2025-03-06, 07:20 AM - Word count: 1743
Welcome back to the matchday recap by yours truly. Like always, the Academy never disappoints. Dear readers let me take you through the games.
A vintage Stockholm performance at home, as is to be expected by one of the title favorites. Stockholm started the game off early in the 4th minute as a bad pass from Atletico was intercepted by Criminal and passed onto Delvecchio who slotted it into the net, making it his 3rd goal of the season so far. In the 20th minute Kawasaki kicked it long where he was able to find Criminal who once again beat his man, he passed it to Delvecchio who this time passed further to Jorgensen and he was able to clinically slot it in, making his 7th overall this season. Then in the 23rd minute, once again Criminal was involved in the action as he was able to break through on the right wing, making space for Gibraltar. He then passed it to Gibraltar who passed it along further for Slakteris and he was able to smash it from more than 25 meters away directly into the net. To make things sweeter it was Slakteris' first goal this season. In the 33rd minute Atletico was finally able to find the back of Stockholm's net as Barr punted a long ball over Stockholm's defense, right in the path of Zoldyck who was able to confidently score. Unfortunately for Atletico this was the end of the action for the rest of the game. Many more chances were had in the 2nd half but none of them produced goals. Overall Stockholm was the better team and deserved their win but Atletico was far from toothless. Stockholm might have to worry about the return fixture as Atletico will be eager to get their revenge.
Player of the match: Tony Delvecchio
A goal, an assist and 4 clear cut chances to improve the score even further. Nearly a complete performance.
Match to forget: Pinkie Pie
Once again Pinkie Pie was unable to provide anything on offense or defense and the early yellow card certainly didn't help as yet again he had to play more cautiously for the majority of the game.
GLORY GLORY JA-KAR-TA! Finally Jakarta escapes the pits of torment they were stuck in and grab victory from the jaws of defeat. The start of the game looked like it was going to be yet another nightmare where Jakarta outplays their opponent but lose anyway. Jakarta started off strong in the 9th minute with a beautiful pass from Von Berg to Dez who secured his first goal of the season. But tragedy would strike not once but twice. Not even 10 minutes later Victoria would have a free kick opportunity. Delibašič tried to cross it into the center but the ball was deflected to Okocha Jr. who passed it to Lorenzo. Lorenzo immediately passed it back to Delibašić who scored his first of the season and equalized for Victoria. Just a few minutes later, off a throw-in, the ball would find itself next to Delibašić again who played a direct pass to an unmarked Okocha Jr. and it didn't take much for him to secure his 5th goal of the season in the 24th minute. A devastated Jakarta worried that once again their efforts would go unrewarded as the idea of a winless season floated in their minds. But in the 55th minute they would find their hero. Off a botched corner the ball would find it's way to Hovi who would pass it to Tut. Not to be outdone by the players of the match before them, Tut would score a nearly 30 meter screamer as his first goal of the season, making it 2-2 and bringing light back to Jakarta's eyes. Jakarta would try and try again to win, not satisfied with just 1 point after going winless for so long. And in the 63rd minute luck would finally bless Jakarta. ULTIMUS messed up a short pass to Green and Patterson who was already in the box, lurking for a mistake just like that, intercepted the pass and smashed it in as his 5th goal. Victory for Jakarta!
Player of the match: Janko Delibašić
Rare to see a player on the loosing team win the award but it makes complete sense for this game. Janko scored a goal, got an assist and had 2 key passes and 2 clear cut chances. To be honest to the point of bluntness, Victoria didn't show up as a team today and the only reason they were competitive was due to Janko's individual brilliance.
Match to forget: Juozas Kupinas
When you read that he had 4 key passes, you might be surprised that he was ranked this low. But Juozas was simply awful at keeping possession today. He had the lowest pass accuracy, he completed only 4 of his attempted 14 crosses, won half his tackles and lost all his aerial duels. A game to keep away from the record books.
