Finale SET
11/06/2012 18:09
Our Final Four teams have duked it out for a shot to reach the Dew Cup Final.
In our first matchup, Krad overwhelmed Hapuna to the tune of a 5-1 drubbing. Hapuna setup in an unfamiliar 3-5-2, and the players seemed unorganized and under prepared. Krad’s attack came out on fire and shredded Hapuna’s defense for three first half goals and a lead that essentially put the game away early. Krad scored two more goals in the second half, and their midfield and defense dominated Hapuna for almost the entirety of the 90 minutes, winning comfortably and reaching their first Cup Final. Credit to Hapuna for reaching at least the semis for all 3 of the Dew Cup runs.
Defending Champion Tenpool has fallen to newcomer Dribblers in our other semifinal bout. The first half was cagey, both teams playing strong defensive 3-5-2 formations and the chances were slight. Frank Gonzalez did find a key breakthrough, for his 4th goal of the tourney and at the break Dribblers lead 1-0, with Tenpool unable to muster an attack. 20 minutes into the second half, and were again starved of attacking chances and action, and Tenpool were determined to change it up. The Champs switched into an attacking 2-5-3, hunting for the equalizer, and an equalizer they found with 10 minutes to play on a well executed corner kick, 1-1. The answer from Dribblers was swift, less than a minute between goals and Dribblers was back in control 2-1 with great work on the wings. Tenpool’s Johnnie Shapiro showed that the champs could also threaten from wide, and again the equalizer was found 2-2, with 5 minutes to play. When it looked like we may be headed to extras, Dribblers’ Xiaojian, finished off a good chance, for his 5th goal of the tournament, a goal that propels Dribblers into the Finale, 3-2.
So the Championship game of the 5th Dew Cup is set:
Newcomer Dribblers versus Krad playing in their 4th Dew Cup.
Both teams were identified very early as potential winners. Both have been named Teams of the Week and both finished in the top 4 of our last power rankings. It would be quite a story to have our first ever Rookie Dew Cup winner Dribblers, and also great to see long time under achiever Krad fulfill their potential and win it all, very much like Tenpool did last time around. Both teams are balanced and strong in all sectors of the game, and Dribblers midfield is going to be key, but after such a strong semifinal win, I will have to go with Krad for the win 2-1