Match Report

Islington shooting stars. 9 VS Edexcel. 2

As the team entered into the changing rooms one by one, someone was missing and as kick off approached the guy who was in charge of who was playing and what positions people were in and what number they are it soon started to turn into panic as NIYI! Was nowhere to be seen apparently he was picking up the keeper which also left shooting stars a problem, Matt took over and gave everyone shirts and whilst on the phone to Niyi found out what position to put everyone in, but Matt also had to go in goal which for everyone who isn't a keeper is the worst thing but was sure when Niyi came with the keeper he would be able to switch.

Niyi's new formation

Mat

Bash Matt Keron Adam

Bouba

Jason Les Zenon Mady

Luca

This formation caused by a lot of changes due to injuries and people not being able to play. But basically Niyi had said 4-5-1 with Bouba acting as a defensive midfielder with Les holding the midfield whilst Zenon , Jason and Mady would be supporting Luca who would be acting as the lone striker.

Kick off (and Niyi was still nowhere to be seen..)

Edexel kicked off but straight away ISS applied the pressure and whilst on a break with Luca leading the attack the ball ended up to Les and a powerful shot outside the area to the top right hand corner gave ISS the best possible start with only 4 minutes gone.

Still no sign of Niyi but ISS continued their attacks and a great solo run by Luca as he put in a tight shot pass two defenders and the goal keeper gave ISS a 2-0 lead, ISS were playing well and were getting comfortable and finally Niyi arrived and he could start shouting orders at his players.

As Edexel cleared the ball but as the ball was in the air Les got a great touch on the ball which lead to Bouba's feet and with one touch passed the ball over the top as Zenon and Luca looked to run on to the ball, Luca beat the defender to the ball and passed the ball to Zenon who shot bottom left hand side of the goal. 3-0 and ISS were playing football whilst the opposition started to crumble with a long pass from Jason the keeper should have caught it but the ball went right through his hands and Luca pounced on the ball and scored in the open goal.

Half time, 4-0, and ISS knew this game was theirs already. Niyi had told them at half time to not get over confident but with the new formation and a 4-0 lead it was a bit hard for them not to be too confident.

Second half:

ISS carried on playing in the same form and with a through ball from Zenon to Jason ISS were 5-0 up, a tight shot from Jason down the middle gave ISS a great start to a second half. Jason then scored his second of the game; it came from some good work in the centre of the midfield, Les passed the ball to Luca, who ran through the middle (taking with him two defenders), he the squared the ball to Jason on the left of the midfield - Jason cut inside and shot pass the keeper in to the bottom left corner of their goal.

With a 6 goal lead ISS were getting over confident but were pegged back a goal when a cheap goal was conceded, this angered the whole team and as soon as shooting stars kicked off they were back to a 6 goal lead, with a one two between Mady and Zenon a screamer from Mady gave shooting stars their 7th goal.

Whilst the opposition were trying to find anyway of coming back ISS stole the ball and Jason, Zenon and Luca started to all counter attack with a pass from Jason to Luca, Luca calmly slotted his 3rd goal home.

Another lack of concentration lead to Edexcel's second goal. Bash allowed a runner to go pass him, on the side and the same player finished coolly, putting the ball through Mat's legs.

ISS were playing their best football in a long time, as Les took the ball off the opposition he played to ball downfield to Jason who beat both the defenders to shoot powerfully home to give ISS there biggest win of the season and to give him a well deserved hat-trick.

Shootings stars were finally playing like they do in training and with the new formation it proved to be the answer to winning games.

Man of the match: Jason, with his hat trick. He was also a constant problem for their defenders and good work rate of the ball.

Written by Zenon Clements (edited by Niyi Ajayi)

Islington shooting stars. 2 VS clocktower. 1

From previous game ISS knew that clocktower were also a team who could possible take the cup this season, the last meeting between these two teams ended with a 3-2 defeat with a late goal from clocktower even though ISS had a good strong first half leading 2-0, clocktower came back and took the 3 points from under their feet.

Formation

Abdou

Mat Keron Matt Alex

Jason Danny Bouba Wahab

Zenon Luca
Subs: Les, Bash, Mady

First half:

Shooting stars started off strong with some good play upfront the first shot on goal came when local played the ball over the top to Zenon but shot to soon and the ball went over. ISS looked hungry and continued to apply the pressure on the opposition, with some neat passing Mat played the ball up to Jason who then played the ball into Zenon and shot, 1-0 and ISS nerves had calmed down and started to play football, with attacks coming from every position it looked like it would be an easy win for ISS as Clocktower showed no signs of attack, much of that was down to Bouba and Danny tracking runs and breaking up play.

