2025-03-15, 05:50 AM - Word count: 1280
Welcome back dear readers. We're going over the 10th matchday of the Academy season as we slowly count down the end of the season. A bit of a quiet day but we will go over everything as usual.
A strong performance from Sydney, showing why they shouldn't be anywhere near the bottom half of the league and why they deserve their current 4th place. To be fair to Atletico, they definitely should have walked away with at least one goal to their name as Sydney's defense wasn't as good as the clean sheet would have you believe. Sydney scored their first goal really early in the 5th minute, setting the tempo of the match. A clean corner delivery from Nahka for Rup who heads it into Atletico's net scoring his second goal of the season. Just a few minutes later, star player Kim Minjeong would be injured and Sydney would be forced to make a substitution. In spite of the setback, the team showed grit and was able to move on with minimal difficulty. Late into the first half we would see Sydney score their second goal. After a good transition from the whole team, Caetano would find themselves inside the box of Atletico in the 36th minute. Then Caentano would provide a sharp pass for an easy tap-in from Oheir who scored his first goal of the season. Oheir showing that he can step up for Sydney when Kim is out of action. The third and final goal would come in the 62nd minute. After a throw in, the ball would find it's way to Nahka who passed it to Van Eyndhoven where he would smash it in outside the box, getting his 5th goal of the season and securing Sydney's victory.
Player of the match: Esa Nahka
Well earned from Esa. 2 assists, 7 key passes and decent success with crosses and aerial duels. Even a few shots. A fine midfield performance.
Match to forget: Alexis Ramos and Diego Budo
Not a happy day for Atletico when they have 2 players contesting for this "award". Just awful. Nothing in attack and nothing in defense. I wouldn't be surprised if the fans weren't aware they even played.
And Jakarta's dream faces cruel reality. There wasn't much to expect from the top seat playing against the bottom but hope always dies last. Yet another dominant game from Port Royal and it really seems like the league is only theirs to lose. Surprisingly, the first big event to happen in the game wasn't a goal but rather an injury. Blackwood would go down in the 13th minute and Port Royal would be forced to make a substitution early just like Sydney. Finally the goal drought would be broken by Port Royal in the 37th minute. Johnson would find lots of space on the right and with a good cross would find Kenderlin making a perfectly timed run, where he would secure his 11th goal of the season. They would double their lead in the 45th minute as a corner from Bear would find Prince who would secure his 4th goal of the season. The third and final goal of the game would also come from a corner in the 53rd minute. Foster would deliver the ball to the far post where an unmarked Roger would get his 5th goal of the season.
Player of the match: BigMac Johnson
What a game from the right back. 3 key passes, 2 clear cut chances, 1 assist, 9 aerial duels won and 5 dribbles. Just let's not look at...18 failed crosses. Yikes.
Match to forget: Takeda Takanashi and Ashito Aoi
The Japanese duo really didn't have a good game. And by that I mean they did nothing at all. Now I'm sad that I can't really write much about it.
A quiet game really. Not much to say. Could have easily gone down as a 1-0 or a 1-1 nothing burger but luck was a bit on Accra's side. After a throw in play in the 11th minute, Stampe found himself in the box and delivered a short pass to Scott, who kicked it right into the net, getting his first goal of the season. In the 62nd minute Victoria made a foul just outside their box and Pinkman lined up to take the free kick. With a beautiful curve around the wall he scored his 2nd of the season and the last goal of the match. Victoria had a few chances but honestly a quiet game and I sadly don't have much to add. Just one short action and one great free kick separated this result.
Player of the match: Cesare Pinkman
Another right back with a great game. A beautiful free kick as well as his incredible defensive performance earned him the award. 5 perfect tackles and 6 dribbles.
Match to forget: Juozas Kupinas
Bad day for Kupinas. He had 3 key passes but did nothing in the defense and in the final third. With 22 players on the pitch, someone needs to go ghost.
IN ISTANBUL WE TRUST! Commentary bias aside, this was a closer game than the score suggests. Both sides had chances but only Istanbul was able to make theirs count with the help from a certain player. We start the scoring really late in the first half with a goal from me in the 39th minute. After a play from a throw in was lost, we thought that Stockholm might go into a counter attack, but Nadj had other ideas. A brave tackles straight from Barclays Premier League era was able to take the ball off of Delvecchio, then Nadj sent a long cross where I smashed it into the net with my head, getting my 8th of the season. Lots of back and forth action happened with Denis Mobek making many saves for Istanbul but the conclusion to the match came early in the 70th minute. After a throw in, Patak would find a long cross into the box just like Nadj did and once again I smashed my face into the ball, sending it into the net and getting my 9th goal of the season. Good thing the Academy covers dental, because I definitely lost some teeth.
Player of the match: Predrag Dobrić
A second PoM award just for little old me? 2 goals, 1 key pass and 1 clear cut chance. Surprisingly made 4 dribbles. I'm not bad at them, just as a 9 I don't get as many opportunities like the wingers.
Match to forget: Niklas Jorgensen
For someone who seemed so scary at the start of the season, he seems to be slowing down. Of the few chances Stockholm were able to make, he didn't make any count. I suppose it wasn't all his fault, Istanbul's defense just did a good job locking him up.
We come to the end of the MD10 recap. A very "normal" day. No weird results, just clean wins with clean sheets. As it stand Port Royal top the league with 24 points and Istanbul and Accra hold second and third place with 19 points, only separated by goal difference. Port Royal have a chance to win it all but Istanbul and Accra will be on them.
This post was sponsored by Istanbul F.K. and written by Predrag Dobrić.
