2025-07-31, 10:19 PM - Word count:
JAKARTA STADIUM, JAKARTA -
Normally I start off these entries with how quiet it was in the locker room. Well, it certainly was quiet, just not in our locker room. After all, how could it be? The team won its third game this season, and it's the first win that any of us that joined the team (and, by extension, the league) have experienced!
The game itself, as I expected, felt pretty special. It took us a bit to get going on offense, so our defense was the star of the game for nearly the entire first half. Everyone put in amazing effort, especially Rizzo to keep things out of the net. Grimace and Wentworth also stepped up big, cutting off shooting and passing lanes, forcing Jakarta to make risky crosses and dangerous dribbles.
The 43rd minute is when we finally took our first strike. Danger put a beautiful corner attempt into the box, which was knocked up and back out to him near the top of the box. He got the ball to me, and I saw a perfect opportunity in front of me, so I let a shot loose. The ball kept going up and up, and I found the far top corner of the net where the keeper had no chance at all to even lay a finger on the shot, let alone get enough onto it to save it. I was so elated, I didn't know what to do with myself. When I came into this league, I thought all I would need to do to succeed was give the ball to my teammates, set them up in positions to score, and maybe inspire the team if we were down. I never thought I'd be wearing this armband, have so much faith and trust be put into me by teammates I am still getting to know. I am truly honored.
Not wanting to stop now, we put our foot on the gas. 46th minute of the first half, bleeding into extra time, Danger gets another great corner attempt in. This time it kicks out to me near the top, so I run it down to the line and send a second attempt in. Wentworth and the legend Butsquets keep it alive on the other side of the field, before finding Stains, who then finds Danger outside the half circle above the box. Seems like he wanted to hop on the scoring train because he let that thing fly. Keeper tried to make a save, but the bar seemed to favor Danger more, and the ball pinged into the back of the net to send us up 2-0 nearing the end of the half! One finally attempt from Jakarta before the whistle was denied by Rizzo on the line, and we went into break with the lead.
Halftime was a nice break, but it left me concerned. Last time we had been up two at half was against Adowa, and that game ended in a well fought draw. I knew we couldn't let up, so we entered the second half determined to keep our foot on the pedal, not wanting to give them an inch. The second half featured more of the first, with our defense letting Jakarta get very little of anything good in, and what little good they did get in was shut down by Rizzo.
In the 56th, another opportunity arose when Danger got fouled on a McStuffins pass, giving us a penalty to take. Chisholm stepped up to put the take away, and we were up 3-0 just like that! Not much really happened after that, as we continued to play solid soccer, keeping possession and locking down their attacks. The final whistle blew, and the game was over. Danger rightfully got recognized as player of the match, being a contributor to basically every goal we had (as without the penalty committed against him, we wouldn't have gotten the free shot).
After the game is when I tend to look at stats from the game. Of course, I keep a mental note of my passes and other things I do during the game, but there are just some things you don't see or can't keep in your head without it bogging you down in the game. Jakarta put up a lot of attempts, but our defense and goalie made sure they got very few good attempts. The numbers say they should've scored, but I think that shows just how good of a backline we've got!
I made a lot of passes, and 71 percent of them found their targets. None of my nine crosses hit their targets, so I think I'll try to work on that before the next game, and hope to get some better quality ones in the future. I'm not too beat up over it because one of those crosses was part of the build up to a goal, so I will let that one slide for now. Went 50/50 on 2 shots today, and finding the back of the net is always a good feeling! All of that was good enough for a 7.1 rating, which shows that, even in victory, you can always be better.
I think I like winning. I wanna win more before my time in the Academy League is done. We'll have two more chances to do so with games against Victoria Falls and Sydney City, both of which will be at home! Let's go win one for the home crowd!
Normally I start off these entries with how quiet it was in the locker room. Well, it certainly was quiet, just not in our locker room. After all, how could it be? The team won its third game this season, and it's the first win that any of us that joined the team (and, by extension, the league) have experienced!
The game itself, as I expected, felt pretty special. It took us a bit to get going on offense, so our defense was the star of the game for nearly the entire first half. Everyone put in amazing effort, especially Rizzo to keep things out of the net. Grimace and Wentworth also stepped up big, cutting off shooting and passing lanes, forcing Jakarta to make risky crosses and dangerous dribbles.
The 43rd minute is when we finally took our first strike. Danger put a beautiful corner attempt into the box, which was knocked up and back out to him near the top of the box. He got the ball to me, and I saw a perfect opportunity in front of me, so I let a shot loose. The ball kept going up and up, and I found the far top corner of the net where the keeper had no chance at all to even lay a finger on the shot, let alone get enough onto it to save it. I was so elated, I didn't know what to do with myself. When I came into this league, I thought all I would need to do to succeed was give the ball to my teammates, set them up in positions to score, and maybe inspire the team if we were down. I never thought I'd be wearing this armband, have so much faith and trust be put into me by teammates I am still getting to know. I am truly honored.
Not wanting to stop now, we put our foot on the gas. 46th minute of the first half, bleeding into extra time, Danger gets another great corner attempt in. This time it kicks out to me near the top, so I run it down to the line and send a second attempt in. Wentworth and the legend Butsquets keep it alive on the other side of the field, before finding Stains, who then finds Danger outside the half circle above the box. Seems like he wanted to hop on the scoring train because he let that thing fly. Keeper tried to make a save, but the bar seemed to favor Danger more, and the ball pinged into the back of the net to send us up 2-0 nearing the end of the half! One finally attempt from Jakarta before the whistle was denied by Rizzo on the line, and we went into break with the lead.
Halftime was a nice break, but it left me concerned. Last time we had been up two at half was against Adowa, and that game ended in a well fought draw. I knew we couldn't let up, so we entered the second half determined to keep our foot on the pedal, not wanting to give them an inch. The second half featured more of the first, with our defense letting Jakarta get very little of anything good in, and what little good they did get in was shut down by Rizzo.
In the 56th, another opportunity arose when Danger got fouled on a McStuffins pass, giving us a penalty to take. Chisholm stepped up to put the take away, and we were up 3-0 just like that! Not much really happened after that, as we continued to play solid soccer, keeping possession and locking down their attacks. The final whistle blew, and the game was over. Danger rightfully got recognized as player of the match, being a contributor to basically every goal we had (as without the penalty committed against him, we wouldn't have gotten the free shot).
After the game is when I tend to look at stats from the game. Of course, I keep a mental note of my passes and other things I do during the game, but there are just some things you don't see or can't keep in your head without it bogging you down in the game. Jakarta put up a lot of attempts, but our defense and goalie made sure they got very few good attempts. The numbers say they should've scored, but I think that shows just how good of a backline we've got!
I made a lot of passes, and 71 percent of them found their targets. None of my nine crosses hit their targets, so I think I'll try to work on that before the next game, and hope to get some better quality ones in the future. I'm not too beat up over it because one of those crosses was part of the build up to a goal, so I will let that one slide for now. Went 50/50 on 2 shots today, and finding the back of the net is always a good feeling! All of that was good enough for a 7.1 rating, which shows that, even in victory, you can always be better.
I think I like winning. I wanna win more before my time in the Academy League is done. We'll have two more chances to do so with games against Victoria Falls and Sydney City, both of which will be at home! Let's go win one for the home crowd!