A draw surprisingly, something that seems to be rare in the Academy. Istanbul had been on a downward spiral ever since their Stockholm game with the only exception being vs Jakarta. Adowa Accra was looking to pounce on that weakness and further their climb up the league. Both teams wanted to win this but I don't thing either will be truly disappointed with a point from this match. Disaster would strike Istanbul in the 6th minute as Voda, after winning the ball in the midfield, would pass all the way back to Mobek. Unfortunately, he didn't put much power into the pass and Gibrahimović, who was ready to pounce, would snatch that poor pass and score for Accra, getting his 8th for the season. Luckly Voda would get a chance to redeem himself. In the 37th minute Dohbra played a wide corner outside the box. The ball fell to Voda, which confused Accra's defense and they scrambled to give chase but Voda would smash it in just outside the box, making it 1-1 and getting him a 2nd goal for the season. Just barely a few moments later as the 40th minute started, Bello would play a through ball in the center which Power would find. He smashed it just barely outside the box, getting his 3rd of the season and securing Accra's lead again. Finally, way later in the 2nd half, as the 72nd minute barely started, Davidović would play a great pass from the left on his weak foot to Jimotheus who would use his skills to get past the defenders and from a tight angle beat the keeper. Scoring his 1st goal of the season and getting a much needed point for Istanbul.
Player of the match: Thomas Jimotheus
Absolutely deserved. Our man Jim saved us from another embarrassing loss. A win is always preferred but we will take points when we can get them. 2 key passes, 2 clear cut chances and a goal. Jim was the only one of the attacking 4 that actually showed up today.
Match to forget: Alen Patak
Rare to see the best and worst player of a match be on the same team. Patak just didn't have a good day. A poor pass percentage, no successful crosses, no wins in the air. Just a ghost of a performance.
Now this is a proper Academy game! A dominant performance from Port Royal, cementing themselves as the clear favorites to win the league. It took a bit for the game to get going but once it started it didn't let up. In the 24th minute Johnson made a perfect pass from the right to Albinson who tried to smash it in but the ball deflected from Blaze. But not to worry as Sinclair was ready to pounce and smashed it in to take the lead, getting his 2nd of the season. Just 2 minutes later in the 26th minute, Albinson would win the ball and pass it to Blackwood V who would score his 2nd of the season and double Port Royal's lead. And only a minute later Albinson would find yet another pass, this time to Kenderlin who would smash it for the 3rd goal of the game and his 8th in the season. In the 32nd minute, Sydney City would regain some of it's honor vie the pass from Ashworth to Minjeong who would expertly get past the defense and score the 5th goal of the season for them. Just 4 minutes later, after a poor corner, Nahka would find a pass to Kbappe who weaved past the Port Royal players and smashed it in to make the score 3-2 and bag his first goal of the season. Sydney City might have hoped to claw their way back into this game, but there was just more pain to follow. In the 45th minute Prince would score a towering header off a corner from Bear, making it 4-2 and securing his 2nd of the season. Then in the second half, in the 62nd minute, Foster would find a cheeky short ball to Kenderlin who would get his brace and 9th goal of the season as well as sharing the current top spot for the Golden Boot with Dohbra. And to put the final of many nails in Sydney's coffin, in the 76th minute, Blackwood V would assist Roger as he made it 6-2 and earned his 3rd goal of the season. Truly a brutal breakdown of Sydney City by Port Royal.
Player of the match: Sam Albinson
Despite all of Port Royal playing well, Sam stood out with 3 key passes, 3 clear cut chances, 3 assists and even 3 shots. He was the creative heart of the brutal war machine that was Port Royal.
Match to forget: Ryan Van Eyndhoven
Yikes. A low pass count, no completed crosses, only 1 aerial win and no shots or key passes can only mean a bad rating.
This wraps up the MD7 recap, here is to MD8 being even more interesting.
This post was sponsored by Istanbul F.K. and written by Predrag Dobrić.
