 | by Robert "Pennywise" Gray
Insmouth were heartbroken by the Brazilian Cup Quarter-finals loss and more importantly by the gutless display against arch-rivals Red Onions but there was little time to evaluate the performance as James Town FC (13) arrived in town for the Inter Cup Platinum Cup Round 2 clash between the two sides. Manager mitchell lead the visitors to a highly respectful 2nd place finish in the notoriously competitive Scotland Premiership last season. Even though James Town FC were having domestic trouble and found themselves 5th in the league so far, their team was formidable and held high hopes of piling further shock and misery on the Insmouth faithful.
Insmouth Gazette pundits were adamant Cheetahs would have no trouble with home advantage at our side and all of them backed us for the win, with most predicting victory within normal time. Little did they know what kind of drama was about to ensue.
Derry Sewers once again filled with a 10,000 crowd, with more than 2,700 fans resigned to watching the match outside after failing to obtain the precious ticket.
Insmouth dropped the disastrous 5-4-1 experiment and returned to our usual 4-5-1. CB Bernardo Azzolina (52) took over at the left side of defense and striker Cian Jaggar (56) started as a right winger.
James Town FC opted for a 4-3-3 formation and asked defensive midfielder Walter Davidson (63) to fill in at the heart of defense. The key players for the visitors were without a doubt their midfield trio of DM Robert Molloy (66), DM Peter Mellor (72) and CM Iain Macdonald (72).
Insmouth had advantage in all areas but midfield.
The visitors started cautiously and Cheetahs took the initiative, looking to eradicate the disappointment from the previous match. Our early pressure didn't deliver and soon James Town started to get their taste of the ball.
The match soon settled into a midfield battle of changing dominance with a lot of tackles flying around. With so much steel in the middle it took a long ball to get the opener.
Insmouth WB Renan Bolzan (76) did just that on the half hour mark with a looping ball that was carelessly allowed to bounce and reach Leo Furtado in the final third. Leo controlled it and blazed past his marker to unleash a powerful shot past away keeper Bruce James (54)!
31' - GOAL!!! 1-0 - Leo Furtado (Renan Bolzan assist)
The opener itensified the midfield battle even further but also demoralized James Town FC and the visitors were unable to control their nerves. They lost their grip over possession and soon suffered a booking when striker Cian Overbury (53) kicked a home player with no intention to challenge for the ball.
39' - Yellow Card! Cian Overbury (James Town FC)
The score at half time was probably a little flattering for James Town who faded in the final minutes of the first period and were fortunate to avoid conceding another goal.
Insmouth restarted play with a loose ball that forced our DM Lyapo Adelaja to dive in a late tackle preventing a dangerous counter. He stopped the counter but couldn't get to the ball and was punished with a yellow.
46' - Yellow Card! Lyapo Adelaja (Insmouth Cheetahs)
Cheetahs enjoyed a great spell of possession throughout the second half. Even though we were unable to get many balls in the box, our midfielders regularly tested the away keeper with dangerous long range efforts.
James Town FC regrouped and put in a solid shift but were pinned back for long periods and had no chance to put us under continuous pressure and look for an equalizer.
Both managers ignored the opportunity to freshen up their teams with substitutions and soon Insmouth's left back for the game Bernardo Azzolina had to resort to a tactical foul after being outran. Our defender's 35 years of age caught up with him and he opted to hold the opposition player by the shirt as he had no chance of recovering. It resulted in a deserved booking.
76' - Yellow Card! Bernardo Azzolina (Insmouth Cheetahs)
There were worries Bernardo would be a weak spot in our defense and even a possible red card but he wasn't replaced even after the booking. Over the remaining 15 minutes he relied on his experience and always put his body between the ball and the goalline.
With the clock mercilessly ticking towards the final minutes, James Town FC started taking more risks and sending bodies forward. It was a dangerous approach and nearly cost them when we caught them on the break and only a tactical foul from DM Peter Mellor (72) stopped Adelaja from delivering a through ball releasing three Insmouth players against a single defender.
For whatever reason the referee thought a yellow card was the appropriate punishment for Mellor's foul.
90' - Yellow Card! Peter Mellor (James Town FC)
This tackle proved even more crucial seconds later. The referee was about to blow the whistle when Mellor himself found his midfield teammate Iain Macdonald completely unmarked on the edge of the box and Macdonald hit a hopeful low effort which Rosewarns made a complete mess of. Our keeper allowed the ball to squeeze between his feet and it crossed the goalline!
