Subject: [NT] Friendly vs Uruguay (U23)

We've got a friendly this week against Uruguay and their manager suggested an U23 match to give some fringe players a chance to play for the NT.

I haven't worked on a lineup yet and will update later.

hmm sounds interesting cant wait

Keepers
With Lathan ineligible for this match, it's back to the U21 squad from last season.

The contenders:
Skosana - so far uncapped but looks the likely U21 keeper next season, at least until young Roberts gets into gear.
Wuest - has been keeping Skosana out of the starting lineup but there's little to choose; form may make the difference
Hartley - his superior passing skill is appealing, but he's a step behind the other two at shot-stopping
Roberts - he's not ready yet, but a little training and some form will see him move to the top of this list
(edited)

Strikers
Behr has to sit this one out, along with backup Mugeyi and old-timers Pono and Greyling who look past it now.

The contenders:
Juwayeyi - has a great shot on him and has been highly effective as a super-sub; not technically the best and only in moderate form
Portgieter - steadily improving into a quality striker
Permall - clearly the best of the group based on marks and in top form
Khanyile - another quality striker, but has been off form lately
Lakay - good all-round ability and in top form
Makhaye - blistering pace but not in his best form
Arries - decent overall abilities and improving but a touch behind the others here

Midfielders
This is where we struggle. None of our NT players, or usual subs, are young enough to qualify. They're all 25 or older. We have very few young midfielders even worth considering for the starting lineup.

The contenders:
Mazibuko - he's quick, can pass the ball and gets good marks
Khambule - our best all-round midfielder, not strong in any area, but no weaknesses either
Mlwane - decent skills but a bit slow
Bax - some decent skills and in form but has modest marks
Khomane - decent overall but not fit enough and not in best form
Lekgwathi - decent marks but skills are unbalanced
Kubheka - could be turned into a useful midfielder but has weaknesses right now; not fit enough and not in best form
(edited)

Defenders
There's a bunch of quality players we can't use like the hard tacklers Yohane and Goliath, and our top all-rounders Baloyi and Mabotsa. Still, we've got a decent bunch coming through, and even a star or two.

The contenders:
Bapela - a hard tackler but lacks pace and stamina; slightly injured now too
Mulekelayi - 19 years old and looks a future star; he's mostly pace and defence now but has time to improve
Rodrigues - top quality player and first team regular
Ngaduana - superb tackler that is getting even better marks than Rodrigues
Ramakgopa - another strong tackler but not quick enough and has some other weaknesses
Rapeane - quick enough, can win the ball and hold it but not the best at distribution
Mhlanga - another that needs more pace and has weaknesses
Tavlibudine - improving player that has good all-round ability
Solomos - similar to Tavlibudine but is in shocking form
Mbambo - quick, tackles well and in form
Malashe - quick and can tackle fairly well
Seale - shows promise but injured now
Maseko - similar to Malsahe but off form
Sait - gets decent marks but trainer won't update skills; in form and fair all-round ability but lacks stamina
(edited)

I can't see me using any of our midfielders other than Khambule and Mazibuko. That would mean using 3 up front and 5 at the back which works out fine as we have depth in both departments. I may have to shuffle some of them around positionally to suit whatever tactics I employ.

A quick glance at Uruguay's latest match provides one scary fact: their 20 year old goalkeeper regularly scores 85+!!!

Probable starting lineup:

Keeper
Skosana (Buffalo Bulls, Belgium)
Sub: Hartley (Benfiga FC, Italy)

Defenders
Rodrigues (FC Poziomka, Poland)
Ngaduana (Pomidory, Poland)
Mbambo (Aedlinna Needgrid, Eesti)
Mulekelayi (Atletico Sataute, Spain)
Tavlibudine (Black Sheeps, Switzerland)
Sub1: Rapeane (Durban City)
Sub2: Malashe (Durban City)
Notes: Rapeane will come on for Tavlibudine in 2nd half

Midfielders
Khambule (Real Montenegro, Italy)
Mulekelayi (KS Kagiewniki, Poland)
Sub: Mlwane (Dreams FC)

Strikers
Permall (Aarelinna Tibid, Eesti)
Juwayeyi (Blue Bulls)
Lakay (Blue Bulls)
Sub: Portgieter (Vienna Spartans, Austria)
Note: Portgieter will come on for Lakay in the 2nd half
(edited)

cant wait

Hmm, I wasn't happy with that performance, I must admit.

I expected Uruguay to be stronger than that, with their much larger userbase, and after the first 17 minutes it did look like we were in for a thrashing.

Thanks largely to Archibald 'The Hatchetman' Mulekelayi taking out their winger and another midfielder, the team fought on well to have the better of the second half and pull back a goal through a Juwayeyi penalty.

The first goal came from the winger beating Mulekelayi and getting a great cross in. The second goal was similar, except that the shot hit the post and rebounded back into the net after hitting our keeper's back! The third goal was scored from a very tight angle by that same winger. 15 minutes later, Mulekelayi got him taken off on the stretcher. We had a much easier time after that. ;)

My positioning of Juwayeyi didn't work today. I wanted to keep him behind the other two strikers so that he could take long range shots. Instead, he tried to play like a midfielder and refused to shoot. He even chose to turn 180 degrees and pass backwards when he could have had a shot instead. I'll have to work on the formation a bit in cases where we use 3 strikers.

Overall, the teams were of similar quality. The difference was that their strength was in their midfield, allowing them to control the game.