MFC Judge Fights to Draw in Opening Match of IMFF Cup

In what looked like a mismatch on paper, MFC Judge battled Los Angeles METASQUAD to a draw on Thursday afternoon, in both clubs' opening match of the Elites Division of the IMFF Cup.  With superstars covering every portion of the opponents' pitch, few gave MfC Judge a chance - few, that is, except the players themselves.

"We blocked out all the noise" captain Isidro Sarmiento said,  "I ignored the pundits like I ignore my children (not sure how many I have again), I blocked out the doubters like I try to block out the memory of my first girlfriend, andI know the rest of the boys did the same.  Even though we didn't win this afternoon, we exceeded expectations.  This is something we can build upon."

There wasn't much building in the first half, as the sides went back and forth, with each side having a couple of clear chances but with neither side being able to convert.  

The second half began much in the same way, but that would change in the 59th minute thanks to striker Isidro Sarmiento.  Collecting a through-ball from Tunde Sanusi, Sarmiento burst through the backline and fired a rocket past the keeper to give MFC Judge a surprise lead.

That joy would be short-lived, however, as midfielder Gilvan Barcelos - not normally known for his scoring - collected a pass from fellow midfielder Federico Alessandrini and pushed it past the keeper to even the score.  Unfortunately that is how the match would end, with MFC Judge letting an opportunity to take back all three points slip through their hands.

"Am I disappointed we didn't get all three points?  Yes, yes I am." manager Pieter van der Linden said after the match.  "But in the words of the famous Taylor Kelce-Swift, we need to just 'shake it off, shake it off' and move on to the next one.  The schedule is too congested and too much is at stake for us to do anything else."

After a pair of league matches, MFC Judge's next IMFF Cup match is December 3 against Silver Division side Park Street Maple FC.  It will be a fiery affair, as the Swedish side will be looking to avenge the 3-1 loss it suffered in its opening group stage match against SCA Grande Île.