As hungry and eager for a match as Coach Pat on Thanksgiving the Raiders took the pitch this past Sunday looking to get back on track after three straight losses and one canceled game in the league.

The Raiders started with Nico and Olly as the strikers with Mike, Daniel, Craig, Stefan, and Chi in the midfield. At the back the Raiders went with Eoin, Pete, and first timer Sipho. A very strong team.

The goal was to start fast and the Raiders did just that dominating the early portion of the first half. Quick passing and great movement up front by Olly, Nico, and Mike led to a great through ball from Olly right into Mike’s path for a phenomenal finish.

1-0 Raiders.

The Raiders seemed happy at the time but were still keen to score more. Again they put pressure on Nam An and forced some sloppy passing from the opponents defenders. A great balled played across went right to Craig’s right boot (keep it down… KEEP IT DOWN! NOT OVER THE BAR!) only to be fired straight at the keeper. The ball stayed loose in the box as Daniel stepped up to what surely should have been his first league goal (ever?). The sheer power of the shot knocked a Nam An midfielder down to the ground wriggling in pain. The Raiders showed no mercy whatsoever and continued playing. The ball stayed in the Nam An area and after a few more quick passes Mike fired home another beauty, curling it just in off the far post. Welcome back to form Mike.

Raiders go into the half up 2-0.

After a quick halftime the Raiders got ready to begin the second half. The half began with more great passing from Nico and Chi on the right side of the pitch. A 1-2 led for a beautiful break for Chi who looked to have a great chance at goal only to be kicked in the knee and sidelined for the remainder of the game. No foul. No problem. Move on.

A few minutes later Olly picked up a loose ball in the box only to be chopped down by a Nam An defender. No foul. No problem. Move on.

A free kick for Nam An outside the box lead to a dangerous ball in and miscommunication from the new guy and Mirko. Goal for Nam An. 2-1 Raiders still in front.

Sensing momentum changing in towards the Nam An (because of the loud whining voices coming from the Nam An bench) the Raiders seemed to panic a bit. Amidst shouts of ‘calm down!’ and ‘shhhhh’ the message was not heard. The Raiders were still the better team and still had a one goal advantage. A bit of confidence, and coolness could have helped.

The Raiders weren’t getting many calls their way and it soon boiled over as cards started flying like Russians over Turkey. Down to ten men the Raiders were put in an unfortunate situation. No problem. Move on.

Down to ten men the Raiders manned up and dug in. The new guy got a bit ambitious with the ball and tried to dribble from the back. Unfortunate turn of events for him as he otherwise had a great game. Nam An equalized on a Raiders late error, 2-2.

The Raiders still looked like the better team though and kept pressing forward with Olly and Mike. However, their efforts were to no avail as the referee blew the game a bit early with the disappointing final result, 2-2.

On to Sporting.

MOTM: Two goals Mike

Written by Coach Pat