A performance to forget for abysmal Fever
This will do down as a game the whole Fever team will want to forget. If the team is serious about challenging for the league title then they will have to learn from the abundance of mistakes that were made on Saturday.
Sebastian Auger was drafted in at centre back today to play alongside Dan Lappin in order to provide some pace in the backline. This proved a costly mistake 10 minutes into the game as he attempted to head clear a hopeful punt up field from Wanoo, but he got his lines all wrong. After an unsuccessful leap, he missed the ball, which then took a huge bounce and fell very kindly to a Wanoo attacker who flicked the ball passed Lappin and gave the home team the lead with a cool finish. Unfortunately, this was a sign of things to come for Seoul Fever. Wanoo dictated the play, overcrowding the midfield , moving and breaking like a team, whereas Fever struggled to get the ball and when they did they seemed void of ideas. Dan Argueta was playing upfront today and put himself about well, using his physical presence to shrug off defenders and attempted to hold up the ball on the few rare occasions the play was in the Wanoo half. It didn’t help Fevers cause that the Wanoo players were going down under the slightest of contacts, and it was disappointing the referee didn’t punish the blatant diving, as this was disrupting the flow of the game, making it even harder for Fever to get in their stride. The first period fizzled out with Fever trailing 1-0, but this could have been a lot worse hadn’t it been for Andrew Muir, playing at left back today, who put in a number fantastic tackles, in particular a last ditch challenge in the box which he timed to perfection. Auger also got booked for a savage tackle from behind.
Sebastian Auger was drafted in at centre back today to play alongside Dan Lappin in order to provide some pace in the backline. This proved a costly mistake 10 minutes into the game as he attempted to head clear a hopeful punt up field from Wanoo, but he got his lines all wrong. After an unsuccessful leap, he missed the ball, which then took a huge bounce and fell very kindly to a Wanoo attacker who flicked the ball passed Lappin and gave the home team the lead with a cool finish. Unfortunately, this was a sign of things to come for Seoul Fever. Wanoo dictated the play, overcrowding the midfield , moving and breaking like a team, whereas Fever struggled to get the ball and when they did they seemed void of ideas. Dan Argueta was playing upfront today and put himself about well, using his physical presence to shrug off defenders and attempted to hold up the ball on the few rare occasions the play was in the Wanoo half. It didn’t help Fevers cause that the Wanoo players were going down under the slightest of contacts, and it was disappointing the referee didn’t punish the blatant diving, as this was disrupting the flow of the game, making it even harder for Fever to get in their stride. The first period fizzled out with Fever trailing 1-0, but this could have been a lot worse hadn’t it been for Andrew Muir, playing at left back today, who put in a number fantastic tackles, in particular a last ditch challenge in the box which he timed to perfection. Auger also got booked for a savage tackle from behind.
The second period was even worse than the first, as tempers were beginning to rise as the Wanoo players sensed they were getting under their opponents skin. Max Keselenko and Emile De Vos worked tirelessly on the wing and up front but there was no link between defence, midfield and attack. Fever looked like a team of strangers, and even moving Auger back to his preferred central midfield position failed to inspire any change. Filip Pusnik was cut a forlorn figure on the left hand said of midfield as the defence and midfield alike failed to find him. The 4-4-2 formation looked too rigid and didn’t allow a lot of movement, but it was the lack of individual movement off the ball that was making life incredibly easy for the Wanoo defence. Gareth Fannin and Auger were playing in central midfield, but nothing was going their way as they could barely string a pass or two between them. Wanoo scored at 2 vital points, a few minutes into the period and a few minutes before the end. One decent break and finish, but one fortuitous goal which took a deflection and wrong footed Andrew Ritchie in goal.
It took until the 3rd period for Fever to show any fight. To their credit, at 3-0 down it would have been easy to roll over, but they managed to fight back to 3-2. Again, Muir was fantastic at the back, not only clearing the ball, but played a vital role in building attacks as Fever began to link a few passes together. There were a few half chances from corners and set plays, but in open play the Wanoo defence was proving too difficult to break down. However, after a bit of pinball in the box, the ball fell to Keselenko who continued his impressive scoring run to give Fever a glimmer of hope. The tackles were getting dangerous as Fever played with renewed vigor and Byrne was next to receiving a booking. Auger was then felled by a Wanoo midfielder about 30 yards out from goal and he brushed himself off to take the free kick. He hit it with power, keeping it down, but it was too central to bother the keeper too much as he palmed it out for a corner. Auger then took the resulting corner, dropping it over the keeper at the far post for Keselenko to bundle home, taking the score to 3-2. Tensions were at breaking point as the competition became more fierce and Wanoo were soon down to 10-men as their playmaker hit out at Fannin after a hefty challenge. Fannin himself was booked for the tackle. Fever were now hitting their stride and committing more and more players forward, but then they were hit on the break by another ruthless finish from Wanoo, as the game petered out 4-2. There was a debut today for Jeremiah Bae, but he was unable to alter the final outcome with his 10 minute cameo. Tempers flared after the final whistle as Wanoo players showed unsporting behavior throughout, but other than the trading of a few insults, it was mostly handbags.
It was a very disjointed display from Fever, who will want to correct and refine their game-plan for the coming week as they take on Mannam in what should prove to be an entertaining encounter. Andrew Muir was the clear Man of the Match as he seamlessly slotted in a left back without putting a foot wrong the whole game.
Man of the match: Andrew Muir
It was a very disjointed display from Fever, who will want to correct and refine their game-plan for the coming week as they take on Mannam in what should prove to be an entertaining encounter. Andrew Muir was the clear Man of the Match as he seamlessly slotted in a left back without putting a foot wrong the whole game.
Man of the match: Andrew Muir