Outfits and Upgrades for Al'amal

Gemini 8, 2078, m249

MAFL clubs have been upgrading equipment to meet new specifications and updates for safety, but some clubs have taken the opportunity to come back for season 2 in style.

In a recent outdoor training session, Al'amal players were seen sporting completely new EV suits.  The reported capacity increases for life support are not significantly noticeable against the new design and colours .  Style-wise, Al'amal has definitely stepped up their game.

Abandoning their previously green and gold palette, the club has added grey and introduced handsome Teal accents. 

"These [uniforms] make us feel powerful," said team captain Musaddiq Baddour, "A number of issues we had with the previous equipment has largely been addressed, so this is a huge improvement that will contribute to performance across the league."

Tech pack components extend life support capacity and will include newer safety countermeasures.  The packs are reverse compatible with the propulsion systems integrated into previous generation EV suits.

Al'amal Sport Club has proudly announced they are returning with 100% of their original roster from season 1.  After rumours from Marineris earlier in the week that the championship team will be losing multiple players, this was welcome news for Al'amal fans.

"Trades were just not interesting to us.  If we learned anything, it is how our team embodies and represents our great colony," said club manager, Haajid Nasr, "We did spend a lot of time looking at local recruits over the break.  Though we won't be adding anyone to the lineup, we intend on investing in top candidates to grow the talent pool for the future."

Al'amal SC will officially fund a junior club program starting in parallel with season 2.  An inter-colony junior league remains unlikely due to the tremendous costs and time commitments associated with cross-Mars transport, so actual benefits of a local junior program will have the same limitations as recreational sports clubs. 

Comet's Sail To Finals

Solis, Kumbha 1, 2077, m249

Today' battle for the last ticket to the MAFL finals became a high powered shoot-out between the league’s top two scoring teams.  In the regular season, Al’amal scored 36 goals  vs the Comets’ 34 goals.

It took just one minute of play for the scoring to begin; a deep cross from Mussadiq Baddour from the left flank was met by Hamad Fayad who crushed a volley into the top corner past Zaida Agre. 

Al’amal 1 Comets 0.

Earlier this week, it was unclear if Agre would be fit to return for the semi-final match after sustaining injury in the final regular season match against the Titans.  But before any uncertainty could set in, Comets Kemina De Marco would respond just minutes later with the equalizer.

Al’amal 1 Comets 1.

And the goals kept coming.

Stephen Liu, MAFL Defender of the Year,  won the ball from Mahmood Rahimjust outside the penalty area and unleashed a shot into the top far corner for the go ahead goal.

Comets 2 Al’amal 1.

After such a blistering start to the match with three goals in the first six minutes, the pace slowed down, until the Comets dialled up the offence at the 15th minute mark.  After Liu intercepted a weak clearing attempt from Lana Gonzalez, he moved into the penalty area and hit an powerful low shot into the far corner for his second goal of the match.

Comets 3 Al’amal 1.

Right off the ensuing kickoff, the Comets Aba Samma met a deep cross from Liu and back-heeled it past a hapless al-Pour.

Comets 4 Al’amal 1.

With an endless barrage from the Comets, it was fortunate Al'amal was able to hold the rest of the half with just a three goal deficit.

During the halftime interval, Al’amal manager Haajid Nasr tried to motivate and reinvigorate his squad.  When play resumed, he switched strategy from a balanced attack to a more aggressive strategy, borrowing a page from Paulo Salgado’s move that lead to yesterday's Titans come-from-behind victory. 

But alas, that was yesterday.

Today, that move backfired as the Comets exploited their deficient defensive coverage. It took only 4 minutes for Luz Obregón to surge past the shallow defence and connect with a pass from Bradley, which he finished with an acrobatic bicycle kick over a leaping al-Pour.

Comets 5 Al’amal 1.

9 minutes into the 2nd half, Liu gave the Al’amal defence the runaround and beat al-Pour once more to complete his hat-trick.

Comets 6  Al’amal 1.

The Comets started to tighten their defence, nursing their lead.

Desperate to instill some life in his team, al-Pour boosted a charged kick that sailed across the field, landed just past the Comets’ penalty area where it took a freakish bounce past Agre and into the net.

Comets 6 Al’amal 2.

Just 15 minutes later, Fayad found another opportunity to close the gap.  Dragging the ball behind his planted foot with the inside of his crossing foot, he turned and accelerated away from Liu before slotting home Al’amal’s third goal of the match.

Comets 6 Al’amal 3.

With 20 minutes remaining Al’amal’s  poured on the offense with two near scoring chances – one over the Comets net, and another that went wide.

At the 84th minute, Bradley, Liu and Samma drove in the final dagger to shatter any home for an Al'amal comback.  With intricate passing around the edge of the penalty area, Bradley set up Samma, who placed a clean into the Al’amal goal.

Final: Comets 7 Al’amal 3.

