Every kick, every punch, every game...
Rúnar Lúðvíksson witnesses another shabby new dawn for Club 957740
Fekete-sereg 7 – 0 Tundra Axle FC
They may have a new name, new owners, and a shiny new badge, but Tundra Axle FC picked up where many failed incarnations of this club left off, taking a heavy thumping at Fekete-sereg with manager-in-waiting Jonas Solskín watching bemused from the stands. His first act after the game was to relieve caretaker manager Kurt Ingram of his duties, a decision no doubt influenced by Ingram’s inexplicable decision to leave his only goalkeeper on the bench and put veteran defender Owen Cunningham between the sticks for a miserable afternoon at the Immortal Area. A typically bizarre day in the altogether bizarre history of Club 957740. Solskín has lined up a friendly tomorrow to take a good look at his players, and expect Jasper Kenny to win the right to play in goal. Solskín is no doubt looking for backup in this position, and unofficial sources quote the Icelander as saying he needs twenty-two new players and dustbin for the rubbish before he can really expect to progress with Axle.
2312 spectators witnessed a stroll in the park for the home side, who attacked from the start, and dividends were soon paid, after 11 minutes, a free kick sent in high over the penalty box. In what looked like a well-rehearsed move, the ball was headed back towards Tom Gunvant, who had plenty of space to place a well aimed shot and put the hosts ahead. Fekete-sereg doubled their lead on 29 minutes as Marcello Balsamo struck home after an attack from the left set him up unmarked in front of the keeper. Balsamo increased the lead to 3 – 0 a few minutes later, putting a header away from a hooked ball in from the right. After this the hosts settled into killing time but so abject was the Axle contribution that with barely any effort, and perhaps a little embarrasment, Alistair Fischer-Lloyd broke through the visitors’ central defence to put away the fourth before half time.
After an impressive 20 minutes without conceding at the start of the second half, you could be forgiven for thinking Axle wanted something from the game until Fekete-sereg put themselves five up, Antonio Feliú breaking through on the right, leaving the entire defence behind in his wake for a fine solo effort. One minute later a disciplined free kick combination shifted the ball quickly to one side of the box, then back to the other as Fischer-Lloyd appeared on cue near the post, and steered it past the keeper. 6 – 0. Fekete-sereg’s Tom Gunvant saw his fine effort strike the top of the bar following some good work up the middle by his teammates on 75 minutes, beginning a period of shooting practice for the home team. An extended period of possession finally lead to a magnificent combination play in the middle of the park with Axle chasing shadows, and left-back Alan Church slipping his tired marker to net a late seventh.
If there was any positive for Solskín to take from this game, apart from having a qualified goalkeeper to play in the next game, it was hard for this reporter to see it. Solskín himself was giving nothing away, slipping out just after Church’s goal to avoid any press interrogation.
Fekete-sereg (442): Yotov – Church (83), Balsamo (29, 36), Eimannsberger, Franklin – Gunvant (11), Guest, Jeffery, Fischer-Lloyd (37, 66) – Feliú (65), Balding.
Tundra Axle FC (442): Cunningham – Carrol, Woolliams, Hayes, Read – Lloyd, Tan, Horan, Tennyson – Chapman, Gardner.
