Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 8:14 am
Matchday 10
Going into Matchday’s 10 and 11 most fans knew that this was Murphy’s last chance to save his job, it has to be said when Murphtannia finished 6th last season, and with Murphy masterminding another league title this season, nobody expected this to happen.
The game was away to HUElavia, the only team Murphtannia had beaten up until that point, despite HUElavian form being terrible initially they had picked up again, and they now held a grudge, the travelling Murphtannian fans knew this was a game they were unlikely to enjoy.
As the game started Murphtannia were instantly on the back foot, HUElavia running riot, chance after chance being saved by Ball or hitting the post or a lucky deflection, until the 10th minute when Pae blasted it over Ball and into the net, leaving the 26 year old to pick it out of the net, I remember hearing the HUElavians go nuts, and being is disbelief as I sat there with my laptop, watching Murphtannia take 15 shots in just 10 minutes.
The defensive worries continued, in the 23rd minute Pae drove in a low pass, with Bridges just failing completely to mark her, before Mantovani-Jardim hit it into the bottom left, Ball was so close, painstakingly close, but it was 2-0, Murphtannia had faced 14 shots in 23 minutes, something had clearly gone wrong.
Murphtannia proceeded to put in the worst performance of football I have ever seen, in all honestly the post kept this at 2-0 for as long as it did, however Mantovania-Jardim would make it 3-0, an easy pass from Fernandez-Roux gave Mantovania-Jardim the chance to dribble past the defence, hell she made it look easy, before blasting it into the top right pasta diving Ball.
After that the team and away fans were relieved to hear the half time whistle, at this rate the FA might just sack Murphy without giving him his final game.
However I don’t know what Murphy said to his team at half time, but it must’ve been one hell of a speech because Murphtannia in the second half came out rearing to go. While the HUElavian fans continued to celebrate the so far successful game, Murphtannia worked their asses off, trying to win every second ball, Jude Elliott was brought on the replace Bridges and pushed further forward as an attacking wing back, while Styler was moved to a deeper position to collect the ball.
This change proved a successful one, with Styler dropping deeper to collect the ball, dribbling at the defence before being closed down by C.Almeida, but using some rather impressive footwork he layed off the pass to the on rushing Marley, who has been desperate to add an impact to the team, and that he did when he scored a low curving goal, quite wonderful to watch, making it 3-1.
Of course the game got really interesting when Fernandex-Roux, who assisted HUElavia’s latest goal, slid into Pole as he was collecting the ball from Murphy, there were calls for a red but the players had to settle for yellow. Murphy was given the free kick, and proved why as he curved the ball around the wall, hitting the crossbar and going in. 3-2, game on.
The HUElavian fans suddenly got very silent after that goal, as Murphtannia started to more and more belief, but it proved fruitless, as Ocampo and Braz-Bitencourt did a quick passing move for Braz-Bitencourt to hit it past Ball and to make it 4-2, game over, and now all attention was on the next game at home to Pays Den Haut, Murphy needed a win if he was to save his job.
Matchday 11
“Hello and welcome to Matchday 11, I’m your commentator Bob Smith and joining me today is Gary O’Reilly, welcome Garry” Bob says struggling to hear over the fans
Gary then speaks “Thanks Bob, it’s a privilege to be here at the world cup, and it’s a big day for the manager and for the team”
Bob then speaks again “Yes this is it, anything other than a win here and Murphy is out, we’ll just have to see if he can do it, he’s playing Pays Den Haut, who used their home advantage very well to secure a 0-0 draw against Murphtannia, but can the team currently bottom of the table repeat that here at the Murphtannia stadium”
Gary speaks again, getting more excited as time goes on “Yanno Bob I think Murphtannia stand a good chance here, hell Pays Den Haut didn’t even bring any away fans, which isn;t going to help, anyway now for the starting lineup as the two teams walk out onto the pitch.”
“First the home team
In goal is Adam Ball, despite conceding 4 goals in the last game he played well, and will see if he can make a good performance count here
There are some changes in the back line, following the poor defensive showing away to HUElavia, at RWB starts Jude Elliott,who did well when he came off the bench, starting at CB alongside Pallett is Kai Leafy, and at LWB remains Cartlidge.
