Game 156 (Friendly) 05-19-299:

Game 156: Bowdani-Brolecia (friendly)

IVEFA announces the results for today's friendly match:

The Technical Information:

Final score: BOWDANI 0 - BROLECIA 3
Played in: Sky City Stadium, Sky City, Bowdani
Attendance: 65,000
Referee: Barry Vassiliev (KTZ))
Goals: Prebble (BRO, 49.), Grenzer (BRO, 57.), Prebble (BRO, 87.)
Yellow cards: Smyth (BRO, 22.), Franchino (BOW, 41.), Michaels (BRO,
51.), Coleman (BOW, 60.), Cottrell (BOW, 87.)
Substitutions: Frank Weathers,Patrick Dandoon, Martin SanGerins, Marco
Coleman, Jake Ioe, Jeremy Salenger, Thomas Rusten, Chris Cottrell, Nate
Carr, Rich Bassen, Marc Manchoni ... for the starting 11 (not listed
individually) (BOW, 45.), Reisenbach for Davidson (BRO, 45.)

Match commentary:

Sensational upset victory for Brolecia!

In a very unpredictable turn of events, Brolecia today defeated Bowdani
clearly 3-0 in front of Bowdani's sell out stadium!  The game started
without a hint of the sensational upset that would occur here today, as
Bowdani was clearly in control from the get-go, and was making a
considerable amount of pressure.  But Brolecia had planned ahead - they
knew that Bowdani was planning on bringing in the bench in the second
half (an unprecedented move that required special permission from the
IVEFA, since in regulation games usually the maximum number of subs is
2!) - thus, obviously Bowdani would be trying to score a few with their
best men to be in good shape for the second half.  However, it would
come totally different:  Brolecia went very cleverly on the defensive,
and did not allow Bowdani to break through.  Brolecian players were
almost never seen in the Bowdanian half, and they did a splendid job
holding the hosts' attacks at bay.  Killehal had some bad luck also, as
a very nice shot from far only hit the crossbar, and then Hund had bad
luck again, as the rebound found his foot, but he could not control it
quickly enough, and Meyer was able to clear away.

So, Brolecia managed to stay clean in the first half, and they were now
going to take their chances with the Bowdanian substitutes!  Indeed,
coach Hetlecker made good on his promise to bring in the subs for the
second half (he had no choice after this all to public plan), although
maybe considering the score, he might have wanted to keep his best team
in there.  In any event, Bowdani came back out from the lockers
expecting more of the same Brolecia, but the Barons had turned 180
degrees, and seemed like a new team... attacking heavily, and without
break, pounding the Bowdanian team!

While the surprise lasted, Prebble scored a beauty from short distance
with a falling reverse shot that was replayed on the TV for about two
hundred times it seemed (Bowdanian television, tsk! ;-)  And now, the
inevitable happened: the more inexperienced Bowdanian players became
more nerveous, and their play cramped.  You could tell they were
uncomfortable at this time, desperately trying to not disappoint, but in
the process, they became dead meat for Brolecia, who took advantage ice
cold!

Despite good individual performances from Bassen, Salenger, and Ioe,
Bowdani as a team did not work very well, and Brolecia soon scored the
2-0, basically sealing the fate of their befuddled opponents.  Surely
coach Hetleker would have liked to bring back some from his A-team, but
it was no longer permissible.

So the home fans had to watch as their team was running out of time -
Bowdani became much better in the end, and finally began to play freely
and get some excellent chances, but it was too late - to make matters
worse, in the 87. minute, after a foul, Prebble converted the free kick
to score the 3-0, driving the final nail into the coffin...

This latest strike from the Barons has certainly raised some more heads
in a hurry, as they defeated a very respected side, albeit their
sub-team, clearly in an away game - more and more soccer fans around
Vexillium are scratching their heads, muttering "Who ARE these guys from
Brolecia, anyways?"   People are taking notice.  And they should.

Bowdani probably learned a valuable lesson today, but then, so did we
all!