matchreport - 06-Mar-10 - hotspurs v. german as
Team German AS
Author GAS Management
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 Hotspurs went into the match on a high, having beaten Casuals, Latini and Hibs convincingly. The GAS side, on the other hand, were somewhat depleted by the absence of several key players including Sascha, Tommy, Madse, Schoko, Dennis and Zafar. A mix of young newcomers, one comeback kid and some of the more experienced warhorses had to fill the voids, living and fighting coach Joerg's strategy on the pitch: focused and defensive play with "Viererkette", strengthened by a double six, a quick passing game, waiting for counter attacks.

After a dangerous corner was cleared off the line by Cyrill, who celebrated his comeback after many months of absence, the first 30 minutes belonged to the Germans who indeed managed to orchestrate an attractive passing game, putting the Hotspurs defense under pressure. It was Cyrill's runs and crosses who had the strongest impact, allowing Micha and Alex to unleash several dangerous shots. At the same time the defense stood solid, creating plenty of ball possession.

Only after 36 minutes Hotspurs had their first real scoring chance when one of their strikers capitalised on a misunderstanding in the GAS defense, but Rene was on alert to kill the one-on-one opportunity. Barely 60 seconds later it was new joiner Marco who, from 10 yards, lobbed the ball over the Hotspurs goalie - and agonisingly close over the goal. Agonisingly close was also Volker, but his head didn't connect to a superb cross from Micha after 44 minutes. 0-0 it was a halftime in an entertaining and good game of football.

Micha kept creating opportunities over the wings. In the 52nd minute Marco connected to yet another great cross, but his torpedo header missed the goal by a whisker. Two minutes later Cyrill's shot from just outside the box was equally close. Marco, who had a very good game tried his luck from the distance twice, but the Hotspurs goalie parried on both occasions. During this period the Germans might have thought that the question regarding their first goal shouldn't be "whether" but "when".. Indeed the pressure was kept up until the final quarter of the match with several counter attacks craeted but ultimately not converted into anything tangible due to somewhat inaccurate passing or the Hotspurs' well organised offsite trap.

Hotspurs than changed their tactics by throwing a third striker into the fray ... and suddenly the Germans found themselves under enormous pressure. A series or corner- and free-kicks created several dangerous situations but in the end the GAS defense (comprising 11 players during the final 5 minutes) stood firm.

0-0 it was when the referee blew the final whistle, a fair result in a fair and (as always between GAS and Hotspurs) good spirited match from both sides.

Although some Hotspurs players may not necessarily agree, the referee did very well throughout the match, not least by allowing both teams a short break after 25 minutes in the first, and 60 minutes in the second half, given the extreme heat at Dempsey on this Saturday afternoon.

Florian Schmidt
AN ENTERTAINING GOALLESS DRAW BETWEEN GAS AND HOTSPURS AT DEMPSEY
 GOAL
Rene "The Earthquake" Schieber

DEFENSE
Timo Alberts
Herrmann Bergmann
Sascha Maric
Philip von Pein

MIDFIELD
Cyrill Binder
Alex Bursak
Marco Kotterer
Dennis Thun

STRIKERS
Volker Giebitz
Michael Klemm

SUBS
Hendrik "Finch" Bohne
Markus Dolenga
Florian Schmidt
Dejan Weih
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