this time
Earlier this season the San Chong High School team put up a good challenge to Taipei City, forcing a 1-1 tie.
City came out stronger this time, showing the quality of football that the fan(s) have come to expect from the BML champions.
Starting off with only 10 men on the field, City went down and scored even though the numbers were against them. Dan Calvert put away a nice goal early on, 1-0.
The young lads managed to sneak one past Taipei City moments later, putting the score even at 1-1. But then Dawda Fatty and Danny Weir each marked a goal, putting the score at 3-1 going into the half.
In the 2nd half, Calvert and Weir both scored again and Alex Ramirez put a well-placed ball past the San Chong keeper, final score 6-1 for Taipei City.
Dan lays the game plan during the lineup
Steve Reymond takes on a San Chong defender
Oliver Schwuchow anticipates another winning header
Taipei City 10, Jako 0
A thorough dusting of Jako on a wet Wednesday night.
Here were the goals:
Sean
Dan
Alex R.
Alex R.
- 4-0 halftime -
Dawda
Alex R.
Dawda
Tim
Tim
Alex R.
- 10-0 final -
Congrats to Alex Ramirez for scoring 4 goals in a single game…a hat-and-a-half trick or something like that.
Close to something like this:
On 3 December 2008 Carlos Tevez of Manchester United scored a ‘grand slam’ against Blackburn Rovers. This consisted of a header, penalty kick (right footed), left foot and right foot.
Anyway, all the scoring meant the game was pretty uneventful for the defense. In the first half a Jako forward cracked a powerful shot that bounced off the bottom of the crossbar but was gracefully saved by Matt Wharton.
In the 2nd half Ibu got a little bored as keeper and baited a Jako forward with a drop-kick gift. He tried to lob our tall Gambian friend but missed the goal by a mile.
Wet and misty
The lineup
Ricky Chapman and Dawda Fatty warming up
Steve Reymond is happy; he likes to play at night because he’s a vampire.
On the sidelines at the half
Taipei City ground Fritz Air
On a surprisingly cloudy day, Taipei City assembled a surprisingly small squad to give Fritz Air a surprisingly good game. Played on Bai Ling B, the surface was uneven in places but still allowed for good football.
With several defensive specialists missing, the Taipei City starting line-up looked attack top-heavy. The biggest shock saw Dan Calvert play as the sweeper. (Yes, that’s Dan Calvert playing as the sweeper!) With the ever-reliable Sam in goal and John and Christie either side, the defence was by no means weak. Canadian Olly in his first game for City was holding midfielder in front of Ebu and Paco. Alex and Steve were the wing-backs on the left and right, all aiming to feed Dawda and Gustavo up front.
After the first ten minutes settling into the game, the first half saw City play some of the best football the side has played in a long time. There was a lot of fluidity in midfield, with Canadian Olly always in the right place to take the ball and dictate the play from deep. His ability to flight diagonal balls was very important. Ebu and Paco were also a joy to watch going forward with their close control and neat passes. Their runs and short passes to Gustavo and Dawda caused no end of problems for Fritz Air. The sharpness of the front two enabled them to latch on to just about every loose ball, as well.
From a tactical point of view, what was most satisfying about this first-half performance was the width utilized. Alex and Steve frequently received the ball from the centre and so they were able to make clear openings into the Fritz Air back line. The passing was snappy and City looked a notch superior to the opposition. Paco scored twice and Gustavo once in the first half. The City back line contained most threats well enough, except for the time when their best player was not closed down quickly enough when he shot and so scored. City deservedly went into the break 3-1 up.
Knowing that they needed to fight their way back into the match, Fritz Air came out sharper in the second half. They succeeded in putting City under more pressure although City still had pressure ourselves. The difference was that now the two sides seemed to be playing at the same level. City held their shape and defended doggedly. It was now that Dan, John and Christie did more work. Fritz Air were able to feed the ball to their forward line quick but the City defence didn’t rush in and so the midfield had time to run back and help out. The work-rate of the two wing-backs, Alex and Steve, was particularly impressive at this time.
After a few close shaves, Fritz Air finally succeeded in getting a goal with about twenty minutes on the clock. Now it was 3-2 and the situation had changed. Creditably, City didn’t panic but continued to work openings. Perhaps the threat was a spur to the City attack, because City now played more tidily. Cometh the hour, cometh Paco to complete another hat-trick! Danny came on for his debut replacing Gustavo late in the game and played well. At the final whistle, Dan and Ross had every reason to feel pleased with the performance – isn’t that right, lads?
Photos courtesy of www.taiwanfootball.tv
Overlooking the pitch and river.
Gustavo accelerates
Paco and Michael Christie
Dawda Fatty winds up for a shot