SUL Cup match reports ‘08
Universal win the Scottish Unity League cup
Universal 4 Upfront 1
1st June, 2008
Upfront are the only team to have beaten UFC this season and they were fired up for the large Scottish Unity League Cup trophy as well as some recognition for their exceptional performance this season. Aware of the quality of this opposition, Moran fielded an alternative layout of his team which - at first - seemed so radical that some of his own players were surprised by their positions in this 4-5-1.
Ibby, as usual, in goal was defended by Justin, Sunil, Oday and Kwabi. Garfield was in holding midfield with Greg, Cutris, Maka and McGall from left to right midfield; and Jean-Yves was the lone striker in front. Brahmin, Raphael and Kevin waited in reserve.
Upfront kicked off and in the first minute, the Universal’s defensive discipline was going to be tested. But Oday made the tackle - the first of many he would make in this game - and knocked it out for a corner which was defended.
Then Universal pressed forward. A McGall cross fed a chance for Jean-Yves but it went just wide; from a corner Greg’s volley went over; after a link-up between Curtis and McGall a header chance for Jean-Yves went over; and a another chance for Jean-Yves was knocked out for a corner - which found Greg who was trying to thread the ball through, but play was stopped for pushing in the penalty area. Then in the 14th minute Jean-Yves settled in his lone-striker role with a 25-yard strike to put Universal into the lead 1-0.
Upfront fought back, with their strength in the air and accomplished strikers they attempted to prise apart Universal’s defence. But UFC was well organised and effectively closed down all their options with Oday - on his best form - making a series of well-timed tackles. Upfront’s best chance came from a free kick which resulted with a header on target, Ibby parried the ball out and Justin cleared for a corner. From this Upfront hammered a strike from range which was stopped by the post and bounced awkwardly in front of goal until cleared by Oday.
Then Upfront won a free kick in 30 yards out from Universal’s goal line and it went disasteriously wrong for them. They attempted to take it quickly with a high cross into the box but, instead, the ball bounced off the face of their own no. 11. The loose ball was picked up by Jean Yves who was unstoppable, running the ball all the way into Upfront’s penalty area and after going around their goalkeeper, extended Universal’s lead to 2-0.
Upfront responded positively with a couple of penetrating attacks into Universal’s penalty area. The first, a shot parried out by Ibby fell to Oday to clear, he was closed down but didn’t lose the ball until he was fouled and Bill awarded the free kick Universal’s way. Then the second came after an accurate cross beat everyone as it rolled in front of Ibby’s net - to a sigh of relief as it rolled on harmlessly out of play. The first half ended 2-0.
Universal kicked off the second half and for the first ten minute dominated the attack. A free kick won just off the corner of Upfront’s penalty area was taken direct by McGall but the ball went past the far post. Curtis cut in a cross which Maka headed on target but it was punched out by Upfront’s goalkeeper. Upfront successfully defended against two free kicks in their half. And a blazing Curtis shot from 35 yards was on target but drew a save.
Then Upfront dominated the attack themselves for a 10 minute spell. In spite of the possession, Universal’s back four were so well organised that Upfront could not get a decent ball into Universal’s penalty area. The difference in the quality of the two sides was now evident as Universal form was never stretched throughout this test. And this spell came abruptly to an end after a long ball forward was not properly cleaned up by Upfront’s defence, Jean Yves punished them by stealing the ball and beating the goalkeeper 3-0.
Shortly after that, McGall created himself chance when he had only Upfront’s goalkeeper between him and the net, he chipped it over and it seemed to start neatly on target, but after a bounce in front of Upfront’s open goal mouth, it went out for a goal kick.
In the 25th minute Upfront made the score sheet. After a spell of pressure they attempted to shoot from outside the penalty area - the first and second attempt was blocked by defenders but the third curled in towards the top right corner - Ibby with his view of the shot obscured could do nothing to stop it. 3-1.
Upfront then won two corners which were both cleaned up. They managed a cross in front of Ibby’s goal mouth but the striker just missed his header chance. And a free kick they won from the left corner of the penalty area came to no avail.
