Conf. Match 4 - Tackle Royale

Khazboss FC 9-1 Tackle Royale
Scorers:
Ste 5
Evans 1
Others...


An easy victory...?
A comprehensive win for Khazboss against four-man Royale though the yellows never really got into top gear. Right from the start Khazboss were in control as they passed the ball about neatly, though with little pentration to show. It took a while before Evans found the net with his only strike of the game. In fact Tackle Royale had a quite a few efforts on goal and if wasn't for alert keeping from Cheverton, who was kept in goal after last weeks performance, Royale could have stayed in the hunt for the points. But gradually Khazboss built up a commanding lead with Ste Murphy and Charnock, playing his first full outfield game, making good impressions. Ste did particularly well on the score board with five quality strikes. Despite the scoreline many Khazboss players struggled to motivate themselves to make the victory any more convincing when it perhaps should have been a rout against a demoralised Tackle Royale. Although at least the job was done and three points were secured.

Verdict.
A Good win but should there be questions raised when only nine were scored?

Ratings
To follow...

Conf. Match 3 - Wigan Metrostars

Khazboss FC 7-9 Wigan Metrostars
Scorers:
Evans 3
Scott 2
Gregory 2


The old enemy...
Khazboss gave their best account at the fifth time of asking against Wigan but still failed to muster a point. The game was a close exciting contest with Khazboss starting strongly and Evans giving them the early lead. They employed a system with Evans in attack holding the ball up with the object to get the ball forward to him quickly and the other three outfield players mainly defending but running forward off chris. Unfortunately Wigan are good long range shooters and coupled with a some of defensive errors and lucky bounces they found themselves a couple of goals up at the half way point of the game. But Khazboss where always in the hunt and had twice as many shots as the Metrostars but lady luck and poor finishing cost them dear. Khazboss attacked for most of the rest of the match and with 3 minutes to go were only one goal down but a couple of glorious chances went begging. Finaly Wigan had a lucky rebound up the other end to kill the game off.

Verdict:
A very good team performance just lacked the killer instinct to take the points.

Ratings:
To follow...

Conf. Match 2 - The Hoops

Khazboss FC 5-6 The Hoops
Scorers:
To follow...


"And now you must believe me, we never lose our dreams"
An unlucky defeat for Khazboss as the conference welcomed new team The Hoops. Khazboss started with a poorly chose first V who did not seem to know where they were playing, although it took a wicked deflection off the referee which caught everyone by surprise except a Hoops striker to give the first goal. A second goal, which was clearly taken from within the area but given to the surprise of even the Hoops players, seemed to give the Hoops the ascendancy. But Khazboss began to settle with and unusual formation of the strikers defending more and the defenders attacking more. For this reason Khazboss didn't score and when Scott put a howler of an own goal in his own net, the game looked like the Hoops for the taking. Enter Khazboss' alter ego; Khazboss the attackers. From 4-1 down Khazboss camped in the Hoops half and pounded the goal for most of the second half. They had the same fire in their bellies as the last game and gradually brought the score back to 5-5. A good goal by the Hoops in their only break of the second half gave them the lead but Khazboss resumed their merciless assault on the Hoops goal. Unfortunaltely, the Hoops keeper stood strong and with help from the post and crossbar, withstood the barrage of shots to win the match

Verdict:
A poor start with some bad luck thrown in, however, with the defence going forward too much, the strikers were forced to cover at the back. This may have cost Khazboss the goals that they deserved

Ratings:
To follow...

Season 3 - Conf. - Real Unicorn

Khazboss FC 10-2 Real Unicorn
Scorers:
Evans 5
John 3
Ste Murphy 2

Dark clouds drift away to reveal sunshine
New season, fresh start, same division but not the same mistakes. This looked like a Khazboss side on a mission to put to bed the ghost of last season. The signs did not look good at the start; Gregory and Heron were both ruled out, the fixture list pitted Khazboss against Real Unicorn who were relegated last season by only a few points, Scott was recovering from a rib injury and then to top it all off, Cheverton pulled his ankle in the warm up and was unable to start. And yet Khazboss came out on fire. The Murphy brothers kept it tight at the back while Evan & John were linking up superbly. Real were no pushovers with some tough tackling and wicked shots, but Khazboss kept tight and fought for every ball. Despite the heroics of the Real keeper, Khazboss stormed into a 7-0 lead with some excellent interplay and classy goals. The only down point came when Scott took a strong challenge and appeared to aggrivate his rib. The injured Cheverton had to come on in his place and in the time it took to settle the team again, Real had pulled two goals back. But Khazboss settled quickly and with full concentration on the game right to the end, finished with a blitz of powerful shooting and a couple more goals. This was Khazboss on fire.

Verdict:
Worked like a team and reaped the rewards with a good great performance. Can they keep this going?

Ratings:
Charnock: 7 - Good organised display. Good distribution and made the few save required. Unlucky with the goals.
Ste Murphy: 8 - Back the form showed at the start of last season. Good tackling with a couple of goals chipped in.
Scott Murphy: 7 - Organised the team well from the back.
Evans: 9 - Scored some great goals and linked up with John really well. Star Man.
John: 8 - Another good effort for the team. Some great shooting and held position well.
Cheverton: 7 - Once settled, played a good holding position and unlucky not to score.

Stats:
Goals (Apps):
Evans 5 (1)
John 3 (1)
Ste 2 (1)

Ave. Rating (Star Man)
Evans 9 (1)
John 8
Ste 8
Charnock 7
Cheverton 7
Scott 7

Form:
LWLLLW

Conference - Match 18

Khazboss 4-5 Tackle Royale
Scorers:
Ste Murphy
Evans
John 2


A game of two halves
Khazboss finished the season with another defeat, but not in the manner of previous matches. In fact, given the second half of the season, this game could almost be looked upon as a high point. Khazboss started disastrously, Khazboss were 2-0 down before Charnock woke up and 4-1 down before the rest of the defence woke up. From that point on, Khazboss laid siege to the Royale goal. Some excellent play by John gave Khazboss good forward momentum with counter-attacks by Royale few and far between. When they did attack, the now-alert Charnock was equal to the task. Khazboss began to play as if this match meant promotion or relegation, neither of which could happen, and gradually clawed their way back into the match, with Royale increasingly desperate and resorting to time wasting. However, that elusive equaliser simply would not come. They were denied by the crossbar and post more times than this reporter could count, not to mention the Royale keeper who had a pretty good game. With the referee extending the match for time wasting, the final 10 minutes seemed to last forever, but it was not long enough for Khazboss.

Verdict:
A better performance, however, Khazboss need to start games better and be more clinical in front of goal if they are to push for promotion next season.

Charnock: 6 - Poor start but then made some good stops
Heron: 7 - Solid as usual
Ste Murphy: 6 - Better defending than previous matches. Gave another option in attack.
Cheverton: 6 - Again looked out of position but was always working hard. Unlucky not to score (again!).
John: 7 - Chased everything and gave best attacking options. Star Man.
Evans: 7 - Another hard working performance for the team.

Stats:
Goals:
Evans 36
Gregory 21
Heron 11
Ste 11
Scott 10
John 6
Cheverton 2
(og) 2

Ave Rating (Apps)
Evans 7.50 (16)
Heron 7.50 (16)
Charnock 6.88 (16)
Gregory 6.64 (14)
Scott 6.63 (16)
Cheverton 6.53 (16)
Ste 6.50 (16)
John 6.17 (6)

Form
LLWLLL