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Thursday, July 13, 2017

PFB ON TOUR: FOLA ESCH 2:1 MILSAMI ORHEI

Hope was in the air ahead of Fola Esch's Europa League first round, first leg clash against Moldovan side Milsami Orhei on a glorious evening at the Stade Émile Mayrisch, Esch-sur-Alzette on 29 June. Fola had finished third in last season's BGL Ligue, as had Milsami in Moldova's Divizia Nazionala. It was a step into the unknown for the Luxembourg side as they knew virtually nothing about Milsami and had to rely on the internet for most of their information for their opponents.



That was rendered irrelevant as both teams stepped on to the pitch to the opening bars of the AC/DC classic "Hells Bells" before a crowd of just under a thousand spectators, a respectable number of whom were seated in Fola's new open stand on the eastern flank of the pitch.





The bells were ringing loud and proud after just four minutes when, after a cagey opening from both teams, Fola, playing in blue, took the lead. Samir Hadji went on a run up the left, passed the ball to Enis Saiti who ran on and crossed from the goal-line into Jakob Dallevedove who was standing unmarked at the edge of the penalty-area. The cross was perfect; Dallevedove positioned himself, swivelled and fired a fine volley past the despairing dive of goalkeeper Radu Mitu to give the home side a dream start.

Fola should have doubled their lead four minutes later when Saiti delivered another perfect cross to Hadji, who had lost his marker and was standing on the six-yard line. Instead of blasting both the ball and Mitu into the back of the net, however, Hadji elected to weakly volley the ball downward and straight at the goalkeeper. Milsani almost made Fola pay in the 10th minute when Vladimir Rassulov waltzed past a couple of defenders on the left before firing a low shot just past the right-hand post of Thomas Hym.

Ryan Klapp then shot over the crossbar from distance for the hosts before Tom Laterza embarked on a run from midfield and tried an ambitious shot on goal, which was deflected away for a corner, which was dealt with by the Milsami defence. The ball was then worked up the pitch by Constantin Bogdan and Rassulov, who passed to Sergiu Platica; Platica's shot from six yards out was saved by Hym's legs. The danger wasn't over, though; the resulting corner was headed on at the near post and Eugeniu Celeadnic only just failed to make contact with the ball at the far post, having left a Fola defender in his wake, and the ball trundled behind for a goal-kick.



Hym sent a Route 1 goal-kick downfield over the Milsami midfield for Ryan Klapp to chase; two bounces later, Klapp got to the ball before a pair of defenders and half-volleyed a chip from 25 yards over Mitu. It would have been a lovely goal, but Klapp saw his shot thud off the top of the crossbar and behind for a goal-kick, much to the relief of the man in white in the Milsami goal, who had gone wandering outside his own penalty-area.

Fola had dominated the first twenty minutes but had only the one goal to show for it; they kept up the pressure when Tom Laterza delivered a good cross in the 21st minute which was deflected behind by Bogdan. The first corner-kick was put behind for a second, which Peter Chrappan got his head to eight yards out only for Mitu to save well, low down at his right-hand post. 

Hadji got possession of the ball in the 23rd minute and delivered a fine pass inside to Dallevedove, who ran on fired in a stinging shot which was saved by Mitu at his near post and went behind for a corner. The corner was sent in towards Saiti, who badly miscued his attempt, leaving everyone else flat-footed and the ball was cleared.



Fola badly needed to score again, and soon, but there was a period of pressure from their opponents, during which Platica's free-kick was blocked by the Fola defensive wall, and Dino Graur's free-kick from 25 yards out was low, hard and went just the wrong side of Hym's right-hand post. The pressure lasted until half-time, apart from a couple of situations involving Saiti and Hadji who were looking dangerous for the home side when the situation allowed.

The half ended precisely on 45 minutes with Fola a goal up, but it could - and should - have been more. Milsami were coming more and more into the game, but Fola began the second half well. A Saiti free-kick a few minutes in led to mayhem in the Milsami box, but no-one could quite get the required touch on the ball to send it over a packed goal-line. Laterza sent in a cross which Mitu fumbled badly, but none of the Fola forwards were close enough to make him pay.



