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Oi Futo 1, Sat 10th Feb. Sala eased into the semi-finals of the cup with a convincing 4-1 scoreline over Maritizio, but the performance left a bit to be desired.
Star striker Bedingfield was left on the bench for this one, as he still hadn’t quite finished off scoring his goal from last week’s game against the Celts.
T oby and Giles started up top and quickly proved once again the inordinate amount of Football wisdom lurking under Guido’s thick locks.
Maritizio are the form team in TML Div 2 right now and having played them many times before in the first division, Sala knew they couldn’t take anything for granted.
As it happened though, any chance of an upset was quickly quelled when after about five minutes, Toby gave Sala the lead. The warning signs had been there for Maritizio as early as the first minute when Brookey curled a (virtually unheard of) left foot shot just wide of the post. A few phases later, half-pint Dan flicked a cross in from the left and the Maritizio offside trap got a bit out of synch with their linesman. He raised his flag before they had stepped out and Toby wisely paid no heed, nipping in to glance an easy header into the corner. The linesman was then overruled by the referee and the goal (rightly) stood, though much to the chagrin of some Maritizio players. 1v0.
Sala, still without Kaiser Geisler defended well in patches, with Brian and Clarkey their rambunctious selves in the centre half pairing.
Less than ten minutes after the first goal, an excellent move down the left prompted by Scotty’s first time ball, saw half-pint Dan and Giles combine well to set up Toby on the penalty spot. He turned on an ichi-en dama and drilled a left foot half-volley to the keeper’s left. 2v0.
Sala were really starting to play some nice stuff, and didn’t have to wait long for the third. Andres started the move near the halfway line playing the ball to Brookey, who delayed his pass across the edge of the box. As Andres arrived, Brookey played it towards him and Toby befuddled a defender with an audacious nutmeg dummy. Andres collected the ball, looked up and curled a shot with very little power, perfectly into the corner. The keeper didn’t even deign to move. It was a perfect example of the team putting Charles’ maxim of placement over power into effect and the future Sala boss was seen rubbing his hands in glee on the touchline.
 Maritizio had their moments though and Sala were lucky not to concede from one of five corners that they won in the first half, however they did get one back just before halftime. The Sala backline was snoozing, and nobody tracked a Maritizio striker who was played in well and coolly lobbed Sid.3v1.
A brawl seemed imminent at the halftime whistle as the Maritizio left back made a nasty foul on Charles and then Ian in quick succession. Scotty, Clarkey and several Maritizio players got involved and a melee ensued. It was all the referee could do to get the players off the pitch for the halftime break. Shameful stuff, but handshakes were exchanged, and the second half saw very little aggro or posturing, to both team’s credit.
Perhaps this lack of edge was the reason that the second half was, to be frank, rubbish. Maritizio had the better of it as they desperately tried to find a way back into the game, whilst Sala took their foot off the pedal and were out-fought in most areas of the park.
 There were a few chances for the whites. Scotty somehow couldn’t net a spillage from the keeper as the ball seemed to pass through his boot, and Dhugal clipped one over the keeper’s head only to see it cleared of the line.
Andres eventually bagged his second and Sala’s fourth against the run of play, knocking in the rebound after the keeper had parried Dhugal’s shot, to cap a fine display in both attacking and defensive duties.4v1.
The Colombian Enforcer is rapidly becoming one of the TML’s finest destructive midfielders and Sala are currently trying to have his Colombian passport revoked, so he can never leave Japan.
Full credit to Maritizio who looked a better team than the last time they were in Division 1 and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if they were back there again at the start of TML season 5.
Sala perhaps need to work harder at killing games like this as ruthlessly as some of their contemporaries might have.
Still…Job’s a good ‘un.
Report by Roddy Charles
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