MATCH REPORT: AS WONG 1–3

RBBFC Ladies and gentlemen and chiens, good morning! Or Dobar dan to our Croatian representatives, Lukić and for Sebać abroad having his little morning run of 41.43 km. I might challenge myself to do the same one day. (spoiler I won’t)

Saturday, October 10, was one of those days when the weather couldn't make up its mind. One-minute, glorious sunshine; the next, grey skies and temperatures colder than Alaska. Thank God someone thought of installing heating to keep our feet and boots warm as we prepared to face what, in my opinion, has been the best team we've played against since the start of the season: AS Wong, in Matchday 7 of the league. General Max Sue Vlaki was still having selection headaches right up until the last minute ahead of what had all the ingredients of a very tuff game. To be fair, this is a solid squad, and making certain decisions isn't always easy. BUT that's also one of the biggest strengths of this team. No surprises with the now customary 3-5-2 formation (thank you, Paulie, for the propaganda). The starting XI: • In goal: Fede (clean sheet today?) • The back three: Matthias, Seba (not Sebi), and Nico (not Zizou). • Right wing-back: Agent 007 Josh. • Left wing-back: Paulie not Paul. • The midfield trio: Captain AmeriMax, Rob (or Michou), and hat-trick hero SupernovaK. • Up front: Paul not Paulie and Daniele Le Rouquin Mineo. A verrrrrry strong bench, with Waniske, Dr. StrangeDunn, Uncles Philpot and Thom ready to enjoy the show and Coach Takir's legendary touchline screams.

First Half:

Wong Set the Tone The game started at a decent pace, with both teams fighting for every ball. However, Wong had the upper hand early on, forcing us to play their game, and it worked well for them. They had four players operating in midfield against 3 and we struggled to get a foothold in the game and keep possession. Defensively, they were solid and strong in the duels. They were clearly a quality side, and they made sure we knew it. Despite that, we managed to create a few promising situations that occasionally gave them something to think about. Still, there was no denying that Wong were the better side in open play during the first half. Then came the breakthrough. After an attack down the left led to a throw-in in our favour, Luka launched a long throw that Max flicked on beautifully at the near post. Boni was waiting in the perfect spot and finished with the inside of his foot, striking the ball on the bounce to make it 0–1. We created a few more opportunities after that, but nothing came of them. And despite going behind, Wong stuck to their game plan, putting together some genuinely impressive mouvements of play. They showed exactly why they're a team nobody should underestimate, with quality players all over the pitch. Eventually, after a somewhat chaotic situation in midfield, a VERY generous foul was awarded in favour of the home side. Hey, that's football. Wong were handed a free kick and, less than ten minutes after conceding, they found their equaliser. When asked about the goal, Fede had the following explanation: “When I was setting up the wall, I told everyone not to move. Except the wall was either too far to the left or too far to the right, I can't remember. I didn't see the ball being struck because the sun was in my eyes, and I was already thinking about the post-match chicken wings.” Well, there you have it. A combination of questionable wall positioning, blinding sunshine, and a goalkeeper whose mind was already at the dinner table. 1–1 at half-time. Jokes aside, the scoreline was fair. We knew it hadn't been our best half of football and, more importantly, we knew we were ALL capable of doing much better in the second half. The main objective was clear: keep the ball for longer, take control of the midfield, and force Wong to play our game instead of theirs.

Second Half:

Business Time And that's exactly what happened. We came out with much more control in the second half, particularly in midfield, and gradually started imposing ourselves on the game. Around five to ten minutes after the restart, Wanis came on for Seba, Andy replaced Josh, and Max moved into a wing-back role. I can't quite remember everything that happened in the build-up to the second goal, but from what I've heard, Max Sue Vlaki took the ball straight to his family jewels. The ball somehow ended up at Rob's feet, if I'm not mistaken, and he played it to Paulie, who provided the assist for Boni. Boni then made a run from almost the halfway line before finishing the move to put us back in front at 1–2. For those keeping track of the stats:

Pre-pre-assist: Max's balls. Pre-assist: Rob. Assist: Paulie. Goal: Paul.

20 minutes later the uncles came in to show how to play football James came in for Daniele and Ben for Matthias. Max kept switching positions as he was now playing center-back good all time. After that, we managed the game at our own pace. Wanis was having a lovely time in midfield and nearly got himself on the scoresheet after a good move through the middle, unleashing a left-footed strike that narrowly missed the top corner unlucky. But Wanis wasn't done contributing. He went on to deliver a magnificent assist for Paulie, who controlled the ball on his chest before shifting it onto his left foot and slotting home to make it 1–3. A beautiful goal to seal the game. Shame we couldn't record Paulie's celebration. Hopefully, there'll be plenty more to come very, very soon. Almost the Moment of the Decade We nearly witnessed something truly historic. Dr. Dunn found himself inside the box and came close almost scoring his first club goal after YEAAAAAAARS of service to the club. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be this time. But I suspect he's saving that moment for a game when the VEO camera is there to capture it properly. History deserves the right equipment.

Full-Time: AS Wong 1–3 RBBFC

An away victory against a very good Wong side. We showed character, adapted after a difficult first half, and took control when it mattered. Three goals, three points, and another important step forward. We're still two points behind league leaders Choule, whom we'll face next weekend. We ALL want that happy shower after that game, so let's switch on now. No excuses, no distractions. Time to get the job done.

Post-Match Notes A massive thank you to Paulie and family once again for hosting us at your place for Leo's birthday. Sorry, Chicken Wingsman ate all them. He was clearly having flashbacks to his prime back then. Fede, we're setting the target at a minimum of 15 clean sheets for the rest of the season. Achieve that, and you'll have all the chicken wings you could ever want. No pressure

Your reporter, Paul, Boni or Desiré depending on Daniele's mood.