19 Jul 2014, 09:04 pm
Quote:Mercury 0-0 Hamland (AET; 3-2 on penalties)
Mercury will contest their second ever EMU Championships final thanks to a penalty win over Hamland, stopping the 2012 winners' attempt to reach a fourth straight final in the process. With predictions for the semi-finals hinting that this game would be the more interesting, it couldn't quite match-up to Passas' 4-1 victory in terms of goals, but was a much better contest in regards to its tactical battles throughout the pitch. Both of these teams were the only ones to come through their respective groups with six points, and scored ten goals between them, conceding just once, with this match being a repeat of the epic final of EMU 2012. However, although the result after extra time was the same today, the scoreline wasn't as neither team could break the deadlock during the 120 minutes. With Andrew Miller and Joe Foxon on the field, last year's World Cup's shared golden boot winners, there was no shortage of opportunities to score, but both teams' stoppers were well-matched to their opponents' shots and a number of important saves were made throughout. Going into extra time, Hamland saw more of the ball in the first ninety but Mercury registered more shots, so there was little to separate the teams stats-wise either. During the additional thirty, Hamland had the best chance of the night when Benjamin Craig blasted his shot inches over the bar as he tried to find a spectacular way past 'keeper Mercury, but there was nothing else as close as the game went to a shootout. In the end, Mercury were more clinical with the penalties, with the only unconverted shots being off-target rather than saved.
Penalties
J. Foxon - Scored
B. Craig - Missed
A. Cavendish - Missed
A. Miller - Missed
J. Phillips - Scored
E. Heinhorn - Scored
E. Foxon - Missed
I. O'Hara - Scored
S. Rydberg - Scored
R. Peck - Missed