ISS have always had the height advantage with most players around the height of 6 foot+ and this helped when a corner was swung in with ISS height advantage the keeper and defense left their attention of the ball and when trying to concentrate on the players, so when the ball came in and bounced around in the area then came to Jason and with a huge strike from the most acute angle scored.
2-0 ISS were in total control and knew they would win if they could maintain their focus.

Half time

Niyi was happy with his team's performance but everyone knew this had happened before and would take a lot of concentration to see this game through.

Second half:

Sub: Mady on for Wahab, Les on for Zenon

ISS carried on their performance when Mady played the ball over the top for Luca who scored but during his celebration realized he was offside. The game continued with ISS dominating most of the play but against the run of play a lack of concentration cost ISS a goal with a great strike from the area ISS's keeper had no chance.

2-1 and the game was becoming more intense and flashbacks of the previous game started to get to the players as the pressure built and clocktower looked for an equalizer. ISS defense battled greatly and rarely gave the opposition a chance on goal, with a few minutes remaining ISS got a foul outside the clocktower penalty area and a free kick was given, Bouba stood over the ball with a sweet kick the ball looked to be dipping in but only for it the hit against the bar. ISS knew they had to carry on the way they had been playing and as the final whilst blew shooting stars knew they had deserved to win.
Finally shooting stars were back on track and are staring first place in the face.

Man of the match: Jason for his amazing goal

Written by Zenon Clements

Islington Shooting Stars 2 V Kentish Stars 5

ISS had played Kentish town a few time and new that they were strong opponents and this game would be difficult.

With a pre-match team talk Niyi had explained where he wanted his players and what he wanted them to do.

Formation

Mat Keron Matt Alex

Bash Robert Bouba Wahab

Zenon Les

Subs: Geoff, Adam, Kelechi

Kick off:

From the first 5 minutes ISS knew the opposition were playing a 4-5-1 and the battle would really be in the midfield. ISS looked comfortable and the first attempt on goal, with the ball over the top to Zenon he shot and only missed by an inch of the bottom left corner. This gave ISS the confidence to attack more but as ISS got comfortable the first goal of the game went to the opposition, this was a low blow to ISS for all the hard work they had put in till now.

As ISS looked to try and find a goal from somewhere and the height advantage finally came in our favour when a corner was taken and les head the ball back across the goal line for Bouba to smash in the back of the net.

1-1 ISS knew the game was up for anyone to take but whilst trying to attack the opposition put a few nice passes together and scored, Kentish town started to get into the flow of things and started to apply the pressure to the ISS defence, but the half time whilst blew and a team talk was much needed to bring up the spirits of the deflated faces.

Niyi was straight to the point and made a sub straight away with Wahab coming off and Geoff was his replacement. Niyi explained we needed to get a grip of the game and control the midfield. He also wanted the back line to talk to each other, and for the forwards to help out the midfield.

Second half:

Kentish stars kept up their form from the first half and were playing well, shooting stars were having a hard time trying to control the battle in midfield and soon it was 2-1 with our defence and keeper getting confusing each other and a goal was headed in by the Kentish stars, things got worse for ISS when they went 3-1 down with a shot from a tight angle squeezed pass the keeper, ISS heads were low as they knew it was going to be tough to come back from this.

Sub- Kelechi on for Bash

With a shuffle in the formation Kelechi went up front with Zenon moving to left wing, Kelechi made a big difference with him winning every ball in the air gave ISS a target man which the midfield and Les could run off him and create chances. Even though the ISS were finally playing some good football against the run of play Kentish Stars scored again, 4-1 and it was too much for Niyi to take as he walked away to the changing rooms.

Even though shooting stars spirits were down they kept trying to fight back and with a long ball played to Kelechi knocked down for Les, chipped the keeper and gave us a goal back. 4-2 and ISS wouldn't give up with some good play more chances were created but not enough time was left, and when a long shot from the oppositions captain slipped through the keepers hands ISS knew the game was over.

A game ISS wish to put behind them as quickly as they can, although the team lost they showed spirit as they kept fighting back but with a lack of communication amongst the players lead to their downfall.

But the race for the cup is still alive and ISS only moved from 1st to 3rd in the table so the fight was still on.

