League Update - Yuen Long closing on title

As AKITA was grounded at home because of an Amber alert on the week end, 4 matches were played during the week by the other teams.

In a 19:00 Kick-off on May 19, Yuen Long (元朗) managed to get the best of Chun Yuen (駿源), but not without a scare. Ahead at half time (11-9) Yuen Long had to wait for the last minute to secure a 24-23 victory that leaves them 1 win away (last match against Nam Wan) from the title and promotion. In the following match The Institute of Education (教院) managed an outstanding come back against Long Hei (龍禧), after being 7-16 down at half time they reversed the match for a 26-23 win.

In the Thursday matches, ARISE needed to bounce back from its heavy Sunday defeat whereas Shun Lee Catholic (順利天主教) needed a win to keep a very small hope of promotion. After a slow start, (8-7 for Shun Lee) ARISE recovered their confidence and managed an 18-15 victory. They now will need a slip up from one of the top 2 team and a victory in their Saturday night rubber against Chun Yuen(駿源)to have a chance of promotion. In the later match of the day, HKIED lead Nam Wan 12-11 at half time but could not maintain their lead and was defeated 24-26.

Because of delayed matches AKITA has still 2 games in hand, whereas ARISE and Yuen Long only have 1 remaining. The promotion places could be allocated by the end of the WE if ARISE were to draw or lose and AKITA could manage a win.

AKITA is back in control with a 23-11 win against ARISE (13 - 4)

Despite a very early start (9am kick-off) it was a fully motivated 13-strong squad that was warming up well on time. That was the first sign that the commitment at least was there. Everyone knew what was a stake, anything else than a win would remove any chance of promotion.

Coach Banks made a rather extensive briefing, focusing on the different options available to the team in defense and in attack to make sure the AKITA team would be able to adapt to anything thrown at them. To surprise the opposition, he kept Hans on the bench with PA deputising on the right half for the first few minutes. Wan was starting in the goal and stayed for the whole match as Markus was missing in some sunny island. With Yoann on the left wing, Norbert in half left, Ulf centre, Rolf on the right wing and Alex on the line the instruction was to play direct and straight to the goal to put pressure. This worked well with PA opening the scoring, unfortunately ARISE immediately got the first of many penalty to bring them to parity. Norbert scored 2 for one ARISE goal and as the league leaders were starting to settle in, it was time to get Hans on the pitch. This immediately paid off with him scoring 2 goals in one minute. As the coaches were calling for a strong defensive effort, Wan remained undefeated for a full 10 minutes bringing the score to 8-2. Alex, Hans and Norbert had been yellow carded by the 10th minute but it was clearly not for lack of commitment.

As ARISE was struggling to go through the defense, they were insisting on their line and the simple strategy of pushing defenders in the 6 meter area to ask for penalties. This proved efficient as the referees were particularly strict on inside defending rather than on offensive fouls. Neverthless, by half time Alex, Markus R., Ulf added their contribution to Norbert and Hans sustained effort to make the score 13 - 4. That was probably the most complete hald ever played by AKITA as the game plan had been fully respected. Conscious that second halves are usually not the strongest part of the AKITA performances, the coaches asked everyone to remain focus. The team had been swapping well to keep everyone fresh and wanted to capitalise on that in the second half.

The ARISE team obtained one more converted penalty directly at the restart. After Yoann scored his first of the match, both team faced a stallmate for 5 minutes as noone seemed able to score. 2 quick goals from RISE bringing the score to 15-9 were required to wake up the team. Hans scored one more to restart the team but ARISE answered quickly again with 2 goals. The AKITA team was letting themselves played into the fast rythm of their opponents rather than imposoing is slow progressive favored one. As the defense settled back again to prevent any ARISE fast play it provided balls again for fast break as well as wing plays with David scoring 3 and Markus 1. ARISE scored a last goal on the 16th minutes to bring the score to 19 - 11 but it was becoming obvious withless than 10 to play that they had limited fuel left in the tank as they pushed as hard as they could at the restart. With a strong turnover with to Dominick, Guillaume and Nobel also participating, the AKITA team was still fresh and able to develop its game. Guilaume added his name to the scoresheet thanks to a good pass from Hans with 3 minutes to go and Hans did not let anyone but himself conclude the scoring of a 23-11 victory.

Coach Banks was hardly euphoric when he made the match summary: Today, AKITA showed its potential as a team, and proved 100% determination. Everyone had the will to succeed, and everyone contributed to this formidable triumph. Now, after this splendid success we can all look forward to the final matches of the season. Let's all stay focused, and earn the merits for AKITA's maiden season in the final two matches of this round. With this in mind I shall conclude: "Mu.... nass!" (Alex, aka Coach Banks)

AKITA is now back amongst the promotion places with ARISE dropping into 3rd. Yuen Long victory against HKIED means they stand first in the league thanks to their particular result against AKITA and they are now only 2 matches away from a division title.

