MAFL Week 21 Roundup

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Dynamos - Comets

Virgo 24 • Novyimir Stadium

Liu scores a hat trick, but it’s too late for the Comets

The MVP of Season 1, Liu had a bit of a sleeper season and wakes up too late to make a difference. It looked like Liu had finally figured out Danilovich and was able to get a hat trick on him. It’s a bittersweet victory for the Comets today as a humiliating MAFL season 2 comes to an end for them. The club managers and Comet’s coach are left facing a horde of disappointed fans and many are demanding that club manager, Gordan Pryce be replaced.

Dynamos move into the semifinals despite a terrible second half of the season.

GOALS

• 1ST 8’ Petrovich (Dynamos) scores with a right-footed tap into the bottom left.

• 1ST 14’ Liu (Comets) feints and slams the ball into the right as Danilovich dives left

• 1ST 21’ Samrend (Dynamos) counters after a free kick and flicks the ball in just under the crossbar

• 2ND 3’ Liu (Comets) nails his penalty kick

• 2ND 12’ Bradley (Comets) scores with an assist from Shelton from the left

• 2ND 19’ Liu (Comets) doubles back and scores with a back heel flick

SHOTS
17	13

POSSESSION
43%	57%

FOULS
4	3

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Immortals - Titans

Virgo 24 • Amrita Stadium

Immortals secures a spot in the semifinals today’s win!

The Immortals have made the biggest comeback of the season to make it into the semifinals for a shot at the MAFL Championships. A strong defensive line on the Immortals helped to focus the game towards the frontline, giving Kata a chance to open up scoring with a right-footed flick into the left.

The Titans’ uncharacteristic carelessness lead to passes going stray and shots going wide. There’s been some tension reported between Salgado and Nash as the two have a tendency to butt heads over training requirements and strategies. “Things are just a little stressful now that we’re coming up to the finals,” says Titans captain, Ware, “but it’s not anything we haven’t dealt with before.”

GOALS

• 1ST 6’ Kata (Immortals) scores with a right-footed kick into the left

• 1ST 16’ Terrell (Titans) intercepts a high pass and heads the ball past Badal

• 2ND 10’ Hagendoorn (Immortals) scores with an assist from Lanka

• 2ND 13’ Lanka (Immortals) redirects a deflected shot by Talpur and scores

• 2ND 20’ Langanah finds Nash (Titans) in the far left with a laser pass, who scores with a left-footed kick.

SHOTS
10	19

POSSESSION
50%	50%

FOULS
3	3

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Al’amal Sports Club - Dongji

Virgo 25 • Al’amal Stadium

Farra leads the offensive strike in the match against Dongji.

Al’amal is knocked out of the finals by an unexpected win from Dongji!

Al’amal is licking their wounds today after a sound defeat at the hands of Dongji—who ended the season on a high note with this surprising victory. With Baddour suspended on a red card from last week, Farra was spearheading the offense on her own. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to carry the team.

“There’s some disappointment, at coming this far and blowing our shot at the championships, but overall I think we had a really good season” says Farra after the match.

Despite a rough season 2, Dongji is celebrating after today “We’re really proud of how everyone played this season, and we’ll be gunning for next season,” said Dongji captain, Ekberg.

GOALS

• 1ST 5’ Cheng (Dongji) opens up scoring with an assist from Xie.

• 1ST 11’ Farra (Al’amal) traps an attempted pass and smashes it past Su’s guard

• 1ST 14’ Lao (Dongji) takes a free kick and scores with a feint and tap into the right

• 1ST 22’ Xie (Dongji) breaks through the defense to challenge Pour one-on-one and score a high shot just shy of Pour’s reach

• 2ND 12’ Farra (Al’amal) steals the ball and scores with a stunning bicycle kick

• 2ND 19’ Ekberg (Dongji) fields a pass from Cheng and scores deep into the right

SHOTS
25	19

POSSESSION
45%	55%

FOULS
3	4

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United - Wuji Sports Club

Virgo 25 • Europa Stadium

United wins by a hair in extra time against Wuji Sports Club.

Both teams struggled for dominance in the second half as the score remained tied at 2-2 for over 30 minutes. Wuji’s performance was solid with the early game swinging in their favor as both Wong and Geng got some solid shots past Sulzberger. United narrowly dodged a loss as Fuchs scored an equaliser late in second half with a boost off the side of the pitch.

As stakes ramped up in extra, Wuji got sloppy and missed vital cues that allowed Dennis to break through the defensive line and smash a right-footed laser into the far left.