With 15 minutes to go Jean-Yves was - again - broke forward with only the goalkeeper to beat, but this time took too long to navigate around the goalkeeper and was dispossessed of the ball. After recieving a free kick from midfield Greg won a clear shooting chance and would have beaten the goalkeeper but his shot went behind the near post.
Then 5 minutes from time there was a moment of madness. McGall was fouled in possession and won the free kick near the half way line. But he was so incensed at Upfront’s player he went face to face with him and was pushed away. McGall just got up and went face-to-face again only to be pushed down to the ground. Bill showed the red card to McGall for provoking the hostilities and McGall turned his anger on the referee. McGall left the field only after Bill threatened to abandon the game.
The free kick was taken without too much hurry and passed to Jean-Yves, but it appeared as if Upfront’s defence was caught completely unaware with the hairs still raised on the back of the neck from the heated dispute. Jean-Yves blasted the ball in the net. 4-1. And this was how the game ended - with Upfront beaten and Universal crowned Unity League Cup winners 2007-2008 in a presentation after the game.
This success was not just the result of the quality in every part of the field in Universal - many players themselves credited Moran for his tactical knowledge of the game. But this is not a time to rest on the laurels - Universal and Upfront will be highly likely meet again in the Summer Cup competition.
Universal through to final after beating Hillhead 4-3.
18th May, 2008
The two semi-finals for the SUL Cup were played today. Upfront came from 2-0 behind to equalise in the final minute against Unreal and win the game on penalties. Universal had Hillhead to beat to meet Upfront in the final - of all the teams in the SUL this season, the two most difficult.
Moran fielded a strong line-up: Ibby in Goal; Adam, Sunil, DL and Justin in defence; Garfield in holding midfield, Curtis and Jean-Yves were on the left and right wingers with Maka attacking midfield; McGall and Oday as strikers. Greg, Raphael and Michael waited in reserve.
Hillhead kicked off and for the first ten minutes it was an attacking game with both sides looking dangerously close to scoring. But Universal would take the lead in the 15th minute. Curtis turned brilliantly in midfield leaving his marker behind, passed to Jean-Yves who drove the ball to the edge of the penalty area. Beating his defender, he crossed into the box for Oday to Finish. 1-0.
For the remainder in the first half, Hillhead had most of the possession and attack. However, Justin was conspicuously on form with his ability to read their game and intercept. And in the 5 minutes before half time he went a step further. While driving the ball through midfield, a one-two passing move with McGall opened up Hillhead’s defence enough for Justin to break into the penalty area himself and drive in a quality shot. 2-0.
After that, Hillhead had three free kicks and five attempts at Universal’s goal but to no avail: Ibby held all the shots taken direct from them dead ball and they struggled to get any clear shots from open play through the determined efforts of Justin, Sunil and DL.
In the second half Universal were poised to kick off. Since Hillhead’s goalkeeper was spotted off his line, Oday attempted to chip him direct from McGall’s kick off, he was not far over the post! Another chance came from a free kick in midfield, Sunil passed it long to Jean-Yves who skillfully held the ball on the edge of the box. He misdirected the whole defence with a dummy pass to Garfield and passed to Curtis, who calmly controlled the ball and slammed it in past the goalkeeper. 3-0!
But in the 10th minute Hillhead won a penalty. After a break through the defensive line Ibby had to come out to close down the last man and brought down in the box. In spite of the penalty being awarded Hillhead’s goalkeeper was incensed by what he felt was a sending off offence. Instead, Bill booked him for insubordination. The penalty was converted to close Universal’s lead to 3-1.
After DL came off limping and was substituted for Greg and the frenetic pace of the game increased. End to end. Ibby kept Hillhead out by tipping wide with a shot from close range with an extremely fast reaction save. And that save was going to prove valuable - in an attack, Jean-Yves tricked Hillhead’s defence and crossed to Maka who volleyed it in with Curtis close behind in support. Universal now led 4-1.
In the 20th minutes McGall came off for Raphael. Striker for a striker, but he had to help in defence while Hillhead pinned Universal in their penalty area with two corners. Some every tight defending kept them out by forcing their shots wide and over, one cross went skipping across the face of Ibby’s goal and no one was there for Hillhead to take the chance.
