HIGH FIVE FOR KINITARIA
That's more like it! Cambirano routed, Kinitaria back on track
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Posted by Admin, 5 hours ago
A break from my regular coverage now, since I had the good fortune (and the money) to go to the Central Stadium for the first time since Polar Islandstates played there (Vacarestič scored and we got beat 2-1). Today provided quite a different standard of opposition in Cambirano, who were taking part in their first ever qualification cycle. They'd only won one in five games prior to their trip here, so we were expecting not to be troubled. We said that before the Javahe Islands game too, on the other hand...
I actually live closer to the Central Stadium than I do to the Orasii, so it wasn't much of a trek to get there. I can get there in 30 minutes, but make that two hours after a quick pit stop at one of the pubs outside the ground, then it was inside to watch the football. I've got a contact who works in the Federation so I was able to get seats in the middle of the south tribune, almost directly behind the goal. I got in about 20 minutes before kickoff, and here's one of the things I love about football fans in this country - heading for a qualification match which would surely be no more than a training exercise, and the fans were already in buoyant mood. I can't wait to see what the atmosphere's going to be like if we actually get somewhere notable. Like the World Cup Final... well, I can dream, no?
So it was on with the match. The stadium was packed to the rafters and the Cambirano players looked terrified. Our boys laid into them straight away, and Kovačev - he'd been recalled for this game, even though he doesn't play much these days thanks to his age - stamped his authority onto the game with a tackle some would call a "crowd-pleaser". Others would call it assault. Referee Claude Renault was straight over with a yellow card in hand. That was essentially the pattern of the first 20, we got right into the opposition and made them scared to come into the tackle, the midfield enjoyed more and more freedom and so it was no surprise when Cantacuzino scored on the half-hour. I've always liked Cantacuzino, I would have liked to have seen him at City a couple of years ago. He certainly got himself noticed today, fantastic distribution and some superb tackles. Anyway, Sabčot grabbed his customary goal a couple of minutes before half-time, a curled shot into the top corner, and as beautiful as it looked, he could have just tapped it into the net. I suppose Sabčot's allowed to be cocky like that.
So it was 2-0 at half-time, time to head down to the concourse for some light refreshment. There's not many grounds in which you'll find home fans singing on the concourses, but that's the sort of sporting culture we have in this country. On the other hand, you'll not find halved shorts in many grounds either. Nice try, I suppose.
Second half, same as before, let them know we're still there. Shame about the ref, I thought he did ruin the flow of the game on occasion, constantly calling play back for petty little incidents. Football's a contact sport and all that. Anyway, nothing could stop us today. It wasn't long before Sabčot grabbed his second, a cheeky little backheel from about two yards after the ball ricocheted to him at a corner. Then he celebrated like he'd just won the World Cup, which didn't impress our friend in the black. Meanwhile, Cambirano were awful, there's no other word for it. It's staggering to think that we were at that sort of level just two cycles ago. I can hardly believe the progress we've made since then. The fourth came through Mihalcič just after the hour, Scott Mandel accidentally passing to the Kinitaria striker on the edge of the box, and Mihalcič doesn't miss those, so that was 4-0. We sort of eased up after that, the game was clearly won, and there was nothing to play for except goal difference. Still, goal difference is important, and we got a boost to ours when Sabčot claimed his hat-trick from 25 yards, slamming a first-time shot right past Theo Walden. It was just about playing out time after that, which we managed successfully. Another clean sheet for Petran. Just after the final whistle, the news came through that Yesopalitha and Filopines had finished 2-2, which lifts us to second, ahead of Filopines on goal difference, and just a point behind top spot.
If only we'd beaten the Javahe Islands, things would look so much different now. But we can't do anything about that result now. What we can do is go to the Filopines and make sure we win. If we do that, we'll be in a commanding position in the group going into the second half of qualification, and I honestly think our second set of fixtures is easier than the first, in terms of who we play home or away. Victory against the Filopines guarantees we'll be three points clear of third place with a much better goal difference. Sadly I won't be there, I'll have to watch at home, but I'll still be bringing you my thoughts after the game - I'll be there in spirit, of course.
Thanks for reading!
43. limacič35 said:
it's gonna be tough to get to the wc. 2nd is the best we can hope for in the group, then there's a playoff to get to.
42. Anonymous said:
5-0 is a good result, sure, but it's just covering up errors in the previous two games... I'm still to be convinced by Evinov.
41. miato-nefilant said:
Enjoyable read, keep it up. I'm surprisingly confident ahead of the Filopines game, I think this is the cycle in which we finally reach the promised land!
40. ilir.m said:
Evinov should have brought on some of the younger squad members when it was clear we were going to win, give them a bit of match experience and an easy introduction... better than throwing them in if we're 1-1 against Yesopalitha and need a win.
39. Anonymous said:
We looked a bit too aggressive for my liking. Too many silly fouls. Sure Cambirano can't make anything of them, but better teams will. And that's the level we supposedly want to be at.