There are matches that I enjoy writing about. Then there are matches that I do not enjoy writing about. The match I am writing about here certainly belongs to the latter category. It is the kind of match where you arrive a bit late to the pitch and the first thing you see is the 0-1. Then you walk around the pitch to the “tribuna d’onore” they got at the U.S. Settignanese pitch, and just when you have accommodated yourself there, it’s 0-2. After that and all through the first half, the Mucche goal was then under what could be described as a state of siege. The opposition launched attack after attack, which was facilitated by the fact that a) they were extremely good, and b) the Mad Cows still seemed to be on Christmas vacation. On several occasions the common defensive effort was successful, but not so when Sara substituted herself after she fumbled a ball in attack and in the meantime Pol Curiel finished a fast counter attack to make it 0-3. It was only after this already fatal blow that the Mucche woke up a little bit. Mi Ah put a shot just wide of their goal, which they apparently considered a challenge to demonstrate how it can be done better. First they hit the post, and then, only a minute from the end of the first half, another fast contropiede made it 0-4.
In the second half, Elena substituted Isa in goals, who had hurt her shoulder once again (a late night trip to Careggi revealed that it is an inflamed tendon that causes the pain). The game re-started slowly, with Curiel controlling the movement on the pitch and circulating the ball quite well, without however creating too much danger. Neither did the Mucche however, and all attempts at some good Italian catenaccio were quelled when they scored the 0-5 after a corner. The good news is that, after hitting rock bottom, the Mucche decided to work their way back up and not go down without at least some fight. The first coherent attack of the night gave Amy the chance to take a shot inside the box, which however went wide. Then Sara put a free kick from centre circle high, which was the beginning of her struggle back into the game. Soon after she hit the post, which was the closest that the Mucche had come to scoring until then.
This “turning of the tide” seemed to trouble the quite vocal Curiel coach, who immediately called for a time out! In general, this guy was quite amazing, given that he kept shouting instructions at his girls for the whole match, even complaining vehemently about the way one player stopped the ball with the sole rather than the side of her foot. And that was when they were already winning five-nil. But perhaps that’s the way you do it to reach the level of skill that they displayed. And even the time out showed some effect, as immediately after, it was their turn to hit the post. Sara then decided that the crossbar also deserved some attention and hammered the ball against it. Towards the end, a Curiel player found a Solomonic decision for the crossbar-post issue and lobbed the ball from centre circle against the top triangle where post and crossbar intersect. And soon after, it was over.
“Und die Moral von der Geschicht’” (as we say in German): if you have to have this kind of game during the season, you better have it against a strong side that you might lose against even on a better day. It really and truly can only go up from here, and the second half showed that the Mucche are already on that way. Pol Curiel also presented something of an ideal to be aspired to: coordinated movement, quick and controlled passing, excellent running, good finishes. And of course, a tremendously vocal coach. Paolo, you better start training your vocal cords…!
Jannis
The squad: Isa – Elena – Costy – Sandra – Mi Ah – Amy - Sara
PS. Sorry for the delay! Mi Ah's fault...
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