“Titans said they owned us in the regular season,” said Bradley. “But the past is the past. It will only take one win next week for them to eat those words.  Based on today’s match, I like our chances."

Next week, Comet's make the Journey to San Olympus Park for the first MAFL Championship Match!

Thunder, Lighting and Flood of Goals

Amrita - Aquarius 15, 2077, m249

In honour of the fallen – Silence.  The calm before the storm.

Players pay respects in a pre-game tribute.  Yamen Warren's parents were in attendance in a private STV.

And then there was Thunder and Lightning, as a torrential downpour of goals rained onto Amrita field.

And when everything stopped, Al’amal stood tall over the Immortals in a wildly entertaining 5 – 3 victory.

In a season, where some teams were increasingly dependent on playing systems that stifled rather than promoted creative talent, Al’amal and the Immortals delivered a refreshing reminder of how football is at its best when moments of individual brilliance shine.

And it was the Captains of both teams, the Immortals Uday Lanka and Al’amal’s Musaddiq Baddour that would lead that spark.

As he’s done all season, Lanka opened up scoring at the 4th minute. Lanka exchanged passes with Akkilic Tapur who then chipped a superb ball over the defence which set Lanka free to unleash a spectacular overhead kick over the goalkeeper for the first goal of the game.

Al’amal looked to respond quickly applying pressure before the Immortals Vivek Tagore dove in with a late tackle on Baddour to break up the play. Tagore was sent off with a red card.

Tagore’s desperate foul just delayed the inevitable as Baddour delivered the equalizer at the 10th minute. A well-worked move by Mahmood Ramin to Ikram Muhammad and then to Baddour allowed him to hook the ball in with his back to the goal. 1-1.

The Immortals took the lead again at the 38th minute as Lanka scored his 2nd goal of the game.

Ran Naik aimed a long pass from his own half at Lanka. Lanka cushioned the ball with wicked ease, used the sole of his boot to trap the bouncing ball and turned inside his marker in a single move. Before Al’amal had time to grasp the accuracy of Lanka’s control, Lanka bounced the ball up a second time and struck a sweet volley past the goalkeeper.

In a game of anything you can do, I can do better, Baddour matched Lanka with his 2nd goal of the game to equalize the score at the 55th minute.

When the Immortals defence failed to clear the ball out of their box, Baddour intercepted and unleashed a pile driver of a shot from 30 yards past the Immortals goalkeeper.  2-2.

And then what transpired next hinged on a moment of madness which some say was the turning point of the match. At the 59th minute, the referee missed what looked like a trip by Baddour on Lanka and shockingly punished Lanka with a yellow card for his “theatrical dive”.

An irate Lanka pleaded his case in vain to the ref-bot as Al’amal was awarded a free kick where Rashaa Adel curled a pinpoint shot into the top corner from 35 yards to take over the lead. Al’amal 3 Immortals 2

And when it rains, it pours.

Just five minutes later, still freshly fuming from his yellow card, Lanka got into another tangle resulting in a second caution, red carded.  He was sent out, but not before giving ref-bot an 'accidental' nudge with his shoulder.

A penalty shot was awarded to Ramin and he delivered putting Al’amal up 4 -2.

That would be the difference maker.

Al’amal would add another goal at the 81st minute as Birwant Rahar ran from inside his own half and curled a low shot inside the far post. Al’amal 5 Immortals 2.

The Immortals’ Alan Fox closed the deficit at the 84th minute with a well-placed chip over the goalkeeper that dropped in off the underside of the crossbar. Al’amal 5 Immortals 3.

Too little, too late for the Immortals as they went down on their own home field.

“That was ridiculous”, screamed Immortals manager Andam Mirza after the match. “Lanka’s yellow card was their missed call and the second was clearly accidental. Because the ref and his stupid ref-bots can’t tell the difference between incidental and intentional, we lose this match.”

An ecstatic Al’amal team celebrated their victory in the locker room as their victory guaranteed them a playoff spot and the 3rd seed.

““They can blame the referees all they want but if you give up 5 goals in a game, you usually lose”, said Baddour. “Our team had to step up, especially without Farra and Fayad in thelineup, we did our best - we score goals. And that’s why we won.”

Chaos in San Olympus

San Olympus - Saturni, Makara 28, 2007, m249

In Greek mythology, it is said that the Titans came out of Chaos.

And yet it was Chaos that came out of the Titans as their battle with Al’amal unleashed bedlam at San Olympus field.  

In an ugly, bittersweet 2 - 0 victory for Al’amal over the Titans, three Al’amal players went down to injuries thanks to a plethora of fouls committed by the Titans which led to three yellow cards and one red card.

As the players and managers left the field after the match, Al’amal manager Haajid Nasr confronted Titans manager Paulo Salgado that erupted into a  skirmish involving managers and players. League officials, unequipped for such a scenario, spent 15 minutes separating everyone as this match ended in a rather ignominious fashion.

