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by Robert "Pennywise" Gray

Insmouth returned home for more Campeonato Série A action with this season's pleasant surprise Homeboyz FC (69) coming to town. The visitors were flying high and mingled with the title favorites on the bring of the half-season - manager ella_1 was doing a brilliant job so far after arriving at the club after last campaign had started and guided them to a 6th place finish and Inter Cup Platinum Shield qualification. The away side looked confident in repeating the feat and even challenging some of the established powerhouses in Brazilian football.

Insmouth Gazette pundits were unanimous with all 11 favoring Cheetahs for the win however some acknowledged it would be a close match and predicted a narrow score.

Derry Sewers was finally packed with a 10,000 crowd after some underwhelming audiences in previous matches. Interest in this clash was so huge that 2,228 fans had to sit it out after tickets ran out.

Insmouth maintained the usual 4-5-1 formation. LB Michael Leitz (53) returned to the start lineup, replacing Bernardo Azzolina (56). Striker Takafumi Daiwa (59) retained his midfield role. Insmouth had serious selection trouble in midfield as our best players in the area Lutu Francescoli (77) and Lyapo Adelaja (72) were suspended. They were replaced by DM Ellhard Gos (52) and striker CIan Jaggar (60), which meant we took a risky approach of fielding two strikers in midfield and our quality there suffered.

Homeboyz FC employed an adventurous 3-5-2 formation. Their selection troubles were limited to the injury of third choice striker Erick Damiao (56) but with forwards Ewald Berlich (59) and Roy Austen (66) available it didn't affect their lineup. Goalkeeper Iavor Dimitrof (52) was asked to play in defense as the squad only had 2 high-level defenders. The only downside in the away team was the inclusion of recently purchased DM Elliot Trimmer (32) who was perhaps a little inexperienced for a match of this magnitude. Key players for Homeboyz were goalie Alessandro Bruno (59), CB Jacques Ávalos (69), sweeper Luis Felipe Dias (62), CM Egbert Herr (64) and the two forwards.

Cheetahs enjoyed a slight advantage in all areas, most significantly in goal, but Homeboyz were certainly close enough in quality to make this a very competitive affair.

Expectations that our makeshift midfield would be a source of problems were quickly proven wrong. Insmouth grabbed the match by the throat and established total control over possession. We outplayed the away team in every component and forced them to commit fouls while keeping their impressive strike force at bay through a very organized and compact defensive line that knew when to challenge and when to push forward for an offside trap.

Our dominance continued past the tenth minute and it became apparent Homeboyz were in for a long game as their box was under constant threat. Leo Furtado was often causing them trouble but he was limited to half-chances in the first half and couldn't make the most of them. Ironically, the best opportunities for Cheetahs fell to defensive midfielder Ellhard Gos and his misses proved he needs to work a lot on this part of his game on the training pitch.

It was massively disappointing that despite our controlled aggression the first booking in the match went our way. Leo Furtado challenged the keeper for a loose ball but it was in the 6-yard box and since Bruno got to it first physical contact became impossible. The referee saw fit to draw a yellow for this foul after giving some rough challenges from Homeboyz midfielders the pass earlier.

30' - Yellow Card! CF Leo Furtado (Insmouth Cheetahs)

It was even worse that this was Furtado's fifth booking in the league this season and he had to serve a one-match ban in the following game.

Cheetahs continued to dominate possession throughout the first half. Homeboyz were doing their best to keep the ball as far away from their box as possible but it often cost them tactical fouls as they were unable to close down in time to disrupt our fluent, quick-passing flow.

The referee earned ironic applause from the audience for finally pulling a yellow for away winger Joao Victor Falabella (55) near the end of the half - a card that could and should have arrived much earlier.

43' - Yellow Card! RM Joao Victor Falabella (Homeboyz FC)

Half time was looming and Insmouth were still unable to get the opener we deserved. The visitors were contained to a single long range effort and rarely even passed the midfield line. And just like it always happens, the side missing too many opportunities got punished for it.

With seconds left to play Homeboyz managed a quick breakthrough with attacking midfielder Erick Paiva (52) bursting in a spectacular 50-yard run before finding DM Elliot Trimmer. The youngster was widely expected to be the weak link in the away team yet he taught our Ellhard Gos how it's done by ignoring both forwards awaiting a pass in the box to unleash a technical shot that caught Rosewarns unprepared and made its way to the net!

45' - GOAL!!! 0-1 LCM Elliot Trimmer (LM Erick Paiva assist)

What a heartbreaking way to end the first half! After enjoying close to 70% possession and creating a number of chances, Insmouth players went to the dressing room a goal down. Homeboyz on the other hand got not only the lead but also a crucial boost in confidence with tons of room for improvement in their play.

Whatever the pep talk was Insmouth kicked off with renewed determination after the break. Our attacks were much more direct and looked to involve Furtado a lot more. Leo missed a great chance to equalize when a low pass found him with space to unleash a close range shot but sadly it went into the side netting.

