After a hard-fought victory last week, where we suffered from bumps, bruises and bias, we returned to Ky Hoa. The Rossoneri Raiders lined up ready for another battle against a local side who lined up in an Argentina strip, time to see if they were a team of Alfredo Di Stéfanos or Franco Di Santos.

We had a strong XI lined up in a narrow and experimental 3-2-3-2 formation with a strong Dutch presence up front, with Rick, Edwin and Clem working in tandem with Mike Owen. In midfield there were a couple of English lads, Ben Mansell and Craig. We also welcomed back a familiar Turkish face after a lengthy absence, Anday Wäddinğan. At the back it was Scott, Olly and Nano, with the most recent member of the baldy crew lining up in goal, Danish Pat.

The experimental formation didn’t last too long and we reverted to a more familiar system after a few minutes, much to Mike Owen’s dismay. It was clear that the opposition were more towards the Franco Di Santo end of the spectrum, as they weren’t up to much and we cut through them plenty of times in the opening stages. Anday Wäddinğan opened the scoring on his return, cutting through their defence like he cuts through shawarma, and placing the ball into the corner with as much precision as he uses when applying the garlic sauce to a döner kebab.

A second goal followed soon after with Clemens hitting a rare shot on target on what was a bit of an off-day for our Dutch destroyer. I think he played better when he used to wear tights. The rest of the first half was a bit of a procession for us, with the main highlight/lowlight being a squabbling Scotsman and an angry Argentinian having an argument. I couldn’t hear what it was all about from my side of the pitch but I imagine it was something to do with who had the best hairline. The bitching continued and Colin hauled them off, never to be seen again. A shoo-in for joint turkey surely?!

By half time it was 4-0 and we were coasting in the roasting sun. Moments into the second half we had opened them up again with Tugay slipping in Nigel Mansell who slotted home from pole position. As the game wore on we were having more and more joy, especially down the flanks. So much so that Sharvelli smashed one in from the touchline with the ball getting some snow on it before looping down over the keeper’s head and into the back of the net.

The opposition did manage one consolation goal spanking one into the top corner from outside the box, nothing Patrick Schmeichel could do about that. His distribution, handling and speed coming off the line were both superb throughout and Pat earned a well-deserved man-of-the-match award on his goalkeeping debut.

As for the turkey moment, I spotted their keeper waaaay off his line for a free kick on the halfway line and having scored a couple of these before I decided the attackers shouldn’t get all the fun and that it was worth a go. Unfortunately, the keeper called spotted my master plan and retreated towards the line as I approached the ball, which it turns out is quite off-putting and I ended up shanking the ball somewhere into District 10.

The game ended 7-1 and the winning run continued, let’s make sure it carries on this weekend as we face off against the sometimes shit-hot Hotshots, who will hopefully still be reeling from their defeat on penalties in our victorious 7-a-side tournament earlier this year.

Scott McGeever