Kickoff against top-of-the-table Goalois 2 was delayed, building suspense for a heavyweight clash. Conditions were ideal, with the sun beaming down on the Racing White grounds in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert.

The game got off to a quick start, with a mesmerising tiki-taka move to set up an initial shot on goal within the first minute, pumping up the adrenaline. But the tides turned when another ball made its way into our box, resulting in a scrappy finish. The ball just rolled over the line before Dan was able to claw it back.

We kept Matt’s teamtalk about resetting mentally in mind, and started fresh. The football began to flow again right away. Twenty minutes later, we were on the board after Sepp won back the ball himself and had another great solo effort to put away our first.

The game was physical, with plenty of shoulder-to-shoulder and a lot of fouls. Sepp and Mike in particular were workhorses, maneuvering around multiple midfielders to get a toe in and turnover possession. We had several more chances in the first half, and looked great on the ball. It stayed 1-1 at half time.

The Turds continued playing well into the second half, winning balls in the air and stringing together passes. The referee called us for about a dozen offsides over the course of the game, which was frustrating to see. But our superior physicality showed even as both teams tired, while intensity spiked – we wanted it more. So we pushed on. Reflecting in last weekend’s comeback defeat, we had to prove we wanted it more.

Matt’s managerial experience was highlighted by some impactful changes throughout the half. Andrea came on and added additional speed to the right side, played through by Sylvain and clinically finishing a great hit across the goalie.

2-1 up, we elevated further. The football was fluid, and Mike V turned from a workhorse into a stallion, winning back the ball every minute, sometimes even from a prone position. The build up play began with both of our fullbacks, with Edu and Tiemen feeding it to Sepp, Andrea and Giulio, before getting a few more shots on goal. A particularly good strike came from Mike V, who tried to curl one into the top far corner from distance, which the goalie managed to save.

The game fired up to another level, with a bit more pushing and shoving. I was lucky to escape without a second yellow card after body-checking a young winger on the sideline, and feigning injury to deceive the referee into thinking I wasn’t the perpetrator. Shortly after, Sepp hushed the small crowd of Goalois faithfuls by lobbying the keeper from 40yds, sealing a 3-1 lead with five to play. Again, pure determination from him resulting in a solo turnover and goal.

A convincing win against a quality, but clearly outplayed, side. The play was fluid, the physicality was high, and we really fought for it. Honorable mention to the sideline enthusiasm from Matt and Guus. The beers flowed afterwards, with four large pitchers consumed, reflecting just how thirsty the lads were for some good quality footy.

FT: 3-1 win.
MOTM: Jack

Vets 2 all showed up hungry for points after a string of positive performances, but Oscar clearly skipped breakfast as he stole the show with a spectacular four-goal performance to lead his team to a commanding 6–1 victory against Esperance Chenois 2 in Waterloo.

First Half: Quick-Fire Double Sets the Tone

The match started with high intensity right from the 15:00 kickoff at Chemin des Noces. The breakthrough came via Stefan, who expertly converted a precise cross delivered by Antonino to make it 1–0.
Only a few minutes later, our relentless pressing up front forced an absolute nightmare for the opposition defense. A defender attempted a header back to his goalkeeper, but Oscar chased it down aggressively. Under immense pressure, the goalie’s panicked clearance smashed directly into Oscar’s face. A defender desperately tried to clear the resulting rebound off the line, but the ball spun into the net, doubling the lead and handing Oscar his first goal of the day in bizarre fashion.
This wasn’t their keeper’s first mistake and we knew to stay on top of any errors, which gave us the third after he fumbled a ball into the feet of the man of the hour Oscar for a third before half time.

Second Half: The Rout Continues

The dominant display turned into a masterclass as the match progressed, highlighted by slick passing, long-range brilliance and alert positioning.

• The Beautiful Game: after some good defending and some great reaction saves from our stand in goalkeeper Gregor to keep the expected opposition onslaught at bay early on the second half, we set ourselves up for a beautiful counter attack, one or two touch passing from defence through midfield, down the left wing to Yacine in space, drives into the box towards goal before laying it off to Oscar to calmly put it in off the right post, leaving their keeper no chance and the spectators watching in disbelief at the sheet quality on display from FCI Vets 2.

• The Long-Range Screamer: With the opposition struggling to keep up, Rafa extended the lead to 5–0 by launching an audacious, looping shot from 35 metres out, perfectly catching the out-of-position goalkeeper off guard.

• The Chested Finish: The opposition managed to pull one back from a penalty, but the visitors replied instantly to make it 1–6. Yacine whipped a powerful 20-metre free kick from the left flank. The opposing goalkeeper attempted to punch it away, but the ball spun over his head, allowing Oscar to calmly chest it over the line to cap off his incredible four-goal haul.

Final score 1-6 and the celebrations continued into the night with MOTM Oscar and co in the funky monkey! The MOTM votes were well spread however and the few team votes recognised the amazing effort everyone put in, this was a real team performance.

On a temperate afternoon increasingly characteristic of late October in Belgium, Greens rocked up hyped to build momentum behind last week’s big win.

