Matchday 8 of 26 – RBBFC 1 vs Choule Auderghem 1

This week’s match saw us at Château Rosières for a top of the table clash against Choule Auderghem 1. With their 100%-win record with seven from seven and our undefeated run of six wins and one draw, it was bound to tuff game. Autumn is now upon, but the unpredictable Belgian-weather gods were in a good mood so despite the cold, at least we had some sun. We arrived at Rosières to catch a glimpse of Spencé trying to assert dominance in his own family, which he achieved; scoring in the 3-1 victory of his brother­in-law’s team. Congrats Spencé! As usual, spirits in the changing room were high as the loudspeaker arrived on time, and Capi Sue Vlaki quickly announced the starting 11 in our usual 3-5-2 formation:

Fede Nico, Matthias, Seba Josh, Max, Rob, Luka, Paulie Wanis, Boni

Reeeeally strong bench: James, Andy, Daniele

Coaches Extraordinaires: Tarik, Tiago, Charlie

Those who were missed: Dex, Big Ben, Dani Donner, Sebi (not Seba)

More good news followed as we arrived at our normal warm-up cage: it was actually open! Though Paulie did almost join Choule the moment he saw how serious they took their pre-game yoga. Anyway, the warm-up felt short today as the referee was, like everyone else, eager to get this game underway. After explaining his rules (which was very nice of him!), we were ready to get started.

First Half

We started the with the ball and with the sun in our eyes, an added spice to the challenge our defence would already face against the front three of the opposition, who started in a 4-3-3 formation. Good news for Nico though, who prefers to keep his eyes closed whenever possible (see any photo in the group chat). It was whirlwind start to the game. We kicked off with an immediate long ball from Rob Paulie to put immediate pressure on the defence for his first of 54 intense runs. Yes, 54. Right after, Matthias was asked questions defensively before playing a long ball, and with the Choule keeper clearing, Luka intercepts and combines with Boni, Nico, and Wanis to play Josh up the line for an attempted cross. All that, only for a minute later for Choule to have a corner, forcing a great save from Fede in goal to push the ball wide for another corner and clear it again the second time of asking. “Calming” a bit after the start, both defences were happy to play the ball around the back and had some patience going forward. Choule, having three fast attackers, enjoyed playing the long ball, which was well handled by our back three. Our first good chance came from a long ball from Robin to Paul, with the Choule full back slipping, Paulie collected the ball on the wing and cut inside, but had his shot blocked by the Choule centre back. First corner for us. We spoke of the front post ball... which absolutely didn’t come, as ball went back post to Paulie who volleyed over the bar. For the next short while, play was fairly end to end, with both teams recovering the ball well with spells of passing inbetween. Any entry into the final third for either us was dealt with well defensively. At one point, Seba got bored with this and played some nice one-twos with Luka, pushing forward from our box just past halfway. Our defence continued to handle any major threats, as one of Choule’s forwards liked to drop deep to receive the ball before playing a ball over the top. We dealt with this well until one of the Choule strikers came one on one against Fede, somehow pulling the ball wide of the goal. On an instance for us, Wanis plays the ball for Boni who was clean through, but this was called offside, but we can all agree from the Veo he clearly wasn’t. Choule had another great chance from a corner, when the player found himself alone alone around the penalty spot heading the ball wide. This end-to-end dance continued with a good shot from Boni after cutting inside, as well as a left foot attempt and a trivela from Luka after intercepting the ball and being played through nicely by Boni. Overall, the first half was evenly matched. Both teams defensively solid, with us having some more passing between the defence and midfield, and both teams have some opportunities up front, though the chances from Choule were more clear-cut, and we didn’t capitalise on corners like we used to, or should be doing. Half-time, 0-0.