The normally calm and reserved Haajid Nasr was unable to participate in post-match interviews leaving Captain Mussadiq Baddour to field questions.

“They’ve already got a playoff spot so this match means nothing for them, yet they butcher three of our players who are now out while we fight for the playoffs”, said Baddour.  “What’s wrong with the Titans?”

A lot is wrong with the Titans right now.  Having dropped their 3rd match in a row and 4th in five matches, the Titans are looking very vulnerable.  

And unapproachable, as the Titans refused post-match interviews.

The Titans did all their talking on the field, starting the conversation at the 10th minute of play, as Tia Shandu received a Yellow Card for roughing up Al’amal’s Arwa Farra as she dropped off a pass.

Farra responded a minute later with an outrageous chip over Titans goalkeeper Icilio De Sisto that dropped in off the underside of the crossbar, capturing her 7th goal of the season.

But the Titans response was to hit back.  

At the 25th minute of play, the Titans Jube Terrell ran towards a loose ball which was retrieved by Farra but Terrell’s momentum plowed her into Farra who crashed hard to the ground.

Unable to rise, Farra was carted off the field with an injury that team officials say will now   keep her out for at least the next 3 weeks. Hamad Fayad substituted in her place.

Terrell was firmly cautioned with a Yellow Card, yet the hits kept coming.

Titans 22 Avdi collides with Al'amal 8 Fayad.

At the 40th minute of play, the Titans Bajen Avdi recklessly crashed into a streaking Fayad, taking him down. A new replacement was needed for Farra’s replacement, as Fayad was escorted off the field. 

This time, a Red Card was issued to Avdi.

Yet despite this, the Titans kept hitting.

At the 57th minute, Tarik Lema Girma clipped Al’amal’s Birwant Rahar within the Titans’ penalty area as Rahar was streaking alone towards the Titans net.

Rahar crumbled to the ground.

For the Titans’ fourth crime, only a Yellow Card was given to Girma, much to the shock of Al’amal players.

A penalty shot was taken by Baddour, who delivered, putting Al’amal up 2 – 0.

And yet the Titans continued to hit until Al’amal finally hit back.

An ugly match in San Olympus results in a slew of casualties. Above , Titans 88 Ana Sofia Molina suffers a fractured. 

At the 65th minute, Al’amal’s Ikram Muhammad tackled Titans midfielder Ana Sofia Molina who dropped clinching her right leg, writhing in pain.  

While Molina was carried off, Muhammad was escorted off with a red card, both captains quickly negotiated a ceasefire for the remainder of the match to end the body count.

The post-game brawl will likely cause many sleepless nights at MAFL headquarters as they sort out all the potential fines.

During post-match interviews, it was revealed Molina’s injury would likely mean the end of her season.

A visibly shaken Muhammad commented, “Look if a bully keeps hitting you, you have to eventually hit back.  They were playing like a bunch of scared thugs, but I know that doesn't excuse my own actions.”

With the win, Al’amal moves up to 10 and 10 for the season keeping their playoff hopes alive. For the Titans, they continue to sink to new lows despite their league leading 15 and 5 record.

Wuji Upset Al'amal

Tiangong - Solis, Makara 22, 2077, m249

Hope.

The Arabic word for hope is Amal, which was the inspiration for the naming of the Al’amal colony and its respective football club.

Yet Al’amal SC will need more than hope if they are to make the playoffs as they lost their 3rd match in a row, this time to  Wuji who pulled off the 2 – 1 upset.

Al'amal Captain #4 Musaddiq Baddour adds a goal to his stats, but team fails to capture a win against Tiangong Wuji.

Things looked promising for Al’amal as Captain Musaddiq Baddour opened up scoring at the 25th minute. Baddour used great individual skill to beat two defenders before drilling a low shot into the far corner for the first goal of the match.

Wuji’s Alicia Beldad responded by curling a volley in off the bar to tie up the match at the 34th minute.

Then something which has alluded Wuji all season, happened.

A good team build-up of Wuji passing, from Beldad to Stanislas Hachette to Nimet Kose who would finish with a stunning strike in the top corner at the 42th minute.

That would stand as the game winner and complete the Wuji upset.

With the win, Wuji moves to 7 and 12 for the season and builds hope for the future. 

For Al’amal, they fall to 9 and 10 for the season, clinging onto the final playoff spot with the Dynamo.

After the match, a dejected Al’amal locker room sat in silence as Captain Musaddiq Baddour fielding questions from reporters.

“We face the Titans @ San Olympus next week and then the Immortals back home so we’ve put ourselves in a tight spot to close off the season,” said Baddour. “We have the scoring punch to power through these teams. We know we can do it, now we just have to go out and do it.”

Wuji's Nimit Kose and Beldad. 

The mood in the other camp was expectedly upbeat.  Even with no chance at the playoffs, the Wuji are playing with purpose and without the pressure.

