It was a sunny day and, for the first 15 minutes, football made sense. The boys in green dominated, moved the ball well, and created chances. Ryan sliced a dangerous cross from the right through the box, and Matt’s header missed the target by a small margin. Promising start. Too promising, maybe.

Then came their moment. The sun beams have gone, clouds have came, literally. A through ball down our left slipped past the defense, their winger went one-on-one with the keeper, stayed ice-cold, finesse finish, 1-0. Efficient. Painful.

Right after that, les gars completely lost rhythm in the build-up. It felt like a silent agreement that Pharma were better.

And then… yes. According to our other keeper, it was an incredible pass from our keeper to a Pharma player. Scramble just in front of the box, direct shot, 2-0. Football cruelty at its finest. By the end of the first half, it really looked like one of those days for FCI.

Luckily, halftime arrived like a therapist with a whistle. Positive mindset, reality check, identity restored. The second half was a full 180.

Boys in green came out flying. Possession, confidence, control. Pharma couldn’t breathe. The early goal arrived right on time: BB7 whipped in a beauty from the right, Lolo ghosted to the back post and finished first time into the far corner. 2-1. Game on.

From there, it was all FCI. Shots from distance, crosses raining in, free kicks from both sides, and even a bicycle kick attempt by Erling Matteo Riceputi, because why not. Pharma were hanging on.

Then the equalizer. Right-side free kick from Lolo, smashed into the wall. The rebound popped up, dropped into the box, and Matt B rose like destiny itself. Header to the right corner. Omg. 2-2.

The final stretch was pure pressure. FCI pushed hard, Pharma survived on long balls. The defense and goalie cleaned up everything before danger could form. Special mention to Villu, the Estonian hammer, executing a perfectly timed offside trap, trusting the Abssa ref with full conviction, three minutes before full time. A masterpiece of faith.

Final whistle. 2-2.
Les gars didn’t win a point. They lost two after a dominant second half.

MOTM: Matt B

The boys travelled to Nossegem for an “away” game v ITT Claudy FC. In the reverse fixture we won 2-1 thanks to a last minute goal and we firmly believed we would get the 3 points again. After what can only be described as a scrappy 1st half we found ourselves up 1-0 thanks to a stray pass in the ITT defense that was worked out to Timo on the wing who found Aravind free in the box. He calmly slotted the ball home. 1-0 up at HT.

After some formation fine tuning at HT the 3rds took over the game, winning every battle in the midfield and defence plus creating many chances. We were in total control of the game but needed a 2nd goal to guanantee the victory. After some good defending the ball came Slyvain who found Timo out wide. It looked as though Timo would cross but noticing that the keeper had his angles all wrong Timo fired the ball past him at the near post! Queue crazy scenes of joy from Timo as he celebrated!!!!

Result 2-0 comfortable win for the 3rds and Timo MOTM with a goal and an assist. Onto the Brits next week at home 💪🏻💪🏻

In the misty Chaumont-Gistoux, FC Irlande Ladies III faces Ronvau Chaumont.

The match doesn’t start in the best way for FCI. The team struggles to control the ball and to evade the pressure of the opponent. This translates into the advantage goal for Ronvau Chaumont at the 9’. FCI fails in taking effective countermeasures to stop Ronvau Chaumont, which, thanks to its aggressiveness and physicality, keeps the game under its control. At the 30’ and 34’, Ronvau scores the second and third goals of the match. The first half ends with a clear 3-0.

Despite the challenging match, FCI wants to enter the pitch for the second half to keep fighting. Despite still being put under pressure and kept in the defensive half of the pitch, the team blocks Ronvau’s attacks more successfully and doesn’t concede any other goals. In the offensive phase, some attacking actions are produced, but not very dangerous enough to worry the opponent’s defence. And as in the first half, the match ends 3-0.

Like the match against RUA, this match gives last season flashbacks. A team forced to defend for most of the match, and with a few sporadic attacking actions. The break from matches will be fundamental to improvement on the weaknesses we showed and building on our strengths.