Alltraders v Palmeiras

There was a lot of expectation resting on Alltraders shoulders this week following Last Thursday's impressive 5-0 win over 'Can't Score Won't Score'. Would Andy continue his scoring run to take the golden boot? Would the solid new-look midfield keep the threat of an opposition attack at bay? Would Warren have to save a shot this week? All was about to be revealed.

For the first time this season, Alltraders had the luxury of fielding the same team on two consecutive games. I'm not certain that would make any difference, but I thought I'd mention anyway just in case you were interested.

Having never played against Palmeiras before, we weren't sure what to expect other than they looked quite young and fit. But then I suppose all teams do compared to Alltraders.

The match started at a lung-stretching pace. The lack of a decent warm-up meant Alltraders looked visibly pained as they tried to adjust to the sudden speed of the game. In fact it wasn't too long before we got a sign of what to expect from Palmeiras when the Alltraders defence was caught napping as an attacker was found in an unmarked position to slam his shot just wide.


An early warning for Alltraders	Andy flying high again this week


Tim pretends he can't find the ball in an effort to regain his breath. The watching crowd can hardly contain their excitement at such a lively start ...	I think I feel better now...

After a few minutes Alltraders started to get a bit of a rhythm together, but they were nowhere near as penetrative as last week. Palmeiras were a strong skillful team, but tended to be a bit on the physical side. One or two blatant obstructions and pushes seemed to stifle any attacks that Alltraders managed to put together.

Eventually Alltraders luck ran out when yet again a swift one-touch move down the right found their defence lacking. The move finished with a quick cross-field pass to another unmarked attacker on the left that hit the ball first time past Warren Fiveash to open the scoring for the opposition.


Where was the marking?	One-nil down after five minutes...

Alltraders knew that they were at least matching the opposition for skill, but they couldn't quite break the pace of their midfield and attack. As the game progressed, the challenges started to become a bit more 'urgent' as each team battled to get the upper-hand, but the referee seemed slow to take any action tonight.

In one bizarre incident, the Palmeiras goalkeeper seemed to flick the ball over his own goal line. As the Alltraders team claimed the goal, the referee slowly walked towards the goal area, whistle in mouth, only then to give a free kick to Alltraders for an apparent back-pass. This confused everyone as the last person to touch the ball before the goalkeeper was a scuffed shot from Kevin Burton. Unfortunately, the virtual replay could not determine whether the ball had actually crossed the line or not, but from where I was standing it looked pretty much like it had to me.


Andy shows the cynical side of his game with shamefull hack at the young attacker	The Palmeiras midfielder seems to miss the ball completely as his left foot hits Tim right between the cheeks in a retaliatory attack.

However (no Alltraders match report is complete without the word 'however'), just before the half time whistle, Alltraders found the break they needed. Following a quick interchange of passes between Kevin and Andy, the ball found it's way to Tony who managed to muscle his way through the middle of the Palmeiras defence into a shooting position. The resultant finish was reminiscent of his high quality DIY work...

Fooling just about everyone on the pitch, he shaped to hit the ball with his left foot. But then, with all the grace and agility of a Russian gymnast, he somehow managed to flip his body around 90 degrees to strike the ball with the outside of his right foot. This sudden dramatic manoever from someone of Tony's stature seemed the stun the goalkeeper into submission as he watched the ball sail gracefully over his left shoulder into the net for Alltraders equaliser.


The move everyone was talking about...	...the 'shimmy' catches everyone out!

This goal seemed to rattle the opposition, and the second half started at an increased pace as Palmeiras pushed hard on the Alltraders goal in an attempt to regain their lead. Alltraders kept both Tim and Kevin firmly at the back for the remaining ten minutes, but this served to put the team under more pressure as the pace needed for the quick counter-attack was missing tonight. It may have been something to do with the opposition being quicker than us at the back, but more likely that Alltraders had eaten too much before the game.

Warren was on top form again tonight using his agility to frustrate the Palmeiras attack. Sadly, about two minutes into the restart, Kevin misjudged an opposition corner to allow a Palmeiras attacker the time to get to the ball first and crack home their second goal on the night.


Warren at his athletic best	Another one pushed high over the bar

Too quick for the cameras - Palmeiras regain their lead	Tony continues to battle...

Alltraders now knew that they had to push further forward to try and save the game. The bad news was that Palmeiras were a slightly fitter side than last weeks opposition and seemed to have an extra couple of inches of pace to stifle any move that Alltraders tried to put together. Having said that, Andy and Kevin still found themselves in space to launch the odd shot on goal, but the Palmeiras 'keeper looked a bit sharper this half and kept his goal well covered. Even Tim managed managed to get in a shot in towards the end of the game that only went a few yards wide.


Tim's shot goes agonisingly wide	Even Andy's magic left foot deserted him tonight

So, tonight Alltraders found themselves up against a team that were not going to allow themselves to be intimidated by Alltraders previous good result.

Despite his best efforts, Andy could not maintain his impressive scoring record for Alltraders. Whether this was due to a hard day at work, a large fry-up before the game, or the disappointment of being sacked by the Barnet chairman for dodgy close-season player transfers, is a matter for discussion.

Alltraders put a good performance together tonight having only lost by a sloppy goal. Even on their own admission Palmeiras were lucky to take all three points tonight. Incidentally, the goalkeeper made a heavy suggestion that the ball did actually cross the line, but that's the way it goes sometimes...

The remaining three games of this season should see the team become more settled, and if they continue to play like they did tonight then I'm sure there will be loads more goals to capture before the season's through!

Next week we are drawn against Lard. I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions as to what's going to happen during that game. I'm glad I'm not here to report on it ...