Four teams gathered on the 3rd floor of the Fritz-Reuter-Oberschule on a day, which promised to provide football of the highest quality, last-minute drama, shots off the woodwork, players putting their bodies on the lines and of course an own goal or two. In attendance were BunteLiga Champions 2015 FC Lambajuuun, the BunteLiga select VI BuLi Bären, a non-BunteLiga refugee team called Champions ohne Grenzen and the hosts FC Kickers Pufendorfer.
The first game saw the host team face FC Lambajuuun and in true FCKP style, the yellows made a slow start. After 5 minutes or so of midfield stalemate, the deadlock was broken when Edoardo unfortunately turned a Lambajuuun cross-ball into his own net. Hector however was demonstrating his technical ability, nutmegging his opponents for fun but it wasn’t enough to prevent his team conceding a second soon after. End result was a 0-2 defeat.
The second game however demonstrated signs of improvement. It was an even game until Adonis found himself in space in the area, neatly rounding the keeper to slot home. Unfortunately this goal gave the BuLi Bären a 1-0 lead. No, it wasn’t an own goal either (for once)! Those in attendance will recall the booing and whistling Adonis received as he followed his goal up with an extravagant celebration and kissed the orange of his bib that covered the yellow shirt belonging to the team he had betrayed. With a decent amount of time left to play FCKP pushed and pushed to find the equalising goal, with the opposition favouring to soak up pressure and attempt a counter attack. Edoardo drilled a low shot onto the post and Adonis, now in goal, gave the rabid fans yet more reason to heckle him with a number of fine saves. Fighting until the end FCKP reaped the rewards of their endeavour when Jon was fouled on the edge of the area. He took it quickly, sliding the ball to Kyle, who played a one-two with Pablo before drilling the ball right-footed through a crowd of players and into the bottom left corner with the last kick of the game. 1-1.
Boosted by that last minute equaliser, Pufendorf started their next game against Champions ohne Grenzen well and took the lead when Kyle was in the right place at the right time as Hector’s placed shot was parried by the goalkeeper. Kyle managed to take a touch and with the second slid the ball low and through the keeper’s legs. FCKP then ran riot, showing their flair and quality as they added two “textbook” goals: first Hector unselfishly setting up Ezequiel to slot into an empty net, with Ezequiel reciprocating for Hector moments later. Hector rounded off the victory fittingly by rounding the keeper to dribble the ball into the goal. 4-0.
The second game versus Lambajuuun proved to be a lot more even. Although Lambajuuun, now wearing black as opposed to the red that featured in the first game, had the better of the possession. Pufendorf this time proved far more dangerous on the counter attack. Bart had a solid game in nets as the team kept their second clean sheet in succession. FCKP could in fact have nicked it at the death as the yellow shirts countered from a defensive corner. Edoardo sprinted at full tilt with the ball over the halfway line and reached the edge of their area before unleashing a side-footed drive that rattled the crossbar. 0-0.
Pufendorf also improved upon their last game against the BuLi Bären, taking the lead thanks to a new-found telepathy between Ezequiel and Hector, the latter turning in a low cross from the former. Eze then added a second with a powerful strike from the edge of the area, before Pablo capitalised on a defensive mix up, which saw Adonis trying to clear the ball off his own goal line, only for Pablo to charge him down and deflect his attempted clearance into the goal, much to the delight of the FCKP fans, who made sure to compound El Hajj’s woes with a cacophony of abuse. Jon’s goal following a pass by Hector was the cherry on top of a very tasty black and yellow cake. 4-0.
FCKP’s final game was an opportunity for Champions ohne Grenzen to improve on their performance from the first match, which they did. However they did fall behind in the first minute when Kyle’s deflected pass floated over their backline to find Jon directly in front of goal. One touch was enough to push it beyond the goalkeeper and into the back of the net. However CoG came back and soon the scores were level. This shook the team out of any complacency and they regained the lead when Edoardo raced down the left wing before striking the ball sweetly into the opposite corner from 10m out at a tight angle. Hector then added to his total for the day after receiving the ball from Pablo. FCKP continued to push for further goals, but could only find the woodwork as both Pablo and Edoardo also hit the post. At the other end, committed last-ditch blocks were required with Ezequiel and Pablo proving more than up to the task. There was also late drama when Champions ohne Grenzen pulled another goal back with a minute remaining but Pufendorfer played smartly and saw the game out to take all three points. 3-2.
Overall it was a very good performance by the team. Had they have started as well as they finished they could have won the tournament, but the first game proved pivotal as Lambajuuun took top spot by a three point margin. FCKP however were worthy runners up and the team can be proud of their performance.
Players: Bart (GK), Pablo, Kyle, Jon, Hector, Ezequiel L, Edoardo, (plus Adonis and James, who played for the BuLi Bären)
Goals: Hector (x4), Kyle (x2), Ezequiel L (x2), Jon (x2), Pablo (x1), Edoardo (x1), plus Adonis (x1) and James (x1) for BuLi Bären
Assists: Hector (x2), Ezequiel L (x2), Pablo (x2), Kyle (x2), plus Adonis (x1) for BuLi Bären
Final tournament standings:
1st place: FC Lambajuuun (14 points, 9 goals scored and 1 goal conceded)
2nd place: FC Kickers Pufendorfer (11 points, 12 goals scored and 5 goals conceded)
3rd place: Champions ohne Grenzen (4 points, 12 goals scored and 11 goals conceded)
4th place: BuLi Bären (3 points, 3 goals scored and 11 goals conceded)
