Entries from July 2008 ↓

It was another successful week for the Barbs A team in ClubFootball’s Summer 5-a-side Cup, as we won our group for the second straight week!

This week we were pitted against Sinocamps.com, City Weekend, and Vikings. We got off to another rocky start. A controversial free kick just a few meters in front of our goal caused several minutes of arguing and scuffling. When one of the opponents put a running shoulder block against our wall, clearing the path for the goal, things only got worse. Andrew was sent off with a yellow card, as was the hothead on the other team, even though he ran after and shoved our players several times when play was stopped, shouted threats to our face, try to attack us with the water cooler, and had to be restrained multiple times by his teammates. Still, we’ve got no one to blame but ourselves for the 1-0 final result. We gave them few clean looks the rest of the game, and we wasted at least ten good goal opportunities. I’ve said it before and will say it again, guys–losing our cool and directing our anger toward the refs hurts no one but ourselves.

Fortunately, we regrouped in the second match, dominating City Weekend. After giving up a silly goal in the first minute, we regrouped, evened the scored, then piled on in the final third, as they wilted from the summer heat and the relentless Barbars attack. Final score: 5-1.

The last game was against the Vikings, who played their typical game, bringing the keeper into their attack and blasting lots of long shots. They put up a good fight, but our defense held strong, but Jemal put us ahead with a stunning goal–receiving the ball with his back to the goal about 12 yards out, breaking back and to his left to gain a sliver of space, and then blasting an off-balance shot right past their keeper. Although we had several more chances in the last few minutes, we couldn’t find the net again, but we were happy to take the 1-0 victory.

Our 6 points put us at the top of the table and into the final group of 8, which will compete for the top award next Thursday. Details available on the CF website.

Special thanks to George and Striker Dan, both of whom showed up for the first time in a while and were integral to the victory. Actually, everyone played well–no one had a perfect game, but everybody brought something to the table. I think the depth of our team is a big part of the reason we are winning these games–the opponents either have to put in weaker substitutes for part the game or let exhaust their strongest 5 by leaving them in the whole time.

Lineup: Andrew, Striker Dan, Dave, George, Jemal, Marcus, Sean, Will

The Barbs A team kicked off ClubFootball Summer 5-a-side Cup by winning its division last night. We started off poorly, though, seemingly flustered by the unfamiliar conditions at Xiaowuji: a much larger 5s pitch, poor lighting, a wet surface after the evening rain, and referee who was content to penalize us after every flop and faked cry of pain from the opponent. We scored first, but they kept the pressure on and ended up winning 2-1.

The next two games were must-wins, and that’s exactly what we did. We took care of business against the group’s weakest team with an 8-0 blowout but saved our best for the final match. We slowed down the pace, controlled the ball for long stretches, and covered well on defense. The reward came with a goal about halfway in, and we held on for the remainder and the 1-0 victory. At the end, we were one of three teams with two wins and one loss and won the group on goal difference.

According to the CF schedule, our matches next week should be on Thursday at 8pm.

Other notes:

• Three cheers for Andrew, who played in goal the last two matches and kept both opponents scoreless while remaining very active in our attack.
• Thanks to Sean for organizing the team when Dave was late to show up.
• A hearty Barbarian welcome to new player Will! Will is from the States and enjoys playing defense and midfield, wearing flats on slippery pitch, and taking long walks on the beach.
• Lineup: Andrew, Dave, Jemal, Luc, Marcus, Sean, Will