"We aren't going to make it easy for you.", said Bobby Chung, Manager of Wuji, referring to the upcoming matches against Dynamos and United,  "We won't roll over and call it a season.  You will have to earn your places in the playoffs." 

Mars March to First MAFL Playoffs

Saturday,  October 23, 2077
Earth-World Associated Press

With the UEFA Champions League barely underway, football fans will have to wait another 7 months before a conclusive championship match. During that time, where will football fans get their playoff fix?

Look no further than Mars, where the inaugural season of the Martian Aero Football League (MAFL) is generating a new buzz for football fans as they head down the playoff stretch.

A key battle in Week 18 of MAFL play - the Noviymir Dynamo vs. the Al’amal SC.

Leading up to the match, both Al’amal and the Amrita Immortals were clinging onto a final playoff spot with a red hot Dynamo right on their heels. The battle for their playoff lives has been a welcome reprieve for the Dynamo as their real lives have been turned upside down by the Chubarov outbreak.

Since being locked out, the Dynamo have been undefeated as a new goalkeeper, a new commitment to defence, and a new motivation to uplift the spirits of their colony has helped them go undefeated.

Extending their undefeated streak to 4 matches would not come easy against the high powered Al’amal offence - the leading scoring team in the league with three of their players in the top five for goals scored.

And one of those players, Captain Musaddiq Baddour, opened scoring at the 30th minute when he dribbled past two defenders before rounding the goalkeeper Boris Danilovich and slotting home.

The Dynamo’s Amaresh Yaee Etefu responded 9 minutes later with a header to the corner past goalkeeper Ahmed al-Pour.

Dynamo’s Mariah Maalouf gave the team the lead at the 49th minute by meeting a cross from Captain Ilya Petrovich with a stunning volley from outside the penalty area.

And then the Dynamo went on the defence and stymied the powerful Al’amal offence for the next 40 minutes. Just when it looked like the Dynamo would win again, Balraj Sodhi delivered a left foot volley following a cross by Arwa Farra for the tying goal – at the 89th minute!

Which led to overtime and in MAFL play that means straight to penalty kicks! Unlike Earth football, penalty kicks are welcomed by fans for their excitement, and by players due for survival purposes – they only have so much oxygen in the tank – literally!

In Penalty Kicks, Dynamo’s Petrovich struck first. A couple of misses later were then followed by Al’amal’s Genrietta Olegovna to tie things up.  Five failed shots followed before Dynamo’s former goalkeeper, Ilya Kyrylyuk, curled a shot past al-Pour for the winner in the final penalty shot of OT!

A Penalty Kick to Remember!  Kyrylyuk falls to his knees after his 5th round penalty kick goal.

PKOT 2-1 for the Dynamo. The win is now their fourth in a row and has them tied with Al’amal for the final playoff spot with three weeks to go.

“For most of the season, I have felt like I've let down the team,” said a jubilant Kyrylyuk after the match.  “I can't express how much this goal means to me on a personal level.”

On another celebratory note, Novyimir will be lifting the quarantine tomorrow, so the Dynamos will will be finally returning home to reunite with loved ones.

And the end of the regular MAFL season is in sight as three weeks remain until the playoffs. Football fans stay tuned. There’s an exciting march to the finish happening in Mars Football.

Rebirth of Cool

Saturni, Makara 7, 2077, m249

Above: United players, #8 Pernet, #75 Fuchs, and #7 Dennis revel in their overtime win against Al'amal SC.

For most of the season, Europa United has been a one note samba. Albeit it can be quite catchy at times, their strong defensive note has for the most part lacked long term range producing more lows than highs.

Yet with their win over the formidable Al’amal SC, could this be the Rebirth of Cool for United as they discovered a new range of flexibility in their play which will help them soar to new levels?

“I don’t know if we are cool”, replied United Captain Lennard Fuchs. “However, to use your analogy, if this win helps us get in sync and play more harmoniously in future, I’m on board”.

And this was a win United needed to help comfort their suffering fan base and validate their recent moves in adding Darkeem Dennis and shifting Goal Keeper Yvonne Barnato to a forward position.

United’s defensive strength continued to excel as defender Mlaska Lovric got the scoring started with a goal at the 2 minute mark.  

Lovric picked up the ball in the midfield, and played through Al’amal’s Lana Gonzalez and then rounded Birwant Rhar with ease before boosting a shot to the top corner over a leaping Ahmed al-Pour.

While tight is the United defence, even they could not fully contain the high powered Al’amal offence – tied for the league lead in Goals scored with 3 of their players in the Top 5 for Individual Goals scored.

At the 58th minute, Hamad Fayad played a volley off his chest and bicycle kicked it over United Goalkeeper Kevin Sulzberger to tie up the game. For Fayad, it was his 5th goal of the season.

While both teams had scoring chances from Darkeem Dennis and Yvonne Barnato on the United side and from Baddour, Farra, and Fayad on the Al’amal side, the game remained tied at the end of regulation time.

