The Original Sin: Team WoW Falter for the First Time

Team WoW 5 - 8 The Originals
(Foster 2, Scott, Schaap, Koolhof)

Team WoW were confronted with their own mortality tonight as their 100% start came to a end. Sloppy defending, loose passing, and less than impressive finishing were to blame for the loss, with opponents The Originals playing fluid passing futsal and breaking strongly. Team WoW had a full complement for the first time, and it looked like they would be playing amongst themselves until just moments before kick off when their opponents finally arrived.

It looked to be yet another Team WoW walkover when Sol Foster rocketed home after just 30 seconds. Some neat play, including a nutmeg from Phil Gale, led up to the strike. The Originals were level 3 minutes later, however, with a quality finish of their own beating Michael Riske down low. Team WoW sought a second and came close with Rob Schaap hitting the post, then Jordan Scott redirecting a sleek Alex Kidd ball inches wide of the goal. Scott didn't have to wait long for his goal, however; just moments later he latched onto a misplaced pass from the defence and made The Originals pay with a low drive into the corner. Again The Originals dusted themselves off and grabbed another goal quickly after the restart. It was one way traffic the rest of the half; The Originals ravaged the Team WoW defence with some sublime passing followed by pinpoint finishing past a helpless Riske, the half time score: 5 - 2.

Team WoW had a chance to restructure the squad at half time and moved to a slightly more defensive model. It proved no use, however; shortly after the break The Originals added a sixth. Frustration set in, and it manifested itself in a yellow card for Schaap minutes later. Team WoW then rallied and put pressure on the defence. It paid in the form of a high-velocity strike from Schaap from well outside the box, connecting sweetly with Wil Darling corner. Foster struck his second of the night shortly after, his long-range strike took a devastating deflection off a defender and wrong-footed the keeper. Iain Koolhof then found his first goal of the season. Andy Thompson took the ball through the middle, with Scott to the left and Koolhof to the right. He wisely chose the latter but seemed to have overcooked his pass before Koolhof swung an oversized leg at it and finished expertly from a tight angle; a sumptuous strike to break the duck. Just seconds before time, The Originals made absolute sure of the win with an eighth.

After the game Foster criticised the Team WoW management for a poor substitution scheme, though his distaste was clear much earlier when he refused to go off for Thompson. The incident will be reviewed this week, with a one match ban a possibility. Additionally, Futsal Tasmania announced they would look into allegations that Team WoW's loss was tactical; throwing the game to be moved into a lower division. This comes after Thompson openly admitted; "it was tactical." Excepting this, Team WoW declined to comment  on the match.

With the grading period over, the finalised divisions will be revealed this Wednesday. Team WoW will be in action next Sunday, the 30th of October.