They set out their stall early on, looking assured in possession and organised out of it, limiting the opponents to long crossfield balls and speculative crosses. Lots of promise down the right flank did not lead to the promised land of the half space enough for clearcut chances.

Second half also began promisingly for the greens, with a dangerous free kick well saved, and a cross- cumshot cum-shot edging narrowly over the bar.

Then disaster struck. Barely warm halftime sub, your hapless author of this report, got a simple wall pass stuck under his foot, releasing Goalois on goal for a 2 on 2. Desperate last ditch slide from Matteo scythed the guy down in the box. Penalty converted. 1-0.

Then momentum shifted thereafter, with Goalois becoming more dangerous and Irlande becoming increasingly desperate. With time ticking away, Goalois broke Irlande’s defensive line and slid an easy finish inside Ahmet’s near post. 2-0.

One reprieve for the onlooking fans was Ewan finally managing to earn himself a yellow with almost the last action of the game, having successfully antagonised most of the opponents with his consistent late ankle taps all game. A big cheer erupted and he can put his feet up next week safe in the knowledge that he can serve his suspension from his holiday.

MOTM Nate, who doubled up with DOTM too for forgetting his boots at home. Thank heavens for the 25 minute delay to kick off, eh?

Ecusson 6–1 FC Irelande

A difficult Saturday for the Greens, in a game where we really needed to get points.

We travelled to Ecusson, a team playing on a narrow pitch that makes life difficult for any opponent. They are physical, competitive and know how to use their home advantage. Nevertheless, this was one of the teams we had identified as part of the group against whom we need to compete and collect points this season.

Our plan was clear: press slightly higher, recover the ball more aggressively and exploit the speed of Clément and Matt on the wings, supplied by David’s passing and supported by Rodrigo’s finishing, who exceptionally joined us to give the team a hand.

Unfortunately, plans don’t always work as expected. We found ourselves 2–0 down very early, making our task much harder. But the Greens didn’t give up and managed to pull one goal back, giving us some hope before the break.

2–1 at half-time.

The objective for the second half was to get back into the game. That meant taking more risks, pushing forward and looking for the equaliser.

Unfortunately, things went in the opposite direction. We conceded twice very early in the second half, and as we committed more players forward in an attempt to recover the result, we gradually lost our defensive block’s cohesion. Ecusson took advantage of the spaces we left behind and scored twice more on the counter-attack.

Final score: 6–1.
MOTM: Rodrigo

This was a game in which we needed to get points, and we have to be honest about what went wrong. Unlike in some of our previous matches, we weren’t aggressive enough when recovering the ball. We also struggled to make use of our pace on the wings, perhaps partly because we have spent the last three or four games without having our usual fast wide players available. On top of that, we paid a heavy price for our own mistakes, with too many of them ending in goals.

There was also frustration with the refereeing. The match was officiated by Ecusson’s coach rather than an ABSSA referee, and we felt that several decisions went against us, including disputed offside situations and numerous fouls that we felt should have been called. That added to the frustration, but we cannot allow it to distract us from what we need to improve ourselves.

The most important thing now is to react.

Next Saturday brings another game against a team in our group of direct competitors — another match where we really need to collect points. We must train well, prepare properly and go into that game with greater intensity, better organisation and the determination to fight for the result from the first minute.

We’ve shown before that we can compete with strong teams. Now we need to bring that level back when it matters most.

Heads up, Greens. Let’s work hard, stick together and get those points next Saturday!

FC Irelande 0–3 Metrasport

Another tough afternoon for the Greens, but also a game that gives us some important lessons to take forward.

Metrasport came with a clear game plan: use their fast forwards, rely on their physicality and exploit their midfielders’ ability to hold the ball and launch long passes behind our defensive line. They were dangerous whenever they could turn possession into a quick counter-attack.

Despite that, the Greens finally managed to show some good football with the ball. We circulated possession from left to right, moved the ball with more confidence and managed to control parts of the game. However, we struggled to turn that possession into real danger in the final third. We reached the last quarter of the pitch but lacked the precision, movement and ideas needed to create clear scoring opportunities.

Unfortunately, Metrasport scored the first time they seriously threatened our goal. 0–1 at half-time, despite our efforts to build our game.

In the second half, we tried to push forward and take more risks to get back into the match. Around the 55th minute, however, they scored their second goal. From then on, the game became even more difficult.

As we committed more players forward, Metrasport found exactly the spaces they were looking for. Whenever they recovered possession, they launched long passes towards their fast attackers, who needed only one or two passes to turn those situations into goals. Their counter-attacking game proved very effective, and they eventually added a third.

Final score: 0–3.

The result hurts, but we need to recognise the progress we made in possession. We are beginning to circulate the ball better and play with more confidence. Now comes the next challenge: learning how to turn possession into danger. We need better movement, more precise passing and more effective combinations in the final third.

Having the ball is important, but we need to make our opponents feel threatened by it.

And now, the focus shifts immediately to what comes next. We have three very important matches ahead, and we need to win. This is the moment to stick together, work hard in training and turn our progress into results.

Let’s keep the fighting spirit, learn from our mistakes and be ready for the next challenge.

MOTM: Alvaro, whom we thank very much for joining us and helping us in this game

Come on, Greens! 💚⚽️