Milsami forward Eugeniu Celeadnic wasted a great chance to level the scores on 55 minutes. He was left unmarked on the right-hand side of the penalty-area when a free-kick was floated in from the left, but he could only direct his header down and wide. They attacked again on the hour when a low cross was flung in from the right which Hym in the Fola goal could only parry. the ball came out to Maxim Antoniuc - who had passed the ball out to his colleague on the wing during the build-up and who had drifted unnoticed into the box - some 15 yards out whose diving header looped over everybody, except a home defender who cleared the ball ninja-style off the goal-line. Hym parried another low cross with attackers in attendance moments later, but the ball fell advantageously or him and he was able to retrieve it unimpeded. Fola's goal was suddenly leading a charmed life.

Down the other end, Klapp was proving industrious and fed the ball in to Dallevedove, who turned and shot from just outside the box but his effort went wide of Mitu's left-hand post. The ball went straight back upfield and Graur fashioned himself a chance after gaps in the Fola defence left him unmarked at the right-hand edge of the area, but his shot was well saved by Hym.



Things went just a little stale for the next ten minutes or so, but with a quarter of an hour to go, Dallevedove turned provider after going on a run down the left, passing in to Hadji whose strong shot was saved at the second attempt. Milsani had another little purple patch, but on one occasion, two of their front four got in each other's way in a promising position inside the penalty-area, lost the ball and fouled Chrappan.

With ten minutes to go and slightly against the run of play, Fola doubled their lead. A ball into the box from the left touchline was worked on to Hadji via the merest of touches from Dallevedove, and Hadji turned and shot from ten yards out, sending the ball under Mitu and into the corner of the net. It felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted from the Fola team; they had deserved a second goal, but they should have scored it at least an hour earlier.




And, the weight was back on Fola shoulders less than a minute after their goal when Milsami took advantage of a severe lack of concentration in the home defence. Maxim Antoniuc played the ball forward to Vladimir Rassulov, who was tackled by a Fola defender. Unfortunately, the ball was played off a second Fola player, ricocheted into the path of Sergiu Platica at the left-hand angle of the penalty-area, and he swung at it with the outside of his right foot. Cue wild celebrations on the Milsami bench as the ball skimmed along the ground and into the net just inside the far post, with goalkeeper Hym left bewildered.



Milsami continued to press, but, despite all their pressure, they couldn't find a way through an increasingly nervy Fola defence. It was Fola who almost scored in the second of three minutes of injury-time when Hadji got his head to a free-kick, delivered from inside his team's own half, in front of Mitu with the 'keeper's defence ball-watching; his header looped over the goalie and was heading in to an empty net only for a defender to slide in and clear the ball a couple of feet before the goal-line.



Fola had won the first leg, then, but by a smaller margin than what it could have been, having failed to take the chances presented to them in the first half-hour or so and having failed to create more. Milsami could look back with some satisfaction on the match, having weathered the Fola storm after conceding an early goal and eventually scoring a late one of their own. After the match, both Fola manager Jeff Strasser and vice-president Gilbert Goergen expressed satisfaction that the team had won the home leg and were hopeful that this would eventually see them through to the next round, but they were under no illusions about the task awaiting their players in Moldova in the second leg.



FOLA ESCH: 1 Thomas HYM, 8 Veldin MUHAREMOVIC, 10 Jakob DALLEVEDOVE, 11 Corentin KOCUR (20 Michel BECHTOLD), 15 Samir HADJI, 22 Enis SAITI (27 Stefano BENSI), 23 Tom LATERZA, 24 Mehdi KIRCH, 26 Ryan KLAPP (3 Alexander CVETKOVIC), 28 Julien KLEIN, 44 Peter CHRAPPAN

SUBSTITUTES (unused): 33 Emanuel CABRAL, 9 Christophe MARTIN-SUAREZ, 14 Cédric SACRAS, 21 Roman PIERRARD

MILSAMI ORHEI: I Radu MITU, 2 Artur CRACIUN, 6 Constantin BOGDAN, 9 Maxim ANTONIUC, 15 Vladimir RASSULOV (19 Andrei RUSNAC), 16 Alexandru ANTONIUC, 17 Andrea COJOCARI, 18 Alexandru DULGHIER (4 Vasile JARDAN), 22 Dinu GRAUR, 24 Eugeniu CELEADNIC (11 Dan CIOBANU), 28 Sergiu PLATICA

SUBSTITUES (unused): 21 Cristian APOSTOLACHI, 10 Gheorghe ANDRONIC, 20 Alexandru BELEVSCHI

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FOOTNOTE: Milsani and Fola played their return leg at Orhei's District Sport Complex a week after they met at the Stade Émile Mayrisch. Alexandru Antoniuc gave Milsami the lead from a free-kick after 37 minutes, but Jakob Dallevedove restored parity on the night - and put Fola in front on aggregate - when he scored in the 59th minute. The home side ended the match with ten men when Dinu Graur was sent off for a second bookable offence with four minutes left. Fola qualified for the second round 3:2 on aggregate; they would be meeting Azeri side Inter Baku, with the first leg in Azerbaijan on 12 July.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: The above article is part of a series of articles on football in Luxembourg, which will be rolled out over the next few months. Match reports, interviews and a couple of articles will come together under the  #ProjectLuxey umbrella.