Hans 8, Norbert 4, David 3, Markus 2, Alex 2, Ulf 1, PA 1, Guille 1, Yoann 1

AKITA bounces back against Chun Yuen (駿源) 23 - 11 (11 - 2)

This was a risky match for many reasons for the AKITA team. First AKITA needed to bounce back from its sunday defeat, second Chun Yuen had finished co-leader of group C and third it was a week day match. Something not very well suited for the AKITA team that could not be sure of how many players would be on time... Except some minor delay for one of the players who wanted to visit the Choi Hung changing room before joining the Ho Man Tin Leisure centre for the match, there was no issue and the match sheet was 12-strong with Wan, Markus, Norbert, Dominik for his first match, Ulf, Alex, Hans, David, PA, Guille, Jocelyn and Lars.

Coaches and skipper team talk before the start were pretty clear, AKITA needed to play on its strength and make sure to start at 100%, particularly in defense.

The commitment was there but on the third minute Chun Yuen was given a penalty as the left wing got stopped by PA on his way to the 6 meters. The decision surprised the AKITA team as both players were facing each other and the winger had no chance of a shot attempt. Even more surprising it was the referee the further away from the ball that whistled whereas the other referee was indicating a 9 meters free throw. The AKITA team just shrugged and Hans scored immediately to reinstate parity. Alex was then well served to score 2 in a row. Chun Yuen came back to 3 - 2 but from there on the shop was closed. AKITA scored the following 10 goals without conceding (8 by half time) with almost everyone contributing. During this whole phase, the AKITA team could not get any free throw in its favour.

With the score at 13 - 2, the AKITA team was using its bench a lot keeping energy up but started to be a little less focused. That gave Chun Yuen the chance to score 2 in a row. Jocelyn and Ulf opened the defense in the middle to score 1 each to restore the advantage. Number 23 of Chun Yuen was given a free pass to shoot from the hip in the middle and got one back. Then come what is probably the goal of the match, Guillaume saw the lack of attention of the keeper and of his direct defender on the right wing and shot from 8 meters above the defense in a wing positon. As his brother already started to complain that it was not an open shot the ball ended in the opposite top corner of the goal without the start of a move from the keeper!

Hans and PA added few more goals from the halves but Chun Yuen enjoyed few positive moments and scored 4 in a row. At that time happened one of the most puzzling incident, on an attempt of a fast break the Chun Yuen keeper threw a long ball, as Markus came out to intercept it he jumped, caught the ball and was bumped into by the running Chun Yuen player. As both players ended on the floor and Markus could not control the ball, the referee indicated the penalty point. Markus was fuming and would feel even more unlucky few seconds later when after stopping the 7 meter throw he pushed the ball inside when falling on the floor. On one of the following action, one of the AKITA players went alone in a fast break and when he tried to shoot, everyone could hear the sound of a big slap on his arm. As the ball ended out of play, nothing was whistled. One more penalty given to Shun Yuen by the field referee who overruled his closer colleague again did not lighten the mood but the AKITA team kept its composure to score four more with an excellent Jocelyn scoring the last 2. A brave Chun Yuen scored the final goal of the match to make the score 23 - 11.

There was a taste of deja-vu in this match as AKITA built the result in the first half by conceding only 2. After that the game was more fluid and the AKITA team was less rigorous in the second half. It was an improvement on the last 2 matches but demonstrated that the AKITA team is much more comfortable when they start ahead. On Sunday. AKITA will have no leeway as they will need to win against ARISE to keep their promotion hopes alive. It will be a 9am kick off and it will be important to be awake from the first second.

Hans 5, Johannes 4, Alex 3, PA 3, Norbert 3, David 2, Guille 1, Lars 1, Ulf 1

First Defeat for the AKITA Team against Yuen Long (元朗) 17 - 19 (9 - 9)

This was once again a midday kick-off and before the start of the match, the AKITA players were looking for the cool of the shade. The Yuen Long Team had a deeper bench but the AKITA team with 11 players on the match sheet were not at their worst. Based on the preliminary matches, AKITA knew that Yuen Long had a strong attack and that they lost first place in their group by 1 goal only against ARISE.

The match started with both teams being very close, the AKITA defense was not as sharp as usual and despite scoring first by David, the Gwailos were then over taken to 1 - 2. Hans brought AKITA to 2 - 2, then PA scored for 3 - 3, David again brought the two teams back at 4 - 4. After 8 minutes, the score was still tied, but for the next 10 minutes, AKITA would not score. Something was broken in the rythm of the team and some nervous mistakes offered too many opportunities to Yuen Long. AKITA suffered its worst sequence ever seeing the score growing to 4 - 9. Yuen Long was finding the line every single time creating havoc and frustration in the AKITA defense. By the time AKITA reacted, Norbert and Markus R. got yellow carded. Fortunately, after a time out, the team moved to a 6/0 defense and this stopped the access to the line. In the last 7 minutes, AKITA did not concede and came back in the match. Markus scored first followed by Alex and Norbert. Playing with one player less as Norbert received a second yellow, AKITA still managed not to concede and 2 penalties converted by Alex brought back the team to 9 - 9 at half time.

