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

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?

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! 💚⚽️