Penalty Kicks is where United’s new additions made a lasting impact. United captured 3 penalty shot goals from Darkeem Dennis, Yvonne Barnato and Laura Pernet.

Sulzberger, who was heavily criticized after his debut match last week against the Comets, earned his redemption this week with a brilliant performance in overtime, shutting down Al’amal’s high powered trio of Baddour, Farra, and Fayad and allowing zero penalty shot goals overall.

PKOT United 3 - 0 Al'amal

For United, the victory provided a slight degree of respite from what has been a disappointing season to date. Club Manager Matthäus Reinmann was slightly more optimistic of the victory’s impact.

“Hopefully this is the start of a new direction for us with all our new pieces gelling at the right time to build momentum for the playoff run,” said Reinmann. “I’m positive, better days are ahead”.

Reinmann’s words will be put to the test as United hosts the Amrita Immortals next week.

Week 16 - Day 2 Roundup

Solis, Makara 1, 2077, m249

Titans @ Dynamo

DYNAMO #7 Mariya Nikitovna DELIGHTED AFTER VICTORY AGAINS THE LEAGUE'S TOP TEAM, TITANS

Titans Fall! Titans Fall!
 
Rare have those words been spoken this season.
 
And rare is the person who would’ve guessed it would be the inconsistent Dynamo that would knock the Titans off their mountain top. 
 
And yet, here we are. In their 2nd game at Korolev Stadium, the Dynamo won their second game in a row with the season’s biggest upset, a 1-0 win over the Titans. 
 
For the Titans, this spelled the end of their 12 game winning streak as their last loss was in Week 3 due to a phenomenal four goal effort from Uday Lanka and the Immortals. 
 
One goal in the first minute was all it took to put the Titans to rest. Mariya Nikitovna intercepted a pass from defender Renatta Blundell and drilled a rising shot into the corner over goalkeeper Usian Busara for the first and only goal of the game.
 
After that first goal, the Dynamo quickly switched to a highly defensive 5-2-2-1 formation with five defenders, two defensive midfielders, two offensive midfielders and one clean striker.  
 
This helped lull the Titans’ offence (and match spectators) to a slumber as notable forwards Readale Nash and Jube Terrell were neutralized all match. 
 
New Dynamos goalkeeper, Boris Danilovich was also able to stop the few scoring chances that the Titans were able to muster. 
 
After the match, Titans Captain Raenia Ware, who missed her 4th match in a row due to an ankle sprain, would not accept any excuses for the team’s loss.
 
“It doesn’t matter if we travelled almost 10,000 km to Korolev. Travel is part of the game and we travel well in our transport”, said Ware. “I’m also not buying the anxiety thing with the ongoing Chubarov outbreak. I know United was spooked last week but the league has assured us things are safe.”
 
Titans’ manager Paulo Salgado did not take the loss lightly.
 
“This is the wakeup call our team needs because upon further reflection, we’ve been lucky during Ware’s absence. We’ve only scored one goal in four weeks yet have won 3 out of 4 matches,” said Salgado. “All this success is making us soft - we have to pick up our offense or I don’t care how many games we’ve won this season – we’ll be vulnerable in the playoffs.”
 

Dong Ji @ Al’amal

AL'AMAL #42 Adel and #4 Baddour CELEBRATING THEIR GOALS PROPELLING THE TEAM TO A WIN

In the aftermath of the Darkeem Dennis departure, Dong Ji spent all last week unsuccessfully deflecting discrimination charges fired from the media and fans.
 
And that carried onto the field as Dong Ji were unsuccessful in deflecting shots fired from Al’amal in a 2-0 loss to close out Week 16.  
 
Al’amal opened up the scoring at the 8th minute with a right-footed curling finish from 20 yards over goal keeper Xue Su for a 1-0 lead. 
 
That would be the difference maker but late in the match, at the 90th minute, Mussaddiq Baddour
 
Late in the match at the 90th minute, Al’amal Captain Musaddiq Baddour headed a volley just left of Xue Su for the 2nd goal of the match and his 5th of the season. 
 
Al’amal climbs to a 9 and 6 record for the season with Dong Ji dropping to a 4 and 12 record – sole tenants in the MAFL basement. 

Looking forward to Week 17: 
 
The Titans look to rebound against league rival the Immortals @ Amrita stadium. Both teams are tied 1-1 in their season series. Will Ware return? Will Lanka put on another scoring showcase?

• The Dynamo will travel to Marineris and look to extend their winning streak to 3 games.
• Al’amal will be @ home to play the new but not yet improved United. 
• The Battle for the Basement @ Huacheng sees Dong Ji and Wuji meet. Will anyone score?

Al'amal Fails To Topple Titans

Al'amal, Capricornus 7, 249

It was a particularly dusty day in Al'amal, not enough to warrant the stadium crew to deploy the tent, but enough to cast the appropriate shadow over the record 16 spectator-transports that lined the top-side deck around the pitch.