The second half started like the first with both team answering to each other. AKITA was trying to increase the pressure in attacking phase and PA scored twice from the distance forcing the defense to get out. Another David fast break allowed AKITA to be 2 ahead at 13 - 11. Number 12 of Yuen Long reduced the gap but Hans launch himself to score on the next 9 meter free throw. With the score at 14 - 12 and with 13 minutes to play, the AKITA team should have built on the gap. Exactly the opposite happened as the tiredness started to show. The defense was giving too many opportunities and the attack was not necessarily choosing the right options. Alex once again brought the team back one ahead but Yuen long answered with 3 goals in 2 minutes.

With 5 minutes to go Norbert scored bringing the team just 1 behind but on the following action he received a severe 2 minutes suspension. Things were hard they, they were becoming much more difficult. AKITA was forced into doing some changes as some of the players were just exhausted with the heat. Yuen Long restored a 2 goal advantage but Hans immediately brought it back to 1. With 4 minutes to go, the AKITA team could not concede anymore. To his great surprise Hans received 2 minutes against him and AKITA was defending at 4 against 6 for 20 seconds. The players on the pitch gave all they could not to concede and managed to keep the score up to Norbert's return on the pitch. Unfortunately, he received a final 2 minutes 5 seconds later. At 4 against 6 for another 1 and a half minute and with 1:50 to play things were becoming extremely difficult. The AKITA team did not give up and once again managed to protect the goal getting the ball back with 1:20 to play. at 4 against 6, the AKITA team tried to find options and not to force something impossible but they let themselves get cornered on the right wing and a too optimistic pass ended out of play.

With 30 seconds to play, Yuen Long took their final time out to make sure they would follow a plan. With one player less, the AKITA team still tried to press high but there was little other option than letting one of the Yuen Long player go to the shoot and hope for a miss. Unfortunately number 12 scored to close the 19 - 17 victory of Yuen Long.

This was not a great performance of AKITA, as the team lacked consistency on the day and did not fare well under the heat and pressure of a close match but full credits to Yuen Long which performed from the first to the last minute and never decreased the tempo, even when they struggled against the AKITA defense at the end of the first half. They were the better team on the day, coping better with the weather and playing their game all along.

For the promotion race, both teams can still get through but it made everything much closer and the AKITA team burnt their joker. This is even closer considering that ARISE drew against HKIED. Those four teams are therefore still in the mix.

Alex 4, Hans 3, David 3, PA 3, Markus 2, Norbert 2

AKITA starts with a win against Nam Wan (嵐灣) 23 - 13 (10 - 2)

For its first match of the second phase, the AKITA team was facing Nam Wan in a midday match. Sun cream was definitely needed as the sun was at its peak and the heat was turned on.

Nam Wan had strong performances as well as less rigorous ones in the group matches to take third, so Akita was not sure of what type of opposition they would face. The main concern before the match though was the heat. With a match starting at 11:15 and absolutely no shade anywhere, the intention was to put the match away as fast as possible to avoid a difficult ending.

After a nice clean goal by Guillaume on the right wing on the 2nd minute, both team played very much defensive, observing each other and the second goal only came on the 7th minute by David. The number 12, best scorer of Nam Wan, immediately answered and the match really started then. With AKITA scoring 1 goal every 2 minutes and defending with commitment, the score went to 5 - 1 before a penalty was given to Nam Wan to score their 2nd. From there on, the Nam Wan team could not find any gap and 3 goals of Hans with David and PA between them made the score 9 - 2. The AKITA team was playing at its own (slow) pace, making sure no fast break was given and creating the doubt in the opponents mind.

For the restart of the match, the team made few changes but more prejudiciably, moved down a notch in intensity. The pace of the match accelerated despite the heat and it was not necessarily to the advantage of the oldest team on the pitch... Nam Wan got the first 2 goals of the half, giving them something to build and cheer on. Lars was the first to answer followed in the same minute by a Hans fast break. Then Norbert traded goal with the Nam Wan team each of his three consecutive goals being answered back. One more goal from Ulf and the score was only 16 - 9. It was the moment for the AKITA team to take a time out to try to refocus and revisit its game plan. It did not become perfect, but still proved an positive as the end of the match was a little bit more controlled.

Hans immediately put 1 goal more and this was followed by the play of the match. Lars starting from the right wing, ran with the ball to cross with the half left and then without stopping received a laser pass in position of left wing in the middle of two defenders, at the 6 meters, preceding David on the way and slotting the ball through the keeper without even seeing the goal. That left the whole bench screaming and clapping and the Nam Wan team bewildered and still wondering how the ball went through the whole defense first and the keeper second.

PA, Ulf and David kept on adding some goals and Norbert concluded this 23 - 13 victory. This was not the strongest outing of AKITA as the team clearly suffered from the heat as well as a lack of consistency, but the strong defensive performance of the first half made the match more manageable. The difficulty to mantain constant focus in this heat was nevertheless creating concerns to the coaches.