Fear Factor

Today saw another group of ties played in the first round of the RMI Cup, there were some great games played with some shock results and amongst them surely must be Gooners versus Thunder Cats! Thunder Cats are a well established team in the RMI and already have top league trophies in the cabinet, Gooners are a team who aspire to have the success the likes of Thunder Cats have seen and are just starting out on this journey under the guidance of rookie coach FMR. Although currently its Gooners that have built a reputation in the RMI for being almost unstoppable on their day.

The game was played at Thundera Grounds giving the Cats a nice home advantage but it must be said Gooners had kept their form much better during this pre season period. FMR has had much success with his tactics where ever he has gone with defence being his strongest quality and even away from home you knew the Cats would struggle to break Gooners down. This was a game where the first goal would be all important.

Many of Gooners players are in the middle of contract negotiations and many thought this may play some part in their performances, most notably of which was Lauren their star defender last season who has already signed a contract elsewhere and this would be the last time he would pull on a Gooners shirt. Gooners bossed the game for the entire first half having all the play and all the chances, Thunder Cats didnt even see a sight of goal in the first half and it would seem Gooners were already back in their flow and up for a game.

It was Lauren who managed to penetrate first with a great ball to Viera who atlast took his chance with conviction and put Gooners into the lead. Thunder Cats had put several men on Henry and it needed some one from the middle of the park to use the extra space and Viera stood up to the plate yet again in the second half to score the winner. In fairness Thunder Cats gave it everything in the second half to make it a nail biting fiinsh but its was probably due to this that Viera found the space required to kill the game off and score his second of the day.

Both Lauren and Viera are listed for sale and FMR would need real quality to replace them and some of the fans are worried by his decisions to sell such high performers but he sees his team reaching the top tier soon and is preparing for this already. If they do not make it then many would not be happy and see the sales as the reason but on todays performance he may be justified in carrying out such big changes. One thing is for sure now no one will want to meet Gooners in the second round and it would seem Gooners are living up to their reputation and are not just able to play their game against the lower league teams but also against much bigger opposition. FMR is hoping to draw Dream Team or Wortley in the second round although he stated he fears no one and loves being the under dog. Although he also said that as our reputation grows larger the games will become more difficult as teams may try to play more defensively and as you saw today Henry got a rough ride, it's something we will have to consider for the next season and maybe try some new things.

Lauren was quoted as saying... Gooners is a club he loves dearly but is ready for new things, although he would have rather stayed he still has much respect for the manager and has always given everything for him and if the opportunity ever arised he would love to come back one day and thinks Gooners under FMR will see much success in the near future. He sent his best wishes to all the fans and told them to keep the strong belief they have built up around the club.