Sunday League 13th Dec 2003 Kurdish HASSG Lions 6 - Spartan B Team 2 Ground Kelvin Hall School by Mo

Match Video.	Dialup 38 Kbps	ISDN 48Kbps	Broadband 150Kbs	Broadband 340Kbs
Goal 2 from a corner 19 sec	110Kb	135Kb	387Kb	910Kb
Goal 3 from a corner 22 sec	126Kb	155Kb	460Kb	1046Kb
Penalty 19 sec	120Kb	150Kb	448Kb	970Kb
Throwin 30 sec	173Kb	214Kb	630Kb	1449Kb

The Match kicks off just after 11 am, and the Kurdish team waste no time in attacking the Spartan B team. Azad (9) begins his hat trick onslaught by hitting the post in the first minute of play.

A second attack sees Azad outpace the Spartan B defence and side steps the keeper to open his account. This is the most positive opening to a game I have seen from the Kurdish team. Perhaps the news of Saddam's capture has invigorated them and provoked this strong performance.

Relentless attacks on the Spartan goal led to the first of many corners awarded to the Kurdish team. Incredible as it may sound I caught the second goal from Aco (15) the captain who meets the ball outside the 6 yard box climbing above the Spartan defence to powerfully head the ball into the top corner of the net.

A two deficit sees the Spartan B team defence in disarray, with the midfield dominated by skilful play from Aco the captain and Karwan (10) feeding the ball out to both wings maintaining pressure on the home side.

A wayward kick shoots the ball over the fence railing and into someone's back garden, what's worse still is there is no one home. Whilst the ball is retrieved a second match ball is introduced and sees a change of fortune as the Spartan number 9 slams a loose ball in the Kurdish box past their keeper. The goal was enough to spur the Spartans into staying in the match after being out classed by a vitalized Kurdish team.

A clashing of heads results in Karwan leaving the field a little dazed with a nosebleed. It takes him only 5 minutes to recover and rejoin the game and I'm told he's broken that nose 3 times on previous occasions, ouch. Excellent interplay between Azad, Karwan and Aco soon results in yet another goal this time from Karwan, planting the ball to the left of the keeper and well out of reach.

Occasional breakaways from the Spartans attack switch the flow of play to the Kurdish box. The back four, struggling to contain a Spartan attack, deploy a sliding tackle, robbing the Spartan center forward in the box, of a sure chance on goal. Despite falling their forward, because the ball was taken first, I assumed a corner would be awarded. Some delay and discussion somehow has resulted in a penalty to the Spartans by the referee (himself part of the Spartan squad). continued below

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Sunday League 13th Dec 2003 Kurdish HASSG Lions 6 - Spartan B Team 2 continued Ground Kelvin Hall School by Mo

Referees are hard to come by in the division 7 league, probably because they are unpaid, but it usually leads to both sides sharing the responsibility. Penalty scored (check the clip) led the teams into a 4 - 2 halftime score. The second half begins with what I would term "Orbital football" as the ball is thumped high into the air from one goalmouth to the other both teams struggling to capture possession and build on play.

Spartans fight bravely but fail to contain a Kurdish team growing in confidence and overflowing with individual skills. Aco is seen literally toying with the Spartan midfield as he magically dribbles around four players only to be finally dispossessed. The inevitable breakaway from Azad sees him skilfully slot the ball past the Spartan keeper to the bottom right hand corner for his second and the Kurdish team's fifth goal. Azad is fast, with great skills on the ball, his work rate is rewarded with his hat trick of goals and my award for man of the match.

Another thrilling and exciting Sunday league game is over. I swing Billal the manager back to our place for some tea and a look at all the videos and pictures I have taken of the team. He has been asked to write up his own account of the games for the Iraqi TV station.

The next league game is January 6th at home (opposite Cross Keys Pub) against Malt Shovel FC although a friendly may take place this coming weekend (21st December).

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