Last month, I had to do a sports match review for my Sports Journalism class.
This kind of assignment was a first to me because it required me to actually go out there where there's a blazing sun and actually do, erm, something. So after much consideration
actually quite fast cause it's one of the few sports available during spring, I decided to cover both matches of
Collegiate Soccer League (CSL) League Cup semi-final.
And I tell you, it's not fun at all.
Look at my face. It didn't spell out F-U-N to you, right? -___-
I became Mr. Versatile as I needed to do three jobs at the same time. It's just plain too much works to do for an one-man team. :(
I had to watch the games and jot down all the important details.
All look here pleaseI also had to run around the freaking big field to take pictures of the matches, hoping one of them would turn out to be 'Kodak' moment-like picture.
Daniel Fenton of PembrokeAnd if that's not bad enough, I also had to interview the coaches, captains or key players for information and so that I can quote them.
Poor me. :'(
Anyway, the first game was between
Scotch and
Pembroke.
Scotch, wearing black, was the obvious underdog as they finished 24 points behind their opponent of the day, Pembroke, in the league. Pembroke, meanwhile, lost the league to Mercedes by just one point. And if that's not convincing enough, Pembroke had the best defense in the league this season.
If I were betting, I know which team I would bet on. :|
These are Pembroke coach and captain, Jim Muir and Kym Butcher. Kym did not play that day as he got a hip injury.
Speaking of Kym, he's quite good-looking.
It's a blasphemy for a guy to look that good and still play
football soccer! >3
The match started at 1PM. Against the run of play, Scotch scored first in the 35th minute when Adrian Clark lost the ball in the centre circle which allowed Scotch to break and resulted in Dave Ollerenshaw scoring to give Scotch the lead going into the break.
In the second half, Pembroke coach Jim Muir brought on Andrew Chan to inject pace to his side but Scotch doubled their lead in the 60th minute. A free kick from their own half found Chris Rogers who controlled it before allowed Toby Rogers to strike the ball to the top corner from outside of the box.
However, on the 75th minute, Pembroke found a lifeline when Adrian Clark redeemed his earlier mistake by scoring from the edge of the box to make the game interesting once again. And five minutes later, Pembroke equalised when Peter Spiers slammed the ball into the bottom corner, forcing an extra time.
But in the extra time, again against the run of play, Scotch was awarded a free kick outside the penalty box and Ollerenshaw stepped up to score his second goal and sent his side to the final.
The result was unexpected. On papers, no offense to Scotch, Pembroke was clearly the better team. I would totally lose my money if I had bet on this game. :|
Oh, and Kym (the Pembroke injured captain?) was devastated with the result.
........
No guy can be that good-looking when they are devastated!
Anyway, the second game began as soon as the first game ended. I didn't have time to take a break at all!
Please raise up your hand if you're Mercedes coach and captainThe second match was between league champion
Mercedes and
Rostrevor. Like Pembroke, Rostrevor lost to Mercedes in the league standings but just one solitary point. Mercedes clearly had the advantage especially they defeated Rostrevor twice in the league.
I may be wrong about the previous match, but this game is confirmed for Mercedes to lose!
After a quiet first half, the match came into life when Gianni La Scala played a defence-splitting pass to Rostrevor top scorer Michael Della-Verde to score, giving Rostrevor a 1-0 lead in the 55th minute. But Mercedes equalised thirteen minutes later when captain and coach David Forster led by example as he ran through the defence and scored past the onrushing Rostrevor goalkeeper.
The match went into the extra time and it was Rostrevor who took the lead again when Mauro Grossi whipped in a free kick into the box for Lars Kruse to head it past the goalkeeper. However, it was short-lived as Forster was involved again when he drilled a free kick from the left side to the far post for Josh Pahram to bundle it across the line to equalise again.
But Rostrevor quickly restored their advantage when second-half substitute Lloyd Ioannou ran down the right wing and crossed the ball to Della-Verde who was unmarked in the box and headed it home.
Mercedes tried to equalise again, but due to pushing too many men forward, they left the defense exposed. Ioannau turned goalscorer in the second extra time period when he ran towards the goal from the left wing and scored to make it 4-2 to Rostrevor.
In the end, Rostrevor... won. :|
......
That's it. I'm not giving any more tips on betting soccer anymore.
Although my predictions were lousy, at least I got two exciting matches to report about! With the upset victories, I can see the headline now - "The Underdog Final"! I am bound to write the best article ever! Heck, I may even win a Pulitzer! :D
Now all I have to do is decipher what the hell I wrote.
