After the previous weeks epic 4-1 win against newly promoted USL Red Star, Futera FC hosted yet another of last season's successful League 3 Teams, St Johns.
'Successful' seems an understatement, with St Johns having won not only the League but also 2 Cup Competitions in the previous season. General Manager Alkesh had already earmarked them as the Red Shields' main competition and as they lined up on a cold, windy Sunday in England, both players and Virtual Managers (VMs) showed obvious signs of nerves as kick off approached.
As soon as the whistle went though, pre match nerves were out the window and 5 minutes in, Pat Daley, already with one goal under his belt this season, scored an early contender for Goal of the season. Picking the ball up on edge of the area, Daley hit an unstoppable shot past the St Johns keeper. It was a great start to the game for Futera FC.
As Futera FC won more of the possession their confidence grew with Haider especially excelling at Fullback. St Johns lack of grip on the game was beginning to show and an incident involving their number 7, saw him substituted and pacey winger number 12 coming on as a replacement.
Almost instantly Futera FC took advantage of the disarray in their opponents ranks with Pat Daley scoring the second and taking his tally to 3 for the season. However if his first goal was the beauty then this certainly was the beast. A huge clearance from the excellent Sergio Taylor was misjudged by everyone, except the alert Daley who followed the flight of the ball and somehow bundled it past the St Johns keeper.
The Virtual Managers made the decision to carry on attacking and look for a third goal but it stayed at 2-0 until Half Time. The Red shields walked back into the dressing room, comfortable that they could hold onto this lead, and with Pat Daley, voted as man of the half by the VM's, in this kind of form who could blame them.
The second half started in much the same way as the first half, with Futera FC dominating possession, although St Johns substitute number 12 had become a real handfull for left back Matt Lee Dell. Lee Dell was dealing well with the pressure though and 10 minutes in Pat Daley completed his hatrick when a sizzling shot by last seasons player of the year Jack Magill was spilled by the keeper and Pat nipped in to put the ball in the back of the net. His easiest goal of the day ... but they all count!
It was suggested it may be time to bring on a substitute, but with a lack of options on the bench it was difficult to see where the change could be made.
Before any decision on changes could be made St Johns grabbed a goal back, once again through the creative work of number 12. The look on Alkesh's face as he remonstrated with the rest of the back four told a thousand stories, proving that no matter how well we played, the manager would not put up with a lack on concentration.
The goal pushed the VMs to make a decision and a change to 451, with the wingers dropping back to help the midfield and add support for the full backs, paid instant dividends when Jason Penman, making his full league debut slotted home to make it 4-1.
As legs tired at the regional, Shahbaz got injured and the VM's were forced into making substitutions with Willis replacing the excellent Shahbaz and Dave Moore coming on for goalscorer Penman.
With fresh legs on, Futera FC had no problems holding onto their 4-1 lead and the game finished with a second victory in a row for the Red Shields, to carry on their 100% record this season.
Man of the Match: Pat Daley
Virtual Manager of the Match: Gogo La
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