Sunday 28th May 2006

Hamburg
3
Max F (2), Yuki
Villareal
3
Jan, Bernardo (2)

This match was a contest between the number 1 and number 2 in the league after Match Day 1, with Hamburg taking the first match between the two by a score of 4-1.

The game started quickly with players on both sides fighting for every ball, however, Jan put the Villareal team into an early lead with a long-range shot that skidded along the wet surface into the bottom corner to the right of Glenn. Within 5 minutes, Bernardo put his team further ahead when he scored a beautiful goal after completing a fantastic 1-2 with Jan that took three Hamburg players out of the game, allowing Bernardo to slip the ball past the keeper. Villareal then took a well-deserved 3-0 lead after Jan was fouled by Alec 15 yards out. From the free-kick which rebounded off the keeper, Bernardo coolly slotted the ball into the net. So at half-time it was 3-0 for Villareal and Hamburg looked beaten...

The second half started with Hamburg applying pressure from all points of the field and they were quickly rewarded when Glenn launched a long ball for the flying Max F, who made no mistake as he ran the ball from the halfway line to calmly put the ball out of the reach of Sven. Hamburg seemed to build on that goal, and they were rewarded once again with some good work down the left side by Soma, who beat two defenders and then took a shot at net that was slightly touched on by Max F, beating Sven at the near post to make the score 3-2. A comeback seemed possible but time was running out. With less then 3 minutes remaining, it looked as though Villareal were going to secure the 3 points as Jan took a thunderous shot that was going into the corner of the net, but out of nowhere Glenn flew out and made an amazing fingertip save preserving the one goal deficit. Urged on by the save Hamburg quickly worked the ball up the field and with time running out, Max Fisher put Yuki through on goal alone against Sven. Sven quickly came out of the net to challenge Yuki, however Yuki kept a cool head and made no mistake from 5 yards out putting the ball along the ground into the far corner and thus completing a fantastic comeback from 3 down at half time.

Chelsea
2
Johnathan, Lars
Hamburg
0

As the weather continued to deteriorate, the second match of the day got underway. With Hamburg eager to improve on their terrible end to the last match they started off strongly, taking the ball deep into Chelsea's zone on numerous occasions, only to see Thorben make a save or for Johnathan to come across the mouth of the goal to take away two scoring chances for Max F and one from Yuki. Hamburg should have been ahead by at least three goals, but they could not find the back of the net. Midway through the first half Yuki was put through one on one against Thorben who threw his body in the way of the ball making a great save to preserve the 0-0 scoreline. Kevin proved to be the hardest worker in the midfield for Chelsea as he seemed to be everywhere fighting for the ball. The first half was also a highlight for Alec to show his tackling ability, as he slide tackled Lars on two different occasions, stealing the ball on both. However, Alec was penalized on one occasion for a tackle on Lars, resulting in a free-kick 12 yards out, but luckily for Alec, Johnathan drove the ball into the wall, so no harm done. The first half ended 0-0 but was nevertheless very exciting.

It seemed as though someone had lit a fire under Chelsea, as they applied pressure from the onset of the second half. Only a great save from Glenn preserved the 0-0 score line, as Lars dribbled through two Hamburg defenders to find himself alone in front of goal. However, Glenn was equal to the task and saved superbly. As Chelsea continued to press for the go-ahead goal, Alec was forced into making another slide tackle, however he missed the ball and brought Lars down 15 yards from the goal. From what looked to be an impossible angle, Johnathan stepped up and blasted an amazing free kick into the far corner, which froze Glen on his line, making the score 1-0 with less then 5 minutes remaining. Time and time again Hamburg pressed for an equalizer but the Chelsea defence held tight, with both Johnathan and François stopping them from coming through. With time ticking down Chelsea took a quick throw-in, catching Hamburg sleeping and Johnathan put Lars through clean on goal and this time he made no mistake, sliding the ball into the corner past Glenn. As the whistle blew Chelsea celebrated their first victory of the competition, leaving the week one leaders wondering what they have to do to find winning ways again.

Villareal
5
Niklas (2), Jan (3)
Chelsea
1
Lars

On this day it seemed like someone had tossed the Group 4 League upside down with two upsets already on the day. With the weather getting worse with every passing minute the game started with Chelsea having the wind to their backs, which seemed to push them forward at all times. Once again Kevin seemed to be everywhere and with Johnathan and Francois patrolling the back field clearing ball after ball, it seemed as though they would be able to pull off another upset. But this was not to be the case in this match. Niklas put Villareal ahead midway through the first half with a long-range shot into the wind. With the ball getting higher as it approached the net, Thorben could do little but wave. As the half wound down, Chelsea began to press and Lars somehow found room for himself to tuck the ball between the legs of Sven. Could this be another upset in the making?

At the beginning of the second half it was easy to see that Villareal would use the wind to their advantage. After three minutes Sven picked up a rolling ball and launched a ball high into the air which was challenged by Johnathan who misjudged it. Taking the ball at the half-way line, Niklas coolly slotted the ball pass a helpless Thorben to make the score 2-1. This only seemed to make Chelsea work harder but they could not find the back of the net. Midway through the half, Jan decided to take over, scoring an amazing three straight goals for his team. First he took advantage of a tired Chelsea team to dribble around two players to fire into the back of the net. He then teamed up with Niklas for a 1-2 and fired his second goal into the top corner. His third goal was another solo effort as he worked the ball past the last defender and blasted the fifth and final goal of the game. Even though the score was a deserved 5-1 for Villareal, Chelsea fought to the last minute.

 


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