Rough Week for MFC Judge as Another Cup Ends in Group Stage

Another cup run, another flame-out.  Like the Preseason Tournament and IMFF Cup before it, this week saw MFC Judge flame out of MFL's Holiday of Heroes.  It was a tough group, but the club's last place finish disappointed all the fans that came out to support the boys in green and orange.

"We've had players that have played well," Assistant Kwame Asante said.  "We've had moments that we've looked cohesive as a team.  But we've had moments where we've fallen apart.  We haven't been able to translate 90' of concentration into a cup tie with any sort of consistency.  We can do it in the league, but we want to do it here.  We want to move on to bigger and better things.  We need to be better - and we will."

One point from the week's four matches - with a -4 goal differential - certainly provides a low point from which to climb.  And like Miley Cyrus once so elegantly sang - it's the climb.

New Year's Day saw MFC Judge take on Ciudad Mitad del Mundo in the clubs' first ever meeting.  The match got off to a disaster of a start, as Allan Holmgaard received a pass for del Mundo in just the second minute, sliced through the defense, and slammed one home to put MFC Judge in a 1-0 hole.  Things went from bad to worse in the 61st minute, as del Mundo's other striker - Fernando Moura - got in on the action and extended his side's lead to 2-0 with an unfortunately wonderful goal.  Elmar Jacobs spared Deventer the ignominy of a shutout when he scored in the 81st minute, but the joy from that goal was short-lived.  In the 85th minute Moura scored his second of the match.  That 3-1 margin is unfortunately how the match would end. 

MFC Judge's January 2 clash was slightly better - but just slightly.  Taking on MFL OLOMOUC - a squad it'd tied in the sides' first matchup - and playing against 10 men for the majority of the match (after Louis Marshall's 38th minute red card) - MFC Judge was unable to come away with three points.  Or any points for that matter.  OLOMOUC - led by Morad Touil's hattrick - took all three points and won 3-2.  Guy Sanderson and Tunde Sanusi scored for MFC Judge - off assists from Valentin Collet and Santos Urbina - but their contributions were not enough.

Knowing that their cup fate was all but sealed, few expected MFC Judge to put up much of a fight in their third matchup of the week - this one against MFL legend Calvintor's Casablanca Corsairs.  Though the match ultimately ended in a 2-2 draw, it was actually MFC Judge that had the best chance at taking all three points from the clash.  Just before the end of the 1st half - in the 44th minute - striker Isidro Sarmiento put one into the back of the net to put MFC Judge up 1-0.  The side would hold that lead until the 58th minute, when Gil Bessa scored to tie up the match at one a piece.  Doing his best to save his side from complete embarassment, Sarmiento put MFC Judge back on top just 10 minutes later with his second goal of the match.  Hopes of a win, however, evaporated just seven minutes from the final whistle when Yannick Reber tied it back up for Corsairs.  

Thursday was the last match of the week, and just like the first this one was against Ciudad Mitad del Mundo.  Having lost the first matchup by two goals, fans and pundits alike were expecting little from MFC Judge in this match.  And while they ultimately lost this one as well, it was much more respectable of a loss.  Instead of losing by two and giving up three goals, MFC Judge only lost by one.  This time it was a strike from Allan Holmgaard in the 60th minute that was the deciding play. 

What was most surprising about MFC Judge's lack of goals was the sheer number of chances they created - 14 total shots, 7 of which forced blocks from the opposition side.  Still, a loss is a loss.  Just like there's no crying in baseball, there's no crying in football either.  Something that someone might want to tell DG Gavelers' president Bailiff von Bailiff, whom fans reported seeing huddled in a corner, crying after the loss.