Berriak

5. Erronda

Bostgarren erronda oso gogorra izan zen, jokatutako partiduen erdiek gol bateko diferentziarekin bukatu ziren. Hala ere partidu guztiak ez ziren berdintasun horrekin bukatu, Boca JBAk 6-1 emaitzarekin zanpatu zuen unitek min taldea, eta Sini Zverovek 8-1 emaitza lortu zuen Kastelinen aurka.

Nahiz eta partidu gehienak diferentzia oso txikiarekin partidu bukaeretara iritis, bakar batek behar izan zuen luzapen minutuak jokatzea. Camiseta Blanquirroja talde irabazlea izan zen, 4-3 emaitza lortu zuen Fon Utd FCren aurka. Fon Utd FC ia partidu osoan nagusi izan zen, baina bi jokalarik min hartu ondore aukera ederra eman zion bere aurkariari. Spiroeziek bigarren ukraniar talde baten aurka jokatu beharra zeukan, nahiz eta FC Granitek partidu bikaina jokatu, ezin izan zuen aurkarien erasoei aurre egin: 2-3 izan zen emaitza finala.

Trondheim Thunder caused somewhat a stir, moneywise. Opponent Qirin pays more than double in wages, but had to face a 3-0 loss. FK Pirates beat one of the, some might say, favourites once again, this time Alderwood Chiefs proved to be too weak: 2-1. King Akre kept close to Diesel 1. FC, but conceded 2 goals in the last 10 minutes and thus losing a painful 1-4. Romasz, definitely one of the favourites since the start, had a close game again. Opponent Garristop applied a tight pressure, causing Romasz to have a tough evening. Just 12 minutes before time the winning goal came, 2-1 for Romasz.

The Quarter Finals ofcourse only draw big games, as these are the final 8 of a tournament that started with 193 teams. The 2 most appealing games will probably be between Spiroezie and the ever impressing FK Pirates, and the clash of the, so far, best teams: Boca JBA and Sini Zverove.

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Quarter Finals

Romasz had its first so-called easy victory. After a string of close victories, the last non-European side Camiseta Blanquirroja were beaten with a harsh 8-0. FK Pirates had to press once again, opponent Spiroezie were the winners on midfield. Neither sides managed to gain control over eachothers’ defence, but that didn’t stop Spiroezie from scoring, and winning 4-0.

Trondheim Thunder found counterattacking to be necessary, which resulted in Diesel 1. FC to get alot of scoring opportunities. Trondheim Thunder managed to take the lead but, despite the strong defence, lost 3-1. The big spenders, and possibly favourites, Boca JBA and Sini Zverove fought it out today. Boca JBA also played a counterattack, which made them vulnerable rather than dangerous. Sini Zverove came up 2-0 easily, but Boca JBA came back in the game after one of their strikers got up in the sky to perform a fierce header. In the 2nd half Boca JBA scored the 2-2 goal despite having only 10 men left in the field, and since this was also the only goal in the 2nd half, the game had to go into extra time. The extra time didn’t take long, after only 3 minutes Boca JBA scored the golden goal and thus kicking out Sini Zverove.

The semi finals put Diesel 1. FC up against Spiroezie, and the battle of money between Romasz and Boca JBA. We’re only 2 games away from knowing the winner of this seasons’ Masters!

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Semi Finals

Diesel 1. FC – spiroezie
Diesel 1. FC was this season's Czech team to reach the semi finals, in what seems to become a tradition. The decision was to defend and press against opponent Spiroezie, who in their turn opted for a strong midfield to get as many chances as possible. It showed a 1st half where the visitors were ever so close to getting the lead, but Diesel 1. FC kept their opponents at bay and even got close to scoring themselves. The 2nd half had much of the same, except Spiroezie's mercenary striker Karsten Bomers scored a goal in the 62nd minute. The 0-1 result might suggest that it was a boring game, however it was a nailbiting experience for both sides' fans.

Romasz - Boca JBA
The two teams that spent millions so far to reach this round had to face eachother, Romasz had bought a few more players for this game, leaving Boca JBA with only one tactic: counter. Even though Boca JBA had an impressive counterskill, the game was never really close. It took Romasz 28 minutes to get a 2-0 lead, Boca JBA's attack was just not strong enough to get a goal in, let alone 3. Only 8 minutes in the 2nd half the game was really decided, Romasz had a confident 4-0 lead, Boca JBA had to acquiesce to the defeat. This seemed to be good enough for Romasz and they defended themselves to the eventual 4-0 victory.

Don't forget to tune in for the HT Masters final between tactics (spiroezie) and money (Romasz) next thursday at 20:00 HT Time. May it be a thrilling match, and good luck to both teams.

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FINAL

After 7 rounds and the dismissal of 191 teams it was finally time for the Hattrick Masters final. Polish champions Romasz were one of the favourites on forehand, having spent alot of money prior to the Masters already. Belgian cup winners spiroezie arrived to the final somewhat as a surprise, after they won with only one goal difference a total of 4 times, 1 of these even had to be decided after extra time.

Both teams lined up a full-on squad, neither decided to counter nor press. It took 17 minutes for something to finally happen, and it was a goal straight away, 1-0 for Romasz. The first half went on like it was expected; Romasz creating alot of chances, and eventually scoring the 2-0 goal, Kazanowski’s second of the game. Less expected was the fact that spiroezie was actually the team with more ball possession. In the 2nd half spiroezie got a chance to keep the dream alive, but Romasz’ defence was like a brick wall. The game was really over when spiroezie’s fiery winger Kilpatrick was awarded a 2nd yellow card. Romasz successfully defended their 2-0 lead, becoming the new Hattrick Masters. Opponent spiroezie did an outstanding job, but just fell short in the end. Congratulations to manager Romajack from Romaz!

This seasons’ Masters have been a close one, where both tactics and money were shown to be successful. Hopefully next season will be an even closer battle! I would like to thank everybody taking the time to read every update, the HT-team for giving me the chance to write about the Masters and ofcourse to all LA’s for translating it.