Saturday, 20.11.2010 / SIFL Premiere League
Match report: Shanghai Krauts FC – Azzuri FC / Result: 2-2

Squad:
Ronnie Heisinger, Uwe Hupka, Dennis Menzel, Marcus Oestmann, Jan Engel, Alexander Bellon, Jens Roeder, Julian Puentes, Martin Keane, Christian Mikorey, Sevan Alticosalian
Substitutes: Mark Xiang, Christian Wiesner, Jin Jie, Kirk Fernandes

Match Highlights:
0:1 Azzurri (2. Minute), 1:1 Sevan Alticosalian (45. Minute), 2:1 Marc Xiang (61. Minute), 2:2 Azzurri (76. Minute)

This Saturday the time was come: The highlight of the first round of the season was on the program. Krauts played the always victorious Azzuri. Apart from that Krauts wanted to make sure, that last weekend’s defeat against the French will be forgotten.
However, after 2 minutes of the game this project was already in danger. With their thoughts apparently still on the bus, the ball lay in the net of the Krauts goal after a few seconds. After a nice one-two the Italian striker could shoot the ball from the penalty box into the far corner. Surprisingly the Krauts were not very shocked. For sure the almost normal hectic on the field came up, but the Krauts played better than the Azzurri at that point. From the 10th minute the Krauts dominated the action, although the Azzurri were always dangerous. All in all, the equalizer seemed only a matter of time. But chance by chance has been given away and the half-time came closer and closer. Especially with free-kicks the Krauts were unpredictable, but unfortunately always one step too late. When Sevan after Assist by Chris missed from short distance, all players already thought of the halftime. Luckily in the 45th Minutes Krauts got a last chance for the equalizer. And this last chance finally brought the desired 1:1. Sevan perfectly shot a free kick in the right upper corner. After the break, first a similar picture. The Krauts head more control of the game and were always dangerous. This was rewarded in the 60th minute. Substitute Marc was able to sink a long ball into the “channel” from short distance. As it often happens in football after the goal the Italians suddenly began to control the game. From the 60th the 80th Minutes, the Italians had very strong period and they finally managed to get the 2-2. After the equalizer, both teams tried everything to win the game, but nothing else happened and the game ended with a deserved 2-2 draw.

All in all, this draw is too little for the championship ambitions of the Krauts, but on the other hand the Krauts are the first team , that could win one point of the Azzurri.

Saturday, 13.11.2010 / SIFL Premiere League
Match report: Shanghai Krauts FC – Puxi Lions / Result: 0-2

Squad:
Wang Weichao, Uwe Hupka, Dennis Menzel, Marcus Oestmann, Jan Engel, Alexander Bellon, Jens Roeder, Martin Keane, Matthias Huebner, Christian Mikorey, Sevan Alticosalian
Substitutes: Antti Soininen, Kirk Fernandes, Dennis Poersel, Alexander Weiss, Mark Xiang, Jin Jie, Christian Wiesner

Match Highlights:
1:0 Lions (23. Minute), 2:0 Lions (67. Minute)

Day 6 of the Shanghai International League was not a good day for the Krauts – especially not for the strikers…

But one by one. Everybody knew that it will be a tough game against the French. So, from the start the Krauts were highly motivated to win the top game of this match day. The game had barely begun when Chris had the first good opportunity with a volley with his left foot. The ball, however, just flew close to the right post – unfortunately on the wrong side. Only 10 minutes later it was again only inches missing preventing the Krauts from scoring the opening goal. After taking of a beautiful high pass of Sevan Chris again missed from promising inside-right position. But not enough that we missed our good chances... out of nothing the Puxi Lions scored the 1-0. A ridiculously high and slow free kick flew into the Krauts box, was missed by friend and foe and trickled into the right corner. In the following the Krauts tried to push even harder. Result of this was a series of approx. 7 corners. Martin – our flying Englishman – won almost every header, but the problem was, that these headers only went over the goal or hit the bar. So, Krauts had to went into halftime with a 0-1. The second half was very hectically. No team could initially work out great opportunities. That changed when Chris screwed up also the third great chance that day. He really managed to miss a free header from 5 meters in front of the French goal. The decision - to match the unfortunate Game of the Krauts on this day - delivered an impressive shot of a French (if this guy would try this again 100 times he would never manage to shoot even one shot like he did on that day) . After this 2-0, there were still chances for the first Krauts goal but also these were not used. Martin completed with a miss from 5 meters the Strikers Nightmare on that day.

All in all, it was a mixture of failure and misfortune that led to the first season defeat!

BUT the good thing is that we can straighten the whole thing again next week against the Italians.