Man of the match: Kelechi for creating the most chances

Written by Zenon Clements

Drug free world. 1 V Shooting stars. 6

This was one of those tricky cup games as ISS knew little about the oppositions but know they were in the league below them so thought this game would be a perfect way to restore some confidence which we had lost in the previous game.

with playing the usual formation of Abdou in goal with Alex as left back and Matt and right back, Keron and Mat as centre backs, Robert and Daniel both playing as central midfielder's with Bash on the left wing and Wahab on the right wing, with Zenon and Les both playing upfront.

The game started with ISS dominating everything and with a pass from Daniel to Zenon ISS first shot on goal hit the post, the team was starting to get comfortable and this showed through their play with keeping most of the ball in the oppositions half but with ISS were not clinical enough in front of goal till 30 minutes had past when Les showed his true abilities and shot from 20yards out and scored.

This picked up ISS attitudes and more attacks followed when Wahab went past the oppositions to pass to Zenon who beat his marker and shot left footed to score. Just as ISS were getting into the flow of the game the ref blew for half time.

Niyi's half time team talk was telling of his whole team for not scoring enough goals against weaker opponents this then followed by a team photo and ISS team spirit grew in front of the camera.

Second half

Shooting stars had carried on the same flow and were attacking at easy and when Bash broke free with Les and Zenon either side ISS thought the third goal was coming but Bash with a rush of blood shot wide and ignored Les's and Zenon's screams for the ball..

Bash was the replaced by Luca with that a change of formation as Zenon went left midfield with Luca upfront.

ISS still attacked with more chances coming their way and finally a third goal from Les (man on fire) which put everyone in the ISS a good mood, but Niyi knew from previous games over confidence could result in giving away a needless goal so with a substitution Niyi went for a more defensive formation to make sure this game was ours'; Kelechi came on for Zenon.

Shooting stars continued the pressure on the oppositions defence with a cute pass into Luca as he turned his defender and fired home ISS's fourth goal. ISS were playing good football but an unlikely bounce in our penalty area saw us concede with a dramatic goal celebration pissed off Les more than anyone and seconds later, straight from the restart, he shot from the half way line and scored and to annoy the oppositions more the whole team even the subs ran to him for his amazing goal.. even Niyi was jumping up from the side lines.
.
Our sixth goal came after some good possession play by ISS; switching the ball from left to right and making D.F.W's players working hard to win the win. One of our many attacks resulted in a corner; the ball was played towards the near post, where Kelechi flicked it on to Les who headed home.

ISS had won 6-1 and were back on to winning ways with all three of their strikers getting a goals has given the whole team the confidence to believe this season is still ours for the taking.

Man of the match: Les for two amazing goals.

Written by Zenon Clements, edited by Niyi Ajayi

ISS. 1 VS I.D.S. 2

Shooting stars were unbeaten in 3 games and were enjoying their football, but to continue this they had to go through I.D.S.

With not many people showing up only 11 men turned up out of 16 so the manager had to rearrange his team formation and this brought in a new player.

Kick off and both sides were getting stuck in, I.D.S were an unknown team to many ISS and it was soon shown that this team could play football, with them starting to attack down the left hand side gave them the opener.

ISS Hadn't yet conceded a goal first so this was truly going to test them, with not many chances getting through to the strikers.

Eventually the new addition to ISS (Geoff the most unfit man ever..) gave a great cross into the boxes only for Zenon to head under pressure at the keeper, but this gave hope to ISS and the momentum of the game started to sway towards ISS, with a shot from Mat and Zenon both just missing, but before ISS could get into their stride the half time whilst blew.

Niyi was furious with his teams performance "this is the worst we have played all season" the atmosphere had changed and this became serious as doubt started to enter the players of ISS that we could lose the game.

Second half and ISS went all, Niyi made his substitutions and this would soon prove to be a great move as Luca got a hold of the ball outside the area and as Adam put it "BANGER" smashed the ball into the left hand side of the goal, Niyi and the team celebrated as the pressure was finally off.

As the game was nearing to the end and everyone thought a draw seemed like a fair result against a strong I.D.S our opponents had a different plan with a good pass into our area, the keeper (Aziz) came out for the ball but for some reason decided to leave it for the defender; and the I.D.S striker took the opportunity to score his team's second.

This destroyed ISS as they fought back so hard to get back in the game, with only minutes remaining Niyi told everyone to attack but it was too late as the final whilst blew and this ended ISS unbeaten run.

