Goal Rush - spelt with a Big G

Is it just me, or do our captains look photoshopped?

It was a very one sided affair at Sophia last week as Team Big G, led by Gareth O'Neill, ran riot to win 12-5 over Team Joe Newbury.

In the end 'The Battle of Ely Bridge' was nothing more than a Big G Blitzkrieg, as they completely dominated the game and shown no mercy to Team Joe. The opening few minutes - just after when both captains strutted and paraded themselves to their own theme music - was the most competitive the game had been. 

Bizarrely Team Joe gathered a 2-0 lead and looked comfortable despite leading against the run of play. It wasn't long before Team Big G pulled the game back to 4-2 and then even scored a fifth over being awarded a penalty. In the second half the dominance continued and Team Joe could only manage three goals more to Team Big G's addition of seven goals.

So where did it all wrong for Team Joe? We look behind the reasons for the most one-sided game so far in the Team Picker Cup.

And do you know what? They did pick him!

Team Picking

After the game Newbury stated that despite the result he wouldn't have picked his team any differently. Many pundits disagree with this view believing that he picked with too much of imbalance. Fellow Team Joe teammate Chris Phillips also conceded that O'Neill's approach showed more of an appreciation for picking in each position. "Team Joe was too defensive in my opinion" states one internet blogger. "Even though he tends to adopt a defensive stance in his team strategies, I felt the pendulum swung too far the one way as Team G seemed to be sturdier in both attack and defence".

Formation

"At times you felt like Team Big G resembled a 4-3-3 Spurs side - free-flowing, quick and confident on the attack. Then you had a Team Joe side which looked more like a blunt Man U team with Gaji playing the stranded striker Rooney in an ineffective 4-5-1". Harsh words from one armchair pundit, but there is an element of truth in it. Team Big G's keeper Billy Collins barely broke a sweat across the whole game whilst Gareth 'Gaji' Jenkins spent more time coming back to help the defence rather than looking a potent threat. Team Big G chased down every ball, forced errors on their opponents and thrived on being on the attack. Team Joe looked nervy on the ball and played a lot of the long ball - on reflection not a great idea considering the weather conditions. 

Hell hath no fury like a Pinto scorned

As players found their teams on the night one by one, it was Mike Pinto that faced the indignity of the dreaded last pick. However whether it was anger, revenge, sheer determination or a combination of all three, he played a fine match for Team Big G by terrorising Joe's defence all night. The attack was very effective as a whole as the link up play was excellent - but his performance in taking on defenders made it a real misery for Team Joe. In contrast the last two games had many calls for defensive players to be commended - this time it attacking players which stood out.

'On the night'     

Bad day at the office? Playing above and beyond the norm? Many agree with both. Team Joe didn't look their best, particularly in defence where on paper they would be the strongest. The wet conditions did not help, as well as the aerial balls they played, but it was clear they couldn't get out of first gear for large periods of the game. Meanwhile Team Big G looked hungrier, made the right passes and all looked on great form. 

Do you agree? What do you think about last week's Quarter Final?

Team Big G (Clockwise from left: Billy, Greg?, Jon, Mike, Callum, Pugh, Paul, G) 

Team Joe (Clockwise from left: Tom, Greg, Chris, Gaji, Luco, Stu, Joe)

SuperGaz!