GOALS

• 1ST 6’ Wong (Wuji) scores with a left-footed flick up into the right corner

• 1ST 14’ Geng (Wuji) scores with an assist from Alvi

• 1ST 23’ Shaikh (United) expends a boost to trap a high pass and kick it in between Seaton’s legs

• 2ND 19’ Fuchs (United) shuts down a Wuji play and steals the ball to score an equaliser

• ET 4’ Dennis (United) executes a desperate slide tackle that tips the ball just beyond Seaton’s reach

SHOTS
23	28

POSSESSION
48%	52%

FOULS
2	3

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Stats & Standings

Rankings

Team	M	W	L	Goals
United	21	14	7	52
Titans	21	13	8	53
Dynamo	21	11	10	48
Immortals	21	11	10	47
Al'Amal Sports Club	21	10	11	46
Wuji Sports Club	21	9	12	44
Comets	21	9	12	55
Dongji	21	6	15	42

Top Scorers
	Uday Lanka	18
	Readale Nash	15
	Darkeem Dennis	15
	Arwa Farra	13
	Ilya Petrovich	12
	Yvonne Barnato	11
	Qigang Lian	11
	Marcus Ekberg	10
	Raenia Ware	9
	Stephen Liu	9

MAFL Award Night

Aquarius 22, 2077, m249

Last night in Europa was Party Time for the MAFL!

For one night, all MAFL players, coaches and officials could cut loose and be free as they celebrated the season with the first ever MAFL Awards Dinner, hosted by Aiger Masing.

It was an extravagant gala held at Masing Hall, complete with red carpet and flowing champagne.

Free and uninhibited was one Readale Nash, as he adorned a flamboyant purple tuxedo with matching boots.  Nash with 8 goals of the season was up for the MVP award against Al’amal’s Musaddiq Baddour (10 goals) and the Immortals Uday Lanka who led the league in goals scored with 14.

“I feel lucky tonight,” said Nash as he arrived on the red carpet, accompanied by San Olympus A-list socialite Sasha Bayley, 21.

The nominees were submitted by peers in the organization and the winners were selected by an executive committee led by Masing.

"This is an important night to recognize our peers," opened Masing, "But before we do that, we must celebrate what we have accomplished together.  It wasn't easy to bring the MAFL to life.  We had many nay-sayers, so completing our first regular season, in itself, is an achievement we all must be proud of."

Defender of the Year

The first award presented on the evening was for Defender of the Year. Two Comets players, Stephen Liu and Samantha Park were up against the Titans’ Maria Caraball.

The award went to Stephen Liu who anchored the team’s air tight defence and led all defenders with 5 goals for the season.

“I’m thankful for this award but honestly, it easily could have gone to Samantha or Maria as well,” said Liu.

Goalkeeper of the Year

The goalkeeper nominees were Titans Icilio De Sisto, Al’amal SC’s Ahmed Pour and surprisingly United’s Yvonne Barnato who moved to a forward position after Week 15.

De Sisto and Pour both led the league with fewest goals allowed at 19. Barnato was one of the leaders at Week 15 and also led her team with goals scored at the time.  

De Sisto ultimately took the award based his league leading 9 shutouts.

“Thanks to my teammates for their solid defence all year to help me get this award”, said De Sisto.

Best Team

De Sisto returned to the stage shortly after as his team, the San Olympus Titans, ran off with the Best Team of the Year award over the Marineris Comets and Al’amal SC.

The Titans ended up with the best overall record in the league at 16 and 5, gave up the fewest goals in the league (tied with Al’amal) and at one point had a 12 game winning streak during the season.

Which then came as no surprise that Titans manager Paulo Salgado would take the Manager of the Year award over the Comets Gordan J. Pryce and Al’amal’s Haajid Nasr.

“I tip my hat to Paulo” said Nasr. “Our team scores the most goals this year (36) and let in the fewest goals (19) and we still end up with 5 less wins that the Titans. I’d love to know Paulo’s secret to success.”

Most Valuable Player

The most coveted prize of the evening came last;  individual success would be recognized as the MVP.

And the Award went to… Immortal's Captian, Uday Lanka, not only for his 14 goals which helped lift his team to a playoff spot, but also for his leadership and excellent conduct as an ambassador to the sport.

“It’s a great honour which I owe to my teammates so tonight I’ll celebrate with them but tomorrow we get ready for the Titans,” said Lanka.

Not all were in agreement with Lanka being chosen as MVP.

“No disrespect to Uday but in our last match, he got red carded which left his team on the losing side. Not sure if that’s how you’d define sportsmanship conduct,” said Nasr.  