Saturday, 06.11.2010 / SIFL Premiere League
Match report: Shanghai Krauts FC – Shanghai ReUnited / Result: 6-0

Squad:
Ronnie Heisinger, Uwe Hupka, Dennis Menzel, Marcus Oestmann, Jan Engel, Alexander Bellon, Kay Vayen, Martin Keane, Matthias Huebner, Christian Mikorey, Sevan Alticosalian
Substitutes: Thorben Schroeder, Alexander Weiss, Mark Xiang, Dennis Poersel, Jin Jie, Christian Wiesner, Antti Soininen

Match Highlights:
1:0 Sevan Alticosalian, 2:0 Christian Mikorey, 3:0 Mark Xiang, 4:0 Antti Soininen, 5:0 Mark Xiang, 6:0 Sevan Alticosalian

This week Krauts were facing the 5th match of the season. On paper, a clear thing: The Krauts still without defeat against the point-less FC Reunited. The target for the first half was to achieve a clear lead to give the player from the second row a bit more time on the pitch. To make it short ... it worked wonderfully. Through aggressive pressing Krauts could totally control the game. Sevan marked the 1-0 after a long ball and a beautiful lob over the goalkeeper. Shortly after that Chris could sink a beautiful cross from Matthias with a volley. With his first touch after his substitution Marc headed a nice cross from Sevan into the net. The 3-0 was then also the halftime result. The second half is quickly told. The game was a little bit unstructured for the first 15 minutes, but after that Krauts started playing football again. The 4-0 of “Finnish Fighter” Antti, the 5-0 Marc and the 6-0 of Sevan were the consequence. At the end Krauts could even afford to miss two!!! Penalties. But that was probably to be expected, if first an Englishman! (in a German football team) and then the goalkeeper! Shoot the penalties. But in the end that was no longer relevant. All in all an effortless victory that was celebrated pretty intensively by some Krauts players (Thank you Bounty Bar).

Next week will be harder! But we are on a good way!

Saturday, 30.10.2010 / SIFL Premiere League
Match report: Shanghai Krauts FC – Shanghai Japan FC/ Result: 5-4

Squad:
Christian Wiesner, Uwe Hupka, Dennis Menzel, Marcus Oestmann, Jan Engel, Alexander Bellon, Kirk Fernandes, Jens Roeder, Matthias Huebner, Christian Mikorey, Sevan Alticosalian
Substitutes: Thorben Schroeder, Alexander Weiss, Mark Xiang, Peter Gao, Dennis Poersel, Antti Soininen, Jin Jie

Match Highlights:
1:0 Matthias Huebner (2. Minute), 1:1 Japan (20. Minute), 1:2 Japan (34. Minute), 2:2 Christian Mikorey (46. Minute), 2:3 Japan (51. Minute), 3:3 Christian Mikorey (68. Minute), 3:4 Japan (72. Minute), 4:4 Marc Xiang (80. Minute), 5:4 Christian Mikorey (88. Minute)

What a game between the Shanghai Krauts and Shanghai Japan in the Tianma Golf & Country Club! A rollercoaster ride with 9 goals!

The Shanghai Krauts got off to a dream start: in the 2nd in the Minute a strong cross from the right wing could not be controlled by the Japanese defense and Matthias could score the 1-0. But before halftime the tide turned completely. A good free kick from the Japanese and some minutes later a terrible pass directly to one japanese opponent in the midfield led to 2 Japanese goals. So we lay behind 2-1 when the whistle blew for halftime. After the break, the same picture as on the first half: Wonderful start of the Krauts. In the 46th Minute Chris can score with a low shot in the right corner after nice lay-off by Sevan. The Krauts have now clearly the rule the game... but only for 5 minutes. An unfortunate attempt from our - in 99,99% of the time very reliable - defender Dennis to kick the ball away and Peter dreaming (of girls?) led to a penalty for the Japanese. Nevertheless, even after the 2-3 the Krauts created chance to chance. In the 68th Minute then the well deserved 3-3. A long free kick by Matthias could be extended into the goal by Chris against a (admittedly not very large defender). The Krauts were now pushing and attacked the Japanese defenders very aggressively. But, instead of the expected Krauts lead, we received the 3-4 out of nothing. A Japanese pass in the midfield was deflected very unluckily by Dennis and the rebound fell directly to a Japanese striker's feet standing alone in the box and scoring the 3-4. At that time, as unfortunate as the game was going, it was hard to believe in a victory. But with really German attitude – fighting, fighting, fighting till the end - we wanted to take at least one point. Indeed, in the 80th Minutes Matthias plays a one-two with Chris and lays the ball perfectly off to Marc who scores the 4-4. Now, however, still 10 minutes were to go! In the end it became an unbelievable but perfect ending for Krauts. Again it was a header from Chris after a long free-kick of Markus in the 88th Minute, that finally brought the Krauts the 5-4 win.

