By Marco Martiniello

Team: Walecki - Lees, Ljung, Mulholland (c), Martiniello - Egerton, Dixon, Nevin, Swartjes - Bajraktari and Cain
Subs: Haddad, Poissonnier, Thomas
Injured: Murray, Peckham
MOM: Sean "Big Mouth" Nevin

A typical mild and dull Belgian winter afternoon and a pitch in almost perfect condition were the ingredients of this important British derby. Skipper Mulholland could count on 14 players. The Cockney Irish stallion Murray was injured. So was the pride of Swansea, Peckham. He mysteriously damaged his back 2 days before the game. What the hell was he doing in that filled full of sheep with his Wellington boots at the time of the incident? Nobody will ever know.

We also welcomed back Faddy Haddad who accepted to referee the game.

The games started immediately on a high tempo. Brussels British tried to suffocate us but not letting us play our game but even though we were giving away the ball too rapidly, we managed to respond with some nice moves. Unfortunately, we lost Bajaraktari very soon in the game. A tall but not very talented Brussels British defender tackled him from behind. Mergim fell badly and broke a rib. A pity really since The Tirana star has started the game quite well. Poissonnier came on to support Cain up front.

We had a few incredible changes and as it often happens we were punished by a combination of individual mistake and maybe dubious refereeing. On a ball in the air in the small bow, Walecki shouted for the ball. The defenders stopped. Walecki jumped, took the ball but dropped it as 2 Brussels British players challenged him. The ball ended up in Mulholland's feet. Before he had a chance to kick the ball away, the striker who was behind him pushed it in the empty goal.

We were not demoralized and tried to build nice moves without scoring though. The gap between our lines was too big and our midfield players had a hard time controlling their opponents and organizing our game. Brussels British could have killed the game right before halftime but their number 7 kicked the ball in the trees.

We dominated most of the second half. Brussels British tried to kill us on the break but our defence looked solid. We moved up much quicker and put more pressure on them. Again, we created a few more chances. We unfortunately did not managed to score the goal we deserved. Their goalkeeper was actually brilliant.

In the end of the day, we can be disappointed with the result but not with the character and the spirit we showed. . We played a good game. We worked hard and did our best. Even "Big mouth" Nevin stared to make positive comments through the second half!

How to explain this undeserved defeat:

• A lack of realism of our strikers who need too many chances to score a goal
• A lack of offensive support of our defence in the first half. We should have moved out as quick as in the second half from the beginning
• Sometimes a lack of creativity in the midfield
• A small individual mistake
• A dubious decision of the referee. He could have given a free kick and Marian was challenged on their goal

Basically, we are all responsible for this defeat but we nevertheless demonstrated that we belong to the top half of the league against a solid Brussels British team. Let's show it again next week, this time with a victory !