Enghien Amical

Another cloudy and cold morning (which for Gabi was perfect weather conditions) and the boys were looking to extend the winning streak. The coaches decided to change the formation a bit playing a not so classic 4-3-3 trying to control the midfield. The game didn’t start as we expected, Enghien was winning the first balls and trying to attack mostly with long balls on our right side. After a slow return from our side and a few missed tackles we found ourselves 1-0. The team spirit of the last few months didn’t let the greens get disappointed, finally started winning some battles and after a long ball from Maxi, Benji took advantage of the miscommunication of their defense and after a good run finished with a nice shot on the left side. 1-1 on halftime which honestly was more than enough for the greens. Second half started with Ama entering the pitch and the team changing the formation in a classic 4-4-2. After a corner from Lolo in the first minutes, Alva got the ball the defender tried to get it away by sending the ball in his own post. That was the last good play from Alva because two minutes later he got fouled and someone stepped on his hand giving him a nice purple colour along with the swelling. George was called in for the sub and he decided to change the game. First came a great save from Maxi with his toe keeping the game tied and a few minutes later after a great ball from Brioche, George ran in the back of the defense and while everyone was expecting a cross he shot it with his left in the first post giving us the lead. 2-1. Enghien has completely turned the game in a rodeo, pushing the lines very high and giving away many chances for counterattacks which were mostly called offside by the ref. Another good pass by Julian, great run from Amadou who beat his defender got in the box and passed it to Benji who scored his second for the day. 3-1. And when we thought the game was over Enghien tried to fight their way back, scoring a second goal and giving us some anxiety in the bench. George had other plans though, another great run another great long ball from Brioche, pass to Lolo, easy finish, 4-2 and the unbeaten streak continues for the hottest team in Europe for 2023. On to the next one !

The seconds were travelling to Enghien with a dire need to get a win. Despite a late arrival and a short warm up due to a an administrative confusion, the boys in green started the game seriously as a block. The game was even with some chances on both sides until a deadly counter attack: Ionut with a long ball from the left to Gaby on the right who gave the ball to Lolo at the entrance of the box for a beautiful shot with a bounce that left the keeper jumping on the grass/swamp in vain. Some minutes in the second half, the opponent obtained a free kick 20m away, the guy shot right in the wall (which Donald Trump wouldn’t have been proud of), the ball passed through it and one of their strikers just had to shoot leaving no chance to Max. A few minutes later, Brioche got the ball back in our half, immediately launched Lolo with a nice pass on the right side, who then had a solo run, entering the box and shooting to the second post making it 1-2 for Ireland. Brioche then almost scored one of the goals of the season with a stunning volley from 35m away which unfortunately ended up on the cross bar. The last 15min of the game saw the opponent pushing hard with a couple of chances and only counter attacks for the boys in green. A couple of yellow cards on both sides but no other goal in this game and the final score was 1-2. A great win for the team that desperately needed it!
MOTM: Lolo