The last home game win came in Week 8 against the Marineris Comets.  It feels like eons ago since this crowd erupted into excitement over a Farra goal, but it wasn't going to happen for her, or them, in today's contest.  

"The referee isn't doing he job," according to one local fan, "I don't care what they say about the bots and referee-systems... they are letting obvious fouls against Arwa [Farra] go without cards." 

Others site the team's over-indulgence to prop her up as a problem.

"When you see players giving up clear opportunities and instead pass to her [Farra], it is frustrating.", described Stanley Rathi, himself a phys-ed coach at an A-Levels institute, "We all want her to be top scorer in the league, but not at the expense of the match!"

By no means did the Al'amal SC roll-over and make it easy for the league's juggernaut. 

Farra narrowly missed a rebound shot at the 42 minute mark and came oh-so close to tying the match with a break-away shot that was stolen from her by Titan goalkeeper, #15 Busara.

Al'amal SC held Titans to only 3 shots on goal, but with constant pressure from the Titan forwards, the deciding factor came with #12 Jube Terrell's goal at 18 minutes into the 2nd half. 

#12 Terrell scores her 3rd of the season against Al'amal SC.

"Readale (Nash) was taunting Pour (Al'amal goalkeeper),", Terrell described, "But his pass to Perez was intercepted by Guler (Al'amal #11).  They didn't have their eyes on me, so I came in on Guler's blindside and took the shot right in front of his feet.  It felt like taking candy from a baby."

Though Titan's Captain, #54 Raenia Ware was spotted with teammates in Al'amal earlier in the week, she was not in the lineup, not present pitchside, nor in the post-game briefing.  The club, however, did not have any comments about her absence.

The Titans remain undefeated in their last 10 games.  Big question is:  Which club will finally break the Titan streak?

Don't take a breath; Sudden Death

Al'amal – Solis, Capricornus 1, 249

76 Vygintas Repsas carries the Tiangong Wuji to an important win, breaking a month long cold streak

Just Breathe.

That’s what they tell you to do in tense, stressful situations.

But on Mars, where every breath counts, just breathing may need to be done sparingly.

Especially, when your oxygen tank of gaseous gold is running low and depleting by the second.

Because no one on your team can put a goal into the opposing team’s net.  

A goal that not only would keep your playoff hopes alive… but also keep you alive.

With 55 minutes of oxygen supply per half in their suits, minus 45 minutes of game time, minus another 3 minutes of added time, minus every minute of missed penalty shots, equals new meaning to the term…Sudden Death Overtime.

This was the case in Week 12’s Al’amal SC vs. Tiangong Wuji match which needed 16 penalty kicks in overtime to determine a victor.

“We decided to go to straight to Penalty Kicks in Overtime to improve players’ safety but clearly, our players weren’t helping themselves out there with all those missed shots”, nervously laughed MAFL Commissioner Aiger Masing.

“I’ve never seen so many missed penalty shots before”, said Wuji Captain Stanisals Hachette. “And those oxygen warning messages that kept repeating in our helmets – not helpful!”

Al’amal SC forward Arwa Farra agreed. “They were downright terrifying to be honest.”

It was Farra, the twinkle-toed forward, who opened the match’s scoring at the 27th minute. But alas in this match, Farra was one of many players who missed their shot.

After Al’amal SC was able to unlock the Wuji defence with their rapid change of pace, close control and crisp passing, a superb run and cross set up Farra’s volley into the far corner past Wuji goalkeeper, Trenton Seaton. Al’amal SC 1 – Wuji 0.

It was Farra’s 5th goal of the season, moving her up to 3rd on the season’s goal leaderboard.

“I’m here to help my team win a championship,” said Farra, “And if I need to score more goals to help achieve that, happy to do so and take over the league lead from Lanka and Nash.”

After muddling through most of the first half, unable to find a way around their opponent’s deep-lying and tenacious defence, Wuji manager Bobby Chung signalled their attacking intent by switching from their favoured 5-4-1 formation to a 4-2-3-1 system.

It paid off as Wuji was able to mount more pressure resulting in a goal at the 41st minute.  Vygintas Repsas was able to burst into the Al’amal penalty area, and deliver a backward header into the net for the equalizer.

In the 2nd half, both teams continued to run fearlessly at each other’s defence, willing to make bold decisions in a bid to generate the winner.

But to no avail. And despite three minutes of extra time added, the score remained 1 to 1.

Straight to Penalty Kicks.

