MAFL Week 12 Roundup
We see extremely close matches this week as the clubs battle it out on the pitch. The Immortals a shaken as Coach Cezar Veduva is fired following the match. Meanwhile, Lanka has some serious competition from Nash as he finally ties with Lanka for the top scorer.
Immortals - Al’amal Sports Club
Leo 9 • Amrita Stadium
Vaduva is let go after the latest immortal’s game against Al’amal
Immortals coach is fired after their 11th loss of the season.
It was a solid game for Al’amal, as they controlled both halves of the match to turn plays and attacks to their favor. The Immortals were outclassed on the pitch, and even Lanka was unable to bag any goals—with Al’Pour stopping his attempted cross-kick with cold.
More significantly, the club has been left shaken as coach Cezar Veduva was unceremoniously fired immediately after the game. In the words of club owner, Vijya Pandey, “Someone has to be accountable for this mess.” It is expected that Andam Mirza, Immortals Manager, will cover the role, but he’s in a deep hole and not likely in Pandey’s good goods either.
GOALS
1ST 10’ Guler arrows the ball into the top left with an assist from Farra.
2ND 16’ Fayad scores with a right-footed smash into the bottom left on her free kick.
2ND 19’ Baddour delivers a beautiful long range shoot that sailed straight past Badal’s reach.
| SHOTS ON GOAL | |
|---|---|
| 14 | 21 |
| POSSESSION | ||
|---|---|---|
| 33% | 67% | |
| FOULS | |
|---|---|
| 3 | 4 |
Titans - Comets
Leo 9 • San Olympus Park
Barnett leaves the field after an awkward landing leaves them with knee injuries
Titans victorious as Nash makes a great comeback to tie with Lanka at the top!
The match between the Titans and Comets was evenly played as both teams struggled for dominance on the field. Nash tied the game with a penalty kick and won the match with an long range slam in the final minutes of second half.
“This was payback for the finals” Nash said after the match, referring to the injury that caused him to miss the finals in season 1. The Comets lost a midfielder as Barnett was carried off the field for injuring her knee after her goal near the end of the first half. Likewise, Terrell sat out the rest of the match after suffering a minor sprain as she misstepped after her goal. Both are expected to recover fairly quickly.
GOALS
1ST 12’ Bradley for Comets
1ST 18’ Terrell for Titans
1ST 22’ Barnett for Comets
2ND 11’ Nash for Titans
2ND 27’ Nash for Titans
| SHOTS ON GOAL | |
|---|---|
| 8 | 10 |
| POSSESSION | |
|---|---|
| 57% | 43% |
| FOULS | ||
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | |
United - Wuji
Leo 10 • Europa Stadium
Wuji fights back hard in the second half but unable to take the match.
Darkeem Dennis of United opened up scoring with a brilliant aerial kick that narrowly missed the top bar. The game was evenly matched with United and Wuji alternating goal scoring. Wuji struck hard in the second half with an equaliser by Wong—but Covaci, was able to snatch a stray ball and score a long range strike. The United midfielder was elated over her first career goal and completely overwhelmed by her teammates as they rushed to celebrate.
GOALS
1ST 17’ A beautiful aerial shot by Dennis (United)
2ND 13’ Hachette (Wuji)
2ND 18’ Fuchs (United) converts a pass from Dennis into a beautiful
2ND 25’ Wong (Wuji) a right footed kick drills catches Riva off guard.
ET 8’ Covaci (United) breaks the tie in extra time to score the winning goal.
| SHOTS ON GOAL | |
|---|---|
| 23 | 21 |
| POSSESSION | |
|---|---|
| 66% | 34% |
| FOULS | |
|---|---|
| 3 | 4 |
Dynamo - Dongji
Leo 10 • Novyimir Stadium
Dongji threaten the Dynamos in a close match, but lose the match in extra time.
The Dynamos are in fine shape after the midseason break, but Dongji put up a fight that they did not expect this week. First half, and then second half ticked by with no goals in sight by either team. Tensions were incredibly high on the pitch as the game was battled out completely in extra time.
Geng was booked and given a red card as the whistle blew at the end of the second half for instigating a fight, leaving Dongji to play shorthanded. This was probably what lead to Dongji’s defeat as the Dynamos hammered hard at their defence score the winning goal 105 minutes after the opening whistle.