Many thanks to one and all at Fola Esch for their kindness, patience and hospitality, and for providing the official line-ups. Any and all errors in the above article are of course, the author's own (as are all of the photographs used). A fuller article on Fola will come in good time.









Sunday, July 9, 2017

A NEW NAME ON THE COPPA SERGIO VALCI

The 2017 edition of the Vatican City FA Cup, the Coppa Sergio Valci, concluded at the end of May, and there was a surprise winner. the Rappresentativa OPBG, or, to give them their full name, the Rappresentativa Ospedale Pediatrico Bambin Gesù, won their first-ever honour in their inaugural season in Vatican football competition. 

Rappresentativa OPBG did it the hard way, beating newly-crowned league champions Santos 4:2 on penalties after the game ended scoreless; they also reached the final after winning a penalty shoot-out against Musei Vaticani 3:1 after the match finished 1:1. They finished second behind Musei Vaticani in Group B. This year's competition saw two groups of four teams, with each team playing each other once. The group stage was then followed by the quarter-finals, where the top team in one group played the bottom team in the other group, and so on. 

It has been a good year for the new boys - who represent the Ospedale Pediatrico di Bambino Gesù (the Baby Jesus Pediatric Hospital, which is principally based in Rome but owned by the Holy See) - their first silverware coming on the heels of their finishing third in the league championship behind winners Santos and runners-up Musei Vaticani.

There were some disciplinary problems to contend with during the competition, the most serious being two walkovers being awarded against Gendarmeria during the group stage. The team were then expelled from the competition before their quarter-final match against Santos. One team conspicuous by their absence from the Coppa Sergio Valci was the Associazione SS Pietro e Paolo (Ass. SS P&P); it is to be hoped that they will return to competitive action next season.

Meanwhile, there was a short hiatus during the competition as the Vatican City national team prepared for an international against Monaco, which took place at the Stadio Cardinal Spellman in Rome on 29 April; the game finished scoreless. The final action of the 2016-17 season saw Santos add to their league championship by winning the Supercoppa after beating Rappresentativa OPBG by two goals to nil.


GROUP STAGE

GROUP A

07/04/17 Fortitudo 2007 5:1 Dirtel (Sperati 4, Alonzi; Goxhaj)
07/04/17 Circolo San Pietro 1:0 Santos (Gioacchinni)
11/04/17 Fortitudo 2007 1:3 Santos (Alonzi; Quarta, Cittadini, Mariani)
11/04/17 Dirtel 2:1 Circolo San Pietro (Cataldo, Guadagnoli; Serafini)
08/05/17 Santos 3:0 Dirtel (Quarta, Ioannilli)
08/05/17 Circolo San Pietro 0:0 Fortitudo 2007 


TEAM
P
W
D
L
GF
GA
PTS
GD
Santos
3
2
0
2
6
2
6
4
Fortitudo 2007
3
1
1
1
6
4
4
2
Circolo San Pietro
3
1
1
1
2
2
4
0
Dirtel
3
1
0
1
3
9
3
-6
 


GROUP B

03/04/17 Rappresentativa OPBG 6:2 Gendarmeria (Monaco 3, Albano 2, Orlando; Carilli, Elmi)
03/04/17 Guardia 2:4 Musei Vaticani (Frei, Inches; Panella 2, Marini, Germani)
10/04/17 Gendarmeria 0:3 Musei Vaticani (walkover)
10/04/17 Guardia 1:9 Rappresentativa OPBG (unknown; Monaco 4, Di Cecca 2, Orlando, Mancini, Mele)
09/05/17 Musei Vaticani 1:0 Rappresentativa OPBG (Marini)
09/05/17 Gendarmeria 0:3 Guardia (walkover)