All in all, a Splendid Game. Krauts were 3 times behind, but at the end Krauts go home with 3 well-deserved points from a crazy game!

Saturday, 23.10.2010 / SIFL Premiere League
Match report: Shanghai Krauts FC – Shanghai Vikings FC/ Result: 4-1

Krauts back on track – Vikings have no chance against massive attacks of the German “Panzer”

Krauts Squad
Keeper: Christian Wiesner
Defense: Uwe Hupka, Markus Oestmann, Dennis Menzel
Midfield: Timo Heincke, Jens Roeder, Alex Bellon, Jan Engel, Kirk Fernandes
Striker: Christian Mikorey , Sevan Alticosalian
Substitutes: Alexander Weiss, Dennis Poersel, Antti Soininen, Julian Puentes, Martin Keane, Thorben Schroeder

Highlights: 1:0 Sevan Alticosalian (28. Min), 2:0 Christian Mikorey (34. Min), 2:1 Vikings (45. Min), 3:1 Jan Engel (78. Min), 4:1 Martin Keane (88. Min)

Yellow cards: Uwe Hupka

Kickoff 9am…one could say it was foreseeable that Krauts arrive only 15 minutes before the kick-off. Nevertheless, Krauts were prepared for a tough game against the Krauts that should point the way for the next weeks. Can Krauts keep up with the top of the league or will they be stuck in midfield? How did our “Präsi” Daniel Berger write in a motivation E-Mail during the week: We have one of the best teams of the last years, but we have to win Zweikampf! So everybody knew what this game was all about.

The Krauts started with almost the same formation as last week. Only that we had to replace Ronnie again with our exchange Goalie Christian Wiesner. In the beginning he was not very busy, because the Vikings and the Krauts were neutralizing each other. Krauts suffered under their awful passing and Vikings could not get through our massive defense. The “German Giants” Dennis Menzel, Marcus Oestmann and Uwe Hupka defended very well. After some time also the Krauts offensive worked together as a team. As a consequence Krauts could score the first goal. Sevan Alticosalian could score (very British) from short distance after a cross of Christian Mikorey. The second goal followed only few minutes later. This time it was the other way around: Sevan crossed the ball to Chris and he could score with a nice header.

The halftime would have been calm and easy, if there would not have been a little incident concerning a Vikings free-kick, a wet ball and an exchange Goalkeeper. All team members agreed in the end that Christian did not catch the ball on purpose because (with a 2-0 lead) it would have been a boring halftime.

After a very nervous halftime Krauts continued the game with two new players: Martin Keane(first game for the Krauts) and Julian Puentes(who desperately needs new shoes; Julians performance reminded the spectators sometimes more of ice-skating than of football). Krauts “survived” the first period of Vikings pressure in the second half. With the 3-1 scored by Jan Engel after nice play by Julian Puentes (and Sevans failed attempt to score – in this situation “the man of the match” looked also very British). After that goal Vikings motivation was down and Krauts – which could also benefit of the strong substitutes Thorben, Alex, Dennis and Antti - had several chances to score. The last goal was a special one… Martin Keane could score his first goal in his first match for the Krauts. Thorben Schroeder provided a perfect cross in the box and Martin finished with a precise header.

That was it! Krauts sink the Vikings!

Next week we are going to have Sushi! The Japanese are coming!

Saturday, 16.10.2010 / SIFL Premiere League
Match report: Shanghai Krauts FC vs. Voodoo / Result: 2-2

Krauts at the end have to live with a draw after leading 2:0

After a tough game against Voodoo, Krauts can take one point home , but cannot be satisfied with the course of the game.

Krauts Squad

Keeper: Ronnie Heinsinger
Defense: Uwe Hupka, Marcus Oestmann,Christian Wiessner
Midfield: Kay Vajen,Sevan Alticosalian,Alex Bellon, Jan Engel, Jens Roeder
Striker: Christian Mikorey, Marc Xiang
Substitutes: Annti Soinninen, Alexander Weiss, Jie Jin, Timo Heincke, Kirk Fernandes, Dennis Porsel, Christian Hueske

Highlights: 1:0 Jens Roeder (35. Min.); 2:0 Christian Mikorey (55. Min.); 2:1 Voodoo (62. Min.); 2:2 Voodoo (68. Min.)