GOALS
ET 3’ Festen (Dongji) scores with a clever tap after receiving a pass from Cheng
ET 8’ Petrovich (Dynamos) counters an attempted rush and turns it around to net a goal
ET 15’ Nikitovna kicks a curve ball into the top right corner to score the winning goal
| SHOTS ON GOAL | |
|---|---|
| 4 | 2 |
| POSSESSION | |
|---|---|
| 64% | 46% |
| FOULS | |
|---|---|
| 2 | 4 |
Stats & Standings
Rankings
| Team | M | W | L | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dynamo | 12 | 9 | 3 | 30 |
| United | 12 | 8 | 4 | 30 |
| Al'Amal Sports Club | 12 | 8 | 4 | 28 |
| Wuji Sports Club | 12 | 6 | 6 | 29 |
| Titans | 12 | 6 | 6 | 25 |
| Comets | 12 | 5 | 7 | 34 |
| Dongji | 12 | 3 | 9 | 22 |
| Immortals | 12 | 3 | 9 | 19 |
| Top Scorers | ||
|---|---|---|
| Uday Lanka | 10 | |
| Darkeem Dennis | 10 | |
| Readale Nash | 10 | |
| Qigang Lian | 8 | |
| Arwa Farra | 8 | |
| Ilya Petrovich | 7 | |
| Mariya Nikitovna | 7 | |
| Yvonne Barnato | 6 | |
| Jube Terrell | 6 | |
| Lennard Fuchs | 6 | |
Mid-Season MAFL Review
As the MAFL players get a break at the halfway point of Season 2, we can take a look at how things are shaping up, some of the biggest surprises of the season, and where we think things are heading.
current leaders of MAFL season 2, the dynamos pose on the pitch.
Season 2 of MAFL has officially passed the halfway mark and as players get a rare weekend break, we can pause to take a look at how things have been shaping up this season.
The season has been consistently capped by the Novyimir Dynamos at the top of the standings and the Amrita Immortals anchoring the bottom. Although Lanka has played an outstanding season so far, the Immortals have not been able to provide the support or pull together as a team.
Europa has performed well, with Darkeem Dennis proving his trade was the best move United could have made leading up to the season. Dennis is closely trailing behind Lanka on the scorer charts with 9 goals so far to Lanka’s 10.
Week by Week view of the MAFL Standings so far.
The two surprises of the season have definitely been the Wuji Sports Club and the Comets. Wuji has played a drastically improved game since the replacement of manager Bobby Chung and the addition of Lian as captain. Meanwhile, the Comets have not been able to break into the top 3 at all this season. Fans are quick to point out that the Comets also took time to build up momentum in season 1, however it doesn’t look optimistic for the Comets.
Similarly, the Titans have failed to recapture the explosive energy they had at the beginning of the inaugural season, fading into the background of a league that has grown significantly more competitive. If they cannot adapt, they will remain mediocre. At current pace, we doubt they will will make it into the play offs.
It’s likely that the season 2 championships will be a battle between the Dynamos, United, and Al’amal. Although Wuji has demonstrated some fantastic victories this season, their output is still too inconsistent to be a serious contender for the championship this season.
With Dennis pulling the team together the way he has for the last couple matches, our credits are on United to knock the Dynamos out as we move into the second half of the season.
The Contrast between Comets and DJ
Winning has just seemed to elude Dong Ji. Even with a respectable number of goals (14 on the season, which just puts them behind Immortals and Al’amal), DJ has consistently run out of steam by the end of every match. Aside from their opening game victory against the Immortals to an elated home-crowd, DJ has been unable to beat any another team aside from their sister colony’s Wuji club, who has also been struggling.
Huacheng – Solis, Capricornus 1, 249
#87 Caleb Houghton takes Dong Ji to school.
That makes 4 wins in a row for Marineris.
They were the clear favourite for the match as they faced one of the league's worst.
Winning has just seemed to elude Dong Ji. Even with a respectable number of goals (14 on the season, which just puts them behind Immortals and Al’amal), DJ has consistently run out of steam by the end of every match. Aside from their opening game victory against the Immortals to an elated home-crowd, DJ has been unable to beat any other team aside from their sister colony’s Wuji club, who has also been struggling.
Today’s loss places Dong Ji at the very bottom of the pack.
It wasn't always easy for the Comets, though, who have been middle-of-the-pack for the first quarter season, but, now, they are confident and disciplined.
“It feels good. We feel like a team and we are playing that way.”
The wins have, indeed, been a team effort. Goals have been made by 19 members of the 25 man squad. And it isn’t just the forwards. Their top scorer is #2 Stephen Liu, a defender.
There has been a lot of talk on social channels about consistency around the league. Without precedence for professional sports on Mars, the MAFL’s first season is proving to be somewhat of a living experiment.