TEAM
P
W
D
L
GF
GA
PTS
GD
Musei Vaticani
3
3
3
2
8
2
9
6
Rappr. OPBG
3
2
2
1
15
4
6
11
Guardia
3
1
0
2
3
13
3
-10
Gendarmeria
3
0
0
1
2
9
-6
-7


QUARTER-FINALS

15/05/17 Santos : Gendarmeria (not played; Gendarmeria expelled from competition)
15/05/17 Circolo San Pietro 1:2 Rappresentativa OPBG (unknown; Monaco, Marcellino)
16/05/17 Dirtel 0:5 Musei Vaticani (Marini, Cara, Paolone, Germani, Magistri)
16/05/17 Fortitudo 2007 7:2 Guardia (Sperati 4, Di Donato, Pellegrini, Mattiacci; Frei, Pfister)

SEMI-FINALS

22/05/17 Santos 3:1 Fortitudo 2007 (Quarta, Perinelli, Casciani; Sperati)
22/05/2017 Rappresentativa OPBG 1:1 Musei Vaticani (Impastato; Scianca) (Rappr. OPBG 3:1 on pens.)

FINAL

30/05/17 Rappresentativa OPBG 0:0 Santos (Rappr. OPBG 4:2 on pens.)


SUPERCOPPA

Santos 2:0 Rappr. OPBG


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AUTHOR'S NOTE: As always, many thanks to the ACDV (Vatican City FA) for assisting with the above article. Apologies for the incomplete statistical details; this problem shall hopefully be rectified shortly. Please note that there was also disciplinary points columns in both of the original final tables supplied by the ACDV; these have been omitted from the final tables above due to the lack of information on how the totals were calculated.

Friday, July 7, 2017

PFB ON TOUR: KONINKLIJKE HFC 1:2 EXCELSIOR MAASSLUIS

The end of the first Tweede Divisie season in Dutch football for more than forty-five years was nearing its conclusion when Koninklijke HFC hosted Excelsior Maassluis at the Spanjaardslaan; the end of April is normally a time of frayed nerves for most football fans, and supporters of these two clubs were not spared these emotions. Both teams were hovering just above the relegation play-off places; a point apiece would be of some help, but a win for either side would guarantee survival.




It was a nervy though physical start to the match from both sides, though the visitors showed a little more initiative, looking occasionally dangerous down the right-hand side. Kevin Vink had two goal attempts in the first ten minutes; the first, a free-kick, slammed into a defensive wall, and then a volley which went high and wide of the Haarlem side's goal. Robert Niels volleyed a corner-kick into HFC goalkeeper Tom Boks; it should have served as a warning to the home defence as Niels was unmarked, but luckily for them, his contact was poor.

It took until the 14th minute for HFC to have a shot on goal, and even then it seemed more by accident than design that Danny Hols's cross from the right touchline only just cleared the Excelsior crossbar. Excelsior went back on the attack at times during the following quarter of an hour, but efforts from Vincent van Dorp and Vink were off-target; HFC also applied some pressure at times during this period, but a Koen Beeren header which went wide was all they had to show for it.

Both defences looked fairly comfortableduring the first half-hour or so, but that of HFC was a little more stretched, none more so than when Kilian Berkhout slung in a low cross from the right which evaded Boks but not the attention of defender Carlos Opoky, who slid in and cleared the ball at the far post just before Vink could apply the touch needed to put his side in front. Vink almost set up a chance for Excelsior with half-time approaching, but his header on to Dean van Ooijen - who was onside and unmarked - ran just a little too far ahead and over the goal-line.



It was an uninspired first-half with more interventions from trainers for injuries than shots on goal, especially from a HFC perspective. They really needed to up their game a gear or two, but instead it was Excelsior who started the second half on the front foot, with Vink and van den Berg sending in shots from distance early on in the half.

The home side finally managed a shot on target after 55 minutes when Kevin de Visser tested Excelsior 'keeper Jean Paul van Leeuwen with a low shot from the edge of the area which van Leeuwen saved on his left with some difficulty. Eight minutes later, Carlos Opoku rose up to meet substitute Jeffrey Sam Sin's corner, but glanced his header to the left of van Leeuwen's goal.

Seconds later, HFC's endeavours were rewarded when Kevin de Visser's sweet half-volley from outside the penalty-area, which came from a headed clearance by Excelsior defender Kevin Ringeling, flew into the bottom right-hand corner of the Excelsior net. Safety was within reach for the home side, but fate was to take a cruel turn in the 71st minute.

