Team: R. Eyssartier, M. Guarnaccia, G. Manfellotto, R. Lilliman, A. Gary, M. Pellegry, S. Friederichs, T. Si M'Hammed, W. Ouellette, S. Van Dijck, C. Deschamps, D. Yugueros, B. Thieffry, T. Golightly

A mid-october Saturday unlike any other, with a beautiful sunshine and a team focused towards one objective: victory.

The squadra, which is underserving of this title because there were few Italians present on the pitch:

DJ Romain Michel aka Roms

Guido of the Night Massi Smooth Operator Ryan the Clipper

Stefan Bale

Gary the Manimal Tarik Assassin Chilly Willy Pellegryno

Sioux See Me Charlie the Arsonist

Bench:

• Dani Dyer (EastEnders Dyer, not Love Island’s…)

• BenBenBen

• Tbag (RIP broken nose)

The game started strong and in upbeat rhythm. RBBFC 2 were clearly on top, building the play and passing the ball around like they have done few times this season.

Another habit of this season is to score few goals, so it was no different, we played out the position, but we didn’t really give their goalkeeper a run for his money.

Halfway into the first half, in spite of our fighting spirit and our motivation to remain on top physically, a misunderstanding between Romain and Guido about who should clear out the ball at the edge of the box creates a goal scoring opportunity for their striker, who does not hesitate to tap it in the back of our net. 1 – 0 for Ettekijs. Communication isn’t our strong point, and we learn the hard way!

It didn’t take long for us to fight back after this unsettling opening of the score. On a neatly taken corner by Tarik to the first post, Charlie flicks the ball with his head towards the center of the box, right in front of William’s feet, who meets a defensive wall that cannot be breached. The shot is deflected and falls right in Stef’s path, who whacks without hesitation towards their goal. Ball is deflected once again, but this time in our favor and the goalkeeper is chipped. 1 – 1.

The half time whistle is blown, and a draw isn’t satisfactory for neither of the teams, so the second half would prove to be interesting, with both teams taking extra risks to get the extra goal in. Pellegry, who gave it all on the left wing, preferred to leave his place to the energetic Ben.

Half-time talks were kept short but were encouraging as the team seemed to be composed and playing the ball around without hasting forward. Now the issue would be to find our strikers and distribute them balls in goal-scoring positions.

Second half is blown, and the team seems to remain steady and composed, with a few more gaps across the field. We let our guards down a little, which gave Ettekijs some more space to play, something their freshly subbed number 11 was keen on exploiting.

Disaster after a few minutes of play, number 11 is fiddling around at the edge of the box, far from being in a goal scoring position. He uses his speed to push the ball past Ryan, who reaches out a little too far with his thigh, trips the player over, and bruises his shin in the process. A tough decision for the ref, as the player is not in a goal scoring position, but there is physical contact that didn’t involve the ball. He whistles the penalty.

A well taken penalty below the crossbar, and it’s 2 – 1.

Anger was settling amongst the team, and that would prove to be fatal for the rest of the game. From then on, we lost the spirit, the defense was rushing balls forward, the mids couldn’t find each other, and the forwards were in systematic difficulty due to lack of support from a second line.

We fought, as we always do, but it’s not enough when you scatter around and stop building the game. A long ball far into their half flies across from the right to the left side of the pitch, number 11 controls the ball unchallenged, dribbles back across the right of the pitch, overtaking any challenger, and finds himself in a face to face with Romain. Ball lands in the side net, but on the good side…

3 – 1.

Disaster for RBBFC2 which had held up and dominated until the penalty, and completely fell apart after suffering injustices, but also let’s face it, blatant mistakes. Fighting spirit is an acquired feat of our team, but consistency and playmaking are clearly our weaknesses, so let’s keep it in mind for the remainder of the season!

A great day in any regards, as you learn from a defeat. The weather treated us well which made the third half all the much more enjoyable.

For next game, losing isn’t an option, as we need to get away from this relegation zone. See you next week!

Your reporter and MOM, W. Ouellette