Tricoteuses FC

On an oddly warm September Saturday, the Turds marched on to face the newly promoted Tricoteuses on their own pitch. Starring 3rds veteran Matt on centreback next to Aravind, Dan as the 3rd different goalkeeper in the last three games, and a new number 10 in Sylvain, hopes were high to begin with.

The match started with some back and forth and some good combination in the midfield that led to a couple of good opportunities for FC Irlande, but Massi just seemed not to be in the mood for scoring today as he went in to take a great cross from Thor and bash it on the crossbar instead of burying it. After a clear penalty on Shane that the ref did not even considered to give, our softness in the duels finally cost us dearly: ball was deflected after a corner kick and stayed up for grabs for what felt like 5 minutes, but lack of decisiveness left our opponents free to take advantage in our small box. Header goes in: Turds are down 1-0.

Despite being the better team on the pitch, we just couldn’t find ways to create clear chances, and after some more good fights across the pitch, the ref thought it would be a good time for both teams to take a break.

The second half started better than the first one in terms of attitude: more commitment to the cause and better fighting spirit from the lads, we were not gonna let them get away with it without a fight at least.
Ivan made his official debut for FC Irlande, subbing in for Scott, and Ulysses took the place of Massi in the midfield. Very solid contribution by both our subs. As time went on, we were pushing further up, imposing our game and creating chances, although the goal was still missing. Finally, after a bouncy ball stayed in the box after a cross, Uly found Aravind on the left side close to the penalty spot and our newly appointed centreback would flick it with a perfect first touch in the opposite corner for the deserved draw: 1-1.

Pressure from the 3rds did not stop as we could sense that we were too close to let this one go, and indeed we made it happen..somehow: smelling blood (and the fact that their keeper wasn’t very good), the Turds pushed on. A slick through ball sent Sylvain through, he shot, it deflected, and their defender kindly finished the job for him. Own goal: 2-1 to the good guys.

With only a few minutes left to go, the focus was on not giving our opponents easy chances, but in a heartbreaking end of the game, a bouncy throw-in slipped through our defense and a couple of missed clearances left Tricoteuses striker comfortably alone for an easy shot on target: 2-2.
The final minutes were chaos: Saul came on, Uly hit the crossbar with a rocket (the bench swore it bounced in, but VAR proved once again to be useless), and we threw everything forward. No winner came..

A rather sad draw against a team which is certainly below our level, once again with a goal conceded in the last few minutes. Thankfully, Scottie was there to cheer us up with his stories about his struggles to get into reading, and Wilf’s “You fucking cunt!” end-of-the-game shout to the human mountain that was the opponent’s captain is always a morale-booster (especially when followed by “Sorry, you are actually a very nice guy”).

The final result does not tell the whole story of the match, but we pay our softness on 1-on-1s, easily avoidable mistakes and some bad luck towards the end… but the tide will turn! We again showed we are capable of playing decent football and that we deserve more. Time to prove we can get 3 points next Saturday against Asturias. Up the Turds!

MOTM: Sylvain