FC Irlande Men 2

Pattatencross day in Nossegem and we were in for a rollercoaster. Fasten your seatbelts.

FCI came with an amazing 15-strong group, full of confidence, but also back against the wall: 4 points on the counter, meaning just 1 up from their opponents of the day, bastards Étincelle. All or nothing it was. Faced with the high stakes, Ireland rose up to the challenge from minute one, reproducing one of their favourite training drills on the first play of the game: nice move from the back, ball played down the left wing, Lolo found in the half space, and a back cross to Joao who nets it in with a magnificent left foot half-volley. 1-0 Ireland, game on.

But it couldn’t be that easy. Étincelle pushed, hit the crossbar, and after a clearance in the danger zone, FCI’s old demons soon resurfaced as a lone player at the edge of the box managed to send the ball home right over Maxi. 1-1. Right after that, a missed long pass from the middle allowed Étincelle to send their striker through, and place it perfectly in the top left hand corner. 1-2, Ireland stunned.

But the boys showed no sign of fear or resignation. Heads back up, they went on attacking mode again, and the equaliser came as Deo found Ewan in the box, who converted a perfect low cross-shot from a sweeping 10 meters distance away from goal. New range unlocked. 2-2. FCI thought they were back in the game. But little did they know that the infamous Captain Casino was just around the corner, cape on. A bad touch in an anodyne position, Étincelle got the ball back high, and didn’t miss their chance. 2-3. It’s HT.

And there kicked in the spirit. After all it was only one-nil, isn’t it? The boys remained calm, driven, confident. They tested Étincelle’s defence, kept getting corners, and out of a muddle Matty B managed to find Tarp, who slotted it home in a fox in the box fashion. 3-3! This time we had it. More corners, two close headers from our gambler in chief, and another cross which the keeper only managed to push in front of him. Who was there? Filippo Tarpedo. 4-3.

Still a good 20 minutes to go though. FCI trying to hold the fort, in the manner of Ivar (FCI debut!) who decided to step on his winger’s foot every single time he had the opportunity to, and things were volatile: Joao hits the post, Étincelle get their chance out of a bad pass from the back… and they miss it. Cette fois c’est la bonne. Out of an Étincelle corner, Lolo kickstarts the counter from the left of our box, sends Conor on a 40 meter run to Mars, aiming for the edge of the box… can he get there before the keeper? No. Wait. Maybe. Nah. Oh fuck he may. Wait, wait, he’s there!!! Little flick to his right a millisecond before keeper gets the touch, offering Ewan a double on a plate. 5-3, FT. Wow!!!

Amazing performance, and weddings aside, this is it: we’re on a roll. MOTM Ewan. Now off to the cas’ baby !!!!

Scandal rocked the Brussels Times this morning as recently assigned captain was captured drunk, late night at a Casino. Further controversy followed as his two mistakes led to two goals. The boys in green started off hot, moving the ball quickly and efficiently, making some strong chances. Though about 10 mins in a loose pass back to the goal keeper was collected by the Brits and slotted away. Though heads did not drop, and FC Irelande continued to push. 5 mins after another mistake by Baur resulted in dropping 2-0. The start of the 2nd half, the boys were unperturbed, put in a valiant effort, moving the ball quickly, running through the British midfield. Fantastic chances by Deo, Costi, Euan and Matt, though unfortunately none of them could be converted. A 2-0 defeat did not represent the effort and the quality play put in by the boys in green! Capped off by a truly magnificent performance by George winning man of the match. No doubt, in the home fixture, the British will fall.

The official motto of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union goes “Ní neart go cur le chéile” which translates to “there is no strength without unity.”

To right the wrong of the pre match league table, as pointed out by the manager of men Liam Rosenior could only wish he was, this motto was needed to be channeled and the Irishmen, with a full squad itching to compete for places, delivered in style.

Anyone looking at the table pre match would have quickly learned that this was going to be a much tighter battle than the standings suggest as both sides showed threatening flashes.