91' - GOAL!!! 1-1 - Iain Macdonald (Peter Mellor assist)
The stands went silent as the fans were preparing to celebrate a well earned win. Instead of blowing the final whistle, the referee now signalled for extra time!
It was a different match from this point on. Insmouth were in complete and total shock and momentum heavily swung in the visitors' favor. Previously unable to hold the ball for any meaningful attacks, James Town FC now ran riot.
After coming so close to a clean sheet, Insmouth were forced to weather the storm. We simply took too much time to recover from the equalizer and it was bound to be punished.
James Town's third midfield man, Robert Molloy, played an instrumental role near the 100 minute mark. He went on a great run and took full advantage of all Cheetahs players backing away from him to smash a powerful effort. Rosewarns once again couldn't hold the ball and simply parried it. The loose ball went straight at away striker Thomas Pendergast (60) who volleyed the rebound home!
99' - GOAL!!! 1-2 - Thomas Pendergast (Robert Molloy assist)
The first 15 minutes of extra time went under the full control of the visitors and they made it count.
Insmouth faced an uphill challenge in the remaining 15 minutes as James Town FC pulled back to defend the lead. We regained possession and put the visitors under pressure but our attacks were rushed and chaotic. Instead of putting the ball on the ground we resorted to long balls.
The good part of it was our fullbacks had enough freedom to roam forward and attack. We needed some good fortune in this nightmarish day and we had it when RB Bettino Vetrano (66) curled a floating cross and it somehow reached Furtado at the far post thanks to a serious blunder by away keeper Bruce James who went for the ball but failed to reach it.
Furtado had the simple task of nodding the ball home and he did just that to put Insmouth back in it!
112' - GOAL!!! 2-2 - Leo Furtado (Bettino Vetrano assist)
There was plenty of time to look for a winner but after neither side introduced new players from the bench both teams were tired and settled for the forthcoming penalties.
And that's how the spotlights fell on two of the players who let their teams down big time tonight - the goalkeepers. They got one big chance to make amends but it wasn't meant to be.
All of the penalty takers showed no mercy until the tenth and final pen. James Town FC striker Cian Overbury smashed it against the post and it bounced back, handing Insmouth a painful win!
Final score: Insmouth Cheetahs (4) - James Town FC (13) 1-1 FT 2-2 ET 5-4 PENS (Leo Furtado 31, 112; Iain Macdonald 91, Thomas Pendergast 99)
Man of the Match: Leo Furtado (Insmouth Cheetahs)
Inter Cup Platinum Cup Round 2:
Demonic Snowmen (17) - Red Onions 0-1 FT
Norfolk Enchants (6) - The Rockets (21) 0-0 FT, 1-0 AET
Black Sails (72) - Beijing Niubi (45) 1-2 FT
Manama AFC (11) - Inter Milan (24) 2-1 FT
Tectonic Mango (15) - Oldcastle United (12) 2-1 FT
Turtlesim FC (32) - La Sombra del Viento (10) 1-1 FT, 1-2 AET
Warham (18.) - Minor Threat (23) 2-0 FT
Insmouth Gazette Pundits
Time for our pundits section. This was a wonderful opportunity for them to boost their scores significantly so let's see if anyone took advantage. In an amazing spree of correct predictions, including nailing the exact penalty score in our match, andyoz has dethroned colins70 and is our new leader! A little under ironpsycho has leapfrogged scotty1962 and joined wally in 3rd and jpjjpj has joint AberdeenAngels in 7th. Inactivity has cost ozzymac and he has been taken over at 11th by aknight2000. Let's see how the leaderboard looks after Inter Cup Platinum Cup Round 2:
1. andyoz.........__ 158pts
2. colins70............157pts
3. wally............__ 130pts
3. ironpsycho....__ 130pts
5. scotty1962..___ 123pts
6. mackfishy......._ 117pts
7. jpjjpj............... 114pts
7. AberdeenAngels 114pts
9. lawtons11.....__ 106pts
10. Tstuff......____ 100pts
11. aknight2000..... 86pts
12. ozzymac........... 78pts
13. Njidda..........__ 35pts
14. taoheedovic_ww 33pts
15. tellofrosh........_ 27pts
Right next up is our update from Match Day 13 where our pundits had to predict no less than 2 title contender derbies:
Insmouth Cheetahs (4) - Red Onions (3)
The Rockets (21) - Peregrinos (7)
Alexandra County (38.) - Rattus Rattus 2nd (267) |
