Line up:

Goal: Kris (I want to keep my clean-sheet) Mercelis

Defensive mightbackers: Nils, Dex, Jean

Midfield Trio infernale: Rich, Kevin, Luka

Wings: Hodgy and James

Strikers: Dani and Tommy

Strong from the bench: Sylvain, Joaquín, Ben

This game has been decided by goalkeepers. It could have gone either way and this match report is therefore dedicated to them.

Our mighty Kris, motivated and beautiful as always, was determined to keep his clean sheet in this important match. He warmed up in his usual professional manner, letting in some shots by the strikers towards the end of the warm-up to give them some confidence. He was 100% at the start of the game which was absolutely necessary as Portugal was starting well, pressing RBBFC back and creating some scoring chances. None of them converted and everything that came on goal stopped by Mercelis. Their best chance came after a rather clumsily tackle by our very own Luka Modric. The referee had no chance but to award a penalty to the Portuguese. Luckily for us, and for Kris, they hit the crossbar and couldn’t convert on the rebound.

On the other side, the Portuguese managed to create some confusion. The initial sighting of their goalkeeper led Richie to declare the mantra of ‘shots, shots and more shots on goal’ as their goalie, let’s call him Pedro, was rather short and featuring a belly like Lamarra in his best days. Pedro however was only goalkeeper No 2 whilst their No 1, let’s call him Ricardo, looked sharp as Kris and equally motivated. During the first half he was able to stop the few RBBFC shots that came on goal. But too be fair, there were not too many.

0-0 at half-time. Time for our professional motivational speakers to step up. John came over for the huddle to deliver some crucial messages (that I forgot by now). Rich, Hodgy and Nils all delivered important key-note addresses. Trademark second half was expected.

Rich’s offensive game plan was clear: Go one the weak defender - take the one-on-one. Said and done. First good occasion for RBBFC in the second half came after a little one-two on their weakest link. Great pass from Daniel through the lines to Richard who crushed with Ricardo almost bringing the Brits up 1-0. Instead, Ricardo injured himself to the extent that he asked to be subbed. On came Pedro, who knew that a little mistake by him could cost them the whole match. He was nervous. And RBBFC knew what to do. Interrupted for 5min by Dex pretending to need an ambulance, the Brits upped the pressure. Helped by the powerful performance of the on-coming subs, the breakthrough came after an unsuspicious long ball from Luka down the middle-left, looking for Tommy. Everybody expected that ball was too long and could easily be collected by Pedro. So did Pedro. But not Tommy. Whilst Pedro was to the right of his goal anticipating the ball collection, Tommy stretched his surprisingly long legs in McGrathesque fashion and managed to get the slightest of touches on the ball. Enough for it to change direction. Empty net, a Pedro in shock and the 1-0 lead for the good guys 10 minutes before the end. Just a few minutes later the Brits sealed the deal by playing a beautiful counter-attack to the end. Daniel beating his man on the right, having the vision for Tommy who slots it home for the 2-0. Pedro was gutted.

Overall, a great team performance from 1-14. The right response to the disappointing 3-5 loss at home last year. A clean-sheet, finally a few goals and great spirit and mentality throughout the match. This will be necessary every match if we want to even have the chance to dream about a #unomas.

A special shout goes out to the Portuguese squad and their coach for their fair-play performance during and after the match.

MoM and Reporter: Thomas Kellerman (#15)