It was a warning for Homeboyz though and they failed to hear it. In the absense of Francescoli and his crossing ability down the right the responsibility for putting balls in the box fell to Kikugoro Sugahara on the left side of our midfield. The Japanese wasn't efficient in the first half but showed his quality soon after the break to put an inviting ball across the goalsmouth and Furtado reacted well enough to send it in the net!

50' - GOAL!!! 1-1 CF Leo Furtado (LM Kikugoro Sugahara assist)

The equalizer came in the right time for Cheetahs and momentum swung back in our favor. We continued to dominate proceedings while the visitors were unable to make any impact. Their impressive strikers went on to finish the match with a single shot between the pair.

However while Insmouth added bite in the box thanks to bringing Furtado in the game, Leo was having a hard time beating Bruno again as he watched a couple more close range efforts beaten away by the courageous goalie.

Homeboyz hero Elliot Trimmer faded away in the second half and was soon replaced by central midfielder George Mueller (36) as Homeboyz looked to preserve the score and earn a valuable point.

70' - Substitution (Homeboyz FC): LCM Elliot Trimmer (32) off; central midfielder George Mueller (36) on

Insmouth's options on the bench were limited to just four men and neither of the young hole players Okoro and Tendulkar seemed capable of delivering the little bit of extra quality we needed so Cheetahs pushed on for the win with an unchanged team.

The referee had favored the physical side of the game for so long it tricked the away players into thinking they could get away with everything. Or at least it seemed the case when Homeboyz star striker Roy Austen (66) went in a tough tackle from behind and caught the ankle of Shane Pybus instead of the ball. It was a bad challenge and Pybus was fortunate to recover and play on - there was no other option but a red card and the referee pulled it. There was nothing ironic in the applause from the stands this time.

76' - Red Card! LCF Roy Austen (Homeboyz FC)

The sending off forced Homeboyz to defend even deeper now that they lost one of their target men who while failing to get in shooting positions were quite successful in alleviating pressure from the defenders.

It also made them harder to break down as they left literally no space and hacked the ball away whenever it went in the box.

Substitute George Mueller struggled to get in the match and conceded a bad foul near the penalty area after a clumsy late challenge. It got him booked and allowed Insmouth an excellent free kick opportunity with just 4 minutes left.

86' - Yellow Card! LCM George Mueller (Homeboyz FC)

Furtado stepped up to take it. His shot went over the wall and was aiming towards the far top corner but Bruno made a full-stretch save to once again deny our forward a good goal.

Homeboyz keeper Bruno was largely the reason the visitors were so close to the draw as he had saved no less than 8 Insmouth shots at this point!

He made it to 9 when he beat away a Cian Jaggar shot that dangerously bounced in front of him on the brink of added time - but Furtado was nearby and took full advantage to smash the rebound home and send the crowd in raving celebrations!

90' - GOAL!!! 2-1 CF Leo Furtado (RM Cian Jaggar assist)

Homeboyz tried to react in the two minutes of added time but it was too little, too late for the tired 10-men team that spent the entire match defending. All they could wresle was a string of corner kicks Cheetahs defended well and it was all over - a valuable win in a match that could have easily ended with a different score!

Final score: Insmouth Cheetahs (3) - Homeboyz FC (69) 2-1 (Leo Furtado 50, 90; Elliot Trimmer 45)
Man of the Match: CF Leo Furtado (Insmouth Cheetahs)

Campeonato Série A Match Day 19 results:

Red Onions (4) - Peregrinos (7) 1-1
Alexandra County (38.) - Byfleet Rangers (388.) 3-1
The Rockets (22) - Whitehouse FC (185) 2-0

Insmouth's last gasp win had the added benefit of the two teams chasing us drawing in the title contender derby which allowed us some breathing space at the top - Red Onions were now 4 points behind and Peregrinos - 7. Alexandra County and The Rockets were able to get closer to Homeboyz FC but our opponents in the round remained 4th:

1. Insmouth...........__ 53 42-7
2. Red Onions............ 49 42-9
3. Peregrinos............. 46 39-14
4. Homeboyz FC.._____ 42 37-14
5. Alexandra Countyw 41 36-17
6. The Rockets....____ 37 32-14

Insmouth Gazette Pundits

Time for our pundits section. This round had a tough to predict contenders derby and some of them earned extra points for nailing the draw. There were some who also nailed the correct result in Insmouth's match. While andyoz remained on top his lead was reduced to six points by colins70. It's quite heated below and jpjjpj pulled away from AberdeenAngels in 7th. Let's see how the leaderboard looks after Match Day 19:

1. andyoz.........__ 219pts
2. colins70............213pts
3. wally............__ 194pts
4. scotty1962..___ 166pts
5. mackfishy......._ 165pts
6. ironpsycho....__ 162pts
7. jpjjpj............... 155pts
8. AberdeenAngels 152pts
9. Tstuff......_____ 129pts
10. aknight2000__ 113pts
11. ozzymac......__ 110pts

Stay tuned for our next update on Match Day 20 that was played on Sunday!