Then from a free kick 35 yards out, Hillhead scored direct from the dead ball with a shot that curled over the wall and into the corner. 4-2. And in the 30th minute, after Sunil’s touch let him down and he was beaten on the ball, Hillhead scored their third. 4-3 with 10 minutes to go.
But, rather than the last ten minutes being a frantic attack by Hillhead to get back in game, discipline broke down and two players were sent off: Hillhead’s #6 for a double booking and Greg for criticising the referee. Hillhead had two free kicks awarded but they were contained and Universal’s defence held on to the lead until the final whistle.
Universal go through to semi finals.
After Pronations won their game 3-0 the onus was on Universal to get points from this match since losing would grant Pronations a chance of levelling points and proceeding to the semi-finals on goal difference. Though Unreal Madrid have already gone through to the semi-finals, they were not going to sit back because, for them, losing this game could mean a difficult tie against Group A winners.
The line up was probably the strongest Universal have fielded in a long time: Ibby in goal; Adam, Justin, Sunil and Brian held the back line; Kwaby, Jean Yves, Greg and Makavelli in midfield; Oday and McGall was the partnership up front; and there was still strength in reserve.
After Unreal kicked off the game started at frenetic pace with possession switching sides frequently and the ball moving quickly from end to end. Within the 2nd minute a foul on Maka gave a free kick from 40 yards, it was taken short by Brian but McGall’s run was read and the pass intercepted. In the 4th minute a blazing run by Greg from the midfield straight into the box beat two defenders, but the third tackle managed to edge the ball out for a corner. This was taken quickly and short but the attack was broken down in a foul 25 yards out. Sunil took the free kick directly at the goal but the keeper managed to stop and held onto the ball. In the 7th minute another Greg run was intercepted and the pressure was turned around, but Unreal’s cross went behind for a goal kick.
Then a spell of quick passing yielded a chance when McGall saw space in the penalty box and chipped into it inviting Makavelli to finish, but he wasn’t fast enough to catch it before it ran out for a goal kick. Another chance fell when Brians high cross into Unreal’s box landed too far behind McGall to turn it around before two defenders closed him down. So he passed it back out for Oday to blast but his shot went just wide of the left post. In the 14th minute Oday broke into the box but a well timed sliding tackle put his ball out for a corner, from this Maka’s shot was blocked by the defence which was already running out so the next ball in caught Sunil offside. Then in the 16th minute - just after an Unreal shot was held by Ibby who kicked the ball back out into midfield - the deadlock was broken. A diagonal pass from McGall released Greg into space with a clear shot on goal at 20 yards which he converted to put Universal in the lead.
Greg’s first goal from 20 yards
The pressure did not ease off Unreal, they lost possession to Adam who attempted to chip the goalkeeper - but the keeper took it easily. In the 18th and 19th minutes attempts by Oday and McGall to link up were broken by Unreals’ defence. Then, from a foul on Oday in the 20th minute, the free kick was taken quickly to Adam who broke into the box with a fast run and crossed, but it was cleared for - yet another - corner. From here the pressure was turned round until, in the 22nd minute, Ibby read the attack and cleared the ball back out. It was picked up by Oday who, in an inspired run, took the ball into the box beating two defenders on the way. When the goalkeeper tried to close him down he chipped from 20 yards, but his shot was just inches over the post. In the 24th minute, Unreal’s # would produce a touch of class of his own by beating both Sunil and Ibby to equalise.
In the 26th minute, a shot from Kwabi was blocked and the rebound blasted at the net, but it was saved and held by the keeper. Another show of brilliance from Oday was turned wide by a save for a corner, then Sunil’s attempt to chip the keeper was held. In the 29th minute another shot from Oday narrowly missed. In the 31st minute Oday was felled 35 yards out, there were some injury concerns as it took him a minute to get back up. Greg took the shot but it was blocked by defence, he ran to retrieve the loose ball but was fouled. Brian took it this time, short, but Unreal were quick to run out catching Sunil offside again. Unreal turned this possession into a shooting chance but it was blocked and turned right back into a link up between Oday and McGall forced another save.
After another piercing run Greg found space and cut the ball in for an unobstructed shot but the pass was too short for McGall to reach. The last move of the first half was a corner awarded to Unreal, it was well taken and passed tantilising across the face of goal but no striker was in place to put it in, the loose ball was crossed back in again for second attempt and as good as the first one, but again, no striker in place to capitalise.
