Match Review: Gaelic Lions FC vs Swiss FC

• DF Liam McGinley
• MD Petesy O'Brien
• -- Anders Jensen
• -- Ryan McEneaney
• -- Brett Bowman
• -- John Mescall
• -- Stephen Moran
• -- Brian O'Reilly
• -- Neil Corrigan
• -- Christopher Banks
• -- Kike Perconig

• DF Rob Church
• -- Michele Valente

The spy that wouldn't come in from the cold

Picture the scene, Saturday afternoon. Turf City, 2pm. Beautiful weather. A shiny new Emile Esky full of Falling Apple Cider, our new daily tipple thanks to our fantastic new sponsorship deal with 6 Drunk Men (Singapore's PREMIER alcohol distribution company!). A group of able bodied young men readying to play a game of association football. Well, not quite. The game started with the Lions in control, quick passing, movement, pressing the Swiss into errors and a great work rate from all of the players. Well, nearly all. The pressure we were putting the Swiss under took it's toll pretty quickly when an unforced error in defence saw the ball eventually break to Brett in the box and he tapped in for an easy finish. 1-0 Lions, which soon became two when Kike the Spanish WonderChild added a second. Scorchio! Half-time was about maintaining the high standards we had set ourselves with the only criticism being that we could have been more clinical in front of goal which is not to take away from the Swiss 'keeper who was playing a blinder. The second half played out in much the same way as the first with Kike the Spanish WonderChild absolutely running amok, challenged only for MOM by Rhino the Monaghan erm Rhinoceros who was charging about like the herbiverous megafauna that he is, with his thick protective skin, (1.5–5 cm thick, incidentally, formed from layers of collagen positioned in a lattice structure) and of course his large horn and relatively small brain causing the poor Swiss midfield to retreat back in to their jungle habitat. Additional goals by KTSWC and Brett finally put the game to bed before controversy set in, creating a deep fissure within the team dynamic from which I am unsure the very fabric of the Gaelic Lions will ever recover. With only two changes available it was planned that we would give Michele the Italian Stallion his debut, coming on for Brett with 15 mins to go. Banksy then pulls up an issue in one of his huge legs and he had to come off. The planned substitution would have to wait. Churchie, who was nursing an injury would have to come on, take one for the team as it were and soldier through the pain for the sake of the clean sheet at stake. But he has already taken at least two things for the team. Two bottles of Falling Apple Cider, our new daily tipple thanks to our fantastic new sponsorship deal with 6 Drunk Men (Singapore's PREMIER alcohol distribution company!). He point black refused to come on and help the team, forcing Michele to come on in place of Banksy, push Kike back into CM, with Rhino having to fill-in at center-half for Banksy and with that, removing the requisite level of drive out of the midfield and the game just petered away to nothing. It may as well not have been played because of Churchie. It doesn’t even matter that Rhino is our best center-half I am so annoyed with Churchie. We put up with him because he sometimes brings Rachel his lovely French girlfriend who smells terrific and I love her. But when he doesn’t what is the point? It was also Mescall’s last game for the Lions but I am so annoyed I can’t even talk about that now. MOM for us goes to Rhino the Spanish WonderChild from Monaghan and for the Swiss their goalkeeper who I want to sign to replace Anders. I am FURIOUS.

• Cyrill Binder DF
• Muhammad Fadhil DF
• Hamza Ben Naceur Gharfane MD
• Topher Stokkmo --
• Quirin Taubert --
• Benjamin Bringuier --
• Heinz Braegger --
• Edu Ciffre --
• Takayasu Yamamoto --
• Joe Giani --
• Gary Wong --

• Laurent Brutsch DF
• Urs Brutsch --
• Hassen Kared --

GAELIC LIONS VS SWISS 4:0

We had to dig deep again to field a team. Too many injuries and absences would make it very difficult for any coach to get consistent performances. If we have training sessions where we have about 4 to 5 players of the Cosmo League team you can't expect anything else. For the record: we gave away two early goals (what's new?) and only started to create chances in the second half. But when you are with the back against the wall, your shots go off the cross bar or are cleared off the line. That's football. More turbulence and uncertainty expected (buckle up!) with changes at the top, interim coach to be introduced mid week..... Friendly game against Hollandse next Saturday. A good chance for everybody to get game time.