MAFL Week 3 Roundup
Week 3 of MAFL Season 2 sees the Dynamos secure another victory, Nash and Ekberg trade shots in Huacheng, Immortals struggle to break their losing streak, and the Comets and E. United face off in Europa.
Wuji - Dynamo
Mithuna 21 • Tiangong Stadium
zeng prepares to take a corner kick for wuji
Dynamos continue their red hot winning streak and take the lead in the standings.
Petrovich once again delivers the deciding goal of the match. Senturk and Nikitovna also contribute goals to Dyanmo's victory at Tiangong Stadium. Wuji started strong with and took the lead early after halftime. They were unable to hold onto their lead despite a valiant effort by Lian to lead his team, but were unable to find off the relentless offence of the Dynamos..
| SHOTS ON GOAL | |
|---|---|
| 16 | 25 |
| POSSESSION | |
|---|---|
| 34% | 66% |
| FOULS | |
|---|---|
| 3 | 4 |
GOALS
1ST 5' Senturk scores for Dynamos
1ST 6' Wong scores for Wuji
2ND 12' Lian scores for Wuji
2ND 14' Nikitovna scores for Dynamos
2ND 19' Petrovich scores the deciding goal for Dynamos
Dongji - Titans
Mithuna 21 • Novyimir Stadium
a frustrated ware waits out the rest of the first half in the pit as technicians raced replace damaged components in her tech pack and thrust nozzles.
Dongji proves they're not the same squad we saw last season with this week's victory.
Many are attributing Dongji's new spirit to the newly minted captain, Marcus Ekberg. The team ran like a smoothly oiled machine as they successfully ran counterattacks the Titan's offensives pushes. Nevertheless, it was Nash and Ekberg that stole the show this match with 2 goals apiece, but Ekberg has the last laugh as he punts the ball into the top right corner at the 24 minute mark for the second half. The pressure is on Titan captain, Raenia Ware, as concerns mount from the losing trend that is keeping them at the bottom with the similarly struggling Immortals club.
GOALS
| SHOTS ON GOAL | |
|---|---|
| 15 | 22 |
| POSSESSION | |
|---|---|
| 43% | 57% |
| FOULS | |
|---|---|
| 2 | 4 |
1ST 4' Nash scores for Titans
1ST 6' Ekberg scores for Dongji
1ST 9' Geng scores for Dongji
2ND 4' Terrell scores for Titans
2ND 12' Saqqat scores for Dongji
2ND 15' Nash scores for Titans
2ND 24' Ekeberg scores for Dongji
NOTABLE SUBSTITUTIONS
1ST 26' Ware forced to stop play due to damaged boost thruster
2ND 10' Fan replaces Feston after she sprains
an ankle on a bad landing.
Immortals - Al'amal Sports Club
Mithuna 22 • Amrita Stadium
Al'amal Sports Club and Amrita Immortals meet for the first time since Season 1.
Lanka fights hard for the Immortals after an anemic first half—scoring 2 goals for the Immortals in the second half. The home crowd were on the edge of their seats as Lanka is almost tied the match when he hit the post with 3 minutes left. Season 2 has been hard on Lanka, despite currently being the top scorer in the league, his team has yet to win any games.
Mancebo is red carded in the second half for smashing her elbow into an Al'amal forward's faceplate as she tried to intercept a pass. New league rules on head contact are being strictly enforced this season.
GOALS
1ST 6' Guler scores for Al'amal
1ST 18' Baddour scores for Al'amal
2ND 19' Lanka scores for Immortals
2ND 22' Lanka scores for Immortals
2ND 25' Fayad scores for Al'amal
NOTABLE FOULS
2ND 22' Mancebo given a red card and suspended for one match.
| SHOTS ON GOAL | |
|---|---|
| 17 | 18 |
| POSSESSION | |
|---|---|
| 49% | 51% |
| FOULS | |
|---|---|
| 4 | 3 |
Europa United - Comets
Mithuna 22 • Europa Stadium
A intense game with both teams pouring their all into the match at Europa Stadium.
United threw everything they had at the Comets, clearly gunning for the win as they came up against last season's champions. Manfredo Riva gets his first chance in goal as United Manager, Matthäus Reinmann, gives Sulzberger a day off. The Comets pressed but were shut down as the United defence targeted Comets forward, Stephen Liu.
Increasing frustration on the Comet's side lead to an uncommon number of bookings, ending with Brooks being ejected from the game after receiving his second yellow card. United's captain, Fuchs, capitalizes on the change and converts the penalty kick into the winning goal.
Saprai is back on the field after sitting out the last match.
GOALS
1ST 12' Marsh scores for Comets
1ST 26' Dennis scores for United
2ND 14' Elliot scores for Comets
2ND 22' Barnato scores for United
2ND 26' Fuchs scores for United
NOTABLE SUBSTITUTIONS
2ND 16' Shelton is replaced by Marsh after a suit malfunction
| SHOTS ON GOAL | |
|---|---|
| 20 | 18 |
| POSSESSION | |
|---|---|
| 55% | 45% |
| FOULS | |
|---|---|
| 3 | 6 |
Stats & Standings
Rankings
| Team | M | W | L | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dynamo | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| Dongji | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
| Al'Amal Sports Club | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| United | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Comets | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| Wuji Sports Club | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Titans | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Immortals | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Top Scorers | ||
|---|---|---|
| Uday Lanka | 4 | |
| Marcus Ekberg | 3 | |
| Zhou Geng | 3 | |
| Readale Nash | 3 | |
| Husain el Guler | 3 | |
| Ilya Petrovich | 2 | |
| Avideh Karaaria | 2 | |
| Yvonne Barnato | 2 | |
| Sergey Samrend | 2 | |
| Darkeem Dennis | 2 | |
Tale of Twin Colonies
Lian's move from Dongji to Wuji has been regarded by many Dongji fans as a betrayal of his home colony. Dongji gained forward Jai Cheng, and midfielder Anne-Marije Feston out of the trade.
