Games 321 and 322 (Friendly Matches), 06-16-300 and 06-20-300:
Game 321: Eastern Delgamia - San Patricio; 06-16-300:
IVEFA is pleased to announce the results of the friendly match played
June 16, 300:
The Technical Information:
Final score: EASTERN DELGAMIA 0 - SAN PATRICIO 1
Played at: Espebenoa Central Stadium, Espebenoa, Eastern Delgamia
Attendance: 24,400
Referee: Nando Zelan (TDC/Otago)
Goals: O'Brien-Escartefigues (SPA, 33.)
Yellow cards: Lopez (SPA, 57.)
Substitutions: Pensodeque for Mirrari (EDE, 40.)
VexGames test not to plan for Eastern Delgamia!
The hosting and favorite team in this great rivalry regional friendly
encounter,
the VexGames 299 and Vexillium Cup Bronze Medalists Eastern Delgamia
figured on a
good win over the Flying Saints of San Patricio, but their plans were
foiled by
solid defensive play by San Patricio, who were able to capitalize on
their early
advantage gained through a goal by international club superstar
O'Brien-Escartefigues.
The San Pats were able to resist the constant attacks by the home team
with the
impeccable Lopez-Garcia-Pecs defensive lineup. What they DID
let through, Juan
Francisco O'Doul held with the same consistency he exhibited in the
past few
games. Eastern Delgamia came on strong in the early going, clearly
controlling
the ball and playing up several good chances. The wind was taken
from their
sails, however, with San Pat scoring what turned out to be the winning
goal after
a standard free kick rebounded from the Delgamian defensive wall, when
O'Brien-Escartefigues picked it up and took a short spurt on the left
side,
shooting from an acute angle, exactly into the near gap left by EDE
goalie
Mirrari, who had to take heavy criticism after the match and was replaced
by
staple keeper Pensodeque later. In fact, it was Pensodeque who
prevented another
almost certain seeming goal for the Saints, as he correctly anticipated
a hook
from Madyarbanya, who at the time was vitrually unchallenged 15 yards
from the
goal. Pensodeque cleanly picked off the ball and cleared to a
corner.
In the second half, Eastern Delgamia tried to turn on the heat, but
could not
break though to score, despite solid play. This was to be San
Patricio's day...
with the VexGames drawing near, the Flying Saints are obviously gearing
up for
more glory. Today, they were good enough to beat a world top-10
team away...
expect the usual celebrations in San Patricio following this great
win -
especially after the somewhat unexpected mere draw against upstarts
Extremo!
Both teams should be serious medal contenders in the VexGames, and
later the Copa
Vexanova! What a good local rivalry this can become!
The Technical Information:
Final score: NAMURIA 1 - SAN PATRICIO 1
Played at: Zergho Vidalgur (Port of Liberty) Stadium, Phrasor, Namuria
Attendance: 265,000
Referee: Chow-Lee Deng (Wang Chung)
Goals: Madyarbanya (SPA, 3.), Muthras (NAM, 40.)
Yellow cards: Nokgh (NAM, 3.), Salasarien (NAM, 67.), Pecs (SPA, 77.)
Substitutions: McSweeney for Szembathy (SPA, 45.), Mapallar for Nokgh
(NAM, 45.),
Ebropa for Aldai (NAM, 56.)
Another impressive result for the resurgent Flying Saints as they tie
Namuria in
the "Cauldron"!
Despite the impressive win by San Patricio in Eastern Delgamia last
week, Namuria
were the heavy favorites going into this bout - coming off a win against
the
increasingly strong Albion-Merite, the Golden Eagles have never lost
at home, and
they were not about to let the colorful Melanians do anything to change
that.
However, San Pat had different plans, and they were perhaps the first
team to
really appear unaffected by the awesome spectacle of 265,000 fans shouting
at the
top of their voice in this, Vexillium's biggest stadium. Instead,
the Saints
wasted no time, taking the offensive from the opening whistle, in fact
stunning
the Namurians, who were not quite up to speed immediately. Bestromur
had to be at
his best to deflect a shot from Khaled in the late first minute, and
Nokgh drew a
yellow, having to stop Ben-Barek on a dash for goal in the 3. minute.
The
resulting free kick resulted in the shocking goal to take the lead
for San
Patricio, as Khaled's free kick was a fake pass to Fernandez, instead
handing off
to Madyarbanya on the left, who took a direct shot, with Bestromur's
vision
blocked by his own defensive wall... San Pat was up 1-0, and the home
crowd was
stunned! Just for once, the Namurian Caouldron was silent in
horror.
But not for long. The Golden Eagles quickly gathered their wits,
and began
putting on the pressure. Muthras and Aldai seemed to be everywhere,
and Pecs &
Co. had their hands full. In the 40. minute, finally, to the
great relief of the
fanatical home fans, it was Muthras who evened out the game with a
heel shot after
a stir in the San Pat box. The game went to break tied, 1-1.
San Pat's star midfielder Szembathy, injured in an earlier match, was
still not
totally fit, and in came McSweeney for the second half in his place.
Namuria
brought in Ebropa for Aldai, who had done a tremendous amount of leg
work, and
Mapallar of new found NSL fame.
The match remained surprisingly even in the second half, with San Pat
keeping up
with their hosts, despite the crushing partizan crowds - mainly the
Saints stayed
in the match through agressive forechecking, somewhat neutralizing
the usually
brilliant Salasarien, who was less of a factor today. On the
other hand, the
Namurians kept a lid on San Pat dangerous strikers O'Brien-Escartefigues
and
Fernandez. So, neither team managed to score another goal, and
the match ended in
a deserved draw... a good result for San Patricio, who is the first
team to return
with a bounty of at least a point from Namuria. The Golden Eagles
stay
undefeated, but with the discriminating fans in Namuria, one can be
sure that a
draw at home will raise some eyebrows. Nevertheless, a wonderful
and exciting
match from both teams!