Moran insisted in his half time talk that there would be no change to the strategy. In addition to individual efforts from every player, combinations were also working well: Jean and Adam never failed to break through midfield on the right; McGall and Oday were causing Unreal to scramble to the defense every time they were on the ball and Justin, Sunil and Kwabi were successful in breaking Unreal’s attacks. However, there were some murmurs of dissapproval from the players (to put it politely) about some badly timed tackles.
Late tackle fells Jean Yves
Universal kicked off the second half and were on fire! Panicked, Unreal were having problems clearing, when a McGall chip created a great chance for Oday but he was fouled in the box. A penalty was awarded which McGall cooly put in. 2-1. Then immediately after Unreal kicked off, they lost the ball when Adam intercepted and fed McGall who pulled off another precise pass for Greg who had run into the danger area. Greg turned on his heel to volley a spectacular goal. 3-1 with only 6 minutes gone of the second half.
Foul on Oday brings a penalty which McGall converts
Greg turns on the spot to volley in the third
With spells of quick passing through midfield the game was looking more like an exhibition until Oday got under the ball for a long shot and it went out of the park. It took a minute to retrieve a ball for Unreals goal kick and this delay seemed to break the flow and douse Universal’s flames.
By the 10th minute Unreal managed to regain some composure and thread an attack together with a long shot which went over. Kwabi replied with a long run from his defensive midfield position and a shot from 30 yards but that went wide. In the 13th minute a corner against Unreal was cleared only as far as Greg who was fouled hard as he charged back in. Unreal’s No.6 was booked with the only yellow card of the game. After Greg had recovered, the free kick was deflected out for another corner which was then contained.
Justin was solid in defence
It was now Unreal’s turn to apply some pressure. A long run by Unreal yeilded them a corner which was cleared by a header from Sunil. Minutes later Universal were back behind the ball on the defensive, they blocked a couple of shots at goal but the last went in to narrow their lead 2-3. Then another darting run at goal was tackled by Ibby and the striker on the ball went down in the box for a penalty claim which was awarded and converted, 3-3 with 15 minutes of the second half to go.
Unreal were not looking for a draw - the last fifteen minutes turned into some intense end to end action, but no goals. Universal did have more chances with three corners but all the crosses were cleared. Unreals corner which was within the last two minutes brought a crucial save from Ibby. Oday then had the last say with a chance in front of Unreal’s box, but he never found the angle to shoot through the defender who was doing well to block him rather than to take the ball away. Eventually his shot was weak and too easy for Unreals keeper to recover.
Greg showing his skills on the ball
When the final whistle blew both sides felt it was too early and walked off feeling that they should have won. No doubt Pronations will feel dissapointed that their loss against Unreal last week effectively elimenated them from the semi finals, their next game against Maccabi is now academic.
I asked Moran how he felt about facing the winners of the other group rather than the runners up and he said: “It does not matter who we play, we do not need an easy run to make and win the final, especially if we have the quality we fielded today.”
Universal recover from disaster!
Owing to late arrivals the kick off was effectively delayed for 10 minutes. Ibby was serving a suspension and Steven, a reserve goalkeeper, had to be called in at short notice so he hadn’t even arrived yet! So Brahim had to guard the goal line for the first 20 minutes of the game. Adam, Oday, Justin and Brian would play in defence; Mummar, Raphael, David and Makaveli formed a diamond in midfield, and McGall partnered Kevin who was occupying Brahim’s striking position until Steven arrived.
Maccabi are not a side to be casual about - alongside Unreal they are the only side to have actually beaten second-place Hillhead in the league this season. But there was total disarray from Universal players who weren’t even in their positions at kick off and Adam was still on the bench getting his boots on when the whistle blew. So Maccabi kicked off and scored in the first minute of the game - and to be honest, Maccabi would have been grossly incompetent if they hadn’t been able to do take advantage from the chaos. For the next ten minutes it seemed if Universal’s players did not know what their positions were. They still won the ball and intercepted Maccabi’s game by instinct, but their crosses were too long, passes were not connecting and it was taking a long time for the whole side to settle into the game.
