Leci (Nnamdi), Schmidt (Obinna), McLaren, Loney, Poutakidis, Buckley (Karaljevic), Townsend, Pinz (Shaw), Saad, Sejdic, Roseburgh.

While Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth, and Chelsea and Aston Villa played out dress rehearsals for their English FA Cup semi-finals, Hotspurs and Brewerkz did the same at ITE Simei ahead of their Cosmoleague Cup last 4 encounter in a little under 3 weeks time.

Both sides could have been forgiven for sitting back in the early exchanges, weighing each other up, and sniffing each other out like potentially friendly yet tentative dogs in a park, but there as to be none of that, as both teams went for it from the word go.

The first half was full of end-to-end football, with players making light of a poor, heavy pitch that could do with a roller and some scissors. In fact, it was in dire need of a visit to the salon, and has to be in question as the venue for such an important match as the upcoming semi-final. If Arsene Wenger was left fuming at the state of the St Andrew’s pitch last weekend, heaven knows what he would have made of a surface at Simei that produced more bobbles than a Lapland hat factory in early December.

The Hotspurs created by far the better chances in the first half and were once again let down by some characteristically disappointing finishing. Shorn of a couple of regulars, and with only one out-and-out central defender, players were asked to fulfil unfamiliar roles, and in Ally L and Jamie T we had a couple of individuals who warmed to the task and had excellent matches.
 
Unfortunately, in one of Brewerkz’ few forays into the Hotspurs’ box, a failure to clear the lines led to the opening goal, as a sclaffy shot somehow found the back of the net off a couple of defenders’ shins, a divot Sergio Garcia would have been proud of, and an unsighted (he says) keeper.

Had Elvis Presley taken his seat in the stands during the half-time break there would have been more of a sense of belief among the Hotspurs players, whose incredulity at being a goal down at the break was keenly felt.

After a bit of a blast from the gaffer, laced with Henry V/Deepak Chopra-style motivational ruses, the Hotspurs put in a first class second half performance, scoring 3 goals in 15 minutes and more or less putting the game to bed.

Sam stroked us level with a penalty 16 minutes in (no complaints from Brewerkz after a blatant handball in the box), before Ally R celebrated his first full game of the season with delightful lob – latching on to a superb ball from Brian who delivered from the half-way line, immediately prior to his nose bleed and treatment for lateral vertigo.

If Hotspurs’ second goal was good, the third was even better. Marko came on as a second half substitute and proved as hard to dispossess as a rabid Doberman with his teeth clenched around his favourite Winnie the Pooh toy, and finding himself in space just outside the box (space he had created for himself), flighted an impeccable chip over a flailing Brewerkz keeper. With his left foot, some more! 

Despite the home side pulling one back before the end, Hotspurs hung on fairly comfortably for what every neutral would agree was a well-deserved 3 points.

There were some outstanding performances: Brian and Ally playing at the back together for the first time developed an instant understanding and were very effective; Jamie played his holding role superbly (although the fact that he was tethered to his centre-backs may have helped – did anyone notice the string?); Aran was rampant in the first half and found lots of space, while Florian proved once again what an excellent team player he is – his selfless running and tracking back was such a vital aspect of the side’s performance; and Abbas showed glimpses of what he is capable, always looking for the killer ball and threatening every time he was in possession. A quick word too for Henry on his debut, putting in a nice little cameo in the closing stages.

Major plaudits though go to Ally R whose return to the fold following injury has been most opportune, and whose spirit and hard work was an example to everyone else, and who scored a sublime goal – anyone else would have taken it with his left foot and aimed for the top right.

Man of the Match though goes to Sam for his industry, endeavour, hard running, tough tackling, and an all-action performance that saw him cover more ground than the world’s largest tarpaulin. I don’t think anyone’s seen a more attacking display from a left back since Roberto Carlos received his first Playstation for Christmas.

Anis also had a good game, despite being in Hong Kong and not playing.