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On Sunday, 10 March, FC Irlande travels to Lasne to face R. Union Lasne Ohain. An initially sunny weather welcomes the team, only the start of a good Sunday football afternoon.
The first 20 minutes are the most challenging of the game. Lasne Ohain takes control of the game and forces FCI to play in the half of the pitch. Lasne shows an excellent ability to make the ball circulate to change the game from one side to the other and find space with their wide wings. Their way of playing shows to be effective, and Lasne opens the score at the 20’. The goal is the slap in the face that FCI needs to increase focus and intensity and enter the match. From now on, the game will be evener, and FCI will start troubling the opponent. A great corner kicked by Cath finds an opponent’s deflection that leads to an own goal, equalising the result at the 35’. The joy of the goal is short-lasting. Lasne scores one minute later and retakes the lead.
FCI enters the pitch for the second half determined to equalise. It takes only six minutes for Cath to score, assisted by Ilana (and by the flexible ID check), and put the result on 2-2. Unlike in the first half, FCI keeps the focus after scoring the goal and does not concede any other goal. The match ends 2-2, and FCI comes away from Lasne with one point, obtained against the team 5th in the league, reducing the gap from Saint Michel.
FCI stays unbeaten for the second game in a row and shows the progress made since the beginning of the season. Now, we can hope to obtain points, not only against our direct opponents in the relegation battle, but also, against teams placed at the top of the ranking. More decisive and perilous matches are about to come, but the last games showed that FCI is ready to challenge anyone.
Player of the match: Cath
After three long weeks, FCI was finally back in action. Following the disappointment against Kosova, it was clear we needed to find the way back to playing our own game as a team. And that’s what we set out to do with our new/old formation and focused attitude as we welcomed R. Union Lasne Ohain to our home pitch.
FCI started the match rather nervously: Lasne Ohain were playing well together, creating dangerous pressure on FCI’s defence, which, after 10 minutes of play, resulted in a handball and a penalty for Lasne Ohain. However, what could have been an early setback turned into a stellar performance by Eva, our goalkeeper for the match: she was able to coolly dive in the right direction to stop the penalty, with the defence clearing the ball out. Yet, Lasne Ohain were relentless: they were able to keep the momentum on their side and scored their first goal soon after. Two others followed – but FCI didn’t give up and was determined to stay in the game. With each action, FCI was reading Lasne Ohain’s game better, defending as a compact unit, and even creating some good combinations in the attacking half.
In the second half, FCI was more and more in control, pushing Lasne Ohain back and not allowing them many dangerous occasions. One of such was saved by Alicia from the goal line, and while Lasne Ohain were able to score one more goal, the second half was a lot more even one. Towards the end, the FCI’s attack put a lot of pressure on Lasne Ohain’s defence, and Liza was able to create a scoring chance by shooting from outside the box.
The match ended 0-4 for R. Union Lasne Ohain, but the FCI ladies can be proud of their performance on the pitch. Against Kosova, we got exactly the same result, yet the two matches couldn’t be more different: this time, FCI was working as a team, keeping the distances shorter and the team spirit high. We didn’t let the score affect us but continued to play for each other, talking more on the pitch and giving it our all. And what is well worth mentioning is that our Achilles heel – corners against – were dealt with determination this time: Lasne Ohain had lots of corners (more than any of us could count), yet we didn’t concede directly from any of them. With this disciplined, solid performance, FCI is back on a better track with most of the season still ahead of us.
And what better way to celebrate such a match than with food? Luckily for us, Dakota had put her heart and effort into baking a huge pile of tasty pancakes that were the best possible prize for us (plus, we got sandwiches too, so it was quite a double prize).
Player of the Match: Eva
[Anna]