While the eagerly awaited return of Joao Pedro “Who?” Rosa promised goals, it was his link up play that broke the deadlock providing an assist to “Lamb-Chop” who, for him, still had a lot to do for a whole metre from goal.

FCI knew the game was far from done at half time and the defence’s focus was tested under early second half pressure against the wind. After weathering the storm and with the help of a Tarp assist, Lolo watched his excellent strike hit the post and almost hit the opposite one but beautifully fell the right side to kill any Auderghem momentum.

With his proud father on the sidelines and the faint sound of wedding bells already in this head, Lolo was not done putting the final nail in Auderghem’s coffin. After a poor clearance, the ball landed to his feet with 35 yards from goal and a scrambling keeper, the captain made it look easy with a looping long range shot.

With competition for places in clear view, the subs introduced did not let up and were determined to finish how we started. The returning Fernando “Curious” Jorge came back with a bang and got a well deserved goal after a beautiful give and go with Benji.

There were shouts of “the season starts here” at full time and for Coco, I guess that is true. One win from one with his beady eyes watching over, FCI left Nossegem in high spirits on the glorious Saturday, thirsty for celebratory pints in the funky and even more thirsty for more wins on the board. 🇮🇪 🍻

FCI II 4-0 Ambiance Auderghem. MOTM captain Lolo with a very honourable mention for the impassable Ahmet.

Hope’s where high as the Irish headed out La Hulpe, captain Matteo brought his papa to show him how he’s become a real man since he left the house 15 long years ago.

With Papi back from injury, Nate remembering who his real team is, Jamie reborn from the dead, and the Lorenzo graciously helping us out, things were looking good. Matteo said the other team would be young and technical. Their average age was maybe 40.

The game started and FC Irlande got off to a hopeful start, decent passing and holding the ball. But then things started to fall apart. A ball over the top over Nate and their right wing was away followed by a cross and finish that we failed to track. 1-0.

Unfortunately this did not wake us up, and we spent the rest of the first half losing the ball, taking too long and being out of position. Jimmy stepped on the toe of an opposition player and was accused of “lacking empathy”. Only god can judge that in the end. Their right back sometimes chose to waltz through the middle uncontested, the hunger wasn’t their. Nate went off as Papi entered and Matt dropped into the backline.

Half time and heads were low, not much positive to say. Lolo made a rousing speech calling us all to be more passionate, a bottle was thrown. Mourinho would’ve been proud.

But the second half started like the first, and a through ball cutting straight through the middle and their striker was away, slotting it in the corner. 2-0. We’d hit rock bottom. But there was still something left in the tank.

Out of nowhere, the Irish sensed something in the air, playing a questionably offside ball down the wing which after a few ricochets bounced to Papi who put it in off the inside of the crossbar. 2-1

Alamos straight away from kick off we were back at and a scramble in the box left the ball at Lolo’s feet. His shot was saved but the rebound came straight to his head and he slotted it back in the corner. We’d made it back 2-2. There was a feeling that we could even steal it at the end.

Then the unthinkable happened, after a Wednesday night spent practicing corners over and over again, we left a loose man at the back post who headed home to give La Hulpe the lead. 3-2.

Jamie entering the pitch with hunger and vitality was not enough to save the day, legs were heavy, structure was lost, balls were not finding green shirts. As the clock ticked down our chances grew more slim. The final whistle sounded and heavy heads trudged to back to our bench.

Hadri had the good idea of playing well for 70 mins instead of 15. Inspiring stuff. Neil blamed the pitch and said we were all talented. Thanks Neil. In the end, not a full team and pretty much everything was not good enough.

Finished with a beer and a very dodgy spelling of one our teammates “Conner” by Mr Freedom himself. 🦅🇺🇸

3-2. MOTM Jamie.

The Brits came to Nossegem trying to conquer Irlande. This battle has been tough for both sides, with Irlande being the team creating the most chances.

