Subject: [NT] Mini WC

My apologies everyone. I left my game preparations until very late in the week, and then had some connection issues. Very un-pro on my part. :(

It didn't affect the result against a still young Azerbajzan. In fact, the tactic stacked up well against theirs (IMO) with the strikers fairly well positioned and the winger in space. Aggressive defense pushed play into their end.

I would have probably sat older fellas like Goliath and Mabizela. I probably wouldn't have sat Mule, who picked up an unfortunate knock. Dafel appears to have had a knock pre-match (looked really sluggish) and shouldn't have been in. Again, my fault.

Otherwise, pretty solid. J Sait had a quirky game. Failed to convert numerous point blank opportunities. Scored all his goals from rather poor shooting positions (sharp angles twice, distance once). Mahule was very good. Played well off of Sait. Same Mapela as we've seen recently ... some poor decisions, and difficulty handling the ball in the 18.

Defence was sound, and passed the ball much better then usual. In particular, Malashe made a number of difficult passes to Mabizela which really impressed me.

As weird as it sounds, that first red card pretty much nerfed Mabizela. With no defender between him and Sait, he stopped crossing balls and sent everything in along the ground. Their defense had no trouble closing these passes down.

Apologies again. I will prep earlier next week, and will give a little more background into our group and chances in the tourney.

One of those strange games, ending with 10 men on one side and 9 on the other!

Dafel played really well, I thought. Hard to tell overall against weak opposition, but the side did well. Hopefully those injuries won't cause too many problems.

Dafel had a 7 day injury before the game started. That's the second time he plays an NT game with an injury in a short while. So unnecessary :(

I'm sorry. As stated, it was purely accidental.

I don't recall the previous incident you are referring to. But I've made certain it won't happen again.

If you are looking for more information about the Mini World Cup, there is a specific forum (link) where you can read more about it.

We are in group E along with:
Macedonia
Azərbaycan
China

Pretty soft group, and there won't be able trouble progressing. After that there are some potentially very interesting matches with teams like Canada, Ireland and Australia lurking.

We play China this week.
(edited)

Heck of an injury list you've got there, Seca!

Permall, Roberts, Dafel, Madigage, Lakay, Mulekelayi

Ouch.

Indeed! None of them will be playing btw. :D

Roberts and Mulekelayi are the key ones, and neither will really be needed this week or next. Hopefully both will be in shape for when the tougher matches start.

All set for China. A number of regulars getting the week off. Still a very strong line-up with a fair bit of youth.

Damn missing all those guys really hurts :s

Ouch! Bizarre match adds to our injury woes as Mapela and Sait both go off injured and China have 3 players sent off!

Midfielder Khomane probably couldn't believe his luck as he was called up to play as striker. He missed close to a dozen chances, many very easy, before eventually putting two away. :)

Unless you watch the game live (my wife is expecting, so I haven't been setting my alarm the last little while), as an NT manager you can't help but see how many injuries you incur in a match before the match starts. So you sit on pins and needles waiting to see who gets whacked. In a sense, it was nice to get that over in the first half. A little harsh to have both hit the striker position. Although Macedonia is clearly our most difficult group opponent, we should be ok without the Kaizer Chiefs next week, and the injury durations are such that both will be available for the next round. Apologies to the Chiefs, who are going to be pretty depleted up front in tomorrow's league match. :S

Tactically, the biggest flaw (again) was conservative striker positioning. We are getting very few through balls b/c I don't have the forwards forward enough. I figure you always want 4-5 offsides to show you are putting pressure on the defense. Think we had 1.

Changed the midfield up in an attempt to really control the center of the park. I was pleased with how the midfield played - sure, part of why they looked good was the decisive edge in tackling/technique. But I also thought they made a number of good decisions and moved the ball around fairly fluidly. I particularly liked the Dyers - Kubheka - Khambule combination that clicked a few times down the right side. I should have made an order to switch Kubheka and Chacko part way through ... I suspect optimal usage might have them the other way round.

Khomane was never going to get a better chance to score an NT goal, and for a while it looked like he was going to blow it. :) Came through at the end though.

All set for this weekend's match against Macedonia. It should be more competitive then the other group matches, but South Africa is still prohibative favourites. Regardless of the outcome, South Africa will be proceeding to the next round of the competition.

The large number of injuries (many hitting the same position) have obviously affected the line-up, and have even influenced this weekend's formation.

I have always enjoyed opportunities to play a 451 formation. I find them pretty rare in Sokker. You generally have to be better then your opponent in order to make it work, and in those situations one is usually better off using 2 strikers.

And the result today probably would have been better with 2 strikers. But with so many strikers injured, it was a good chance to try the 451. This formation is premised on strong possession and ball control, which South Africa achieved today (less so in the final 20-25 minutes). Ball movement was quick and clean with lots of nice passes. I enjoy watching "build-up" play in Sokker, and there was more of it with this formation.

Most everyone played well. Kubheka was a slight disappointment. He's the top PM player on our side of the pitch, so I expect him to make the best and quickest decisions. Wasn't true in this one. Mahule was excellent, and would have scored more in a more direct formation. Fish had one of his best matches in ages, and Khomane, who came on as a defensive substitute, showed some style with a few clever passes. Defensive midfield and defense were sharp, with the aggressive defensive line proving effective.

Hopefully getting some injured players back for next week's match. Opponent still to be determined - out of the group stage now. :)

Congrats! Convincing performance. :)

Lost Kanku Sait already today. Will miss a week. He's one of our best rounded defenders and will be missed.

Draw isn't until 21:00 today I think. Possible opponents have a wide range of skill ... from Macedonia and Costa Rica to Australia and Canada.

1.Canada VS 2.Australia
3.Singapore VS 4.Bosna i Hercegovina
5.Russia VS 6.Belarus
7.Nippon VS 8.Israel

9.South Africa VS 10.Ireland
11.Norge VS 12.Bulgaria
13.Macedonia VS 14.Costa Rica
15.India VS 16.New Zealand

Tough draw!

Not nearly as tough as Australia's though :p.