ISS had lost their first game of the season but the season was not over yet and 1st place is still theirs for the taking.

Written by Zenon Clements (and edited by Niyi Ajayi)

ISS 3 VS UNITY 0

If ISS hope to continue their unbeaten path they would have to beat Unity FC.

Unity in the past had always been a hard game but with the team finally starting to come together ISS was confident and this would be later displayed on the pitch. In the changing room Niyi explained how he wanted his team to play and what positions everyone would be playing. From past history, ISS knows that the Unity outfit are very dangerous going forward and have not managed to get a win over them in three attempts.

The first half start with the two teams trying to source-out each other, as the half went on ISS started to take control; with Bouba becoming more and more dominant in the midfield and our defence was solid, despite playing without a regular centre back (Keron; who just did not show up on the day). The first chance on goal came to Wahab who was through on goal and looked as if he could have taken all the time in the world as he prepared himself to shoot only to shoot pass the keeper and pass the goal.

Many more chances came for ISS but it looked to be one of those days where nothing would go in till Eto'o (Les) smashed the ball into the back of the net with 30 minutes gone ISS had finally broken the deadlock.

ISS took control and look comfortable on the ball, especially when Les add a second taking his goal tally up to 4 goals in 4 matches, with a death chip over the keeper Les had made sure the this game was ISS for the taking.

After Wahab's dreadful miss in the first 10 minutes he redeemed himself with a low powerful shot which took ISS to 3-0.

The half time whilst blew and Niyi for once was happy with his teams performances and he briefed the players on what he wanted from the team in the second half.

One change was made by Niyi in the second half, Wahab was replaced by Zenon (the reluctant substitute) because Niyi wanted more pressure on Unity's back four.

The second half was more like the battle of the fittest; Unity FC came out throwing everything, including the kitchen sink at ISS - they knew they had nothing more to lose but our defence wouldn't give in and ISS defenders stayed strong.

As the half went on ISS started to re-establish themselves again and chances kept coming; unlucky Zenon could have had a few goals, but for some "Elephant-control" which let him down on occasions, The game dragged out to goalless second half with the ref blowing his full time whilst, over 10mins - he was clearly enjoying the game too much, that his assistant had to let him know he was running wayyyyyyyyyy over!.

ISS continue their unbeaten run and the hunt for promotion continues

Written by Zenon Clements (edited by Niyi Ajayi)

Second game of the season was on the way.

ISS. 5 Old Street Tuesday. 3

For some strange reason ISS was playing against the same team as last week!

Last week ISS beat Old Street 1-0 so everyone knew this game would be close and it proved to be in the end.

ISS players knew they have to start well if they are to beat this very difficult opponent; so from the first whilst - 'attack' was the theme. ISS enjoyed good possession of the ball and not letting Old Street to settle. The quick start was rewarded when on 5 minutes; we got the much needed break-through; the goal came from Lamaine's long throw-in from the right in Old Street's 18 yard box, their defence could only manage to head the ball out to the edge of their area, where Alex was lurking, he took the ball and drilled in a sweet left foot shot to the bottom right corner of their goal, their keeper had not chance.

Before Old Street could recover, ISS added a second; another long throw in from Lamaine on the right, this time the player headed past his own keeper......... it was starting to become worrying because we don't want to be as the 'Stoke' of Islington midweek League, but in this or any game, any kind of goal/s will do!. Half way through the first half, we added a second, this time it was a cross from Lamaine, which was met by Tom at he far post, for a simple tap in. At this time everyone wanted to get on the score sheet, but as we got to over confident we conceded, this then gave us the good wake up call that this wasn't going to be a walk in the park.

As the half time grew nearer the ISS defence was caught sleeping and conceded another goal. Half time and the second goal left a bitter taste in the coach's mouth as always he shouted at Tom and Lamine asking and demanding they get back and defend.

The second half began and more bad news was to come as another goal for Old Street this tied the game up and started to worry ISS players, who were starting to play misplace passes and giving the ball away too many times, but the back five of Tunde, Keron, Matthew, Alex and reluctant keeper Daniel, kept Old Street out.

As the second half went on, ISS began to impose themselves on the game once again, this came with a change of midfield and striker the game would soon take shape and ISS would regain their lead through a brilliant strike by Les aka Eto'o (he can dream) and soon after that another goal scored through the sub Bash (guy who thinks he is a striker but is meant to be a winger...).

