Team news: 

We came in with a starting 11 near full strength and set up in a 4-3-3. Ebenezer filled the goal with Samuel and Tunde patrolling in front of him, Rahman and Abu covered the left and right flanks while the centre of the pitch was locked down by Precious in defensive midfield. Emmanuel and Mohammed controlled the tempo of the game from central midfield with Musa and Bidemi providing a constant and direct threat from the wings. Yusuf stood as the lone striker, stretching the play whenever the opportunity arose. 

A fantastic start: 

We started the game with a high level of calmness and comfort, spraying the ball around on the rain-slickened surface, taking on our opponents with confidence and continuously beating them with success. Our early dominance was punctuated with a goal. In our defensive third, the ball was knocked down to Bidemi who turned the opposing right winger and played an inch-perfect trivela pass down the line for Yusus to run onto. Yusuf, facing the goal, remained composed and waited for the cavalry to arrive, and arrive they did. Two players crashed the box, leaving space on the edge of the area, and Mohammed(maybe Emmanuel, not sure) filled that gap. Yusuf played the ball back to him and he curled a first-time left-footed shot into the top corner, leaving the keeper helplessly rooted to the spot. 1-0. 

A physical battle: 

The opposition attempted to turn the game into a brawl, launching long balls and looking to win the fifty-fifty balls on the knockdown. We took them on in these physical battles and held our own, not allowing them to have a single shot on target during the game. 

Putting the game to bed: 

As it had rained shortly before the game, the pitch became waterlogged as the game progressed and our fast-passing game lost a bit of its zip. However, we continued to make inroads into the attacking third and put the game beyond reach with a few minutes to go in the second half. We attacked down the right wing and drilled a low cross across the six-yard box. Yusuf, who had a fantastic game, swung and missed the ball but it ended up looking like a clever dummy as Emmanuel was on hand to place a shot into the bottom left corner. The team ran over to the corner flag and shared a joyous collective celebration. 2-0, game over. 

Stars of the day: 

• Bidemi

• Yusuf

What’s Next? 

Our next match will be played on the 16th of July against NorCal PDP at 4:20 p.m. It will be a tough match, there are no easy games in elite competition, but we always back our boys to achieve great results.