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IUTT 2006 Review - Futsal UY

IUTT 2006

Futsal UY – A Captain’s Review

Futsal UY boasted a small but strong squad featuring a combination of experienced players and newbies led by the combined might (or should I say weight) of Manager Sound/Hagel Slag/ Round/ Dave and Captain Dan ‘The Doctor’ Depledge.

Upon leaving for Robin Hood airport at the ungodly hour of 2am, few of the members of Futsal UY would have had any idea of the futsalling events that would shape their next few days. After a period of 48 hours with little or no sleep, a lot of drinking and being drawn into a tough group, Futsal UY knew they had their work cut out for them if they were going to achieve their aim of a top 12 placing.

Two tough opening games against Lisboa and the University of Rostok resulted in two 1-1 draws with Mark ‘The Pivot’ McKay and Dan getting the goals. Both games were tight affairs but in the end Futsal UY probably deserved a win in both games.

After a short break admiring the jailbait Ukrainian ladies team, Futsal UY would face their toughest match so far against the IUTT hosts Totelos A team (from the Dutch premier league). UY went down 2-0 but Totelos were made to work very hard for the points.

With hangovers rapidly receding and the awesome might of the Hagel Slag kicking in, Futsal UY perked up and their next opponents EU PHF were taken apart 4-2 with highlights including 2 individual goals from Dan, a goal of the tournament from Mike ‘Ibra-mike-ovic’ Clarke (A scorpion kick that had to be seen to be believed), and a typical toe-punt from UY’s very own Dutchman, Ties. This win put UY in a great position in the group and hopes for finishing second were high.

The dream was soon dashed in a highly controversial game between Totelos and Lisbon. UY need Lisbon to lose in order to progress to second, but a combination of terrible time wasting and a last minute totelos goal being disallowed because the ref didn’t see it go in, resulted in a 1-1 draw leaving UY with a meaningless final game.

The last game against HEC finished 3-3 with Dan and Pivot (2) getting on the goalsheet again. UY finished fourth in the group and progressed into the 9-16th playoff. It was tough on the UY players who had put in powerful, disciplined performances but such is life in futsal.

The next day saw a very very hungover UY thrown against the Dutch Totelos B team who thankfully were nearly as hungover. A blistering first minute twice saw Dan (powered by the ubiquitous Hagel Slag) round the Totelos team and slot home. This lead would prove to be crucial as Totelos gradually got back in the game finally securing a 2-2 draw, partly due to a horrendous defensive lapse by Paddy (who would later redeem himself). And so it was that UY headed to the terrifying and oh-so-english prospect of a penalty shootout!

Winning the toss, UY elected the other team to shoot first and it was joy all round as Sound Dave made a terrific dive and save. Captain Doctor Dan stepped up for UY and coolly slotted his penalty home, sending the keeper the wrong way. Totelos powered home an unstoppable shot for their next penalty before Pivot followed suit, nearly decapitating the totelos goalkeeper who just managed to get out of the way. Totelos scored their final penalty heaping pressure on the shoulders of former president Paddy Drysdale who was to take UY’s third and final penalty. After placing the ball and taking two steps back, Paddy took a moment to compose himself. Then, disaster!!! The referee blew up ruling that Paddy had taken more than the allotted 4 seconds (a rule none of us knew!) in which to take the penalty. A huge debate with the referee and the Totelos team seemed destined to end the game on controversial note. Paddy;s blushes were spared when the terrifically sporting Totelos team insisted he be allowed another go. The referee agreed and this time Paddy made sure, driving home his penalty and sending UY through into the 9-12 playoff.

This would be the last action of the day for UY who took a trip to Amsterdam in an effort to calm their nerves…

The final days play saw UY paired with a team from Brno (A place with difficult memories for many of the Futsal UY team). Determined to prove their worth, UY took an early lead thanks to a slick one-two with Ties and finish from Dan. However disaster soon struck as a badly taken corner (from Dan) resulted in a Brno player running the length of the field and scoring. Two more quickly followed and it was looking like it would be a bad day for UY. However, once again they dug deep and a couple of great goals from Ties and Pivot restored the balance, although UY quickly found themselves another goal behind after that. With mere seconds left, UY secured the draw thanks to another impressive run and finish from Dan.

And so UY found themselves in another shootout… Determined to show the England team how it was done UY put away their initial three penalties with ease (Dan, Pivot and Paddy again). However the expertise of the Brno team saw them match UY. And so to sudden death and with Brno taking the lead it was up to Sound Dave to keep UY in it. Up he stepped for his penalty and expertly placed it into the top corner, much to the joy of the many supporting teams who had been enjoying the game (particularly Team Alpha). The next Brno player was unfortunate to steer his shot onto the post having sent the keeper the wrong way but this was to be a great UY moment as Sebastian ‘Seb’ Groth stepped up to his first top-level penalty. He slotted it home and UY went crazy, after a disappointing first day they had guaranteed themselves a top 10 finish, a fantastic achievement. The final game for 9th and 10th saw UY up against familiar foes in the shape of UEA. However the stress of the penalty shootout and the lack of recovery time between the games saw UY lose out on the bragging rights.
The game itself started badly when a horrible defensive lapse from Dan allowed UEA to take an early lead. Four more goals quickly followed and UY were in disarray. However, a mad 3 minutes saw Dan score a hat-trick and was nearly enough to take the game back to UEA. Unfortunately another UEA goal sealed the deal and the game finished 6-3.

Despite a disappointing end to a terrific tournament, UY should hold their heads high at their achievements. One can only drool at the prospect of how the current first team could fare there next year.

All in all it was a great tournament organised by a fantastic group of lads and brilliant collection of teams. Every member of UY played their part from the goalkeeping heroics and motivation of Sound Dave, the defensive organisation and sheer britishness of Paddy, the sheer energy, constant running and defending by Seb, Ties’ reading of the game and ability to dictate the game. The tireless work of Luke who was unfortunate not to score and the sheer effort of the utility man, Mike, played a huge part in their success as did the goals from Pivot (4) and Dan (11).

As captain I would like to thank everyone for their efforts and for making the trip so unforgettable and enjoyable.

Captains Player of the Tournament: Ties – whose tactical nous and ability to read the game was our salvation

Long Live The Hagel Slag!!!