Victory for ISS and this helped them continue their great start to the new season.

Wrote by Zenon Clements aka the man who should never be a sub again
And edited by Niyi Ajayi; who is going to start him (Zenon) on the bench again!

Albion Reds. 3 - ISS. 4

The last game of the season on the 28th of May summed up all the dramas that go on at ISS and how much the team has improved towards the later part of the season. Five days before the game, I thought it would be a good idea to remind all the players (majority of them!) who were owing money, i.e. - subs, registration fees and for one or two, FA fines. So I went through the pain of editing each text I sent to reflect the amount owed and at the end of my text I stated that refusal to bring the amount owed will result in them not getting a game………….. how clever of me?!

On the match day, I was at the grounds nice and early (7.10pm), I had to be because whenever I tell them (the players) to come to early to the games I always get a few who will say ".. be there early yourself!"………" so it was good to be there before ANY of them…….. at least for once!

As I parked my car at the grounds, I got a text from one of my strikers telling me that he is sorry he can not make the game because he is injured………. I replied his text, telling him that "that's just poor!" and that he can not tell me that he only just discovered that he is injured, less than an hour before the game……………his reply was quicker than a bullet! He replied with something like 'I've been injured for a week, I thought I would be ok, but I just kicked a ball now and it's very bad!'. I read his reply and laughed to myself; I knew the reason he can't make it was because of my "no pay, no play" text. At that very point it occurred to me that I needed to start thinking about a plan "B"! - because I knew more of this was to be expected.

At around 7.25pm, one of the most important people arrived in form of Matinal aka Vieira (Patrick Donalé Vieira is an ex Arsenal player and captain); he is very important to the team as he has taken it upon himself to do the 'selfless' task of being the team's secretary, not only that he also helps with kit wash - so if he is not around, the guys would have to play in their under wear and that won't necessary be a pretty site! Next to come in was Bob (aka Fabianski), without him, we will be in deep s***! Few minutes later Conrad (aka Ludovic Guilly, a former French international, now playing for Atletico Madrid), followed by Tom (aka Figo - Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo was a former Portuguese international, who played for FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Internazionale), followed by Alex aka "the teacher"(I am still trying to find out which footballer he looks and plays like……. Anyway, he is a teacher, so I call him that for now), then entered Luca (aka Crouch, Peter Crouch is an England international and Portsmouth player)

Then a long wait for the (rest of the) Africans! When they finally arrived, it was in their usual casual manner - nothing can hurry these lots…….lol; at this point I started to count and noticed that we have only 10 players! So I turned to the players and asked them "what formation should we play. We have only 10 players"………… after what to me a long wait (while they were throwing formations and counter-arguing, I told them that we are going to play 4-4-1 - 'Crouch' to play up on his own, he was cool with the idea but I don't think he really knew what it entails.

Anyway, we went out with 10 men and began the battle against Albion Reds; from the start I was confident that we can get something out off the game. We were carving their defence open at will, but we wasted so many chances (we scored two goals through Conrad and Bashie, the later getting booked for taking off his top - as if anyone wants to his hairy chest!), Albion did score a goal through a mistake by Bashie, so we went in to the break 2-1.

In the second half, the pattern was the same, but with us creating less clear-cut chances (playing with a man less was starting to show), a sloppy moment leads to them equalising to make the game 2-2. At this point of the game, I was starting to get a bit worried; Luca was looking tired, Tom was just hanging on and Bashie was dead, his tiredness (I think) made him lose his positional senses - I had no choice in the matter, all I could do was bark out instructions and tried my best to encourage them as much as I could.

They say you always get a "second wind", i.e. you get to a point that you so tired, you start to get a second dose of energy from some where…… please don't ask me where? All I can say is that I saw it 'first-hand' - because midway in to the second half we started to dominate them again and in the process scored two goals (a lob from Tom and a penalty from Lamine after Luca was brought down - the defender actually chopped him down like a tree as a result of Luca 'drag-back' in their area and in the process of doing so, he was chopped down). After our fourth goal, the extra energy boost lost it's effect and we started to give away the ball as if it was some hot stone, we also guilty of some "silly play" After some good exchanges which we edged but kept getting caught off-side, with three minutes left Albion got their third, another defensive error but we held on to the lead.

