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Hit the Bar Vs FC Polska
The build-up
After a default win last week, the first proper game of the season had been eagerly awaited. A lengthy three-week break saw Hit The Bar arrive looking fresh and in high spirits, although some doubts loomed about the lack of any pre-season training. A squad of seven showed up, with Turkish back in the fray after a lengthy absence. The opponents were new boys the Red Devils, who later became known as FC Polska, all kitted out in white, obviously they were unaware that this is HTB's colour, and that they were on dangerous ground by choosing the same.
First-half
A sluggish start from HTB, with little or no communication. Meanwhile FC Polska were loud and organised and capitalised by taking an early lead. After 5 minutes or so, HTB found some rhythm and scored some beautiful team goals helped by some top-notch finishing. The more HTB pressed, the more mistakes the FC Polska made and they began to become frustrated, and ended up going in at half time one behind HTB at 8-7.
Second half
The air must have been blue in the FC Polska changing room and whatever was said had the right effect because the start of the second half saw very tight marking and good organisation by the FC Polska, which forced HTB into some silly errors. The initial result was a good goal from wide on the right by the FC Polska and this was followed by a carbon copy seconds later, and then another, and another, until they were running out of carbon. With HTB's defence in ruins, and their finishing skills packed up and gone home, the team's heads dropped and they managed to add just 3 more goals to their first half total, whereas the FC Polska seemed to score for fun.
Match analysis
Final score: 15-11 to FC Polska. Where did it all go wrong for Hit The Bar? First of all, no team can expect to let in 15 goals in a game of 5-a-side and still win. The defence started off ok but just seemed to go AWOL as the game progressed. There needs to be some more collective responsibility within the team - if Owen is subbed off, who's going to cover at the back? If HTB go on the attack, who's covering back if the move break's down. And who's marking who? A couple of times when there was communication between HTB's players, the FC Polska found it hard to break them down. But as soon as the talking stops, the FC Polska invariably had a 2-on-1 somewhere. Some of the poor defence comes down to a lack of match fitness, which hopefully should improve over the next couple of weeks. As for attacking, at times HTB were sublime, but the finishing still needs to be worked on as many chances went begging. Perhaps some pre-match shooting and finishing would benefit the team?
Player ratings
Squirrel: New season, new hair colour. The number of saves he made probably flattered HTB when it came to the final score. Stopped countless one on ones but the opposition discovered a weakness and kept banging goals in from wide on the right, which on other days he might have stopped, although the blame can be shared with the defence for these - 7
Cock Boy: New season, new derogatory name. Ricky Organ appeared up for this one but like the rest took a while to get going. Good encouragement and communication when he was on the sidelines but needed to give more of that on the pitch. Didn't score any but made it clear that he was more of a provider, and to be fair he was. Could have scored a handful too but for some woeful shooting, and worryingly seemed pleased that "they were only going just over". Bad enough to be rated "the gay" this week and SURERANDOMALITY SPOONER - 6
Dancing: Started and finished sluggishly, but played quite well in the middle. Hit the top corner with both his goals but can be thankful to some good passing which allowed that to happen. Made some good blocks at the back but at times was caught in possession - 7
Owen: A slightly nervy start but soon got stuck in. Was probably HTB's most consistent and determined performer on the night and the team looked more solid when he was on the pitch. Scored a couple of beauties too, only criticism could be a tendency to be uncertain with the ball when in possession, sometimes leading to mistakes. Oh, and the blatant penalty he conceded, but still SURERANDOMALITY STARMAN - 8
G-Man: The crowd were hoping to see some of the G-Man of old - bristling with energy, determined tackling and well-earned goals. And there were glimpses of this, with two goals to his name the result, but he seemed to fade rapidly come the second half and finished disappointingly. Hopefully there is more to come - 7
Nez: The crowd were hoping to see some of the Nez of old - bristling with energy, determined tackling and well-earned goals. And there were glimpses of this, with three goals to his name the result, but he seemed to fade rapidly come the second half and an injury to his ankle and knee didn't help. Hopefully there is more to come - 7
Turkish: Back in the team after some time out, his game was a mixed bag. At times his touch was terrible but at other times he played some good passes and also contributed with a couple of nice goals. Was guilty of ball watching at times and he too needs to get some match fitness. - 6