In spite of this lapse, Maccabi still had to defend with discipline, they did enough to frustrate Universal’s attacks and prevent any advantage from a corner and a 30yard free kick that Universal were awarded. Furthermore, their goalkeeper was alert enough to pull out two good saves from shots by Raphael and McGall. Then - suddenly - Maccabi increased their lead to 2-0 with a long shot that Brahim could not stop.
For the next 10 minutes UFC attained some control of the game and prevented Maccabi from gaining possession so this would ease the pressure on Brahim as their stopper. Shots by Raphael and Maka were blocked by defenders, three successive corners would not amount to any chances and a shot attempt by McGall was blocked. The rebound was picked up by Maccabi’s midfield and a long ball converted it into a chance but Brian managed to close it down with a show of blistering pace which reminded Maccabi of the sort quality they were leading against. Then his brother, David, showed some impressive skills with a long run of his own to put pressure on Maccabi’s defence and take the action away from Universal’s half.
Brian makes a saving tackle, then his brother David turns the pressure around on Maccabi
When Steven was allowed on and Brahim was temporarily side-lined - it seemed as if UFC sat back to watch Maccabi test their new goalkeeper. He did well to stop a powerful shot but the rebound was picked up in the penalty box and converted. Maccabi 3 Universal 0 - no one can remember the last time when UFC were three goals down, this might be the first time this has happened. At the kick off Brahim was subbed back on in Kevin’s place in attack.
Adam beats all the defenders but not the goalkeeper..
Now Maccabi would face an onslaught: David created a couple of chances for himself but his shots were blocked, then a powerful shot from Adam went behind for a goal kick, a chance for Raphael and an opportunity created by Brahim were fenced off by the Maccabi defence, Brian’s 25yard free kick was cleared behind for a corner, another free kick from 40yards and a corner were contained by Maccabi, another shot from David was blocked by a great reaction save from Maccabi’s goalkeeper, then strong play by Maka to attack the goal was penalised by the referee. Maccabi’s goalkeeper took that free kick and from that long ball Maccabi found themselves in Universal’s penalty area. And - almost a carbon of their last goal - their first shot was well blocked by Steven but the rebound was converted. Universal were now FOUR NIL down and the whistle was blown for the end of the first half!
There were no surprises about what the half time talk was all about: no need to alter playing style or tactics and everyone was more than making up for their blunders, but Moran did remonstrate his players late arrivals, blasé attitude, and poor field positioning right at the start of the match: four goals down AND 10 minutes of playing time was already lost. Maccabi deserved their lead at half time, but their strategy that worked so well in the first half was going to be their downfall - they simply did not change their game against a side who are well known for their match fitness and scoring six plus past a tired opposition. So when Universal kicked off the second half the game was still on, Maccabi will have to defend for most of the next half.
And within 10 minutes of the second half Maccabi were beginning to break. They did contain a 25yard free kick by Raphael who took it short to Brian - already running around the wall from a dummy over the dead ball, then Maccabi’s counter-attacking move resulted in a spectacular shot which Steven tipped over the top left corner. So it was now clear that Universal’s reserve goalkeeper was up to standard, and he was alert - he put the ball out quickly to Adam, fed Brahim who had beaten Maccabi’s offside line and his skilful clip over the goalkeeper’s charge-down put the ball in the net. 4-1.
A few passes off the spot, Maccabi tried to test Steven again with another power shot but he had no problems parrying it down and was comfortable with the ball at his feet. This resulted in another spell of Universal possession and attack with Maccabi clamouring to close them down and fence the ball out. David created himself another shot, it drew an easy save but after the goalkeeper kicked the ball out, Oday just put it back in. David received this and skilfully chested it down into a dangerous area for another shooting chance - the goalkeeper fouled him in the box. The penalty which McGall converted was a confident tap into the left hand side with the goalkeeper diving the wrong way, 4-2.
David is felled in the box - and McGall converts the penalty
The skills of David, McGall and Steven alerted Maccabi to Universal’s good form and their two goal lead was now looking like a cushion too thin for over 25 minutes of play time remaining. They now had to keep the ball away from Universal attack and try to extend their lead while Universal were driving men forward, so Maccabi made shorter passes in Universal’s half, held their possession and pressurised the defence. But Justin, Oday and Steven in goal would not relent and were confidently breaking up the attacks and turning the possession around.