Written by: Niyi Ajayi

ISS LOSS AND ARE NOW 10 POINTS ADRIFT OF THE TITLE RACE
Thursday 22nd January 2009
League Match: Kick off - 6pm
ISS 2 v QC ACES 3
ISS Goals: - Les (Side Footed), Max (Header).

This happens to be a must win match for ISS, as we are already playing catch up and 7 points adrift of the title race. This makes the match to be more important as the manager (Niyi) is getting fed-up of the amount of goals we are conceding and also the lack of goals upfront among the strikers.

As we all know that ISS always have problems with the 6pm kick off, because we don't get to have our full strength team in place before the kick off. This was no different as we don't have our outstanding goal keeper (Bob) and there were new players starting the match as well, who needs time to gel with the team. Also as we all know that some of the ISS players doesn't finish work until 6pm, 7pm etc. So the manager (Niyi aka Arsene Wenger) had to make a very tactical decision in order to get the right balance in the team.

Mat - (Goalkeeper), Thomas - (Right Back), Chris - (Centre Back), Tunde - (Centre back), David - (Left back), Junior - (Midfield), Jonathan - (Midfield), Lanre - (Left midfield), Max - (Right Midfield), Godwin - (Striker), Wahab - (Striker).
Substitute: - Les - (Striker), Alex - (Left Back), Adam - (Midfielder).

First Half

The game started off brightly as both teams were pushing hard to gain command and possession on the game and ISS started off very well, with Wahab and Godwin having enough pace to burn up front which makes it difficult for them to be marked out. Junior (Captain) and Jonathan were more dominating than usual and the defence looks very solid.

ISS missed couple of chances in the beginning of the match, and they were made to pay by QC Aces 25mins into the game. This looks like it would be one of them hard game where the person that plays well doesn't always win. ISS regrouped after been 1-0 down and they were rewarded by a fine header from Max (Header) 40mins into the game, which he capitalised on the space left by QC Aces defender. Game on!!!!

ISS were more dominating towards the end of the first half in which Wahab missed couple of chances, most especially the solo run which he decided to take the shot earlier after beating two defenders, Godwin also missed some good chances which adds to Niyi's frustration as he believed we could have been 3 or 4 goals up before the end of first half.

As the end of the first half approached ISS looks the strongest out of the two teams and these shows from the back to the front in all department as QC Aces were trying to long ball while they were under pressure, with ISS looking more physical and more dominating in terms of possession.
Second Half

The team talk by Niyi (manager) was very brief, in which he criticised the strikers more for not taking their chances and also in which he felt we were in control of the game.

The start of the second half was a disaster as Tunde (Centre Back) who has been outstanding for us in couple of games, got injured and was replaced by Alex (left Back). Which allows Niyi to reshuffle the team again as David was moved from left back to right back and his brother Thomas moved from right back to centre back, while Alex took his position in left back.

The change was not effective immediately, as ISS our defence looks less convincing and this allow QC Aces to grow more in confidence, as they kept playing long balls in order to Catch ISS on a back foot. QC Aces determination pays off with another goal, in which ISS hard to dig hard again after dominating the game and losing a lot of chances.

As the game went on, the manager decided to make a tactical decision by making a substitution, Lanre (Left Midfield) was substituted for Les (Striker). Wahab was moved to left midfield and the pairing of Les and Godwin resumed, this also allows Wahab to be the third striker with late runs in to the box.

The substitution was very effective as ISS started to command the game again with more physical presence from the midfield and upfront.
This brought the best out of the ISS players as they felt they shouldn't have conceded any goal at all from this game, therefore they equalised during the 70 minutes into the second half. Goal by Les (Side Footed).

Substitutes - Adam (Right Midfield) came on for Wahab (Striker). (Tactical)
The game looked to be out of reached, after ISS allow QC Aces to score their third goal towards the last minutes in the game and there wasn't enough time for a comeback, as ISS felt they should have killed the game off with amount of chances they had in the game.

MAN OF MATCH: - Junior (Midfield) - very discipline, physical, made right passes when it matters and was commanding as you would expect from a captain, except when Niyi(manager) try to piss him off lol!!!!!.

Issues to be discussed before the next game (By the Manager / Captain): - Encouragement from the manager rather than criticising, Hard work, Flexibility, Registration Fees, Subs Etc.

Written by: Wahab Bello

ISS WON AND ARE NOW 4 POINTS ADRIFT OF THE TITLE RACE
Thursday 4th December 2008
League Match: Kick off - 6pm
ISS 5 v Edexcel 1

ISS Goals: - Les (Header), Jonathan (Side Footed - Free kick), Stephen (Side Footed), Mat (Side Footed), Adam (Side Footed).

