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| Free swing or the beginning of the end? |
Parkway Forest came into their match away to FC LULE knowing that a victory would see the team 7 points clear in 1st with 4 games to go, but that victory would be unlikely given Forest's appalling record against this most difficult of sides. Forest had earlier completed a narrow 1-0 victory over LULE in the first half the season, their first in 6 attempts. That result saw Forest go top of the division. Eventually the gap opened up to 4 points after Forest's victory last week and LULE's draw.
Manager codespyder's tactical experimentation in the first game was bold and ultimately successful. This time the results were... less good, as Forest fell 3-2 in a game where the scoreline did not really tell the full story of just how naive Forest were. Against one of the league's strongest 4-5-1's at their home, Forest lined up curiously in an offensive 4-3-3. Clearly, the goal was to outscore the opposition, but that was always going to be risky against the division's best defence.
Sure enough, Forest found themselves 1-0 down after just 3 minutes, and despite equalizing on 29' through midfielder Suleyman Sanli's excellent header, LULE regained the lead 3 minutes later due to a defensive mix-up that gave away a penalty.
More curiously, codespyder took off the goal scorer at halftime and replaced him with captain Tue Bech Holten, who did his best to hold the fort as LULE pelted the Forest goal with shots. Eventually, the resistance gave way with 3 minutes remaining as LULE got their insurance marker. Forest somehow connived to snatch a 2nd goal just before injury time, but it was too little too late.
With the gap at the top now back down to 1, the question becomes if this was just a blip for team and manager, or if the team will buckle and fold under the pressure of an intense title race. The promise of automatic promotion already drove the manager to make questionable decisions. Will he be able to keep the team's head in the game, or will he devolve into a series of self-serious rants in which he talks about himself and a fictitious football team in third-person on the Internet to total strangers?
We shall find out.
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