Fans in Dongj have been upended with Season 2 changes, particularly losing former Captain to Wuji Sport Club.
After a dramatic season 1 with high stakes, it is no surprise that the MAFL is going through changes. Beyond the changes to the Aero Football rules, technology upgrades, and growing licensing deals with Earth affiliates, the players remain the key ingredient.
For most fans, the experience of seeing players change positions or getting traded is a big deal on its own, but the last minute trade activity between Tiangong and Huacheng at the tail end of the off-season, brings it to a new level. The sister colonies have always had their differences, with Huacheng often considered the “Chinese capitol” on Mars there has always been a sense of competition, however, the MAFL can take credit for stirring it into a true rivalry.
Back in Season 1, Huacheng was devistated by Darkeem Dennis' unexpected trade to Europa. Qigang Lian's move from Dongji to Wuji has been regarded by many Dongji fans as an outright betrayal of the colony. They have also been reluctant to accept Marcus Ekberg, a non-Chinese, with the role of Captain. With all the moaning, the benefits of Ekberg's leadership along with gaining forward Jai Cheng, and midfielder Anne-Marije Feston, the Dongji squad is actually looking better than ever.
Ekberg, a Martian-born native of Wendland colony, is not a fluent Mandarin speaker and previously showed little interest in picking up the language. At the last press briefing, however, Ekberg responded to local media questions in Chinese. Although he was certainly aided by a virtual translator, the gesture was well received. In the world of sports, the language of 'wins' is the true prize, so long as Ekberg can bring in the goals, he won't likely need to fallback on his Chinese.
As for Lian, he had been openly looking to move to the sister colony after his wife had moved to Tiangong to take a role on council. They were living apart for most of season 1. Had Wuji owner, Koh Chen, not encouraged the Wuji shakeup, the opportunity would not have been on the table for him.
“It’s an opportunity to continue my journey as athlete and captain,” says Lian, “I'm grateful for this opportunity and I’m excited to work with my new teammates.”
The serious drama, though, is in Lian’s usurping of Hachette’s captain title. Stanislas Hachette has been widely panned in Season 1 for ineffective leadership, lack of scoring ability, and general unawareness of the flow of gameplay. Some see his demotion as a gift to the team.
“We love Hachette though,” says his teammates, “His nickname is The Hachet. Not because he’s a sharp player, but he’s got a really sharp sense of humour. We feel bad for him, but relieved he's still on the team.”
However, to those loyal to the charismatic former captain, his demotion coupled with the cutting of Wuji’s manager Bobby Chung has fans grumbling. And even in the general fanbase, not everyone is quite warmed up to the idea of having Lian as captain, despite him leading Wuji to a solid start in Season 2. Time will tell, as play continues, whether the trades will prove a wise move for the two teams.
The first highly anticipated face off between the two clubs happens on week 6, the 17th of Cancer.
Moles shut down Khimik 2-0 at Marineris
Playing in front of their home crowd at Marineris, the Moles provided a balanced attack that blanked Khimik 2 – 0 and moved the Moles to the top of the standings alongside the Cosmonauts.
Playing in front of their home crowd at Marineris, the Moles provided a balanced attack that blanked Khimik 2 – 0 and moved the Moles to the top of the standings alongside the Cosmonauts.
Despite Khimik having more scoring chances, goalie Sam Bailey was lights out again making 17 saves to record the shutout. It was his first of the second exhibition round and so far in three matches, Bailey has a sparking goals against average (GAA) of 1.00.
“Bailey is our rock”, said Moles Captain Janice Campbell. “He led the first round with 3 shutouts, so we’re no stranger to his brilliance.”
Asked if he had extra motivation to shine in front of his home colony, Bailey replied, “Actually, I was a bit nervous in the home opener when we lost to the Cosmonauts. So this time, I was able to relax and just play my game. Also props to my teammates for their solid defense once again.”
sam bailey snatches for a puck as he guards the net for the moles.
That defense was anchored by Kara Okeke, Vicky Li and Laura Hall as they fore-checked, trapped, and steered away a number of Khimik chances to support Bailey’s shutout.
The first goal of the game occurred at 7:28 of the first period as Hall drew two defenders her way and then spun around with a backhanded pass down towards a streaking Campbell for the breakaway. Campbell deked left and then shot right as goalie Veronica Danilenko was caught off guard.
1 – 0 Moles.
The follow-up was delivered in the second period at 9:40 as Hall skated behind the Khimik net drawing attention from the defenders and then throwing it in front to a ready Campbell who fired the puck past Danilenko.
Moles 2 – Khimik 0.
And with a comfortable lead heading into the third period, the Moles, again, pulled together a brilliant defense to frustrate a pressing Khimik into three straight penalties. Khimik was forced to exhaust all their energy killing the penalties, leaving little else for offensive plays.
“Laura just makes it so easy for me. It’s like she has eyes in the back of her head,” said Campbell. “From her to Bailey’s brilliance to our defenders’ strong play, I’m really proud of everyone’s overall effort. Now we need to bring that against the Cosmonauts next week.”
And it was the Cosmonauts who handed the Moles their only loss in this second exhibition round – in Marineris no less! Will the Fedin sisters shine again in their home rink at Noviymir? Or will the Dynamic Duo of Hall and Campbell prevail? We’ll find out next week.