Mercury at the 2014 FMF World Cup

[joefoxon]

*Played 11th August*

Mercury 2-0 Taeland
17' - J. Foxon
31' - S. Rydberg

Mercury proved their dominance over Group B with a third straight 2-0 victory to top the table without conceding, leaving the Taes to be separated from Birgeshir on tiebreaking criteria. The game's action came primarily in the first half with Mercury not holding back with their place in the quarter-finals still not officially guaranteed. On-song striker Matt Fitzgerald almost scored his fourth of the tournament after just five minutes, but could only hit the side of the netting from the angle. His strike partner and team captain Joe Foxon made no such error just twelve minutes later, with a well-timed run being matched by a Wilmont Fizeau-Blake through ball for Foxon to clatter in to the top-left corner with a first-time shot just inside the box. Mercury persisted onward, with Fitzgerald and Fizeau-Blake combining well but to no avail. With just over half an hour played, the score was doubled thanks to Stephen Rydberg, with Fizeau-Blake's involvement key again. Foxon chased a long clearance downfield into the right corner and Fizeau-Blake gave an option in support to cross in, which he did. With Foxon out of position, Rydberg stepped forward and met the delivery with a chest before calmly passing the ball into the centre of the goal beside Aaron Mor. Fitzgerald was a continual threat, but wasn't able to put in a third.

The second half witnessed Taeland trying to analyse the best tactical approach, with Tim Turner isolated on his own upfront but the Mercurians still pressing for more. When news of the other game's score filtered through, the Taes had even more to think about with the mathematics of goal difference coming more into play. After a period of uncertainty, which saw substitute Edward Foxon have a shot from a short free-kick land on the roof of the net, Taeland brought Alex Gomze on to partner Turner. While the pair were more incisive on the break, Kieran Mercury made a fingertip save to stop Gomze scoring with ten minutes remaining. Mercury closed ranks in the final stages, wanting to maintain an enviable record of three group clean sheets, which they achieved as Turner was again marked out of the game. A model performance from Mercury left Taeland at the mercy of the Safiria-Birgeshir result, and were unfortunate that their opening game defeat was the deciding factor on who advanced with the Mercurians to the knock-out rounds.

Safiria 1-0 Birgeshir
59' - K. Tsevit

Watch this match here!

Group standings can be found here...