The midfield remains the same as last time, with Jenkins, Styler and Owen retaining their places
And finally the front 2, Murphy keeping his place however Alex Saunders comes in for another start, with Pole being on a bit of a goal drought.”
“Now for the away team
In goal is Peirre-Luc, the Swordsmith played well against Murphtannia last time, can he keep it up?
In defense is Yan and Loic, with the midfield consisting of Felix-Antoine, Jean Sebestian, Xavier, Bruno, Jean-Francois, Samuel and Serge, clearly Jean-Claude is looking to overrun the midfield with superior numbers, build from there, an interesting tactic we’ll have to see how it plays out
The sole striker is Jean-guy.”
First Half
[13th minute] “Murphtannia have been playing pretty well so far, Pay Den Haut haven’t seen much of the ball, mostly absorbing Murphtannian pressure, but Murphtannia are on the attack again now
Cartlidge picks up the ball, he’s running down the wing, what can he do with this?, plays the 1,2 with Jenkins, Cartlidge has gotten behind the defense now but Serge is marking him pretty well, oh and Cartlidge has nut megged Serge, cartlidge whips in the cross, Murphy is in the box waiting OH AND IT’S IN, WHAT A GOAL AS MURPHY VOLLEYS IT, AND THE BALL CRASHES INTO THE TOP RIGHT
The fans are going nuts, the players are all hugging Murph, Murphy has joined the fray, is that the goal that saves his manager’s job, Murphtannia 1-0 Pay Den Haut” Says Gary over the Mic
[35th minute] “Since going ahead Murphtannia have been dominant, getting a whopping 97% of possession, 100% pass accuracy, this isn’t even a contest, Murphy is running now, he passes it to Jenkins who shoots from outside the box,but it’s wide, it remains 1-0” Bob says clearly in a good mood
[Half time] “A solid half of football from Murphtannia, they should be more than 1-0 ahead but it’s looking good right now, but can they hold on?” says Gary
Bob then speaks “I think they can, Pays Den Haut haven’t offered anything going forward, they’re bene trapped in their 6 yeard box let alone their own half”
Second Half
[60th minute] “Murphtannia have continued their excellent performance, the entire team doing their jobs well, but for the first time this game Pays Den Haut are on the attack, Serge picking up the ball, he’s been Pay Den Haut’s best player so far, he carries it out wide, crosses, Cartlidge can’t jump high enough to head it, GOALLLLL, Jean-guy heads it into the back of the net to make it 1-1, and the team look crushed
Wait the ref is using VAR, IT’S OVERTURNED, GUY WAS OFFSIDE, MURPHTANNIA 1-0” Bob says
[80th minute] “Somehow Pays Den Haut have managed to hold on here, Murphtannia have been unlucky, either with good saves or hitting the post, but Jenkins has the ball, he passes it to Styler, who passes it to Owen, patient build up play here, Owen back to Styler, who finds an excellent through ball into the path of Alex Saunders, who controls the ball, shoots, GOAOLLOLLLLL, SAUNDERS SCORES TO MAKE IT MURPHTANNIA 2-0, SAUNDERS HAS REALLY IMPRESSED THIS GAME AND SURELY THAT SEALS THE WIN FOR MURPHTANNIA NOW, BOB IS SPEECHLESS, MAYBE MURPHY WILL BE KEEPING HIS JOB AFTER ALL
Murphtannia 2 Pays Fen Haut 0” Gary says practically screaming, some might say this is an over reaction given the opposition, however this may end up being only our second win.
[91st minute] “Final minute of added time, Murphtannia looking for one more chance, Jenkins plays an easy pass to Elliott, who decides to shoot from outside of the box and
WHAT A GOAL, IT SMASHES INTO THE TOP RIGHT AS ELLIOTT SCORES HIS FIRST MURPHTANNIA GOAL, HE JUMPS INTO THE STANDS, THE STAFF ARE GOING CRAZY, THE TEAM AND STAFF ARE ALL HUGGING EACH OTHER AS MURPHY’S JOB IS SAVED
Murphtannia 3 Pays Den Haut 0”
Well there you have it, Murphtannia’s second win to take them into 7th place, and to save Murphy’s job, the question is though, for how long?”