Stockholm IK vs Atletico Medellin 3-1
A vintage Stockholm performance at home, as is to be expected by one of the title favorites. Stockholm started the game off early in the 4th minute as a bad pass from Atletico was intercepted by Criminal and passed onto Delvecchio who slotted it into the net, making it his 3rd goal of the season so far. In the 20th minute Kawasaki kicked it long where he was able to find Criminal who once again beat his man, he passed it to Delvecchio who this time passed further to Jorgensen and he was able to clinically slot it in, making his 7th overall this season. Then in the 23rd minute, once again Criminal was involved in the action as he was able to break through on the right wing, making space for Gibraltar. He then passed it to Gibraltar who passed it along further for Slakteris and he was able to smash it from more than 25 meters away directly into the net. To make things sweeter it was Slakteris' first goal this season. In the 33rd minute Atletico was finally able to find the back of Stockholm's net as Barr punted a long ball over Stockholm's defense, right in the path of Zoldyck who was able to confidently score. Unfortunately for Atletico this was the end of the action for the rest of the game. Many more chances were had in the 2nd half but none of them produced goals. Overall Stockholm was the better team and deserved their win but Atletico was far from toothless. Stockholm might have to worry about the return fixture as Atletico will be eager to get their revenge.
Player of the match: Tony Delvecchio
A goal, an assist and 4 clear cut chances to improve the score even further. Nearly a complete performance.
Match to forget: Pinkie Pie
Once again Pinkie Pie was unable to provide anything on offense or defense and the early yellow card certainly didn't help as yet again he had to play more cautiously for the majority of the game.
PS Jakarta vs Victoria Falls 3-2
GLORY GLORY JA-KAR-TA! Finally Jakarta escapes the pits of torment they were stuck in and grab victory from the jaws of defeat. The start of the game looked like it was going to be yet another nightmare where Jakarta outplays their opponent but lose anyway. Jakarta started off strong in the 9th minute with a beautiful pass from Von Berg to Dez who secured his first goal of the season. But tragedy would strike not once but twice. Not even 10 minutes later Victoria would have a free kick opportunity. Delibašič tried to cross it into the center but the ball was deflected to Okocha Jr. who passed it to Lorenzo. Lorenzo immediately passed it back to Delibašić who scored his first of the season and equalized for Victoria. Just a few minutes later, off a throw-in, the ball would find itself next to Delibašić again who played a direct pass to an unmarked Okocha Jr. and it didn't take much for him to secure his 5th goal of the season in the 24th minute. A devastated Jakarta worried that once again their efforts would go unrewarded as the idea of a winless season floated in their minds. But in the 55th minute they would find their hero. Off a botched corner the ball would find it's way to Hovi who would pass it to Tut. Not to be outdone by the players of the match before them, Tut would score a nearly 30 meter screamer as his first goal of the season, making it 2-2 and bringing light back to Jakarta's eyes. Jakarta would try and try again to win, not satisfied with just 1 point after going winless for so long. And in the 63rd minute luck would finally bless Jakarta. ULTIMUS messed up a short pass to Green and Patterson who was already in the box, lurking for a mistake just like that, intercepted the pass and smashed it in as his 5th goal. Victory for Jakarta!
Player of the match: Janko Delibašić
Rare to see a player on the loosing team win the award but it makes complete sense for this game. Janko scored a goal, got an assist and had 2 key passes and 2 clear cut chances. To be honest to the point of bluntness, Victoria didn't show up as a team today and the only reason they were competitive was due to Janko's individual brilliance.
Match to forget: Juozas Kupinas
When you read that he had 4 key passes, you might be surprised that he was ranked this low. But Juozas was simply awful at keeping possession today. He had the lowest pass accuracy, he completed only 4 of his attempted 14 crosses, won half his tackles and lost all his aerial duels. A game to keep away from the record books.
