Romana MD6 Review

[TooDear]

CD Tenochtitlan vs AC Romana
0:3

Hello, hello readers of the SSL. It has been a while since I've done a matchday review. Mostly because the bounty team was behind for a long time and I didn't want to add fuel to the fire. Now that the team has caught up I'll be posing more MD reviews like I used to. I've got a new team to report on which is very exciting and I'm looking forward to seeing what Romana can do this season.

Though this MD is a bit behind now, I still wanted to start with it as it shows exactly what Romana wants to accomplish this season. They are no longer going to be fighting at the bottom of the table but instead will be scrapping with both the mid table and top end teams. Without further ado, let's get into the match.

Preview:
Teno were coming into this game red hot. A surprising though bit lucky game against champions Sao Paulo on MD4 saw them beating the Brazilians 5-2, though it has to be said, USP went down to 10 men early. Regardless, good teams need to make use of their chances and CDT certainly did. Following that was a closer game on MD5 against Liffeyside Celtic that CDT was still able to win 2-1. On paper Teno was named the favorite, especially playing at home, going into MD6 against a newly reformed Romana.

Romana on the other hand had a very mixed MD 4 and 5. Catalunya proved too hard to break down and the game ended as a 1-1 draw despite Romana creating many more chances and certainly feeling like they deserved 3 points instead of 1. Meanwhile SfV proved that despite being in a smaller rebuild of their own, they still have history. A close game that ended up being a 1-2 loss for the Romans. An early win against Cosmico and Tokyo at the start of the season gave a bit of spark to the Roman club but it was quickly proven that the rebuild road is long.

Match Day Set-up:

Tenochtitlan set up in an off center 4-3-3. In net was Calvin Ball, the defensive four were Jonny Elliott, Cesare Pinkman, Bérangère-Amandine Bruère-Estrangin and Sandro da Silva. The midfield trio were Andre Caetano, Tonto Tut and Hanibal Armaros. Finally the front three were Sam Volta, Roger Roger and Dom Patterson.

On the surface, Romana went with a more defensive formation. Forming a 5-2-3 that was functionally a 3-4-3. In net was Daedalus Kronus while the back five were Caroni Riveras, Brannigan Stoush, Coin Flip, Stephan Lichsteiner and Hippity Hoppity. The midfield double pivot mas made out of Pope Francis and Ryan Van Eyndhoven. While the three up front were Black Leg Sanji, Predrag Dobrić and Jesper Sjöman.

First Half:

28th Minute:
The first half started off very slow, only 3 total shots were exchanged, none of them being good chances. Then in the 28th minute Romana had a free kick in the middle of the pitch. Flip safely passed it back to Lichsteiner who then gave the ball to Francis. Francis found Hoppity on the right and he found an open Sjoman making a run. Sjoman had the chance to pass to his open teammate Predrag but he was confident in his ability and it showed as he blasted it past Calvin for 0-1.

32nd Minute:
Sjoman was feeling it this game and he proved it just a few minutes later. After a bit of possession play in the center, the trio of Francis, Sjoman and Hoppity made their way through the right side of Teno. Hoppity found a pass to Francis, Francis sent it back to Sjoman who was uncontested through the center of the box as he smashed it in for 0-2.

Second Half:
No substitutions were made.

82nd Minute:
The second half had a lot more chances for both teams, though most were for Romana as they managed to capitalize on their momentum from the first half. The final nail in the coffin would come late into the game. This time ironically it would come from a Teno free kick. Elliott tried to pass it to Caetano but he was dispossessed by Van Eyndhoven. A combination of team passes would leave the ball on the right side again with Sjoman but this time he would see a better opportunity than trying to score a hattrick. He squeezed a pass past Elliott to an unmarked and on-side Predrag who'd smash it into the net against a helpless Calvin Ball.

Wrap Up:

Player of the match: Jesper Sjoman
Absolutely well earned. Dominated that right side and got a dirty hattrick. Teno had no way to stop Romana's dominance on that side of the pitch.

Match to forget: Hanibal Armaros and Sam Volta
Both of Teno's wingers just couldn't convert anything on the day. It was bad enough that CDT couldn't generate enough chances but the few they did end up getting weren't finished.

All in all, this was a fantastic game for Romana. They showed that they stepped up an entire class this season. They are still nowhere near the top clubs in the league, but they aren't bottom feeders anymore either. The organization's ambitious goal of having both clubs in 1st Divisions next season look possible, even if still very difficult.

This article was written by Predrag Dobrić and sponsored by A.C. Romana

[Malino8444]

I do want to reiterate that due to Romana's finances the 'sponsorship' is one SpaghettiO.

[TooDear]

I do want to reiterate that due to Romana's finances the 'sponsorship' is one SpaghettiO.

I'll take it.

[Matt Turk]

Another win for Romana. Good to see the return of the recaps!

Media Grade 4/5