Going into Matchday’s 10 and 11 most fans knew that this was Murphy’s last chance to save his job, it has to be said when Murphtannia finished 6th last season, and with Murphy masterminding another league title this season, nobody expected this to happen.
The game was away to HUElavia, the only team Murphtannia had beaten up until that point, despite HUElavian form being terrible initially they had picked up again, and they now held a grudge, the travelling Murphtannian fans knew this was a game they were unlikely to enjoy.
As the game started Murphtannia were instantly on the back foot, HUElavia running riot, chance after chance being saved by Ball or hitting the post or a lucky deflection, until the 10th minute when Pae blasted it over Ball and into the net, leaving the 26 year old to pick it out of the net, I remember hearing the HUElavians go nuts, and being is disbelief as I sat there with my laptop, watching Murphtannia take 15 shots in just 10 minutes.
The defensive worries continued, in the 23rd minute Pae drove in a low pass, with Bridges just failing completely to mark her, before Mantovani-Jardim hit it into the bottom left, Ball was so close, painstakingly close, but it was 2-0, Murphtannia had faced 14 shots in 23 minutes, something had clearly gone wrong.
Murphtannia proceeded to put in the worst performance of football I have ever seen, in all honestly the post kept this at 2-0 for as long as it did, however Mantovania-Jardim would make it 3-0, an easy pass from Fernandez-Roux gave Mantovania-Jardim the chance to dribble past the defence, hell she made it look easy, before blasting it into the top right pasta diving Ball.
After that the team and away fans were relieved to hear the half time whistle, at this rate the FA might just sack Murphy without giving him his final game.
However I don’t know what Murphy said to his team at half time, but it must’ve been one hell of a speech because Murphtannia in the second half came out rearing to go. While the HUElavian fans continued to celebrate the so far successful game, Murphtannia worked their asses off, trying to win every second ball, Jude Elliott was brought on the replace Bridges and pushed further forward as an attacking wing back, while Styler was moved to a deeper position to collect the ball.
This change proved a successful one, with Styler dropping deeper to collect the ball, dribbling at the defence before being closed down by C.Almeida, but using some rather impressive footwork he layed off the pass to the on rushing Marley, who has been desperate to add an impact to the team, and that he did when he scored a low curving goal, quite wonderful to watch, making it 3-1.
Of course the game got really interesting when Fernandex-Roux, who assisted HUElavia’s latest goal, slid into Pole as he was collecting the ball from Murphy, there were calls for a red but the players had to settle for yellow. Murphy was given the free kick, and proved why as he curved the ball around the wall, hitting the crossbar and going in. 3-2, game on.
The HUElavian fans suddenly got very silent after that goal, as Murphtannia started to more and more belief, but it proved fruitless, as Ocampo and Braz-Bitencourt did a quick passing move for Braz-Bitencourt to hit it past Ball and to make it 4-2, game over, and now all attention was on the next game at home to Pays Den Haut, Murphy needed a win if he was to save his job.
Matchday 11
“Hello and welcome to Matchday 11, I’m your commentator Bob Smith and joining me today is Gary O’Reilly, welcome Garry” Bob says struggling to hear over the fans
Gary then speaks “Thanks Bob, it’s a privilege to be here at the world cup, and it’s a big day for the manager and for the team”
Bob then speaks again “Yes this is it, anything other than a win here and Murphy is out, we’ll just have to see if he can do it, he’s playing Pays Den Haut, who used their home advantage very well to secure a 0-0 draw against Murphtannia, but can the team currently bottom of the table repeat that here at the Murphtannia stadium”
Gary speaks again, getting more excited as time goes on “Yanno Bob I think Murphtannia stand a good chance here, hell Pays Den Haut didn’t even bring any away fans, which isn;t going to help, anyway now for the starting lineup as the two teams walk out onto the pitch.”
“First the home team
In goal is Adam Ball, despite conceding 4 goals in the last game he played well, and will see if he can make a good performance count here
There are some changes in the back line, following the poor defensive showing away to HUElavia, at RWB starts Jude Elliott,who did well when he came off the bench, starting at CB alongside Pallett is Kai Leafy, and at LWB remains Cartlidge.
