RBBFC 2 – 1 Big Vollenback

Saturday 19th September 2026

Starting XI (3-5-2) :

Fede ; Seba, Matthi, Tarik ; Robin, Max, Wanis, Sebi, Josh; Paul, Boni

Bench : Nico, Dex, Dani

Roisières was bustling this weekend, with plenty of people taking advantage of the beautiful September weather and the arrival of the visiting Borgogno and Brown families.

After an impressive win against a very good FC Portugal, making it three wins from three, it was important to ensure complacency didn’t creep in. This was a key message throughout the team talk, even if Maxi somehow forgot to name any substitutes. Nothing had been won yet, and our opponents, Big V, were expected to be tough, physical and technically very capable.

From the first whistle, we started with real intent and immediately put Big V under pressure. They are a technical side who like to play out from the back, but our high starting position and aggressive pressing meant they were given very little time or space to do so. We pressed as a team, forced mistakes and looked to win the ball high up the pitch. The pressure quickly paid off, with Wanis opening the scoring to give RBBFC an early 1-0 lead.

The pattern of the first half was then established. We were aggressive out of possession, moved the ball quickly and with purpose, and created chance after chance. The only problem was that we couldn't quite find the finishing touch. Paulie, Boni, Josh, Sebi and Robin all had opportunities to kill the game off before half-time but were unfortunate not to add to the scoreline. Good saves, important blocks and, on at least one occasion, the net above the goal itself somehow conspired against us. Quite simply, we should have had the game wrapped up by the break.

The half-time message was therefore very simple: take our chances, or risk giving Big V a way back into the game. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened.

Big V remained committed to their style of football and, after winning the ball near the corner on their touchline, produced an excellent seven-pass move. A clever third-man run through midfield opened up the space, before an intelligent finish over Fede brought the game level. 1-1.

Our lack of composure on the ball at the beginning of the second half, pressing as individuals and those missed first-half chances had come back to bite us. But this family doesn't fold.

We're resilient. We're hard-working. And we sure as hell don't give up. The Big V equaliser seemed to wake us up. We began moving the ball quicker, playing through the thirds and regaining the intensity that had characterised the first half. As the final ten minutes approached, our mojo was well and truly back.

And then came the winner from our very own Secret Agent, Josh - who would have written this match report himself had he not decided to leave early. He doesn’t care about the Man of the Match. A poor Big V goal kick was controlled by Paulie, who played the ball out wide to Sebi. After a couple of composed touches, Sebi delivered an exquisite cross into the penalty area, where Josh was charging towards goal and powered a header into the net. 2-1.

The final whistle confirmed our fourth win from four games, leaving us with a perfect 12 points from 12 and sitting proudly at the top of the table.

I've added some data analysis below for those who are interested. The numbers can, of course, be interpreted in many different ways, and I've tried to highlight a few things that might help us going forward. But football isn't just about statistics. It's about feelings. It's about teamwork. It's about resilience. And, most importantly, it's about family.

Given the standards we've set for ourselves, some of the team were almost disappointed with the manner of the win - and perhaps that's a good thing. It shows the expectations we now have of ourselves. For me, though, there were plenty of positives from this game. There are certainly things we can work on, but ultimately, we came up against a good side, created plenty of chances, responded to adversity and found a way to win. Most importantly: three huge points.

The feeling and atmosphere around the team is brilliant at the moment, and there is no doubt that winning helps create that. However, as we all agreed on Saturday, absolutely nothing has been won yet. Now we need to make sure we continue to build on it.

The challenge now is to maintain the same standards every week - in every game and every training session. Keep encouraging each other, keep turning up, keep working hard both on and off the pitch, and most importantly, keep giving everything we have when Saturday comes around so that we can enjoy the best day of the week.

Personally, I can’t wait for Saturday and what promises to be another tough test against a very good and in-form Hermes side. Family votes or not, it is genuinely an honour to write these match reports. You never know when your last one might be.

So, thank you to the Borgogno family and Max for the votes this weekend. It's a privilege, as always, and hopefully I'll have the pleasure of writing the next one soon.

Four games. Four wins. 12 points.

Data Analysis – Bonus Content

Match Stats

Team Statistics

Shot Map

Summary

We created plenty of attacking opportunities, registering 20 total attempts and 18 shots with most efforts coming from inside and around the penalty area. Despite generating good chances, we only converted 2 goals, resulting in a 10% conversion rate, suggesting there is room to be more clinical in front of goal - shooting practice tonight? The shot map also shows that we consistently get players into dangerous attacking positions, particularly in the right side of the box (He’s so Josh), which is an encouraging sign for chance creation and attacking play.

Possession Location

RBBFC

Big V

Summary

The possession-location stat shows a clear contrast between the us and the Big V. For us, it shows nearly a split between the three thirds, suggesting we move the ball around the pitch quickly through the thirds.
Despite having less possession in the attacking areas, we played much higher up the pitch overall, with significantly more possession in the middle and attacking thirds. The Big V spent most of their possession in their own defensive third, showing how well we restricted their ability to progress the ball and kept them pinned back for long periods. This consequently helped us with both of our goals. In short, as The Big V played the ball around the back a great deal, we were able to restrict their ability to play through into the middle and attacking thirds. This meant that The Big V only had 8 attempts on goal throughout the whole match, of which 5 were from outside the box, 1 wasn’t actually a shot, and the other 2 came from errors on our behalf. A really strong team defensive performance and a big reason why we came away with the 2-1 win. This will vary from game to game depending on the opposition’s style and playing philosophy. However, given that Big V clearly wanted to build through the thirds, our ability to restrict their progression and prevent them from playing through the pitch was a strong aspect of our performance.

Possession this season

Summary

The reason I have included this in the report is that our possession levels have varied significantly across the three games. This clearly demonstrates that we are not reliant on dominating possession to win games. Instead, we have shown that we can find different ways to win, whether we have the majority of the ball or are more effective without it.

Individual Stats – Highlights

As an attacker, I probably pay a little too much attention to two statistics - goals and assists. But football is about far more than scoring goals or delivering the final pass. Just ask Josh, who firmly believes pre-assists should be included on the website. Maybe that's a debate for another day! The truth is that our four wins have been built on a complete team effort. Every player has contributed in different ways, and I've highlighted a few key statistics that have played an important role in our success. I didn't have time to dive into everyone's numbers, so I've simply picked out a few that really stood out. Seba - 34 successful passes out of 39 Wanis - 3 successful dribbles Sebi - 11 tackles completed Robinho - Involved in 16 key events of the game Josh - Top Speed of 20.8 mph Paulie - 47 High intensity runs I'm incredibly proud of every member of this team. We are all playing our part, and together we're building what could become a truly historic season. See you on Saturday! Paulie