GRADED: SSL Cup Leg 1 Recap

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SSL  Cup

Round of 16 Leg 1

Krung Thep FC  vs  Seoul MFC  
The first matchup of the Round of 16 featured 2 Minor teams.  Nikolai Ahmed opened the scoring for Seoul as he intercepted a pass and had a clear lane to goal. Roger Roger (27') scored for Krung Thep, with alot of bodies in the box, to tie it up at 1-1.  Joe Mamba gave Krung Thep the lead in the 35' but Nikolai Ahmed scored to even it up at 2-2 just before Halftime. Seoul MFC striker Kim Heung-Min scored off an intercepted bad header. But Draz Tathille tied the game back up at 3-3, on a header in the box on a cross. Then Daibhi Barr scored to 2 goals to put Seoul MFC up 5-3.  That proved to be enough. Krung Thep was able to bring the score to 4-5, on a goal from Andre Caetano, but could not even it back up. 
PotM - Daibhi Barr - 9.0 

4-5

União São Paulo vs Schwarzwälder FV
This was setup to be a heavyweight matchup in Leg 1 between two top teams in the Majors. SFV opened the scoring with a beautiful passing display, resulted in an easy tap goal for Mei Suzuki (35'). SFV led at halftime 1-0. USP came out in the 2nd half ready to play. USP scored 3 goals from Zyqwarndalethron Velstra (66',88') and Julian Rubio (69') to take the lead and get the victory. 

PotM - Roquefort Cotswold - 8.8 

3-1

Athênai F.C. vs Hollywood FC  
One of the two matches that has a Major team vs a Minor team. Hollywood's pressure started from the opening whistle. And they started the scoring in the 6', on a corner that was put in by Gerd Klose. Hollywood had  more 3 goals before half. Alexandros Mograine, Jalen Brooks, Nathan Cormier all scored to put them up 4-0. And Hollywood was not done. Cormier add another 2 goals, Squidward Tortellini had 1, and Gerd Klose added the final goal to finish the match at 8-0. 

PotM - Alexandros Mograine - 10.0 

0 - 8

F.C. Kaapstad vs Cairo City 
A Minor vs Minor team matchup here. FC Kaapstad came out quick. They ended scoring 3 goals in the 1st half. Goals from Marian Gorgon, Marean Dohbra, and Henry Fantobens put up Kaapstad 3-0. Cairo City was only able to get 1 shot on target. Henry Fantobens scored another to put Kaapstad up 4-0 and then the game kind of cooled down. Zizou Lopta did get a late goal, on a absolute rocket, for Cairo City to break up the clean sheet. 

PotM - Henry Fantobens - 8.8 

4 - 1

A.C. Romana  vs  Tokyo S.C. 
A match between two major teams proved to be an evenly matched game. Tokyo striker Zlatan Ibruhimovic scored the opening goal in the 12th minute on a cross from Amore Delo. In the 24th minute, Hippity Hoppity passed the ball into the box and found Kim Minjeong who put it in for AC Romana. And that was all the scoring for the rest of the game and game ends in a draw.
PotM - Hippity Hoppity - 7.6 

1 - 1

CA Buenos Aires  vs  Reykjavik United
Another match between two Major squads. But Reykjavik United came out moving the ball very well. CDM Florian Gaisberg opened the scoring in the 11'. Then immediately on next kickoff, Reykjavik capitalized on a Buenos Aires mistake and Mikko Rashford II them up 2-0. Mikko Rashford II scored a second goal just 8 minutes later. Reykjavik United up 3-0.  Santos Neymarinho (24'), Alessandro Del Pirlo (25'), and a CA Buenos Aires own goal (28') puts Reykjavik up 6-0. Sean O'Leary did score one for CA Buenos Aires just before halftime. With such an offensive performance in the 1st half there were no goals scored in the second half.
PotM - Mikko Rashford II - 9.4 

1 - 6

CD Tenochtitlan  vs  Shanghai Dragons FC  
A matchup between the two newly formed teams in the Majors. CD Tenochtitlan scored first on a shot from Hanibal Armaros.  But Shanghai's Thomas Hohenhan scored the next 3 goals (25',43' and 57') to seal the victory for Shanghai Dragons FC. A total of 28 shots, 10 on target, for both teams.  

PotM - Thomas Hohenhahn - 9.1 

1 - 3

CF Catalunya vs Montréal United 
The second matchup that had a Major team versus a Minor team. This game was starting to look like the other major vs minor matchup. CF Catalunya scored 2 goals (Devon Wagner 26' and Tre Qartista 47') to lead at Halftime 2-0.  Qartista and Kel Varnson added another 2 goals to put CF Catalunya up 4-0. So it was looking like another beatdown but Montreal United fought back. Maggie Sinclair (73'), Heather Bull (86'), and Takeda Takahashi (87') brought Montreal back to life with 3 clutch goals to give the team a fighting chance. Montreal had a lot of chances in the final minutes but could not get one more for the draw. 
PotM - Tre Qartisita - 10.0 

4 - 3

[Hero19]

As a Rapid Magyar player, I have a strong bias towards the Shanghai Dragons. While the organisation has struggled in its infancy, we were entirely prepared for such an event. Having said all of that, we take each victory as a moment worth celebrating, and for Shanghai to not to only win, but to do so on both legs is something that we take great pride in. That is in no way meant to take away from CD Tenochtitlan, our sister club in experience is one that I have nothing but respect for, and I wish them all the best in all future games to come, I'm sure our rivalry will be legendary down the line, perhaps settled over a cup.

All in all, this is a great analysis that dissects the first leg of the cup, and whilst this response comes late, post the second leg of these meet-ups. I wanted to take the opportunity to commend good work when it makes itself apparent, noting the time taken to go over the games, identifying the key performers of each game, and making the effort to highlight the key moments of each game. Very good work. Looking forward to the next one.