For the next 15 minutes the flow was one way. With Maccabi staying behind the ball it was proving very difficult to get any shots on target with Brahim shooting over, two volleys by David getting blocked by defenders, Raphael shooting wide, another shot by David blocked, and then a blistering run by Adam was closed down and put out for a corner. The corner was contained but one of Maccabi’s defenders sustained an injury outside his box and laid injured for what seemed to some to be a frustrating long time.
Now with 10 minutes to go more pressure was mounting on Universal to score, and pressure appears to be what they needed. A chance was created for Raphael to header in from a cross but his attempt went over. Then McGall picking up the rebound off the goal-kick spotted the keeper off his line and chipped him from over 20 yards! A beautiful goal, 4-3.
After Ross was substituted for Mummar at the Maccabi kick off, another blinding run from Adam created another opening which was fed to Raphael, he beat the goalkeeper with a touch of billiance of his own! 4-4 with 8 minutes to go, and Maccabi didn’t have time to reflect on their lost opportunity as they were now under some intense pressure from UFC.
Raphael converts Adam’s cross to draw level - UFC carry the ball back for kick off.
A surprise shot from Maka was curling into the top corner of the net - the keeper did very well to tip it over. A couple of corners kept Maccabi pinned down but their goal contained. Then there was a bit of relief after Oday was caught offside. Maccabi did not hold the ball for a draw, they need to win - so it was taken long but was easily picked up for another attack on Maccabi’s goal. Then a holding offence awarded UFC a free kick 5 yards outside the penalty box.
Oday’s brilliant free kick from over 25-yards!!
Oday took it and it went into the wall but Referee, Jim, ordered it taken again. One of the defenders had not positioned his hands correctly when blocking the ball and in the professional game the hand ball would have resulted in a penalty. Might as well have been a penalty because Oday’s second attempt was a star! He curled it over the wall and into the net! Universal 5 Maccabi 4 with 2 minutes to go, but Moran’s voice could still be heard above the celebrations to get his side back in position. This was no time to get cocky - Maccabi won a free kick 25 yards from goal and UFC had to form a wall. But their shot went wide for a goal kick and Steven put it out of danger for UFC to hold lead for the remainder of the game.
So this was yet another recovery from behind to win and this puts Universal well into the running for a semi-final place. Maccabi had every right to feel disappointed, Moran commented that Maccabi had failed to capitalise on a great opportunity: a four goal lead with nearly 10 minutes of play already gone, they could have changed their tactics to frustrate Universal but they didn’t. Maccabi were eclipsed by a better side - and the goals scored against them would have looked impressive at any level of the game.
Unreal Madrid go through.
The subsequent Unreal and Pronations tie was 0-0 at half time but in the second half an OG gave Unreal a lead. There was two more goals - one apiece - which resulted in a third victory for Unreal. So no matter what happens on the final group match when they play Universal next week, they will go through to the semi finals. A draw will be enough for Universal succeed into the semi finals otherwise Pronations can tie second place in the group by beating both Pollokshields and Maccabi, then it will go down to goal difference. We’ll see.
Sunil hat-trick KO’s Pollokshields
With flood lights already on and mist settling down for a cold night, an eerie stage was set for Universal to prove their form was not deteriorating after a disappointing result last week. Moran demanded a big win from his side. Ibby in goal, Adam, Sunil, Mark and Brian in defence; Justin, Jean, David and Maka in diamond formation midfield; and McGall and Oday up front - both back having just returned from match suspensions.
Warmup in the mist
Foggy start to match
Through the mist Pollokshields would be seen warming-up and training as a unit immediately preceding the match. And their organisation and coordination paid dividends: they took the lead scoring two good goals from open play in the first five minutes.
The ball was proving to be too slippery for Universal, but this didn’t break their composure. Universal turned over the pressure: a free kick from 20 yards was turned over for a corner, Maka created a couple of chances for Oday to convert on target but the Pollokshields goal keeper pulled off some great saves to keep him out. And Pollokshields still looked dangerous, they were creating chances with long balls forward and were unlucky not to catch a loose ball in front of Universal’s goal from a clipped clearance.