Score at halftime : 0-0, after 35 minutes of strong physical duels.

The beginning of the second half was as intense as the first half. After 15 minutes, a deflected ball comes into the feet of a British player, doesn’t hesitate and calmly put it into the back of the net. 0-1.

Irlande created many chances in the last 20 minutes, like that backheel of Nick saved on the line by the keeper. We deserved to score a goal but that’s how it is.

FT : 0-1

However, the spirit was there, and we can be proud of ourselves. Our time will come !

The Brits have won that battle, but not the war. Rendez-vous is taken : 12th December 2026 to get our revenge !!

Heads up, we will get there !

MOTMs : Tarp, Villu and Ewan !

Come on Irlande

The green army, set up by inspiring words like: “if we loose, we will do it with pride”, was ready to kick some suburban butt!

First half kicked off, and even though the weather showed tropical, the greens were far from holiday form. The first half was characterised by lovely play and pressure from the Irish lads. “A defence more solid than the Berlin Wall”, a former soviet commented @⁨Villu Varjas ⁩.
But an attack without much grit meant 0-0 at half time.

Second half kicked off, and the Irish army were confident: we were better, faster, stronger, and we will score more goals. After 5 minutes, a few changes at the front gave the team some renewed power and energy. The defence, rock solid, gave nothing away. It was just a matter of time before the Irish would lead. But, our worst enemy today made its final mark: Time ran out, and Irelands pride was left disappointed. A must win tuned into an unfortunate draw.

Alas without success, the green lions concluded, that the match showed many positive signs and that with a little more focus and determination in the last 3rd, the Irish will be a tough opponent this season.

Let’s go lads!

The new season is underway! And while some boys were still enjoying the final days of their holidays, the few who had actually committed to the new campaign arrived at Nossegem with plenty of spirit and energy.

Boulevard of Broken Dreams was doing its job on the speaker, providing some well-timed tunes, while Holiday attempted to rally the troops with a pre-match speech full of… fresh air. A fitting start to a season that promises plenty of good vibes.

At Nossegem, there were no signs of the heatwaves of past months. The cornfields were standing tall, the synthetic grass was still suspiciously green, and, as always, the strong crosswind was there to welcome us back.

First Half

Pharma SC kicked off and were dominant from the start. Holiday had warned the boys that they were allegedly made up of several ex-provincial players, but that didn’t stop Basket Case from generously helping them out.

A no-look pass to the outside of the box — straight into the feet of a Pharma player — allowed them to calmly finish for 1–0.

Their No. 13 on the left wing continued to cause havoc, and after another dangerous attack from that side, the ball bounced around the box before eventually finding its way into the back of the net.

2–0.

Half Time

No panic. Just good vibes.

The message was simple: play better football, keep our heads up and enjoy the first game back. After all, it was only Matchday 1 and half the squad still seemed to be mentally somewhere on holiday.

Unfortunately, No. 13 had other plans.

He broke away again early in the second half and made it 3–0.

Brain Stew then decided there was nothing left to lose and instructed the boys to press like a bunch of headless chickens. Surprisingly, this seemed to work.

FC Irlande started creating more dangerous situations, putting Pharma under some pressure and finally getting their reward. From a free kick, the ball rebounded off American Idiot’s head and Know Your Enemy was there to head it home.

3–1. Game on?

There were a few more opportunities to make things interesting, but with this being the first game of the season, the finishing boots were clearly still packed somewhere between the beach towels and the holiday luggage.

The final whistle brought an end to the first chapter of the new campaign. Plenty to improve, but also plenty of positives to take from the second-half response.

🏆 MOTM: Hitchin’ a Ride

Making his debut with the band, Hitchin’ a Ride put in an encouraging first performance and showed plenty of promise.

We’re looking forward to seeing what he can bring for the remainder of the season.

Final score: FC Irlande 1–3 Pharma SC

One game down. The holidays are officially over. Now let’s get this season started. 🍀⚽