Game #1 Recap: The Super Eagles Take Flight

It was almost the season that never was.  As the opener quickly approached, members of the TTC team slowly dropped out one by one leaving the very real possibility of leaving a decimated roster that would barely make it through a game of futsal.

Through the insistence of a few longstanding members, a big last minute recruitment push produced a workable roster of 15 players.  The addition of a few more from the free agent pool rounded the team out at 20.  And with that, the Super Eagles were poised to take flight.

Game Day

I was looking forward to wearing the green uniforms of Nigeria, which I thought would look like the above.  As it turned out, the Super Eagles of Leaside ended up looking like sashimi instead with salmon-coloured jerseys over sheer white shorts while our German opponents looked sharp in their black and reds.

The first game pitted us against the team formerly known as England.  If memory serves correctly, this was the same bunch of guys who were given a very stern warning by the league for complaining very loudly and very often to the officials.

The game started out tentatively for both sides as the rust of a long winter layoff became very evident by the lack of accurate passing and control.  The integration of new members certainly caused a number of miscues during transition but overall, the first half was tightly contested by both sides.

It was all tied up for the majority of the half until Glenroy opened the scoring off a bad bounce that slipped behind the back line of the Eagles' defense.

Some minutes later, Hassan quickly inserted his presence by lacing a clean 18-yard strike that would give Emenike a run for his money.

Not soon after the equalizer, the true nature of Germany showed as the players began chirping, pushing and shoving as the official started slowly losing control of the game.  Again, if memory serves correctly, this was the same official present at the infamous "You People" game from last year.

The second half played a bit differently than the first and the Eagles were able to regroup.  This team possessed one of the strongest midfield and center defense line last year and looks to continue this trend presently.  With Cordo and Pete controlling the tempo and touches in the midfield and Deon and Dennis catching everything behind them, the ball moved a lot more smoothly in the second half resulting in a number of beautiful opportunities including a gorgeous set up for Hassan.  This time, the field worked against us as a bad bounce lifted the ball up as Hassan started his strike resulting in a thing of beauty...if it were a field goal attempt.

All the while, the match got testier as more pushing, shoving, and mouthing off ensued including a very very loud "you bloody idiot" after their defender ran right into Pete...and bounced back like a Snoop Deville with hydraulics.  He is lucky he is still alive.

The game ended with a draw between the two teams that made it into the final four last season.We will meet them again on the 4th of July.

Player Reviews

As usual, the duo of Dennis and Deon played up to expectations with Dennis cutting off first passes and bounces while Deon cleans everything else up.

Wing defender Dave played a solid game and managed to slow down the opposing team's main player, Spanner.  Newcomer and swift-of-foot Derek proved to be very active and effective on the left covering off any stray balls and shutting down the right side of their attacks.

Cordo and Pete played their usual controlled touch game to dictate the tempo and flow.  A scary moment happened when Cordo got kicked  and suffered cramps on both calves, including one that he injured two weeks prior.

The rest of the midfield line performed well despite Gokhan playing half the game due to jet lag.  Newcomers Nicholas, whose jersey and shorts fit rather...uh...snugly, and Toru showed they can and are willing to adapt to this team's style of play.

The forward line features four speedy players in Hassan, Hughie, Rayan, and Steven plus Shaun and Hendrik who make up their lack of speed with grit and effort.

Players who weren't able to show up were Alex, Orrett, and David.

It will take some time for the new players to gel with the old but it is a long season and for a first game, I thought we did rather well. Understandably so, playing time will be skewed especially for the new additions so everyone will simply need to adjust their expectations.  We expect the core group to naturally have more playing time overall as we slowly work out the kinks in our system.

It is a long season and there is a lot of football to play.  If this first game is any indication of how we will do,  we are going to be just fine indeed.

Next game is against England at Sunnybrook 2 (6:45 PM).