Immortals manager Andam Mirza shrugged off Nasr’s comments afterwards, “Al’amal has Baddour, Farra and Fayad who were all in the top five for scoring. Without Uday, we would have no business being in the playoffs, so he deserves this award like no other.”

Between drinks, Nash shared his thoughts, “Personally, I think the MVP should go to the best player on the best team. Last I checked, the Titans were the best and I had the most goals on that team. That’s okay. Do you see who I’m with? I’m the one going home with the real prize tonight!”

Most Valuable Masing

There was one unofficial award that was uncontested.  Owners, players and managers all raised a glass for Aiger Masing.  

Indeed, the MAFL would not have existed without his individual efforts and financial contributions.  He fought through the red tape with colonies across Mars and built professional sports on a planet that never planned on having it.  Though the ups and downs, he's stuck with it and tonight, he was rewarded with the respect he has earned.

Then There Were Four

Aquarius 16, 2077, m249

It took the final day of the season to determine the final four teams to advance to the playoffs:

• 1st seed: Titans - 16 and 5 final season record.
• 2nd seed: Comets - 13 and 8 final season record.
• 3rd seed: Al’amal – 11 and 10 final season record.
• 4th seed: Immortals – 11 and 10 final season record.

Al’amal goes over the Immortals due to their 2-1 record over them in regular season play.

And despite having a similar record to Al’amal and the Immortals, the Dynamo will not advance to the playoffs due to a technicality: they did not score as many goals this season as Al’amal and the Immortals.

“We can hold our heads high as we went out winners”, said Dynamo captain Ilya Petrovich. “Before the outbreak, we were going nowhere. Once it started, we were able to rally and win 7 of our last 8 matches beating some of the best teams in the league. We have a strong foundation”.

Also just missing the playoffs – Europa United who ended the season on a 3 game winning streak to finish 10 and 11 for the season.

“If we had made our moves a bit earlier, i.e. getting Darkeem Dennis and moving Yvonne Barnato, maybe we could have made it,” said United manager Matthäus Reinmann.

But alas, in a highly competitive season, Dynamo and United will have to look forward to next season. For the playoff teams, they look forward to the next two weeks to prepare and heal.

Titans are 3-0 against the Comets in the regular season.

Aquarius 28th

The well balanced Comets will host the high powered offence of Al’amal. This will be the Comet’s first home match since the tragic passing of Yamen Warren.  How will the team respond? For Al’amal, will they be able to get all their injured players back for a full on attack?

Kumbha 1st

The Titans will host their bitter rivals, the Immortals. In their week 3 matchup, the Immortals Uday Lanka embarrassed the Titans scoring four goals to secure an Immortals win. In the next two matches, the Titans won and nullified Lanka’s presence in both matches.

 “We learned from our mistakes in week 3 and made adjustments and proved we can shut Lanka down when we need to”, said Titans captain Raenia Ware. “Two weeks also gives time for Nash to recover, so we’ll be ready.”

Will they? Which Titans team will show up? The one that went 14 – 1 to start the season?  Or the team that crawled their way down the stretch losing 4 of their last six matches?  Will their leading scorer, Nash be ready to play despite suffering what appeared to be a serious leg injury?

And which Immortals team will we see in two weeks? A confident, high powered offensive team with Lanka leading the charge? Or one prone to errors which resulted in a late season slide from a potential 2nd seed to the 4th seed?

Are you ready for some playoff action?

Owned

San Olympus - Aquarius 15, 2077, m249

In a battle between the league’s top two teams, the Titans defended home field advantage by beating the Comets 2 – 1.

With both teams having secured their playoff spots and rankings weeks before, this match was all about sending a statement to each other should they meet down the road in the playoffs.

“The rumours of our demise have been greatly exaggerated”, said Titans captain Raenia Ware. “I think we sent a strong message to the 2nd place Comets! We own you.”

And one could hardly blame Ware for her bravado as the Titans have beaten the Comets in all three of their regular season matchups.

Early on though, the Titans looked like they would continue their poor play of late as the Comets came out aggressively, inspired by Jayden and Mirna Warren’s pre-game speech delivered from Amrita.

In just the 2nd minute, Stephen Liu teased the Titans defenders on the left wing before sending a perfect cross to the back post, where Luz Obregón finished with a header. Comets 1 Titans 0.

And just as the Comets were building momentum, the Titans’ Pualin Cambeiro crashed into the Comets’ goalkeeper Zaida Agre at the 12th minute. Cambeiro would receive a Yellow Card for her reckless play while Agre was taken off the field with an injury that could jeopardize Agre’s future playoff participation.

