Week 15 Roundup
/Solis, Capricornus 22, 2077, m249
Saturni's match at Huacheng - Manager Andam Mirza rallies the Immortals at half-time.
Immortals @ Dong Ji
It was a tale of two Martian cities in Week 15.
He’s back!
At least that’s what Immortals’ fans are hoping as Uday Lanka (Legend) scored his league leading 10th goal at the 64th minute to lead the Immortals to a 1-0 victory over Dong Ji.
For Lanka, it was his first in 3 weeks and like many he’s delivered this year, it was a glorious goal.
Lanka intercepted a pass from Dong Ji’s Olga Lobo da Costa, and passed over to teammate, Akkilic Talpur. Lanka broke like a gazelle and charged up for a diving header past a leaping goal keeper Xue Su for the winning goal!
With the win, the Immortals moved to 8 and 7 for the season and third place in the standings while Dong Ji sunk to the league basement with a 4 and 11 record.
He’s gone!
Dong Ji’s chances of winning may have been better had star Darkeem Dennis not been a last minute scratch due to his pending transfer to United - the season’s first blockbuster player move. Either way, Dong Ji's prospects for the remainder of the season are dim.
As teams gear up for the playoff stretch, the question remains, who’s on the move next?
Wuji @ Titans
Not moving at all would be Captain Raenia Ware as she was a scratch for the third week in a row.
Her absence along with forward Jube Terrell resulted in many nervous moments for Titans fans as the league leaders struggled against the league laggards with no goals during regular time play.
Frustrated with Wuji defenders draped over him all match, Titans leading scorer, Readale Nash channeled his frustration into a furious kick into the top far corner away from goal keeper Trenton Seaton in overtime. Nash’s goal was the only one in overtime as the Titans defeated Wuji 1-0 in PKOT.
The Titans rise to 14 and 1 while Wuji sink to 5 and 10 for the season.
Will we see Ware return in Week 16 against the Novymir Dynamo @ Novymir or @ Korolev Field.
United @ Dynamo
Dynamo #66 Sergey Samrend takes the win against United. With strong performances in the last two games, Samrend has not pocketed 4 goals in the season.
As the ongoing quarantine continued due to the Chubarov outbreak, a tense United team travelled at to the newly constructed Korolev Field to take on the Dynamo. They arrived only minutes before the check-in deadline.
According to anonymous sources, a strong quorum of United players approached Coach Matthäus Reinmann and Chairperson Natasha Kennedy earlier in the week, asking to boycott the Week 15 match due to safety concerns.
Kennedy quickly scuttled the uprising to avoid raising the ire of MAFL officials and potentially threatening the Darkeem Dennis transfer.
Korolev is 1200 KM south of Novyimir and no cases have been reported outside of that settlement. Furthermore, players are not required to enter a hosting colony, so any exposure can be avoided. Despite this reassurance, United players linked arms in a visual sign of protest during opening ceremonies.
Alas, the United players were not able to stay linked during the match, as they were unable to successfully protest the atrocious offence they continued to demonstrate.
A goal from Dynamo #66 Sergey Samrend was the difference as the Dynamo won 1-0 to move to 6 and 9 for the season while United dropped to a similar record.
After the match, United Captain Lennard Fuchs was asked about all the drama surrounding the team.
“Ecstatic that Darkeem will be joining us soon because we need a game changer, so can’t wait for that. Also can’t wait to get the hell out of here. This stadium doesn’t feel right and being so close to the outbreak is scaring the shit out of us.”
Al'amal @ Comets
Fragile was the Comets’ defence in Week 15 as Al’amal SC unleashed an offensive outbreak, scoring twice in the first two minutes of the match.
Just 46 minutes in, Al’amal’s Naaila el-Amer stole the ball from Comets midfielder Amanda Coronel, charged up and boosted a shot that sailed over Comets’ defenders and goal keeper Zaida Agre for goal number one.
Barely a minute later at the 1 minute and 25 second mark, Coronel again lost the ball to Al’amal from the edge of the area. This time it was Husain el-Guler who shot with the outside of her right foot, curling it inside the far post for goal number two.
Quickly substituting Coronel out of the match may have stopped the bleeding temporarily but the wounded Comets failed to muster any visible signs of life as they floundered around the field for most of the 1st half until Al’amal star Arwa Farra delivered the final dagger.
#18 Arwa Farra delights the home crowd with her 6th goal of the season.
At the 30 minute mark, Farra chested the ball to Captain Musaddiq Baddour, received the return pass and cut inside the Comets defenders before curling a right-foot shot into the far corner for goal number three and her sixth of the season.
The Comets finally responded with a goal at the 76th minute from Samantha Park but too little, too late.
Al’amal’s 3-1 win moved them to a third place tie with an 8 and 7 record. The Comets dropped their 2nd in a row and slipped to 9 and 6 for the season.
The Comets’ hold on 2nd place in the league is vulnerable heading into next week.
Liddel Bradley, Comets Captain, can't hide his disappointment.
Al’amal will face Dong Ji while the Immortals face Wuji. The Comets? They take on a rapidly evolving United team with Darkeem Dennis potentially making the line up and former goal keeper, Yvonne Barnato moving to a new position. What will happen?
Look forward to seeing you in Week 16.