Istanbul F.K. vs Adowa Accra 2-2
A draw surprisingly, something that seems to be rare in the Academy. Istanbul had been on a downward spiral ever since their Stockholm game with the only exception being vs Jakarta. Adowa Accra was looking to pounce on that weakness and further their climb up the league. Both teams wanted to win this but I don't thing either will be truly disappointed with a point from this match. Disaster would strike Istanbul in the 6th minute as Voda, after winning the ball in the midfield, would pass all the way back to Mobek. Unfortunately, he didn't put much power into the pass and Gibrahimović, who was ready to pounce, would snatch that poor pass and score for Accra, getting his 8th for the season. Luckly Voda would get a chance to redeem himself. In the 37th minute Dohbra played a wide corner outside the box. The ball fell to Voda, which confused Accra's defense and they scrambled to give chase but Voda would smash it in just outside the box, making it 1-1 and getting him a 2nd goal for the season. Just barely a few moments later as the 40th minute started, Bello would play a through ball in the center which Power would find. He smashed it just barely outside the box, getting his 3rd of the season and securing Accra's lead again. Finally, way later in the 2nd half, as the 72nd minute barely started, Davidović would play a great pass from the left on his weak foot to Jimotheus who would use his skills to get past the defenders and from a tight angle beat the keeper. Scoring his 1st goal of the season and getting a much needed point for Istanbul.
Player of the match: Thomas Jimotheus
Absolutely deserved. Our man Jim saved us from another embarrassing loss. A win is always preferred but we will take points when we can get them. 2 key passes, 2 clear cut chances and a goal. Jim was the only one of the attacking 4 that actually showed up today.
Match to forget: Alen Patak
Rare to see the best and worst player of a match be on the same team. Patak just didn't have a good day. A poor pass percentage, no successful crosses, no wins in the air. Just a ghost of a performance.
Port Royal vs Sydney City 6-2
Now this is a proper Academy game! A dominant performance from Port Royal, cementing themselves as the clear favorites to win the league. It took a bit for the game to get going but once it started it didn't let up. In the 24th minute Johnson made a perfect pass from the right to Albinson who tried to smash it in but the ball deflected from Blaze. But not to worry as Sinclair was ready to pounce and smashed it in to take the lead, getting his 2nd of the season. Just 2 minutes later in the 26th minute, Albinson would win the ball and pass it to Blackwood V who would score his 2nd of the season and double Port Royal's lead. And only a minute later Albinson would find yet another pass, this time to Kenderlin who would smash it for the 3rd goal of the game and his 8th in the season. In the 32nd minute, Sydney City would regain some of it's honor vie the pass from Ashworth to Minjeong who would expertly get past the defense and score the 5th goal of the season for them. Just 4 minutes later, after a poor corner, Nahka would find a pass to Kbappe who weaved past the Port Royal players and smashed it in to make the score 3-2 and bag his first goal of the season. Sydney City might have hoped to claw their way back into this game, but there was just more pain to follow. In the 45th minute Prince would score a towering header off a corner from Bear, making it 4-2 and securing his 2nd of the season. Then in the second half, in the 62nd minute, Foster would find a cheeky short ball to Kenderlin who would get his brace and 9th goal of the season as well as sharing the current top spot for the Golden Boot with Dohbra. And to put the final of many nails in Sydney's coffin, in the 76th minute, Blackwood V would assist Roger as he made it 6-2 and earned his 3rd goal of the season. Truly a brutal breakdown of Sydney City by Port Royal.
Player of the match: Sam Albinson
Despite all of Port Royal playing well, Sam stood out with 3 key passes, 3 clear cut chances, 3 assists and even 3 shots. He was the creative heart of the brutal war machine that was Port Royal.
Match to forget: Ryan Van Eyndhoven
Yikes. A low pass count, no completed crosses, only 1 aerial win and no shots or key passes can only mean a bad rating.
This wraps up the MD7 recap, here is to MD8 being even more interesting.
This post was sponsored by Istanbul F.K. and written by Predrag Dobrić.
