Season 33 Round 14

[Kemal]

Snaken

quote:
60000 spectators arrived at Velodrome Joop Croonen, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. The derby had been the talk of Utrecht all week and fans of both teams could be seen throughout the stadium. A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Calixtlahuaca. Starters: Rognon - Nurminen, Bryan, Graneros - Celeste, Duval, Clemmensen, Saluz, Häusler - Birkeli, Matt.

Snaken tactics involved an interesting 3-4-3 combination. They fielded: Preda - Bressan, Broertjes, Grimmius - Farenhout, Veraar, Bolers, Fitzpatrick - Kronskär, Brachi, Bosvelt.

Calixtlahuaca used their ability to concentrate their attacks in the middle of the pitch, rather than on the wings. Snaken clearly preferred using their ability to attack in the middle. Snaken had several good opportunities to take the lead, especially in the 2nd minute when Wilmar Brachi came up alone against Paolo Rognon who managed a block. The visitors could have taken the lead on a free kick in the 27th minute, if it weren't for the jaw-dropping save by Paolo Rognon. A mistake by the home side's central defence in the 29th minute allowed Olìerts Bolers to score the 0 - 1 goal for Snaken. In the game's 30th minute, Snaken's Per Kronskär fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked Per Kronskär for diving. Omer Grimmius was, after 35 minutes, almost able to extend the visitors' lead with a well placed diving header, but home side's keeper Paolo Rognon made the save. Ilias Vaterlaus was called on to replace Calixtlahuaca's David Celeste in the 40th minute after a nasty collision. Rinus Veraar came close to extending the visitors' lead when he found himself completely unmarked in front of the goal and lifted a ball over Paolo Rognon, but it was a little too high and hit the bar. Halftime score was 0 - 1. Snaken dictated play, as they maintained 62 percent of possession.

Snaken's Omer Grimmius received a play slashing through the home side's central defense in the 48th minute, and chipped it past the keeper to score the 0 - 2 goal. The home crowd was not pleased with that one. The home crowd cheered when, in the 57th minute, Wilmar Brachi's charge up the middle resulted in the keeper making one of his best saves of the day. In the game's 60th minute, Calixtlahuaca's Esben Clemmensen fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked Esben Clemmensen for diving. A defender managed to keep the ball from making it to the net with a curling shot coming in from the right in the 63rd minute, preventing Snaken from going up another goal. After 66 minutes of game time, Per Kronskär had an excellent opportunity to add to the visitors' lead, clipping a volley hooked in from the right, but Paolo Rognon was in the right place and tipped the ball to a corner. The visitors' Olìerts Bolers took advantage of an error due to a misunderstanding between the home side's goalie and central backs in the 69th minute. 0 - 3 for Snaken. The referee showed Snaken's Wilmar Brachi the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. The forty-five minutes were dominated by Snaken, with an impressive 62 percent possession of the ball.

Calixtlahuaca's top performer was clearly Paolo Rognon. Waldemar Häusler turned in a dismal performance, however. Most important Snaken player was Petru Preda. Toni Broertjes was a disappointment, however. The match ends 0 - 3.

Snaken humiliated the 1st placed team 0-3 at home to clinch the title of the IV.35!!

Also broke some personal records with a total of 319 AH-points, and 69 stars.

Unfortunately though, I missed out on auto-promotion on goal difference by a mere 4 goals over the entire season, so a qualifier is up for next sunday... What is more, I could promote to the III.5, which is the 4th best league of the entire(!) Netherlands!

Have to defeat an AO-team away which got a titanic midfield and formi/pass/brilliant attack, so I'm expecting a clobbering next week. But you'll never know of course...