Excelsior midfielder Vincent van Dorp sent in a cross from the right-hand side; Oscar Wilffert in the HFC defence jumped to meet the ball but somehow got his angles completely wrong, turned away from the ball in mid-flight and caught the ball with his left elbow. A penalty was the inevitable outcome, which was taken by Niels Redert, who stroked the ball into the bottom corner, sending Boks the wrong way and Excelsior towards preserving their third-level status.



The goal rejuvenated the team in red and white, who went on to score a second with fourteen minutes left on the clock. Opoku went to head away an Excelsior free-kick but hesitated and the ball went on to the unmarked Vink near the HFC goal-line. Vink dinked a cross towards the far post, which was met by Redert, who bundled the ball and defender Roy Castien over the line just ahead of Boks, who was a split-second late to avoid joining Castien and the ball in the back of the net as Redert wheeled away in triumph.

HFC now had to score twice to ensure that they would remain in the Tweede Divisie, but they never came close to doing so in what was a turgid last quarter of an hour. There was a claim for handball, which mostly came from the home supporters, after Ringeling made contact with the ball at a suspicious angle, but the referee waved away the protests, indicating that the ball came off the defender's chest.








Excelsior were the team which came closest to scoring, when Adair Veiga Lopes headed wide from a free-kick in the first minute of four minutes of injury-time, but it was a second-half that only Redert will really look back on with any sense of nostalgia. Even so, his double ensured Excelsior would be playing Tweede Divisie football next season, whilst HFC would be looking over their shoulders during the last two weeks of the season. Games against De Treffers and Jong FC Twente would help determine their fate.

KONINKLIJKE HFC: 22 Tom BOKS, 2 Danny HOLS, Oscar WILFFERT, 4 Carlos OPOKU, 5 Vincent VOLKERT, 6 Kevin DE VISSER, 14 Jacob NOORDMANS (8 Jeffrey SAM SIN), 17 Kevin STERLING (15 Vince DE KWANT), 18 Wessel BOER (44 Roy CASTIEN), 19 Koen BEEREN, 33 Michael TIMISELA

SUBSTITUTES (unused): 1 Gerard VAN ROSSUM, 16 André MORGAN

EXCELSIOR MAASSLUIS: 1 Jean Paul VAN LEEUWEN, 4 Daan SMITH, 5 Kevin RINGELING, 6 Niels REDERT, 7 Kilian BERKHOUT (8 Stean KRUITHOF), 9 Kevin VINK, 11 Vincent VAN DEN BERG (14 Adair VEIGA LOPES), 13 Dean VAN OOIJEN (28 Jeremy MORENO), 17 Kevin DERCKS, 18 Vincent VAN DORP, 20 Sefa KURT

SUBSTITUTES (unused): 16 Jesse LUB, 3 Hamit ALPTEKIN

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FOOTNOTE: Koninklijke HFC went on to lose both of their last two matches against De Treffers and Jong FC Twente, whilst Excelsior Maassluis defeated Jong Vitesse and lost to AFC. However, both teams retained their places in the Tweede Divisie with Excelsior shooting up the table thanks to their two victories, eventually finishing in fifth place. "The Good Old" finished in thirteenth place, one point above the play-off zone. 

Jong Vitesse and Jong FC Twente were automatically relegated, with Spakenburg and UNA finishing in the play-off (nacompetitie) places. UNA lost to Harkemase Boys in the first round of the promotion-relegation play-offs and were relegated to the Derde Divisie, the fourth level of Dutch football. Spakenburg defeated Hercules in their first-round play-off, but lost to Rijnsburgse Boys in their second-round play-off and were relegated. FC Lisse defeated Harkemase Boys in the other second-round play-off and were promoted to the Tweede Divisie.

At the top of the Tweede Divisie, Jong AZ were ahead of the pack for most of the season and were promoted to the Jupiler League (the Dutch second level), nineteen points ahead of Kozakken Boys in second place. Jong AZ will take the place of Achilles '29, who finished in last place in the Jupiler League and will be in the Tweede Divisie next season.

It should be noted that the Tweede Divisie is the third level of Dutch football, whilst the Derde Divisie is the fourth and the Hoofdklasse the fifth. Thereafter, the Dutch football pyramid becomes regionalised, from the Eerste Klasse (level 6) down to the Vijfde Klasse (level 10).

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to all at the Koninklijke HFC for their help and hospitality; some of the information was taken from www.tweededivisie.org, whilst Wikipedia was also perused briefly.