The midfield remains the same as last time, with Jenkins, Styler and Owen retaining their places
And finally the front 2, Murphy keeping his place however Alex Saunders comes in for another start, with Pole being on a bit of a goal drought.”
“Now for the away team
In goal is Peirre-Luc, the Swordsmith played well against Murphtannia last time, can he keep it up?
In defense is Yan and Loic, with the midfield consisting of Felix-Antoine, Jean Sebestian, Xavier, Bruno, Jean-Francois, Samuel and Serge, clearly Jean-Claude is looking to overrun the midfield with superior numbers, build from there, an interesting tactic we’ll have to see how it plays out
The sole striker is Jean-guy.”
First Half
[13th minute] “Murphtannia have been playing pretty well so far, Pay Den Haut haven’t seen much of the ball, mostly absorbing Murphtannian pressure, but Murphtannia are on the attack again now
Cartlidge picks up the ball, he’s running down the wing, what can he do with this?, plays the 1,2 with Jenkins, Cartlidge has gotten behind the defense now but Serge is marking him pretty well, oh and Cartlidge has nut megged Serge, cartlidge whips in the cross, Murphy is in the box waiting OH AND IT’S IN, WHAT A GOAL AS MURPHY VOLLEYS IT, AND THE BALL CRASHES INTO THE TOP RIGHT
The fans are going nuts, the players are all hugging Murph, Murphy has joined the fray, is that the goal that saves his manager’s job, Murphtannia 1-0 Pay Den Haut” Says Gary over the Mic
[35th minute] “Since going ahead Murphtannia have been dominant, getting a whopping 97% of possession, 100% pass accuracy, this isn’t even a contest, Murphy is running now, he passes it to Jenkins who shoots from outside the box,but it’s wide, it remains 1-0” Bob says clearly in a good mood
[Half time] “A solid half of football from Murphtannia, they should be more than 1-0 ahead but it’s looking good right now, but can they hold on?” says Gary
Bob then speaks “I think they can, Pays Den Haut haven’t offered anything going forward, they’re bene trapped in their 6 yeard box let alone their own half”
Second Half
[60th minute] “Murphtannia have continued their excellent performance, the entire team doing their jobs well, but for the first time this game Pays Den Haut are on the attack, Serge picking up the ball, he’s been Pay Den Haut’s best player so far, he carries it out wide, crosses, Cartlidge can’t jump high enough to head it, GOALLLLL, Jean-guy heads it into the back of the net to make it 1-1, and the team look crushed
Wait the ref is using VAR, IT’S OVERTURNED, GUY WAS OFFSIDE, MURPHTANNIA 1-0” Bob says
[80th minute] “Somehow Pays Den Haut have managed to hold on here, Murphtannia have been unlucky, either with good saves or hitting the post, but Jenkins has the ball, he passes it to Styler, who passes it to Owen, patient build up play here, Owen back to Styler, who finds an excellent through ball into the path of Alex Saunders, who controls the ball, shoots, GOAOLLOLLLLL, SAUNDERS SCORES TO MAKE IT MURPHTANNIA 2-0, SAUNDERS HAS REALLY IMPRESSED THIS GAME AND SURELY THAT SEALS THE WIN FOR MURPHTANNIA NOW, BOB IS SPEECHLESS, MAYBE MURPHY WILL BE KEEPING HIS JOB AFTER ALL
Murphtannia 2 Pays Fen Haut 0” Gary says practically screaming, some might say this is an over reaction given the opposition, however this may end up being only our second win.
[91st minute] “Final minute of added time, Murphtannia looking for one more chance, Jenkins plays an easy pass to Elliott, who decides to shoot from outside of the box and
WHAT A GOAL, IT SMASHES INTO THE TOP RIGHT AS ELLIOTT SCORES HIS FIRST MURPHTANNIA GOAL, HE JUMPS INTO THE STANDS, THE STAFF ARE GOING CRAZY, THE TEAM AND STAFF ARE ALL HUGGING EACH OTHER AS MURPHY’S JOB IS SAVED
Murphtannia 3 Pays Den Haut 0”
Well there you have it, Murphtannia’s second win to take them into 7th place, and to save Murphy’s job, the question is though, for how long?”