Shot 1 - Al’amal Captain Musaddiq Baddour powered a superb shot past Seaton. Goal!  PKOT 1-0

Shot 2 - Wuji: From one Captain to another – Stanislas Hachette’s low drive….forced a fine fingertip save from Al’amal goalkeeper Ahmed al-Pour.  PKOT 0-1

Shot 3 - Al’amal’s Hamad Fayad choose right…as did Seaton - Save. PKOT 1-0

Oxygen Supply Warning – 5 Minutes Remaining, announced in Wuji's Chen Jai's helmet, prompting a nervous kick right into al-Pour’s welcoming hands for Shot 4. PKOT 0-1

Shot 5 - Al’amal’s Farra boosts a kick over a leaping Seaton…and over the net. PKOT 1-0

Shot 6 – Wuji’s John Ming Wong boosts a kick left and wide of the net. PKOT 0-1

Shot 7 – Al’amal’s Genrietta Olegovna sails one over the top far corner. PKOT 1-0

Oxygen Supply Warning – 4 Minutes Remaining.  

Shot 8 – Wuji’s Ozil Alvi rushes a shot right into a diving al-Pour who catches it before it can cross the line. PKOT 0-1

Shot 9 – Al’amal’s Vivian Badour goes right and Seaton guesses right too. PKOT 1-0

Shot 10 – The tour buses start up and are ready to leave as an Al’amal save ends the game…until Wuji’s Respas responds with magic again! Goes left, past a diving al-Pour – Goal! PKOT 1 – 1.  

There must be a winner announces the Referee as the teams scramble to get their players lined up for the next round of shots.

Oxygen Supply Warning – 3 Minutes Remaining.  

Shot 11 – Al’amal’s Rashaa Adel rushes up to the line and nervously boosts a kick wide right.

Shot 12 – Wuji’s Alicia Beldad goes left…as does al-Pour who makes the grab.

Al’amal’s Akaltat Mohar mutters an expletive in his helmet and angrily boosts a shot left…into a diving Seaton, who cannot stop its momentum as the ball and goalkeeper cross the line – Goal!

The crowd goes wild and the tour shuttles power-up for departure until...

Wuji’s Anne-Marije Festen follows suit with a boost shot through the hands of al-Pour – Goal!  

“The game isn’t over!”, cried the fans. 

Oxygen Supply Critical– 2 Minutes Remaining.  

Shot 15 – Al’amal’s Ikram Muhammad boosts a shot right as Seaton guesses left…into the post bouncing away from the net – No goal!

Shot 16 - Wuji’s Zeng Qigang sends a low shot to the left corner which al-Pour guessed correctly, but past his outstretched hands. His tired reflexes (and nerves) could not match his instincts. – Goal!

Game Over – PKOT 3 to 2 for Wuji!

And the crowd goes wild (again)! Everyone exhales.

After the match, with everyone equipped with copious quantities of oxygen, Commissioner Masing stated, “We will look into the necessary changes to ensure this does not happen again.”

Wuji move out of the basement with a 4 - 8 record while Al’amal drops to 6 - 6 for the season.

You Kick Like a Girl

Lunae, Dhanus 16, 249

Farra, Ware,and  Barnato are among the women taking MAFL by storm.

When Al’amal SC were looking to pull off a stunning upset of the Marineris Comets in Week 8, Captain Musaddiq Baddour instantly knew who his dance partner would be.

“Arwa Farra is our most agile and precise player. If anyone was to manage their way through the Marineris Comets’ defenders, it would be her.”

— Baddour

And that she did.

For the game’s first goal, Farra cleverly anticipated and intercepted Comets Defender Stephen Liu’s pass, passed it to Baddour as she ran through the defenders, played his return pass and finished with a boost kick dagger into the far corner. 

Care for another dance?  Baddour and Farra did as they continued their match magic on the second goal of the game.

This time it was Comets Defender Zaida Agre who was victimized by Farra who intercepted Agre’s errant pass and passed over to Baddour who began a crisp, flowing team move. Baddour then delivered a no-look pass over to a streaking Farra who brilliantly rounded the keeper and lofted the shot into the net for the second and final goal of the match.

Al’amal SC: 2, Marineris Comets 0.

Baddour’s confidence in Farra’s ability is no shock as the emerging impact of Women players this year has been one of the more exciting themes in this early MAFL season.

Another theme: The top team to date are the San Olympus Titans with an 8 and 1 record.  

Their Captain: Raenia Ware, 22 years old, Earth Born and the only Woman Captain in MAFL.

Ware isn’t even the Titan’s leading scorer. That distinction belongs to her teammate, María Fernanda Carballal with 3 goals to date. You guessed it, Maria’s a Woman as well.

Amazingly, it wasn’t that long ago that the gender parity discussion was a hotly debated one.

So much so, that even up to the 11th hour of MAFL inauguration, MAFL officials were debating the merits of having two separate leagues: one for each gender (with non-binary players given the right to choose which league).

Ultimately, MAFL decided to bring everyone together in a parity party with target numbers to create balanced player demographics for gender and for birth place.

While we’re not quite at parity yet, the disparity isn’t as wide as you think.

Of the 84 goals scored after Week 8, 43% have been scored by female athletes.