And another key injury would take place, this time with the Titans at the 42th minute. The Comets’ Joel Brooks tackled a streaking Readale Nash who crashed to the ground. Nash limped off the field, arm around a trainer, with an apparent leg injury. Nash is the Titans leading scorer with 8 goals.

This awoke the Titans who were able to respond by quickly applying pressure on the Comets’ substitute goalkeeper Alessandro Clemente Ferraz who flubbed a pass to his own defenders which ended up erroneously going into his own net to give the Titans the equalizing gift. 1-1.

At the 52nd minute, the Titans would put in the decided goal as a long pass from Raenia Ware was met by Jube Terrell who drove a left-foot volley past a diving Clemente. Titans 2 Comets 1. 

And the Titans were then able to nurse that lead for the remaining 40 minutes to put the match to rest.

After the match, when relayed Ware’s comment around being, “owned by the Titans”, Comets captain chuckled, “That’s the type of arrogance and lack of respect that will kick them right in the butt come playoff time.”

Ware later issued an apology for her comment after blow-back from her own fan-base that regarded her statements as insensitive considering the circumstances with the unprecedented number of injuries.  In this regard, the Titans are also not immune as the extent of Nash's injury still unknown.

“They say I may be done for the season but they don’t know me,” said a defiant Nash in a full leg brace during the post-match interview. “I don’t care what the doctors say, I will be there for the playoffs.”

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.”

Upbeat Performances in Huacheng

Huacheng - Aquarius 15, 2077, m249

With both team already eliminated from playoff contention, this mostly meaningless match delivered clean and exciting performances from both sides.

"We were very disappointed to be cut out of a chance at the championship,', Reinmann told reporters, "But we're over that now.  Especially in light of what the league has faced, we just wanted to come in and give the fans a good match."

The somber tone set by the opening tribute to fallen Comet, Yamen Warren was followed by energetic plays.  After flirting with Dong Ji goalkeeper, Xue Su, #22 Anasova Ivanovna got a shot in from the edge of the box to get the only goal of the 1st half.

3 minutes into the 2nd, DJ Captian Lian intercepted a pass and boosted himself in for a break away shot.  It bounced off Sulzberger, but Lian was right there to finish the job with a beautiful airborne strike.

An exchange of back-to-back goals from free kicks, respectively DJ 68 Sertac and United's 29 Claudia Moruga kep the game tied as the teams sparred into the final minutes.  It would take Overtime Penalty Kicks decide the match.

This has been the achilles heel of Dong Ji all season, but even though they put in a good fight with 55 Zhao and 84 Chan, United was able to out shoot them 3-2.

22 Anosova Ivanovna scores her 2nd goal 9 minutes into the 1st half.

When asked how she felt playing this match after what had transpired just two weeks ago, Ivanonva responded, "We all love this game.  When bad things happen, it makes all of us that much more grateful to have a chance to play.  We will keep playing and the MAFL will keep getting bigger and stronger."

As Dong Ji and United pack it up for the season, two matches remain on the day, Comets vs Titans and the much anticipated battle between Amrita and Al'amal, which will decide the final playoff seed.

Dynamos Keep Hopes Alive

Novyimir, Aquarius 15, 2077, m249

It may have been easy to dismiss the Dynamos in the first half of the season, but they made a 180 and have become contenders.

In the early morning match, the Dynamos made an example of the hapless Wuji on home turf in their bid to make it to the semi-finals and a chance for the championship.

It would be Dynamos 31 Illya Kyrylyuk to draw first blood from a free-kick awarded after a Wuji foul at 24 minutes into the half.  Having adopted the midfield position after a dismal stretch as Dynamo goalkeeper, this was Kyrylyuk's first regular play goal.

13 minutes later, with ball in hand, Goalkeeper Boris Danilovich (coincidentally, Kyrylyuk's replacement) abandoned his post and with two sequential bursts joined a Dynamo rush.  A pass to captain Petrovich was quickly returned back and instead of passing and safely retreating back to his position, he fired from 20 meters.  The ball defected off defender Mangat and right by Hu Liao, who has taken goalkeeper position after Seaton's week 20 injury.

Before the 1st have would end, 22 Serhij Stadnyk would add another goal for the Dynamos.

Dynamos dominate Wuji in Novyimir

Having taken the match, the Dynamos fate is now in the hands of Al'amal SC.  Should Al'amal lose against the Amrita Immortals, they capture the last slot and make their way to the semi-finals.  If, however, Al'amal wins, even though they would be tied in the standings at 11-10, the slot goes to the team with higher standing and they will be eliminated.

"We can only wait for the match in Amrita this afternoon,", said Petrovich, "It will certainly be unbearable for us to watch and rely on the Immortals to win on our behalf."