Football Weekly
Eagles swoop to victory in first match
Oscar Belham
Liventia (UPA) – Isselmere-Nieland passed its first international test with a solid 4-1 win over Krytak in the Baptism of Fire tournament in Bostopia and Liventia. The Eagles’ tepid first half performance gave way to a clinic in the second, with Cohen and Claesburgh peppering the opposition net with fourteen of Isselmere-Nieland’s twenty-three attempts on goal.
Potherington wasn’t impressed by his side’s display, however. For much of the first 30 minutes, he clenched his fists and barked orders at players and coaching staff alike as the Eagles’ stumbled towards what seemed a certain defeat. Miscommunication between keeper and centre-back had Felsingborin and mab-Costin glowering at one another as a weak back-pass let the Krytak striker through with a precise lob over the stranded keeper. The situation failed to improve as Krytak made the most of the dissension in the Isselmere-Nielandic ranks, dominating possession in midfield and efficiently pressurising the Eagles. Felsingborin and his back four weathered a storm of shots and corners, with two shots clattering off the posts, Felsingborin forced to make two spectacular saves, and Huang and mab-Costin each made goal-line clearances. A pasting seemed to beckon. Thorvaldsson collected a caution for a late boot on a Krytak winger in the 17th minute. Bogue joined him in the referee’s book 6 minutes later after a nasty lunge on an opposition striker that might have had the midfielder see red. Fortunately, both Krytak players escaped injury.
The manager had had enough. He substituted mab-Druist for Björnssund and Norton for Bogue and ordered a formation change to 4-3-3. Mab-Druist rewarded Potherington’s trust almost immediately, stealing the ball on his own 18 and driving forward to make a remarkable long-ball to Cohen that caught the Krytak defence completely off-guard. Surging forward, Cohen slipped past the befuddled defence and slotted a low, hard shot into the right corner of the net well out of the keeper’s reach. With that equaliser, the Eagles took flight.
The rejigged midfield forced the Krytak side back, albeit not without accruing a further caution for Dunston in the 42nd minute for a mistimed tackle in the centre circle. Isselmere-Nieland took the lead in the 45th minute when Cohen, having evaded his marker, powered in a well-struck corner from Arnásson into the top-left corner of the net.
After the break, the onslaught began. Cohen scorned a sitter that would have provided him a natural, perfect hattrick when he blasted a right-footed shot from 6 yards out high and wide of an open net. Likewise, mab-Druist struck the framework twice, finally scoring a ridiculous goal as his shot rebounded off the crossbar and the Krytak keeper’s head before tumbling into the net in the 67th minute. Claesburgh completed the route in the 89th minute with a belter from 30 yards that gave the Krytak keeper no chance.
Isselmere-Nieland’s recovery didn’t satisfy Potherington. Although he marshalled the team to thank the Eagles’ supporters, the manager refused to allow his players to talk with the press and confined his own post-match conference to brief, anodyne comments. Hopefully, his team-talk was more uplifting.
Next, Isselmere-Nieland face Midlauthia who battled P00t3r to a 2-2 draw. Midlauthia will be eager to secure the 3 points that were so nearly theirs on match-day 1, while Isselmere-Nieland will attempt to reproduce their second half performance for the full 90 minutes.
Krytak 1 - 4 Isselmere-Nieland
(Krytak 8') – (Cohen 34' + 45'; Mab Druist 67'; Claesburgh 89')
Bookings: Thorvaldsson (17'), Bogue (23'), Dunston (42)