43% of the top 14 scorers to date are women:

• María Fernanda Carballal of the San Olympus Titans;
• Arwa Farra  and Vivian Badour of the Al’amal SC;
• Yvonne Barnato of Europa United;
• Mariya Nikitovna of Novyimir Dynamo; and
• Samantha Park of the Marineris Comets.

While aspirational gender equity played a factor in mixed league play, some cynics believe sheer pragmatic population numbers, and lack of, may have played an even bigger role.

Raenia Ware however, isn’t buying any of that. She insists the decision to go mixed was based on merit.

 “Frankly, we’re almost in the 22nd Century and I can’t believe we’re still fixated on gender. If you look at the numbers, they confirm what myself and others already know. Some of the best players on this planet are women, full stop”, said Ware.

“There’s a reason why they made me Captain of the Titans just like there’s a reason why Maria, and Arwa, and Vivian are doing so well in this league”, said Ware.

From one Captain to another, Liddell Bradley of the Comets has his own theory on why women players have had such a strong impact so far.

“I think it’s great for the game that our Lady friends are doing so well but I know in those two games where Nikitovna scored on us in Week 3 and Farra scored twice on us in Week 8 , I can honestly tell you that our Defenders weren’t focusing on them” said Bradley.

“Our defensive strategy was focused more on shutting down Ilya Jaroslav Petrovich, Sergey Samrend, Mussaddiq Baddour, and Hamad Fayad. I guess when I think about it, they’re all the male stars so maybe there’s this unconscious bias we have. I don’t know. ”

Coach Matthäus Reinmann of Europa United agrees with Bradley, “I’ve seen all the matches so far and I can say, all of us are guilty of collapsing our defenders around the star male players and it’s like we’re ignoring the ladies and taking them for granted. They are definitely getting more chances.”  However, some experts wonder whether the chances women players have displayed to date relate to their unique biology and adaptation to Mars environment.

Early NASA studies and ongoing research at Marineris Tech U on gender in off-world conditions provided suggestions at how the cardiovascular, immunologic, sensorimotor, musculoskeletal, and behavioral adaptations may differ.  Some of those key differences:

• Women had a slight bias towards accuracy versus speed in alertness test vs men.
• Women suffered less visual impairment than men.
• Hearing sensitivity, when measured at several frequencies, declined with age much more rapidly in male astronauts than it did in female astronauts.

“When my helmet’s on, all the Closed Circuit Player Communication noise doesn’t faze me”, said Carballal of the Titans, “I’m able to process it and tune it out when needed. I know some of the guys hate it. They say it distracts them.”

Recent studies on first generation Mars habitation looked at Mars’ gravitational impact on muscle/bone mass loss. Early results suggested that since men generally have more muscle and bone mass than women, the rate and percentage of loss for men appeared to be greater than women.

The more you have, the more you lose according to these studies thus Men apparently had to train harder to reduce the amount of bone/muscle decrease. However, the more you train, the more likely you experience sopite syndrome – a neurological disorder with symptoms of fatigue, drowsiness, and mood changes to prolonged periods of motion.

Bradley admitted to experiencing some of those challenges. “I put in as much Gravity training as possible and I still find it hard to find equilibrium. You can only use the centrifugal services so much and it isn’t feasible to live 1 g on Mars all the time.  It’s an ongoing struggle.”

In addition to exercise, nutrition and medication has been used together as the holy trinity to mitigating Mars gravity.

Some studies suggest women may be responding to diet and medication better than men as early results have indicated more reported incidences of nausea, extreme muscle/bone loss, and allergic reactions in men than women.

One potential reason for the male side effects: a large portion of that medication is in the form of fertility drugs. Those fertility drugs (clomiphene citrate, human chorionic gonadotropin, and human menopausal gonadotropin) were generally made for women initially but have been approved for male use as well to help boost fertility and mass.

So while science may be suggesting a few biological and adaptive advantages for women over men, others are not so convinced.

“If you’re basing things on biology, well, men generally have more endurance than women so I expect as the season goes on, women will begin to tire more quickly”, said Coach Reinmann.

“Teams will also make adjustments and focus more defensive assignments on the gals, so I expect some correction later in the year with men’s scoring up and women’s scoring trending down.”

— Reinmann

Bradley added, “Well, all that geeky science stuff sounds nice but none of it seems conclusive. What is a hard fact is men have scored more goals than women so far and that Uday Lanka is the leading scorer in the game right now and last I checked, he’s a dude.” 

When told Reinmann and Bradley’s comments, Farra replied, “Well, let’s see what happens for the rest of the season. I have lots of respect for Lanka but my teammates have put money on me being the top scorer at the end of the season, and I want to make sure they get paid.”

Regardless of what happens during the rest of the season, one can agree that the Shape of the Game is much more enhanced with women in the picture.

Final Farra words, “Boys - Beware the Chick Kick”.