ISS were 7th in the league table and was 7 points behind the leader before the start of this match. Therefore only a win is required as ISS need to reduce the gap at the top in order to be back in the title race and also to keep the momentum going from the last match which they won with 3 - 1 against Albion Reds.

As this was a 6pm kick off, the manager (Niyi) knew it will be very hard for some of the players to be on time for the match, because some of the ISS players doesn't finish work until 6pm, 7pm etc. So the manager (Niyi aka Arsene Wenger) had to make a very tactical decision in order to get the right balance in the team.

Bob - (Goalkeeper), Conrad - (Right Back), Steve - (Centre Back), Tunde - (Centre back), Wahab - (Left back), Godwin - (Midfield), Jonathan - (Midfield), Mat - (Left midfield), Che (Tarzan) - (Right Midfield), Stephen - (Striker), Les - (Striker).
Substitute: - Adam - (Striker), Junior - (Midfield).

First Half

This is a game that neither side want to loose, with Edexcel having been beaten by ISS in the season, so the game started off very open as both teams started off well and it was an end to end game as ISS were missing players in key areas, most especially one of our consistent defender (Alex). Therefore (Wahab) was asked to play left back as flexibility is another thing that ISS manager (Niyi) wants from his players, as it will be a long hard season with some injuries and absentees at times.

ISS started the game well with more attacking options and more pace in the team both upfront and at the back and also in the midfield, this help create the 1st goal which was scored by Les (1st GOAL! header), as Wahab put the ball in the air for Stephen, which he then laid down for Mat on the left hand side of the field and Mat made a superb cross for Les to put the ball at the back of the net.

ISS looks stronger and dominating as the game went on with Wahab looking stronger on the left hand side, ISS was credited with another goal 30mins in to the game by Jonathan - Side Footed (2nd GOAL! Free Kick - 20yrds) which came from a foul on Wahab at the edge of the box, as he was trying to play counter attack.

As the end of the first half approached ISS looks the strongest out of the two teams and these shows from the back to the front in all department as Edexcel were trying to play beautiful football while they were under pressure, with ISS looking more physical and more dominating in terms of possession.

Second Half

The team talk by the ISS manager before the start of the second half was very short, as he felt his team are in control of the game and there is no one to blame or shout on, so the only thing he can do is to encourage the team to keep pushing and reminded each player of their responsibilities on the pitch.

Since Godwin has been injured in the first half, he was replaced by Junior (captain) from the start of the second half (Tactical).
The change was effective immediately, as ISS started off where they left in the first half and dominated the game for a long period of time, this help create the third goal for ISS which was scored by Stephen (3rd GOAL - Side footed), with a brilliant pass from Mat to Wahab on the left hand side, he then pick the right pass in order to find Stephen, who beat the keeper to the ball and side footed home from close range.

The game looks to be out of reach for Edexcel as they were three goals down, but they still kept pushing ISS during the game and scored a goal from 20yrds outside, which ISS should have close down, game on!!!!!!!

This brought the best out of the ISS players as they felt they shouldn't have conceded any goal at all from this game. Like people always say "please don't get the arsenal team angry on their day as they will destroy you" this was more like a situation ISS was during this game as they started pushing and dealt with anything Edexcel threw at them.

ISS scored again from an open play in 68mins, Mat (4th GOAL - Side footed) the goal came as Junior made his command in the midfield and then use his attacking strength by having a shot parried by the keeper which helps Mat to capitalised on the rebound and side footed the ball to the back of the net.

Substitute - Adam (Right Midfield) came on for Stephen (Striker).

The manager proved he made the right decision as Adam scored (5th GOAL - Side footed) in the 86th minutes, the goal came from ISS attacking play - in which Adam received a good pass which he didn't bother to run with but just side footed it into the bottom right hand side corner.

This was a well deserved win for ISS as we dominated game and were determined and also kept the right balance between attacking and defending.

MAN OF THE MATCH: - Wahab (Left Back) - very discipline, pace, physical, made right pass when it matters and played left back as if he is the new Roberto Carlos in the team. (Even though most of his team mates don't know he started his footballing career as a defender before he was converted to a striker, (Aka Baresi as in Franco Baresi of Italy) that was the nick name they use to call him then).

Written By WAHAB BELLO