
Coming off a brilliant performance against league favourites FobSoc, Hapoel were heavily favoured going into yesterday’s game against ChemEng, a team currently circling the bottom of the league. In a stark contrast to last week’s game, Hapoel went into this week’s game expecting another dominant performance.
However, the game turned out to be one which Hapoel made it far more difficult for themselves than in previous weeks, seeming to lack the killer instinct which had been so effective in the crushing 8-0 win from a few weeks ago over CivSoc.
Just before the game, a sudden drop-out from reliable full-back Louis Shaw meant a sudden and dramatic change of tactics, dropping the usual back five in favour of a back four, whilst a significant amount of squad rotation saw manager Noah Meszarich bring out a very different squad.
There were some bright spots despite the morning’s news, namely the return of the Flying Dutchman Jasper van Veen at striker, just coming back from a knee injury. In addition, Romford Ramos (Sam Baker) was involved in a confrontation very quickly into the game, receiving a booking for the incident.
Continuing into the first half, Hapoel found themselves unable to communicate effectively on the pitch and failing to convert chances, with the switch in formation and the difference in the squad showing, all this against a team who had scored just 1 goal leading into yesterday’s game.
The second half saw a dramatic change in formation, abandoning the back 4 and switching to the back 5, a much more familiar formation for Hapoel. Almost immediately, the change in formation made for an effective start, as shortly into the second half, a sensational pass from Raphinha Maurer to Jenson Harris opened the scoring for Hapoel, finally breaking the deadlock. Unfortunately, ChemEng quickly equalised after Hapoel keeper Benjamin Mallandaine was caught off his line and the pigs found themselves back to square one.
More bookings followed in the second half including Joel Herman after a rash challenge. Despite his early mistake, Sam Baker redeemed himself following a scrappy goal from a corner. According to Hapoel’s Dutch manager, “a win is a win”. It is vital for Hapoel to get back to winning ways with a game against Maccabi Selly Oak in a few week's time. Forza Hapoel!
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