Senya played Fort Kolgrad in the Snakepit to celebrate Senya Day, and the festive crowd were not disappointed.
A high tempo match, Senya took just five minutes to find the opener, with Barnaby Hands' long range drive taking a horrible deflection off Matthias Sagner into the path of Dan Brozal, who smashed the ball into the top corner from 12 yards out. But anyone who had seen Fort Kolgrad recently would know that they're a resilient bunch, and on the counter they looked dangerous, and sure enough, soon they were causing the Green Army problems, with Michi Schniester asking a lot of questions on the flanks. And soon enough, he dinked inside Aleks Mëa before being wrestled to the ground by Jær Van Kotrisbond. Debutant keeper Jordë Paral saved Reuben Frederiksen's penalty, he couldn't stop the King's Lynn Town man's rebound from hitting the roof of the net. Fort Kolgrad's strengths lie in attack, as their back line and goalie all play in the fourth tier, and those problems were being highlighted by a very capable and high quality Senyan attack, with Barnaby Hands and Ƨinkœ Zvet causing problems down the flank, and it wasn't long before they had restored Senya's lead, with Hands crossing in for Brozal to nod in ahead of the keeper. Fort Kolgrad's strong start to qualifying had been built on their attacking qualities, and their movement up front, but a resolute Senyan defence was containing them expertly.
Senya's attacking quality was also starting to show, and as Fort Kolgrad took off their regulars up front at half time, Senya were starting to show why they're starting to be considered as one of Micras' top teams. The hosts brought on a second striker in the form of Alesandrœ Danetskë, who needed just 20 seconds force Marcel Amsel in the Fort Kolgrad goal into a flying save. The resulting corner was met by the head of Dan Brozal, who headed home his hat-trick goal to give Senya clear daylight. Senya were increasingly swarming forward, with the ball mainly being played on the edge of the Fort Kolgrad box, though to their credit the visitors were defending well. But whilst they had been coming up trumps against the likes of Flanders, Dura & Victoria, Senya are a very different class, and the side that only 21 months ago reached a World Cup final and 9 months ago had raced into a 2-0 lead after just 18 minutes against a Hamland side that went onto win the World Cup showed why, with some intricate passing being involved before Danetskë slotted into the bottom corner. Fort Kolgrad couldn't contain them, and Barnaby Hands was able to dance through the box just moments later before being felled by Benjamin Schaefer. However, the number 13, usually so relibale from 12 yards, missed. But World class players this side has, and Hands soon made amends by rocketing a shot from 20 yards into the top corner just minutes later. Markœ Minyorletsken added a sixth, after a nice cruyff turn gave him just enough space to fire a low shot across goal into the far bottom corner, before Alesandrœ Danetskë ran through the defence and slotted between the keepers' legs for seven.
A harsh result for Fort Kolgrad, but if they are to make it through to Lakkvia in the summer, they need to learn how to contain the big sides, and today was a lesson that despite some good results as of late, their lack of strength and depth and questionable defensive line will need some work if they wish to make it to their first major tournament. For the Senyans, an easy group has allowed Draco Sanchez to experiment a bit by giving new players a chance, but today shows that his first choice side are very capable, and perhaps by the summer, they may be adding to the single SSIT title in the trophy cabinet.
Senya 7-1 Fort Kolgrad
5' Dan Bozal
22' Reuben Frederiksen
33' Dan Brozal
62' Dan Brozal
73' Alesandrœ Danetskë
80' Barnaby Hands
83' Markœ Minyorletsken
86' Alesandrœ Danetskë