According to Dr. Vijay Lee of the newly founded sports medicine department at Huacheng Institute this is expected: “We have people who originally came to Mars to be genetic engineers or physicists and now they are suddenly thrust into competitive sport. As our educational programs, infrastructure and our culture evolve to nurture athletes, we will see greater consistency and better contests.”
Others disagree.
"It doesn't matter.", says Comets Manager, Gordan Pryce, "There will be always winners and losers, regardless of the quality of talent pool. That’s the magic of sports. We are witnessing a golden age of opportunity here. It’s lit that Nestor (#15 Ramirez, Comets defender) came to Mars on a work visa to be a machine-psychologist."
Both goals in this match came in the 2nd half. #87 Caleb Houghton captured his first goal at 49 minutes. That was enough to unravel Dong Ji. #2 Liu scored his 3rd of the season at the 57 mark, finishing the deal.
Comets are now 8-4 and Dong Ji is 3-9.
Don't take a breath; Sudden Death
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.
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.
Is there a dark side to Titans' dominance?
With their defeat of Europa United, the San Olympus Titans moved to 11-1 – solidifying themselves as the most dominant team in the MAFL.
The Titans’ runaway success has shocked scouts and bookmakers, most of whom weren't expecting much from the league’s only majority-female team. But their cruise to a near-perfect season has exposed the prevailing soccer wisdom from Earth to be obsolete on Mars – where lived experience on this planet has proven far more valuable than natural talent and athletic ability.
San Olympus – Saturnis, Dhanus, 28
United captain Fuchs clashes with the titans
With their defeat of Europa United, the San Olympus Titans moved to 11-1 – solidifying themselves as the most dominant team in the MAFL.
The Titans’ runaway success has shocked scouts and bookmakers, most of whom weren't expecting much from the league’s only majority-female team. But their cruise to a near-perfect season has exposed the prevailing soccer wisdom from Earth to be obsolete on Mars – where lived experience on this planet has proven far more valuable than natural talent and athletic ability.
The Titans’ firepower this season has come exclusively from Martian-born and naturalized players — more than half of them women. And their star forward, #8 Readale Nash, is still a teenager.
“Most of this team never played before,” manager Paulo Salgado said. "You can teach the game. But those who played on earth – they’ve got habits that don’t always work here, and you can’t un-teach that.”
Rivals, however, have cast the Titans’ success in a darker light.
“Look, it just shows you can buy your way into the top of the standings,” said exasperated Europa coach Matthäus Reinmann, after his loss to San Olympus at Olympus Park. “It’s disgraceful.”
Titans owner Kamden Lewis — the tech billionaire who was one of the founding settlers at San Olympus — is the subject of much suspicion in MAFL circles. The mercurial 82-year-old’s has been dogged by allegations of his involvement in the 2071 bribery scandal at the Olympus Mons strip mine. And rumours about his erratic, menacing visits to the team locker room have swirled in recent weeks.
“Get out of my face,” Lewis barked on his way out of Olympus Park, flanked by the team of doctors who follow him everywhere. “They’re all just sore losers with stupid conspiracy theories.”
Dynamos Tune Out
Just when you though that the Dynamos had turned over a corner for the 2nd half of the season after besting Al’amal SC in week 11, apparently, just didn’t feel it was necessary to show up for week 12.
Novyimir – Saturnis, Dhanus, 28
Immortals #77 Brian Hyun makes his first goal of the season, securing a 2-0 victory over the Novyimir Dynamos.
Just when you though that the Dynamos had turned a corner for the 2nd half of the season after besting Al’amal SC in week 11, apparently, just didn’t feel it was necessary to show up for week 12.
In a pitiful display against the 4th place Immortals, the Dynamos failed to muster any offence.
To the dismay of the local Novyimir fans, the Immortal defence held the Russian squad to just a single shot on goal by #1 Avideh Karaaria at the 9 minute mark.
Petrovich (C) was unable to produce any sparks. Quite possibly one of his weakest performances to-date, at final whistle, he retreated to the club transport clearly rattled by the loss and ignored all interview requests.
“We let down the home crowd today.”, said #8 Mariya Nikitovna. “But we won’t let this bring us down.”
For the Immortals, this was an important win. With #33 Fox and #77 Hyun each scoring their first respective goals of the season, it is a positive indicator for the club.
“I’m pleased the players are stepping up. This will make the difference for our run to the championship.”
Lanka (C), the leagues top scorer was silenced in the match, but had this to say, “It really doesn’t matter if I score, so long as we take the win. Alan (Fox) demonstrated his skill today and you will see a lot more from him, I promise.”