Hermes 0 - 0 RBBFC Matchday 5 of the 26-27 season

Line up:

Fede

Seba-Matthias-Dex

Sebi-Max-Wanis-Robin-Paul

Daniele-Boni

Subs: Luka, Tarik, Andy

Off the 1s come from 4 straight wins to a never easy fixture against Hermes away. Beautiful day for football in the best day of the week starting with the right foot with what seems to be the least stressing arrival of the season starring Wanis; who for the first time since I met him, arrived on time. During the week and the pre match speech the tone was set clear that it was going to be a TUFF match with few goals and where a mistake could cost dearly; after all, in the past 2 years the 1s have only managed to beat this side once. It seems to be a trend that every team we play against becomes much better when we face them and if you ask me, that's what happens to big clubs at all levels of football, and that is why we have to set the standard as high as we can.

After a warmup in a 40,000 capacity stadium we went to a pitch that felt like a cage; with walls near the sidelines and buried underground, if one would not know better it almost seemed as if it was planned by the opponents. Hermes was a defensively organized squad which was hard to cut through, but also had a few very talented players on the midfield and defence who would constantly try to find via long balls their two strong and tall strikers; overall, they are a squad that knows their assets and how to use them efficiently to their advantage. However, the 1s were up for the challenge and from the very first minute of the game the control and intensity were high with the rhythm being set by us. The first half was characterized by the 1s moving the ball efficiently through the lines and creating chances while keeping a razor sharp focus in defence. This was demonstrated through numerous chances created such as a long shot from Robin that barely went over the crossbar or by moving the ball through the sidelines into the box where Paul and Boni had some chances but unfortunately couldn't find the back of the net. The rest of the half was very intermittent due to their direct playstyle and constant whistling from the ref which impeded the game to grab a true rhythm. It also demonstrated that the 1s were locked in defending and only received one shot in the whole match from a cross targeting one of their tall strikers which Fede controlled fairly easily. During half time the captains’ messages were clear that transitions had to be made efficiently and that through our football we would score but that it was essential that we kept the focus since a mistake from us could lead to a goal and especially in this game that would be hard to come back from.

The second half was predicted on their instagram during the week, the 1s through our strengths and footballing capacity were creating chances, especially from longer distance shots, combinations and when the opponent tried to play, through good pressings while Hermes practiced the growing in popularity tactic of haramball and long balls to their strikers. As the second half progressed, in came Luka for Wanis, followed by Dr. Dunn for SEBI (important distinction for future MOM votes) and Daniele came out for Tarik who after a coffee and redbull in the changing room was ready to run as much as Paulie and as fast as Boni. During the second half Hermes were unable to touch the ball in our box and our defenders despite being smaller were winning most headers while the rest of the team was ready to collect the second balls. While offensively and with the clock playing against us desperation and frustration of not being able to score started to creep in and it was understandable since good chances got created like the most clear chance of the game where Sebi recovered the ball in their buildup and found himself on a 1 on 1 against the keeper but his shot went wide. Other clear options included a great header from Daniele which went wide or a left footed shot from Luka which the keeper caught. The minutes went by and after what felt like a very frustrating match the 1s were unable to break the wall and we ended up bringing a point home which the opponents celebrated with their large crowd as if they had won the league reminding us, how big the club that we play for is.

Even if the result was not what we expected and as the captains said, we must be proud and carry on the positives that the management of the game was there, a clean sheet was obtained, and a point from a tough visit keeps us in the fight for the lead since next Saturday we receive the Irish for a derby day! On a more personal note, I would like to thank Mike Davies, Neil Wright and the ‘Old Guys’ who take time off their Saturdays to come support the team and remind us about the club that we play for and that even after a non desirable result, the laughs and high spirits are always there.

In spite of a doubtful man of the match vote with potential confusion between SebI and SebA it is always nice to write a match report because after all we are Living la PURA VIDA!

Pa pa pa pa ra Chinchilla!