Match Report v Blackamoor Inn

Date: 13th July

Dezcom QPT vs Blackamoor Inn
Result: 4-1 Win

Match Report by Ishy Wadee (hard man!)

This was a match against the team bottom of the league so we had to make sure we didn’t underestimate the opposition, because if we did we would have been in danger of beating ourselves. The match started at a decent pace with no team wanting to force the issue early on. This lead to the bench having to put up with the gaffer keep referring to some washed up 80’s movie with a good theme tune, all I remembered from it was the mumbling lead actor, but I digress. We didn’t have to wait for the first goal with a neat one-two between Hasan and Adam opening up their defence and Hasan rippling the back of the net with an exquisite finish low to the ‘keepers right.

The first goal settled us and we started showing signs of the intricate passing that we have shown all season, however everything we hit seemed to hit their ‘keeper, it was more luck than judgement on his part. By this point we were opening them up at will, Saeed and Ibrahim were combining well on the right side of the pitch. Although we didn’t have the natural finisher on the pitch, one advantage of that was our striker Ibrahim was more involved in the passing in the final third of the pitch. This lead to more chances being created, but again we failed to take them. After one such chance there was a gasp from newly acquired Mohamed Nakhuda, ‘that’s going to hurt us’ he exclaimed. Sure enough this lead to a flurry of attacking from the opposition, they hit the bar then the post in quick succession. Credit should be given to Hasan who was busting his gut to get back on one of these attacks, although the player got past him he harassed him long enough for our midfield to track back and support the defence.

It was a defensive lapse that nearly lead to a goal for their team, Adam lost the ball in the middle and further ‘pussyfooting’ by Usama allowed their team a shot on goal. Straight on the counter attack though Usama seemed to be in an attacking position. As he wound up his right leg Yasir prophesised ‘this is in’, and as his foot went through the ball their was only one place the ball would end up. It was 2-0 and suddenly there was vibrant atmosphere, I quickly realised that this had nothing to do with on-field events but rather with the arrival of our hero, aka Mo Ali. I’ll intersperse the rest of the report with translations from our ‘hero’ said during the game.

At 2-0 we lost none of our attacking verve and we continued to carve out chances with an effort from Ibrahim going narrowly wide from a tight angle. As the half time whistle came nearer I was impressed with how the team was shaped, Adam dropped deep to protect the defence whilst our wide players Hasan and Saeed were giving support to Ibrahim. It was good to see that our discussions and Yasir’s advice about holding on to leads hadn’t been falling on deaf ears. The half time whistle went and although we were fairly happy with the score we knew we couldn’t continue the way we had and allow them shots in the second half, whilst it was also important we took our own chances.

The second half started well for us, but we quickly realised that we were going to have less space in this half. They had realised what they did poorly in the first half and didn’t give Hasan, Saeed and Adam space in the middle. (Comment from our hero on this turn of events: ‘their mothers’) Without any sustained pressure their right midfielder took a powerful shot which went just past Zuber’s gloves and into the net. (Comment from our hero: ‘their mothers’ nether regions’) We didn’t allow this setback to lower our heads though, there was no searching for a leader, all seven of our players found a leader within themselves. We continued to attack and this almost cost us dearly. A move between Adam and Saeed broke down and they hit us on the counter attack, Their striker was through on goal with an imposing Zuber to beat, he fluffed his lines by hitting his shot over the bar. (Comment from our hero: ‘ha ha, bet you couldn’t score with a prostitute’) After this scare Ibrahim realised that although we had intentions on attacking we needed to be solid as a team, he sacrificed Hasan and brought on the more defence minded Mohamed to make his season debut for QPT. Mohamed helped stop the flow of attacking from their right, and it was easy to see that just delaying their attackers was enough to stifle them. We continued to attack and got the rewards that our play deserved, Saeed crossing in for Mohamed to slot in on his debut. (This time there was no comment from our hero, I think he feared that he may just have been replaced by the goalscorer as the teams ‘hero’)

Our fourth goal was a rarity in that it was scrappy, Adam put it in from a couple of yards after a few ricochets, (sorry if this isn’t true, couldn’t really see). This made the score 4-1 and the game was finally sewn up. Yasin and myself were summoned from the sidelines to see out the game. The last few moments created little excitement and the score ended 4-1 to QPT.

Summary

We played well but felt Saeed and Adam were guilty of losing the ball too often, which lead to their counter attacks. I think we need to be better at assessing risks when making a pass, if possible try not to make these passes in the middle third as its more dangerous than if we do it in the final third of the pitch. Overall though the midfield and attack played well, on another day I’m sure we could have scored 7 or 8 and there would be no criticisms. Defensively I think we played extremely well despite the chances they created. Our back two were always looking to get the ball first when it was played to their feet, distribution could be improved though. Zuber had little to do; again his distribution was excellent with the ball always going to a QPT player. Overall we just have to be careful that the little mistakes we’re making don’t get punished, against a better team I’m sure they would. If we iron these out sooner rather than later we’ll definitely go far.

Man of the Match

This was between Yasin and myself, we both performed excellently in coming on from the sidelines. Both our jogs onto the pitch were equally adequate. It was neck and neck in the post-match hand shaking with the opposition as well. Both our handshakes were authoritative yet friendly, although Yasin did have a smile on his face that made him creep into the lead. Then suddenly out of nowhere I saw from the corner of my eye that Yasin was performing handshakes with finesse and a bit of elegance. I knew I couldn’t measure up to that so I proceeded to shake as many hands as possible to try and win the award. However as I trudged off the astro turf I realised that quality always wins over quantity, and for this reason Yasin deserves this award.

The real Man of the Match

This week the real MOM award was more difficult than recent weeks. No player stood out especially and although Mohamed said Saeed was his MOM I though when he skied it over from 5 yards out over the fence that was the end of his challenge for this award. Ibrahim and Usama were my nominations for the award this week. Ibrahim worked diligently upfront and although not a natural striker he offered himself to all three midfielders, and I think he was the primary reason we created so many chances. He worked all sides of the pitch and dragged defenders away when the ball didn’t go to him.
Unlike the other 17 or so times that Usama has been nominated for this award I thought he actually deserved it this week. Although he didn’t crunch their attacker in the first half he redeemed himself by going up and scoring straight away, he also had 4 or 5 shots which all seemed to make the ‘keeper work and he was also good in his defensive and distributive duties.

Hope you enjoy the read.

Ismail.