In the 16th minute Universal’s recovery would begin through Sunil. After McGall was fouled 25 yards away from the Pollokshields goal, central defender Sunil took the free kick and - in an unexpected move - shot directly at goal. It curled over the wall and into the top right corner, goal keeper managed to put a hand on it after a spectacular dive but nothing could have stopped the ball going in. And then in the 20th minute, Sunil converted a corner into the left hand side of the net. 2 each.
Brians free kick from 30 yards 
Brian’s header back into the box
For the next ten minutes Universal controlled the game, with 3 shots going over or wide, and 2 more saves by the Pollokshields goalkeeper. But that Pollokshields long ball was still causing problems: they made two more chances but could not reach the first and another shot going wide. In the 34th minute this long-passing move will end up with Universal going down to 10-men: in a desperate move while he was exposed to a one-2-one against a Pollokshields striker, Ibby had to tackle outside the box by closing him down and blocking with his whole body. The striker was injured by the resulting collision and it was deemed to be a sending-off offence.
Moran had to reshuffle the team, substituted David and brought on Universal’s substitute striker Brahim in goals. Pollokshields could not get their 20 yard free kick past Universal’s wall but they held the ball and pushed for another attack - resulting in a shot that went over the cross bar. But 10 man Universal were not going to be beaten, for the next five minutes they dominated in possession creating chances by winning a series of corners. Then Pollokshields won their chance to test Brahim, after a couple of shots that went wide they forced him to parry a shot. The last move of the first half was a 30 yard free kick by Oday - it was taken short to McGall who was already running around the wall after a dummy over the static ball; his shot only pulled another great save.
2-2 at half time. In the half time address to his team, Moran made an important contribution: he had the Pollokshields attacking strategy all worked out and knew exactly how to reorganise the defence against it. And this proved incisive - Universal’s midfield and attack now had the freedom to focus on attack as opposed to staying behind ball against the one man advantage of Pollokshields. If Pollokshields were going to get into the action for the second half, it would be by consolation.
Oday strikes in the 48th minute.
In the 48th minute, Oday would knock in a long pass by McGall from a free kick in midfield: 3-2. A 50th minute Universal corner would find an accurate header but it went into the goalkeepers grasp. A 51st minute chip over defence by McGall was caught offside, and a powerful shot from Adam was parried aside. In the 58th minute Oday released Maka near the 18yard box and he converted to Universal up 4-2. Then after an Oday shot from a McGall pass was blocked in the 62nd minute, Jean picked up the ball to finish. 5-2.
Maka scores Universal’s 6th
In the 75th minute the fog was beginning to clear, and the prospects for Pollokshields to get back into the game were fading with it. Their game plan was broken and they were three goals behind against a rampant Universal - they did pull a goal back with 15 minutes to go but the feather would go into Sunil’s cap after he scored his first hat-trick for Universal! And then with 5 minutes to go, McGall beat Pollokshields goalkeeper with skilful chip.
Oday leaps over a sliding tackle.
While Sunil is credited with the hat-trick, what must not be forgotten is the individual skills by un-stoppable Makavelli - who’s juggernaut runs broke through midfield - and McGall’s - who’s accurate and insightful passes compromised Pollokshields defence every time he made them; they both shined bright throughout this game while the whole side overall kept it’s composure after a very slippery start. So the final score, emphatic victory for Universal: 7-3.
This puts Universal in second group position and Pollokshields bottom of the table with no wins. Unreal Madrid reinforced their group lead in the group with a 4-1 victory over Maccabi which had kicked off 2 hours earlier. The result between Unreal and Pronations next week will determine whether the Unreal goes through to the semi finals with absolute certainty or if their battle with us on the 16th of December is the decider.
UFC held by Pronations
25th November: Universal F.C.0 Pronations 0
Many key players were missing from UFC for the first game of the Scottish Unity League Cup group game: Oday and McGall were both serving a match bans, Jean-Yves - who scored 5 against ANSAR last week - was overseas, Greg and Curtis were also unavailable. In spite of the missing links, Moran still felt he had enough in reserve get a result against Pronations. However, UFC only earned a disappointing goalless draw against a side who ended the game with 10-men and their two first choice players being substituted through injury.