Sydney City vs Atletico Medellin 3-0
A strong performance from Sydney, showing why they shouldn't be anywhere near the bottom half of the league and why they deserve their current 4th place. To be fair to Atletico, they definitely should have walked away with at least one goal to their name as Sydney's defense wasn't as good as the clean sheet would have you believe. Sydney scored their first goal really early in the 5th minute, setting the tempo of the match. A clean corner delivery from Nahka for Rup who heads it into Atletico's net scoring his second goal of the season. Just a few minutes later, star player Kim Minjeong would be injured and Sydney would be forced to make a substitution. In spite of the setback, the team showed grit and was able to move on with minimal difficulty. Late into the first half we would see Sydney score their second goal. After a good transition from the whole team, Caetano would find themselves inside the box of Atletico in the 36th minute. Then Caentano would provide a sharp pass for an easy tap-in from Oheir who scored his first goal of the season. Oheir showing that he can step up for Sydney when Kim is out of action. The third and final goal would come in the 62nd minute. After a throw in, the ball would find it's way to Nahka who passed it to Van Eyndhoven where he would smash it in outside the box, getting his 5th goal of the season and securing Sydney's victory.
Player of the match: Esa Nahka
Well earned from Esa. 2 assists, 7 key passes and decent success with crosses and aerial duels. Even a few shots. A fine midfield performance.
Match to forget: Alexis Ramos and Diego Budo
Not a happy day for Atletico when they have 2 players contesting for this "award". Just awful. Nothing in attack and nothing in defense. I wouldn't be surprised if the fans weren't aware they even played.
Port Royal F.C. vs PS Jakarta 3-0
And Jakarta's dream faces cruel reality. There wasn't much to expect from the top seat playing against the bottom but hope always dies last. Yet another dominant game from Port Royal and it really seems like the league is only theirs to lose. Surprisingly, the first big event to happen in the game wasn't a goal but rather an injury. Blackwood would go down in the 13th minute and Port Royal would be forced to make a substitution early just like Sydney. Finally the goal drought would be broken by Port Royal in the 37th minute. Johnson would find lots of space on the right and with a good cross would find Kenderlin making a perfectly timed run, where he would secure his 11th goal of the season. They would double their lead in the 45th minute as a corner from Bear would find Prince who would secure his 4th goal of the season. The third and final goal of the game would also come from a corner in the 53rd minute. Foster would deliver the ball to the far post where an unmarked Roger would get his 5th goal of the season.
Player of the match: BigMac Johnson
What a game from the right back. 3 key passes, 2 clear cut chances, 1 assist, 9 aerial duels won and 5 dribbles. Just let's not look at...18 failed crosses. Yikes.
Match to forget: Takeda Takanashi and Ashito Aoi
The Japanese duo really didn't have a good game. And by that I mean they did nothing at all. Now I'm sad that I can't really write much about it.
Adowa Accra vs Victoria Falls 2-0
A quiet game really. Not much to say. Could have easily gone down as a 1-0 or a 1-1 nothing burger but luck was a bit on Accra's side. After a throw in play in the 11th minute, Stampe found himself in the box and delivered a short pass to Scott, who kicked it right into the net, getting his first goal of the season. In the 62nd minute Victoria made a foul just outside their box and Pinkman lined up to take the free kick. With a beautiful curve around the wall he scored his 2nd of the season and the last goal of the match. Victoria had a few chances but honestly a quiet game and I sadly don't have much to add. Just one short action and one great free kick separated this result.
Player of the match: Cesare Pinkman
Another right back with a great game. A beautiful free kick as well as his incredible defensive performance earned him the award. 5 perfect tackles and 6 dribbles.
Match to forget: Juozas Kupinas
Bad day for Kupinas. He had 3 key passes but did nothing in the defense and in the final third. With 22 players on the pitch, someone needs to go ghost.
Istanbul F.K. vs Stockholm IK 2-0
IN ISTANBUL WE TRUST! Commentary bias aside, this was a closer game than the score suggests. Both sides had chances but only Istanbul was able to make theirs count with the help from a certain player. We start the scoring really late in the first half with a goal from me in the 39th minute. After a play from a throw in was lost, we thought that Stockholm might go into a counter attack, but Nadj had other ideas. A brave tackles straight from Barclays Premier League era was able to take the ball off of Delvecchio, then Nadj sent a long cross where I smashed it into the net with my head, getting my 8th of the season. Lots of back and forth action happened with Denis Mobek making many saves for Istanbul but the conclusion to the match came early in the 70th minute. After a throw in, Patak would find a long cross into the box just like Nadj did and once again I smashed my face into the ball, sending it into the net and getting my 9th goal of the season. Good thing the Academy covers dental, because I definitely lost some teeth.
Player of the match: Predrag Dobrić
A second PoM award just for little old me? 2 goals, 1 key pass and 1 clear cut chance. Surprisingly made 4 dribbles. I'm not bad at them, just as a 9 I don't get as many opportunities like the wingers.
Match to forget: Niklas Jorgensen
For someone who seemed so scary at the start of the season, he seems to be slowing down. Of the few chances Stockholm were able to make, he didn't make any count. I suppose it wasn't all his fault, Istanbul's defense just did a good job locking him up.
We come to the end of the MD10 recap. A very "normal" day. No weird results, just clean wins with clean sheets. As it stand Port Royal top the league with 24 points and Istanbul and Accra hold second and third place with 19 points, only separated by goal difference. Port Royal have a chance to win it all but Istanbul and Accra will be on them.
This post was sponsored by Istanbul F.K. and written by Predrag Dobrić.
