MACHINES ARE RUSTY, STARS JUST STELLAR

EMEA 9 - 2 MAC'S

Man of the Match: David Kettle

GOALS

MACHINES
Gugi MANDLA
Alain VAN WEST

EMEA ALLSTARS
David KETTLE (4)
Karan BEMBEY (4)
Will EVES

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Player Ratings

MACHINES

Mandla - Excellent in the CDM role last night, a stalwart of the machines holding midfield through-out the league games the Machines have played. Scored a stunning solo effort from 20 yard, right between the legs of an Allstars defender to double the Machines goal tally for the night. Unfortunately a consolation goal. Frustration did effect his, normally good, accuracy this game. Lucky also not to receive a red for bear-hugging the opposition keeper to within an inch of his life.

Van West - Powerhouse of the mid-field, and physical presence in the centre circle. Strong runs and excellent holder of the ball for the first half. Broke the Machines goal drought with a goal-shattering (literally) thunderbolt, set up by perfectly by Machines Captain, Lamine. Bore the brunt of many heavy challenges.

Horniman - Excellent goal keeper for the Machines and extremely unlucky with half the goals that passed him. He showed great courage getting in between the forward to parry out crosses time-after-time, had safe-hands and made very few errors. The scoreline does not reflect his ability and he is undoubtedly one to watch.

Verme - A great asset in defence. Worked the right wing as a full-back with great confidence and controlled the ball with that Italian grace he so often displays. Brought many way-ward balls down beautifully and made some great runs, one of which ended in a goal for the home side.

McSweeney - Good short play from the big man. Made good decisions when presented with few passing options. Held the ball well and kept the opposition at bay many times. Made some key challenges in his own half to ensure the scoreline was kept at single figures. Needs to use his Arial ability more in challenges but a great member of the team. Put many opponents off their shot with his eye-level, vacuum-sealed underwear - his performance anything but pants, however.

de Saeger - Second half villain for his handball, and only player to be carded in the league thus far. Despite this set-back Rupert displayed great awareness of opposition forwards and superior athleticism, racing widths to ensure the ball was intercepted as soon as possible. Needs more confidence to take a shot, will be on the score sheet soon without a doubt.

Hachani - Great creativity from the captain and Mac's all-round nice guy. Made some superior passes and had strong influence in the second-half come back. Made some exquisite passes and displayed courage in his challenges. Fed the ball from the back to start the majority of the Maac's counter attacks and his positioning showed his great awareness of the play around him. His only crime was not getting on the score sheet.

ALLSTARS

Thomas - A game changer. All-Stars would have had a much narrower win without the solid defending shown by Thomas. Played a pivotal role in at least 4 of the goals and made some entrancing solo efforts, running the length of the pitch on a number of occasions, taking it past half the opposition in the process. Must have accounted for 10% of the possession by himself and, perennially, an exemplary performer and passer from the rear.

Drury - You've got to play a good game in flash boots like his, but Drury played out of his skin last night. Great spacial awareness and good foresight were keenly honed since the last derby as Drury saw off attack after attack. His man-marking of de Saeger kept the young man out of the game and his strong tackling neutralised many Mandla and Van West runs.

Perrott - A new signing for All-stars and playing well. Great confidence and played an excellent stint in goal. Put in some great challenges and is a bison on the ball, charging down the right flank. Needs to keep his head up and find the pass in the middle of the box - otherwise a good performance and a great addition to the team.

Eves - Midfield multitasker Eves is still not looking 100% match-fit. Got a clean sheet in goal and kissed the Mac's a sweet good night with a last-minute vollied stonker from 20 ft. Needs to play on his better side to gain confidence and work on his weighted passing.

Kettle - The diminutive terrier racked up the highest mileage in this game for sure, playing his best game since the league began and getting his goal tally up from 1 to 5 in total. Got into some great spaces and set the bar for match fitness. Excellent at both ends of the pitch, it's arguable that a better tactic would have been to place Kettle in goal to get a clean sheet - but when you're scoring for fun in the form of your football career who can argue.

Callander - Not playing to his usual ability this game, Callander's game was understated but solid. His pass completion rate was impeccable and his long-ball is matched by only that of Thomas. Callander is the vocal driver in the midfield and gee'd up the boys for the 40 minute duration. His play was calculated, not flash and this may have been why the All-Stars held such a solid midfield. Would like to see more goal from Callander but if he keeps leaning back to shoot he's only going to be good for Aussie Rules.

Bembey - just, like that 90's Bisto advert, we're "saving the best 'til last". Bembey - what can you say? Consistently a great goal scorer for All-Stars. It would be blowing his trumpet to go on, so to improve Bembay may need to improve his vision, taking shots that would be better taken by team-mates in space with a clearer view. He's top goal scorer for the league but when the score is tight, the team win is far more important.