Pronations kicked off and started strong, attacking for first 15 minutes of the game and managed four chances: a shot was saved by Ibby in the 3rd minute, a quick counter attacking move created a shot which was saved by Ibby in the 9th minute, a crucial tackle by Sunil broke another counter attacking move in the 11th, and a shot went wide in the 12th.
Mummar under pressure
There were as many chances for UFC: a long cross into the box by Mumar created a one-to-one between Brahmin and the Pronations goalkeeper in the 2nd minute, but the goalkeeper got there first. A penetrating pass by Mumar was missed by Brahim in the 3rd, Brahmin shot wide in the 12th and an incisive pass by Raphael to Brian created a chance for Brian to place a dangerous left-footed cross in front of the Pronations goal but his pass went behind for a goal kick.
Raphael crossing into danger area
UFC were playing dangerously by holding onto the ball and Pronations earned their possession by closing UFC down in midfield and defence. But Pronations would only manage four shooting chances versus UFC’s five for the rest of the first half. A shot by Brahim went straight to the goalkeeper in the 18th minute. In 20th minute a Pronations free kick 20 yards from UFC’s goal made it past the wall and directly into Ibby hands. Then Pronation’s best chance of the game was broken by a brave block from Ibby - which resulted in a collision injuring the Pronations no. 23 who had to be substituted in the 22nd minute. A shot by Raphael was saved in the 24th minute, Adam shot over the crossbar in the 25th, a good link-up between Maka and Raphael was read by the goalkeeper and stopped in the 27th, and then Ibby beat a Pronations striker in a one-to-one at the edge of his penalty area.
Garfield holding possession
In the 30th minute a midfield tackle by Garfield - who was booked - resulted in a collision and the second injury for Pronations which stopped the game for five minutes for treatment and a substitution. A series of passes by Pronations off this free kick drew a save from Ibby in the 35th minute.
1st half free kick hits the wall
And in the last chance of the first half, a UFC free kick 20 yards from goal was stopped by the Pronation’s four man wall.
Half Time review
Throughout the second half, the game would go badly for Pronations who would only create two chances for themselves and go a man down. However, UFC could not capitalise as their usual passing game wasn’t linking up and Pronations were riled up to close down UFC’s possession at every opportunity.
Still, UFC did have many more chances at goal, but the finishing was off the mark. Brahim’s two attempts missed with one shot going direct to the goalkeeper and another wide after the 45th and 48th minute. A free kick by Raphael in the 55th minute from 30yards out went over the Pronations defence but it also went over the cross bar. A shooting chance by Maka was saved in the 16th minute. And a dangerous cross by Raphael in front of Pronation’s goal was not picked up.
Pronations would go one man down with 13 minutes to go after a row broke out between (referee) Bill and Pronation’s No. 8 who was shown his second yellow card for dangerous tackles, and then shown a second red card for his arguing with the referee. From this free kick the pass went to Adam and created a shooting chance but his shot went just wide.
Brahmin was substituted with 10 minutes to go by Kevin and UFC were now pressing forward against 10-man Pronations. But Pronations still created a chance - there best one yet - gaining a one-to-one against Ibby 8 minutes from time, but Ibby pulled out his best save of the game making himself look big and doing enough to force their shot wide.
Pressure on Pronation’s defence by Adam won UFC a corner, and it went dangerously across the face of goal, but it was just out of reach for that decisive header. A powerful shot from range by Brian was parried out by Pronations goalkeeper and an incisive cross from Kevin was too far forward to be picked up. The last shot of the game was by Pronations which was easily picked up by Ibby 3 minutes from time.
So the final result was a goalless draw and the mood was more of a dissappointment. Pronations did up their game - as expected, every side in Group B has lost against UFC this season and they have had a taste of the quality they’ve got to match - but so did Ibby who made all the right decisions and UFC’s defensive strategy which often started deep with good positional play. UFC’s fitness was also evident from the pressure they maintained in the cold and floodlit conditions. But what was clearly lacking from the UFC side was the finishing since Pronation’s goalkeeper had much to do but wasn’t challenged as much as Ibby was.
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