Second Half

The second half started lively, though we seemed play a lot more long balls rather than go through the midfield. An early challenge on Boni may have been a penalty, but the referee saw the ball taken cleanly, it seems. Both teams again seemed solid in defence, with more back and forth, end-to-end play. Luka continued winning his ariel battles, almost putting Boni through on one occasion, and Paulie continued pumping upthose rooking intense run numbers. Ten minutes in, Andy comes on for Nico, with Max dropping to defence, Luka dropping to midfield and Paulie going upfront. On Veo, we can also hear Tonton Tarik, who at this point says to me, “Andy, better to be conservative.” He was right, a few months later, Choule get a cross in from the side, with me now in a centre back position to head it clear. I then tried to burst forward up the line, but unfortunately Paulie ball through was intercepted (or was it just terrible? You decide). Choule pushed forward, breaking the midfield line forcing a stop from Fede. The half continued much like the first at this point: both teams having spells of play, with some decent passing play from both sides. It’s at this point watching the Veo that I’m realising our midfield are everywhere (in a good way), with Luka and Rob helping in defence and move the ball forward, and Luka and Wanis helping in attack. Yes, Luka is there twice. Another opportunity for us came when Max played a lovely cross field ball for myself to have a chance of a header. I was clearly to far inside the box, too eager for that chance, I was under the ball and had no chance of directing that header. Then, a few moments later, it happened. It happened. A clearance from Fede was met with a header from the opposition in midfield, then headed forward by Luka, Boni then cushions a header back to Wanis, who plays a lovely through ball to Paulie. Paulie and the defender both slide in for the ball, get to their feet as the ball heads towards the by­line with Paulie of course winning that battle. He touches away from goal and is kicked in the process. Penalty? No. He stays on his feet like the honest man he is. Referee waves “no penalty”. Paulie plays the ball back to Wanis who takes a touch before crossing the ball into the box. Then, time seems to stop for me. Luka turns his back to goal and rises towards the ball like a Croatian salmon and goes for the bicicletta. Dex would have been proud. But he narrowly misses the ball, landing on his head as he goes down (we’ll come back to this, sorry Luka). The ball bounces past the last choule defender, making its way towards me like the prophecy I’m due to fulfil. Clearly, all the side foot passing training has paid off, as I side foot the ball over the choule defence, it takes an age to travel and seems to float towards the back post. Before it reaches, screams from Fede can be heard on the Veo, as the ball hits the post and travels into the net. Elation. I, Andy “Chèvre” Dunn, have finally scored a goal after 7 years at RBBFC. However, the job isn’t done. Dani and James are subbed on with 15 minutes to go. Choule push. Looking for the equaliser. We push for that second goal, while trying to stay compact at the back. We hold our ground well. Pressing when we can and fighting for every ball. However, eight minutes after taking the lead, Choule play a long ball over the top. Max is there first, and clears with his left foot. With maybe not full contact on the ball, it goes straight to the Choule forward who hits it first time, firing it past Fede. A difficult one to save, and nine times out of ten, a shot like that ends up in the car park. But we can’t take anything away from the goal, it was a good one. The last 10 minutes saw the game carry on as it had done since the start. Therefore, I think a fair final score, 1-1. Final

Comments

There is always talk before games like this: “they’ve signed some ex-provincial players”, “they have the ex-Irish centre mid”, etc. etc. Frankly, we don’t care. We play our way. And no matter who we’re playing, we know we’re incredibly hard to beat, and worst case, we won’t go down without a fight. Today, anyone on that field could have won MOM, the intense and the effort from everyone was exceptional. It was very evenly matched between the two teams, and a draw was a fair result. We both deserve to be at the top of the table. It’s clear, therefore, that, if we continue our season like this, every point, every goal, and every effort is going to matter. Not just in these big games, but against teams lower in the table; Tonton has mentioned this several times already this season, so we keep pushing week after week. Despite the draw there were many things to celebrate today: Firstly, a HUUUUGE congratulations Luka and Kasia on the announcement of their pregnancy! We couldn’t be happier for you both :D Luka also celebrates 200 games for the club, along with Mr Chien and Mr Chèvre (Nico and Robin, interchangeably as you see fit) each celebrating 100 appearances. Finally, the joy experienced and shared today was incredible. Aside from the fact that I am beyond ecstatic to have scored (I’ve watched the video at least a million times), I enjoy watching the celebrations even more. We’ve talked and made jokes about this moment, and it finally came. I’m so happy to have shared it with you all, and it’s something I’ll remember for a veeeery long time. A wise man once said, “history deserves the right equipment”, but I have to add that it also deserves to be shared with the right people.

Take pleasure, Andy “Maybe No Longer a Chèvre?” Dunn