Bill gives Dukla Braggington rights
Injured striker Bill Braggington scored two as visitors Dukla Danzig beat Red-Blue Busters for the first time in five attempts.

“The win for them was always going to happen, though I’d have preferred it to happen later rather than sooner,” said Busters manager Damien, “The first time we met back in season 18, we held them to a 0-0 draw, but they had 4 chances to our 1. Then the third time we met, in season 19 we held them to a 1-1 draw and they had 3 chances to our 1. Even the 3-2 win we had over them the fourth time we met was fortunate. They had 9 chances to our 4. We can’t really have any complaints.”

A complaint Damien will have though, is with goalkeeper Alexeij Alexandrov. In the five games he’s played in this season (all in the league) he has conceded 8 goals from 15 chances the opposition has had, giving him a save percentage this season of just 47%.

“I don’t know what’s happened to him,” continued Damien, “Since he joined us back in season 17, he’s continually had a save percentage of over 70%, including 78% back in season 18 when we made it to round 7 of the cup – thanks to him. It doesn’t make any sense what has happened to him, and we’ve been lucky until the previous two games that we haven’t lost more games than we have done.”

The loss is the third game Red-Blue Busters have lost in a row, with one of the losses eliminating them from the cup in the third round – for the second consecutive season.

“I’m gutted. I expected us to be knocked out, and can’t really have too many complaints about that either, but I’d have liked us to have attacked a bit more than we did do. Losing three times in a row, I did not expect at all, especially given that we had won the first five games we played this season. To have such a turn in form is staggering.”

So what are Damien’s objectives for the season now?

“If you had asked me after the third league match, I’d have said a promotion challenge for sure. Now I’m not sure. We’re third and just a point behind second, but our next two matches are pretty tough. Win them and we could be back in the top two with Real Cataluna and Dukla Danzig facing each other in the 7th and 8th round. Lose them and we’ll be in the relegation zone. At the moment we’re two points above the relegation zone, and I think that’s a testament to how tight this league is that there’s just five points between 1st and 6th.

“At the moment I’m not that positive or optimistic about our chances this season, and can see us getting relegated if Alexandrov doesn’t improve soon.”


2011-03-28 19:43 839 Views Gurnalist: Fabbyulous

Epic season ends with mixed success
Penalty shoot out good, penalty shoot out bad as legendary team seek former glories

Cowabunga! Malibu Deadbeat in Zürich
Flip-flop wearing drifter ready to find his feet in Zurich

Grand Day Out
A view from the boardroom at the Xpert League cup final

It's all we've got left
Hard hats, hard facts and a hearty laugh; that's hammer time.

When the Love is gone
A heartfelt tribute to a club legend
2024-10-12 01:58 Poor form
2024-10-07 21:39 VSU play support at Sabbath title party
2024-09-24 00:42 Rising from the ashes one sale at a time
2024-09-12 22:37 Title-deciding Totti game coming up
2024-09-03 19:12 Cup semi finalists but 3rd tier survival
2024-08-21 18:00 Oops I did it again
2024-08-14 10:54 Will I see out my X11 dream?
2024-08-12 09:49 Late drama
2024-08-03 10:16 The Xtreme Cup is in Vårberg
2024-08-01 01:54 Countdown to season 68 - Super League
2024-07-25 23:12 Playoff pain but we go again
2024-06-19 08:10 Boring Suits Joaric
2024-06-15 01:14 Throwing in the towel
2024-05-30 01:22 Bit of a fistling
2024-05-13 14:01 Angels Claim Back To Back Double!
2024-05-02 01:32 Ruined plans all over, what now?
2024-04-25 01:45 Press
2024-03-25 22:07 A win! Wow. Had forgotten the feeling.
2024-03-18 09:07 Leonel Domingo: expectant keeper
2024-03-06 23:58 New coach promises changes
2024-03-04 00:54 Angels
2024-02-27 09:31 Anniversary win for VA as VNU stay top
2024-02-10 10:57 Cup Final!
2024-01-25 19:24 The G.O.A.T Escape?
2024-01-19 00:20 The Flintstones announces new manager


Manager of the Week: Drakkon
Lord Drakkon powers his way to a first Manager of the Week crown

Golden League season 68 was a close race
The title was up for grabs till the end with Ant Hill Mob leading the chase

The Spurfect ending
The Tour de France comes to an end as Spurfect ride out new winners

Manager of the Week: MarkB48
Hark the Harrow angels sing, as South Harrow FC's manager wins Manager of the Week.

XCL LXXIII (73) Group Stage Review
XCL LXXIII (73) Group Stage Review

Manager of the Week: Gwilds1
Take a look at last week's MOTW

Manager of the Week: Kelturn84
The way of the Warriors

Coach's Corner - Lets talk tactics
The two XCL finalists discuss their tactics as used in the final; what, why, how and where it went right or wrong.

Xpert Champions League LXXIII
The 73rd season of Xpert Champions League has been drawn.

XCL LXXII (72) Knockout stages to final
XCL LXXII (72) Knockout stages to final
© Xpert Eleven AB 2003 - 2024