On a very sunny, but cold, saturday, Firsts were into a tough derby facing British United, with huge will for a revenge after an undeserved loss during first game.
Despite high possession and great builds-up, our green boys did not make it to score a goal before half time. Football was good quality and all strikers (Lolo, Rachid, Ciaran and Erik) had very promising 1v1 opportunities.
Second half showed a different configuration, with a reorganised team: Rémy entered as central defender, Rachid moved to midfield, and Bono had the chance to show his strikers skills. Less chances, but after a free kick at the edge of the area (obtained by Bono) shot by Rachid, blocked by the wall and a nice passing move between Bono and James, Ciaran found himself in front of the empty goal: 1-0.
To be noted a very nice performance from Ricard: few, but very important saves.
Mom: Ciaran
Nice and very well diserved win!

L2 faced a tough challenge on the road to Wavre, battling not only a determined home side but also a depleted squad, with several players sidelined by illness and injury. Despite these challenges, the team put in an impressive performance, particularly in the first half, before ultimately succumbing to a late 2-1 defeat.

Special mention must be made about one of the L2 captains (all 3 are fantastic) – Marianne, who traveled from Mons after having played 90 minutes with L1 to support her squad in the second half.

The match began with FC Irlande Ladies fielding just 11 players, a difficult situation considering the team’s injuries and sickness. Nevertheless, they came out with energy and resilience, playing some of their best football of the season. They controlled the tempo for much of the first 45 minutes, showing excellent organization.

The breakthrough came in the 14th minute when Fra’s pinpoint assist set up Isa, who calmly slotted the ball home to give FC Irlande a deserved 1-0 lead. The first half ended with FC Irlande in the lead, but they knew the battle was far from over.

The second half saw Wavre push forward more aggressively, seeking an equalizer. Despite their best efforts defending, a high ball from the Wavre’s left wing sailed over the short FCI keeper, allowing it to drop just under the crossbar and into the net for the equalizer.

As the match wore on, fatigue started to set in for FC Irlande, with many players visibly struggling. Despite their tired legs, they kept their heads up and looked for an opportunity to steal a win. Unfortunately, in the dying minutes of the game, Wavre found the decisive blow. A perfectly executed free kick, leaving the FC Irlande keeper with no chance. The final whistle blew with Wavre celebrating a hard-fought 2-1 victory.

Match report: FCI 2nds vs British United

In short, the lack of highlights in this game was not in correlation with the intensity and effort that both sides put into the game. Both teams were 100% in the game, but today the better team won.

1st half
FCI struggled getting to the last third of the pitch but when it did the ball also found it’s way to the box. Unfortunately, the most we got were a few shots on the goal that did not
create much problems for the opponents.

The opponents had a similar problem to come up with anything dangerous. Only until the greens lost the ball in the midfield which suddenly resulted in a one-on-one that Ahmet luckily saved.

2nd half
Second half was quite similar to the first. Brits were more active and manage to get the ball from set pieces a few times dangerously to our box, but they either missed the ball by a hair or did not manage to direct it well enough.

In the middle of the half an opportunity smiled at Ireland when Shane broke through the defence, got past the keeper, who had gotten out of the box, but the shot from 25m rolled past the post.

Alas, just a minute later, Brits came alone through the middle, passed the ball to the centre box where they turned the ball away from the defender and with a touch of a toe directed it past our keeper.

Aside from a header from Matteo that did not trouble the opponent keeper much, there were no more clear opportunities and the game ended with 0-1.

MOTM: Jaret

Vets2 could not make it 3 out of 3 wins. We were the better team in the first half with some chances but failed to score. The second half, against the wind, was a different story. La Lorraine pushed us back for the whole second half and managed to score three. Bobby MOTM.

For their last game at home, vets 1  played ambiance auderghem. On their turf we produced one of our poorest performance  and lost 5-2. So we had to take a revenge on ourselves. On 1st half both teams played with an offensive spirit and had some situations but defenders or in the case of our opponent their keeper had the last word. On the last 15mn, we got rewarded  of our efforts. Matt opened and then after a good interception delivered a perfect cross to Alvaro. We secured the score til the ref blew the whistle to end 1st half. On 2nd half Ambiance pushed but we never panicked and the subs Benoit Gregor and Stepan helped us a lot with their own qualities. Ambiance gave away  some space and persuaded David to make a run like he used to when he was a senior from the midfield to the edge of the box and ended his run by chipping the ball over the keeper. Rodrigo added a fourth goal and François kept a clean sheet with a world class saves. Gordon Banks would have been proud. Final score 4-0. Joint MOTM David Alvaro and Hadri.

4ths were 4 points behind for safety with 3 games to go.
We are still 4 points behind with 2 games to go.
Its becoming very difficult but still possible and we will try and fight until the end.
We missed a big opportunity today against 10 young kids only looking for the 0-0.
We had the ball all the game, they just defended (well) and we couldnt just put it in. Matteo had nothing to do, not a single save.
Tiago and Artem had a couple of good opportunities especially in the 2nd half when Grisha came in and brought his speed upfront. We were missing the last touch, the last good shot, the last good decision.
Frustrating game ending with the 0-0 Picardie wanted to be mathematically safe.
2 games to go, 6 points mandatory.

On Saturday, 15 March, FC Irlande Ladies III faces FC Femina White Star in an away match. This match had all the premises to be complicated: we struggled to be 11, our usual goalie was missing (I do not think White Star realised that), and Mercury is retrograde again and apparently is going to be real rough.

FCI gives the kick-off with a few instructions in mind, slowing down the match and staying compact. Meanwhile, White Star starts its attacking pressure with all its available weapons: through balls, long balls and speed. A wandering ball that crosses the entire goal line makes FCI’s players feel some chills on their spines, but as in multiple occasions during the first half, FCI protects the goal and keeps the result 0-0. Offensively, FCI’s actions were a bit sporadic and disjointed. The first half ends 0-0.

FCI enters the pitch for the second half satisfied with the first half performance but knowing that the job is not finished yet and White Star will come back resolute to win the match. In the first 10 minutes, FCI continues the solid performance of the first half. A few minutes later, White Star makes some changes in its formation. FCI does not adapt to it and ends up conceding 2 goals in rapid succession, at 59’ and 64’. After these 2 goals, FCI does not fall apart and reorganises itself to block White Star’s attacks. White Star is unable to score again, and the match ends 2-0.

In Antoine’s word “c’etait pas beau à voir mais c’etait efficace”. It was not 100% effective at the end of the match, but it was an excellent team performance. In very few games, we were so well-organised and compact defensively. The two goals conceded came from a constant attacking pressure by White Star and thanks to the individual skills of White Star’s players.  Considering all the adversities, there were some doubts about playing this match, but it was undoubtedly worth it to enter the pitch and show that, despite our position on the ranking and the low number of players available, it is not easy to play against us. But the real show was outside of the pitch: a majestic fox that captured the attention of our supporters.

Player of the match: Karissa