GAS vs. Siam Celtic

The draw for the first part of 2011 seemed to favor the GAS, at least on paper. After a particularly long Christmas break were any football/physical activity was replaced by daily eating and drinking “boot-camps”, our players could benefit from playing one of the more ‘accessible’ teams in the league (careful here, we might be part of that group ourselves as well).

The setting for the game was once again excellent; 15 of our best players, a reasonable number of followers, pitch in great condition and a relatively “mild” weather considering the 14:30 kick-off time. We started the game against the Siam Celtic with a strong 10 minutes of intensity, great ball control and ordered passing plays. After a nice team playing action, Sebas’ superb shot hit the post and suddenly, out of nowhere, 2011 was starting to look a lot better than 2010. Unfortunately this New Year mirage did not last long and soon the calendar seemed to roll back a couple of months back into the old year. GAS started to play a confusing game once again and offered the initiative to its adversaries in a golden plate. “That’s so 2010!” our team fashionistas would say with a derogatory tone.

The first half ended without goals, with some chances for the Siam Celtic and barely any shot on goal from the GAS. Things really did not improve during the second half; I would say they actually got worse in terms of the game play. Siam Celtic had 2 or 3 clear opportunities in front of our goal, which thanks to either Jaime or the Celtic attacker, did not move the scoring board. Just when a draw was starting to look like an excellent result for the GAS, both lady luck and the Celtic central defense stood by our side and offered us a goal. Not much happened after this lucky event, except for a nice run down the left wing from Tan, his shot blocked by the goalkeeper, the rebound opportunistically intercepted by Pablo and a nice goal for the final 2-0. (the goal was not nice, but since I am the one taking the time to write this report, I am allowed some personal publicity)

In the end, we did not play good football but we can all agree that at this point in the season, 3 points taste like Christmas turkey with home-made gravy. (for the vegetarians in our team maybe “broccoli au gratin”) Our game will surely get better once we regain our fitness and in my opinion will improve even more if we work on some key areas: ball control and moving in blocks. What do I mean with moving in blocks? Simply that we should all play short passes to each other and move in a synchronized manner up and down the pitch without losing our formation. Think all of us attacking together and defending together, as a uniform block. Once we manage to do this, our game will be where we want it to be.

Next Saturday we have a classic fixture ahead of us: Les Gaulois. Games against our French friends are always intense and fun to play. Let’s make sure we show up with a fighting spirit and a willingness to play a better, more organized game. Motivation should not be an issue when some of you see the blue shirts. However, for cases like Simon, I suggest imagining that Domenech is on the other side and for cases like mine (no historical disputes against the French) just pretend these are the guys who came to reclaim your camembert cheese; that will really get all of us going.

Finally, join me in congratulating Nicola for being awarded “Man of the Match”. He displayed a solid defensive game, (as did the rest of our defense) emulating the great Italian defenders such as Baresi, Bergomi, Cannavaro, Maldini et al. Keep up the great football!

Take care. Pablo