Blitzkrieg!
This is more like a commentary for the Infy - Patni football match :
The game starts. Patni has the ball initially. Their first move comes inside
the Infosys penalty area. After a bit of hussling, a shot from a Patni player
deflects off Eric's leg into the goal. Patni:1, Infosys:0 after 2 mins.
Then Infosys started getting its act together a bit. After about 10 mins, we
were playing in the Patni half most of the time. A shot from Rajiv hit the
crossbar. It rebounded back to Dheeraj who was alone in the box with the
keeper to beat. Since the ball came at an awkward height, he headed it and it
went straight to the keeper. Then a cross from the right by me found Peeyush.
With just the keeper to beat, he shot it wide. The goal continued to elude
us. Another run by me down the wing had caught their defence napping.
Again, I failed to put the ball at one of the striker's feet and it was
cleared for a corner. At half time, we knew that the only thing that was
going wrong was the finishing. We were panicking too much in front of the
goal.
The second half started in a similar fashion. This time, Dheeraj had gone out
for a breather and I moved up to the forward position. More moves, more
penetrations into the opposition penalty area but no goals yet. Another
through ball by me put Peeyush in a great position to score and he did well
to make a run and put the ball past the keeper. Unfortunately, the ball hit
the post. Peeyush's luck has been letting him down this time. Hope it is
reserved for the more important games :) Just when I thought that the goal is
never going to come, we had a bit of luck going our way with a clearance by a
Patni defender finding the back of his own net with just five minutes left in
the game. Infy:1, Patni:1. I would have really settled for a draw, but then
it came - the Blitzkrieg.
I got the ball a few feet outside the opposition penalty box. My first glance
showed me an open right hand corner of the goal, with the keeper a bit to the
left. And I unleashed a well placed ground shot. It wasn't very powerful ...
just enough to take the keeper out of the equation. But the placement was
something for which I pat myself on the back. Exactly in the right hand
bottom corner of the net. Infy 2: Patni:1. Then almost immediately, a long
ball by someone in the defence (sorry folks, I don't remember who) found
Kaustubh (who had come in as the right winger). With the Patni defence
playing for an offside trap, he got a clear run and converted. Infy:3,
Patni:1. Then came the play of match. Abhishek, who so far had been supplying
the forwards really well so far gave a beautiful pass right throught the
Patni defence (who were still playing the offside trap) and caught Ravi who
had made a really fantastic run unnoticed by everyone (except Abhishek). With
the defence a good 10 feet behind him, scoring was just a formality. A simple
flick past the clueless keeper made the scoreline 4:1.
From being down 1:0 until the last five minutes Infosys won 4:1. This has been
one of the more dramatic matches I'v played so far.
A special mention has to go to Rajeev, Mukund, Ajay and Eric. Mukund, Ajay and
Eric had the defence almost sealed up right through the match. Rajeev,
created a lot of oppurtunities and like Abhishek played a silent, but an
important and effective game. Hats off to all you folks. Oh yes, a special
thanks Kapil as well, for coming to ground immediately after his dentist's
appointment. Come to think of it, all our goals were scored after Kapil came
into the defence :)
The game starts. Patni has the ball initially. Their first move comes inside
the Infosys penalty area. After a bit of hussling, a shot from a Patni player
deflects off Eric's leg into the goal. Patni:1, Infosys:0 after 2 mins.
Then Infosys started getting its act together a bit. After about 10 mins, we
were playing in the Patni half most of the time. A shot from Rajiv hit the
crossbar. It rebounded back to Dheeraj who was alone in the box with the
keeper to beat. Since the ball came at an awkward height, he headed it and it
went straight to the keeper. Then a cross from the right by me found Peeyush.
With just the keeper to beat, he shot it wide. The goal continued to elude
us. Another run by me down the wing had caught their defence napping.
Again, I failed to put the ball at one of the striker's feet and it was
cleared for a corner. At half time, we knew that the only thing that was
going wrong was the finishing. We were panicking too much in front of the
goal.
The second half started in a similar fashion. This time, Dheeraj had gone out
for a breather and I moved up to the forward position. More moves, more
penetrations into the opposition penalty area but no goals yet. Another
through ball by me put Peeyush in a great position to score and he did well
to make a run and put the ball past the keeper. Unfortunately, the ball hit
the post. Peeyush's luck has been letting him down this time. Hope it is
reserved for the more important games :) Just when I thought that the goal is
never going to come, we had a bit of luck going our way with a clearance by a
Patni defender finding the back of his own net with just five minutes left in
the game. Infy:1, Patni:1. I would have really settled for a draw, but then
it came - the Blitzkrieg.
I got the ball a few feet outside the opposition penalty box. My first glance
showed me an open right hand corner of the goal, with the keeper a bit to the
left. And I unleashed a well placed ground shot. It wasn't very powerful ...
just enough to take the keeper out of the equation. But the placement was
something for which I pat myself on the back. Exactly in the right hand
bottom corner of the net. Infy 2: Patni:1. Then almost immediately, a long
ball by someone in the defence (sorry folks, I don't remember who) found
Kaustubh (who had come in as the right winger). With the Patni defence
playing for an offside trap, he got a clear run and converted. Infy:3,
Patni:1. Then came the play of match. Abhishek, who so far had been supplying
the forwards really well so far gave a beautiful pass right throught the
Patni defence (who were still playing the offside trap) and caught Ravi who
had made a really fantastic run unnoticed by everyone (except Abhishek). With
the defence a good 10 feet behind him, scoring was just a formality. A simple
flick past the clueless keeper made the scoreline 4:1.
From being down 1:0 until the last five minutes Infosys won 4:1. This has been
one of the more dramatic matches I'v played so far.
A special mention has to go to Rajeev, Mukund, Ajay and Eric. Mukund, Ajay and
Eric had the defence almost sealed up right through the match. Rajeev,
created a lot of oppurtunities and like Abhishek played a silent, but an
important and effective game. Hats off to all you folks. Oh yes, a special
thanks Kapil as well, for coming to ground immediately after his dentist's
appointment. Come to think of it, all our goals were scored after Kapil came
into the defence :)
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