Romana MD12 Review

[TooDear]

A.C. Romana vs Tokyo S.C.
4-3

Hello once again readers of the SSL. I come to you today with a very unique matchday. Last season a match like this would have probably been called an "El Trashico" but S23 seems to be a bit of a twilight zone. Romana were 8th heading into this match while Tokyo were dead last at 12th having still not earned a single point. For Romana, this game was crucial for earning enough points for their dream of getting Division 1 for S24. Meanwhile for Tokyo, while Division 2 was already guaranteed, they still had a game to play for pride and the possibility of points. Romana were far from the top teams and if Tokyo could gain a point, it would be against a team like Romana.

Preview
Romana had just come off of a tragic last minute loss in the Cup to Cosmico, where Romana were by far the more dominant team. But many defensive mistakes and a poor performance by the Romana keeper, meant that Cosmico would advance with a 3-2 win. After that was a hard fought Marco Polo derby against Shanghai where despite being the weaker team on paper, Romana managed to claw back a point by ending the game 3-3.

Tokyo were coming off of even worse form. They hadn't won a single game all season. Or drawn one for that matter. Though I suppose, that wouldn't be "bad" form but rather sadly the normal situation for this season at Tokyo. 5-1 loss to Sao Paulo, 3-0 loss to Hollywood, 2-0 loss to Tenochtitlan...the list goes on. As I said however, if Tokyo was to finally gain some points, it would be by beating a lower side team like Romana while they were down.

Matchday set-up
Romana showed up in their 5-2-3 that they have been rocking all season. As usual, the team was: Daedalus Kronus, Brannigan Stoush, Coin Flip, Stephan Lichsteiner, Caroni Riveras, Pope Francis, Ryan Van Eyndhoven, Hippity Hoppity, Black Leg Sanji, Jesper Sjöman and Predrag Dobrić. With Guðrún Vilhjalmsdottir and Supersub on the bench as an emergency substitutes.

Tokyo lined up in a very similar 5-2-3 that was only slightly off center with an Attacking Midfielder instead of a traditional Attacking player on the right. Their squad was as follows: Dalton Canders II, Freja Ekholm-Gunnarsson, Charlie Chambers, Beaklie Eilish, Momo Adamu, Norberts Slakteris, Ronflex, Puma Superhoops, Jude Greer, Anthony Lee and No Face. On the bench was Suppersub.

First Half
5th Minute:
Jesper Sjoman picks up a nasty injury but somehow manages to not only stay in the game but play out the rest of this match. Which, as you will soon see, was not a simple affair.

13th Minute:
Adamu makes a fantastic long pass to Greer who was able to get past Flip and maneuver on the left side without issue. Greer then makes a successful cross to the center of the box where No Face made a run, though unfortunately he was unable to shake off his man like Greer did. Nevertheless, he managed to somehow make contact with the ball as Stoush holds him back. Unfortunately for Romana, despite No Face not making a fantastic shot, it still ends up in the net as Stoush ends up kicking it into his own net by accident in an attempt to clear the ball from No Face. 0-1 Own goal.

14th Minute:
Not even a full minute later, Romana would get their come back. Immediately after kick off, Romana would pressure the Tokyo net, but the shot would only go out for a goal kick. As Canders and the Tokyo defense were playing the ball back, Canders would make a mistake passing to Chambers and Predrag would intercept the ball. He then would calmly and precisely slot it into the far side of the net. 1-1

23rd Minute:
Not even 10 minutes later, Romana would once again get a positive result. Ryan van Eyndhoven would find a long pass to Dobrić. He found himself between Cahmbers and Eilish but was just a touch clear of offside. With his first touch, Predrag would send the ball forward past Chambers, then would win the race and duel against Eilish to find himself 1v1 with Canders. This time he would choose to shoot for the near side of the net, same result. 2-1 

38th Minute:
Just to seemingly put the final nail in the coffin, Romana would score a 3rd goal in the first half(4th if you count the own goal). Sanji would win the ball and get past Roniflex to pass to Sjoman. Sjoman and Ryan would dart into two different channels to confuse the Tokyo defenders, which gave enough space for Sjoman to find a through ball to Predrag. Dobrić would once again be clear of offside and would keep a calm head as Chambers closed down on him. He would then completely fool both Chambers and Canders, who dived the wrong way, by shooting into the far net again. 3-1, Hattrick for Predrag.

Second Half
No substitutions were made.

50th Minute:
Seemingly unsatisfied with an easy win over Tokyo, Romana would look for another goal. And they would get it, into their own net again that is. After an unsuccessful corner, Tokyo would try again. Greer would pass back and forth with Gunnarsson, trying to find an opening. Greer would then find a cross and send it. Unfortunately for him, nobody on his team would reach it. Fortunately for him, Hoppity would reach it. And his foot would nudge the ball into Romana's net for a second own goal. 3-2 Two goals for Tokyo with no shot on goal.

69th Minute:
Despite this happening on the funny number, it was not a "nice" moment. As a second injury would hit Romana, this time the player wouldn't be able to continue. Who was injured for Romana? Why none other than their goal keeper Kronus. Romana would have to play out the rest of the match with Supersub in goal and a very hungry Tokyo in front of them who were finally finding shots. The realization of points finally dawning on them.

85th Minute:
AND TOKYO EQULIZE! Slakteris would battle his way through the midfield, finding a through ball to Greer. Greer would once again find himself unmatched on the left side. Thinking quick, he'd send a cross to the central area of the box where No Face and Lee were. And yet the ball would not find the veteran Lee, but rather the rookie No Face. This time he wouldn't need the help of Stoush and would head the ball in himself. 3-3

94th Minute:
AND THE WIN GOES TO ROMANA! In the final minute of the game and the final chance, Romana find their final goal to secure 3 points and steal away Tokyo's soul. Jesper Sjoman would take a far free kick and send it deep into the box. Sanji would head it to the far post but it would go too far. Running with a dream of redemption, Hoppity would make it in time to head it towards Tokyo's goal and with an insane angle, he would score. Final result 4-3 Romana win.

Wrap Up
Player of the match: Predrag Dobrić
Three goals scored out of 5 total shots and 1.4 generated xG. Definite overperformance that would have almost meant nothing if the rest of the team didn't show up in the end.

Match to forget: Dalton Canders II
Four goals scored out of five shots faced. Just a really bad performance from Tokyo's keeper who even gave away Romana's first goal by passing to Predrag.

Romana scored 6 goals this game, it's just a shame 2 were into their own net. Tokyo took the lead, then conceded 3, then equalized only to then lose again in the final minute of the game. What an emotional rollercoaster.

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