Yellow cards: Voodoo #16

Wearing their new Jerseys Krauts wanted to earn their second win in the second game and stay on top of the table against Voodoo.

Krauts started with almost the same players they did last week at the 2:1 win against Beaver. We only had to replace Dennis with Christian W. who was not available in last weeks game and Marc started for Jie Jin.

The match started with high intensity, but there were no good opportunities on both sides. From Minute 20 onwards both teams improved their play and got their first chances. On the one side after a good cross from Marc Christian M. missed the goal from a good position with a header, on the other side Krauts had to fight 8 Voodoo corners in a row and Ronnie was to forced to make some good saves. Nevertheless, the Krauts scored the first goal. After a one-two with Sevan Christian M. could enter the box and the Voodoo defender could only stop him by a foul. The following penalty was easily scored by Jens, who shot it into the low right corner. Even though it have not been not very satisfiying 45 minutes but at the and we went into half time with a lead.

After half time Krauts started very well and had a couple of good opportunities. In minute 55 Chris received a pass on the left wing near the goal line and could manage to shoot the ball through the legs of his opponent. After entering in the box he could score the 2:0 with a shoot into the upper right corner. At this point Krauts for sure felt close to their second win, but in football you never know… It took Voodoo only ten minutes to equalize, because in this phase of the game Krauts just were not clever enough to slow down the game. After the 2:2 Krauts slowly started to recover and at the end - when the concentration and power of the Voodoo defense was decreasing - Krauts had the chances to win. First Christian M. could not control a good cross of Sevan right in front of the box and also following the delivery to Kirk ended up in a shot that went clearly over the goal. Last chance of the game had Weissy , who was missed the ball in a very good position, because he was surprised, that no Voodoo defender could manage to touch the ball. On the other hand Voodoo before also had the chances to make there third goal, but the "man of the match" Ronnie could save us from this. At the end the draw was deserved, because both teams had good chances to score the third goal. However, if Krauts can improve their teamplay and play "smarter" when it comes to control a game that you lead with two goals this should not happen again.

Next week we hopefully do better!

Christian Mikorey

Sunday, 10.10.2010 / SIFL Premiere League
Match Report: Shanghai Krauts FC – Beaver United / Result: 2-1

Krauts with successful start into the new season – late goal of Sevan Alticosalian ensures well-deserved win against Beaver United

Krauts Squad
Keeper: Matthias Huebner
Defense: Uwe Hupka, Markus Oestmann, Dennis Menzel
Midfield: Kay Vajen, Sevan Alticosalian, Alex Bellon, Jan Engel, Julian Puentes
Striker: Christian Mikorey , Marc Xiang
Substitutes: Jie Jin, Alexander Weiss, Kirk Fernandes, Peter Gao, Timo Heincke, Christian Hueske

Highlights: 1:0 Beaver (25. Min), 1:1 Christian Mikorey (32. Min), 2:1 Sevan Alticosalian (82. Min)

Yellow cards: Marcus, Jens

10.10.2010 at 10pm…perfect time to start the new SIFL season.

Krauts had begin the season with a total new team and also with Matthias a midfielder had to keep the Krauts goal as Ronnie had a problem with his car and could not arrive on time. Nevertheless, the good impressions (and result) of the opening tournament made us favorites for the against Beaver.

In the first 15 minutes both teams played nervously and could not create good opportunities to score. The new formed Krauts needed some time to find their game. Although Beaver United had no opportunities at all, suddenly we lay back 1-0. After an attack of the Beaver offense we tried to switch to the offense by short passes in our half. Unfortunately we lost it in that situation and suddenly a Beaver striker got the chance to shoot from central position 18 meters in front of the Krauts goal. Matthias touched shoot, but could not prevent the first goal for Beaver. After this goal Krauts slowly started to rise pressure on the Beaver defense and tried to force them to make more mistakes. One of these mistakes led to a throw in deep in the half of Beaver. The following long throw was touched by Christian Hueske so that Christian Mikorey could score the equalizer with a shoot from short distance. This was also the half time result.

In the beginning of second half we could keep the pressure on the beaver defense and had several opportunities to score, but all in all in front of the goal we were not consequent or concentrated enough to mark the 2:1. We have to thank Sevan, that we could finally win and get our first 3 points of the season. 8 minutes before the final whistle he could break through on the left wing and almost standing on the goal line from a very bad position he shot the ball between the post and the Beaver keeper. Nice strike!

The last 8 minutes we could control the game and at the end celebrate our first win of the season

Let us continue like this next week!

Chris

Sunday, 10.10.2010 / SIFL Premiere League
The Season 2010/2011 begins...