Azur RCS 6 0–3 RBBFC Vets 1
Another sunny Saturday in Brussels, another three points up for grabs. This time the Cossacks travelled to Woluwe-Saint-Pierre to face newly promoted Azur RCS 6, looking to make it three wins from three and keep our perfect start to the season alive. Preparations had not exactly gone to plan. Burgundy Bill himself, captain Maarten, was absent, and Nils joined him on the missing list after falling ill. Two big absences, but before disappearing, Maarten left the troops with one of his customary messages from afar: “No Burgundy Bill on the touchline tomorrow. No inspirational halftime nonsense. No soothing voice guiding you through the darkness. Just 14 Cossacks, Captain Kris and a newly promoted team that needs to learn how cold the winters can be in this league.”
A slightly strange warning considering we arrived to glorious sunshine, but the message was understood.
With command of the horde handed to the vice-captain Kris, the instructions became considerably less poetic and considerably more practical. The pitch was rough, so play smart. Press them in their half, take no unnecessary risks in ours, and use the pace up front with diagonal balls into space. And one final piece of goalkeeper wisdom from Kris: “if you get a sight of goal, hit it hard and low. On this pitch, the goalkeeper has enough problems already.”
RBBFC lined up in our familiar 4-5-1. Kris in goal; Tinisi, Gavin, Igor and Max across the back; Ale sitting at six behind Richie and Hodgy; Mark and Ala out wide; and Miloš leading the line. Marcelo and Karl formed the fresh-legged cavalry on the bench.
The opening minutes were about figuring things out. The pitch, the opposition, and how much football this particular patch of Woluwe grass was actually willing to permit. We stayed patient, kept our shape and gradually pushed Azur deeper into their own half.
After ten minutes, the chances started coming. And then came the opener.
Mark found Richie from a throw-in, Richie spotted Miloš making a clever run into the left side of the box, and Miloš tried to square it towards Ala arriving at the far post. Azur managed to clear, but only as far as Richie, who remembered Kris's instructions and smashed it hard and low. The shot was blocked and dropped to Ala inside the area. A shooting opportunity presented itself, but instead came a dummy that sent both defender and goalkeeper to the floor. With Hodgy arriving from the edge of the box, Ala rolled it into his path. Hodgy made no mistake and smashed it home.
1–0 RBBFC.
And importantly, nothing changed. No dropping deeper. No protecting the lead. We continued as though it were 0–0, with Richie, Hodgy and Ala combining repeatedly around the box while Miloš kept pressing their defence tirelessly and forcing them into mistakes. A handball on the edge of the area gave Richie a free kick from the right. His delivery found Ale at the far post, whose header back across goal went agonisingly close. Soon afterwards, Ala found Hodgy, who crossed towards Miloš at the back post. Miloš found himself almost one-on-one with the keeper, but the ball was just too close to the post and the angle too tight to get a proper header on it. Another big chance, but the second goal would have to wait. At the other end, Azur tried to find their way back into the game, but our defence was ready for everything they threw at us. Ale was sweeping up in front of the defence, while Max, Igor, Gavin and Tinisi dealt with everything behind him. Tinisi in particular was a rock at left-back. Nothing was getting past him, to the point that after the game Azur players were jokingly questioning his age in the changing room.
Then, around the 34th minute, Azur pushed men forward. Bad idea.
Igor found Max on the right, who turned and immediately spotted Ala accelerating into the space ahead. Max played him in, leaving Ala one-on-one with the first defender. He drove towards the byline, waited for his moment, nutmegged him and accelerated away. A second defender arrived to help. He probably wishes he hadn't. A second defender arrived to help. He probably wishes he hadn't. Ala cut back inside, leaving him behind as well, before squaring the ball across goal towards Miloš, waiting for the easiest finish of his afternoon. Unfortunately for Miloš, an Azur defender got there first and turned it into his own net. 2–0.
After the game, Ala did make a completely shameless attempt to claim the goal for himself. Hodgy, self-appointed guardian of statistical integrity, wasn't having it. Apparently, “the stats on the website mean something.” Boohoo. The assist would have to do.
At half-time, there was no great tactical revolution required. Kris congratulated the team but made it clear that Azur could not be allowed back into the game. Hodgy reinforced the same message: stay humble, stay focused and keep playing. Everyone agreed on what was needed. Defend properly, wait for their mistakes and find the third goal that would finish the job.
The second half began much like the first had ended. RBBFC controlled the game and continued creating chances while Azur searched for a route back into it.
They never found one. Around the 50th minute, Tinisi cleared forward and the ball dropped awkwardly between Azur's two centre-backs. Both appeared to believe somebody else might deal with it.
Ala had a different interpretation. He burst between them, stole the ball and suddenly had nothing between himself and the goalkeeper. The keeper rushed out, Ala took the ball around him and rolled it home.
3–0 RBBFC. Job done.
From there, the priority was managing the game properly. Azur pushed, but the back four remained excellent, and Ale continued breaking up attacks before they could become anything more interesting. Marcelo and Karl came on for Tinisi and Miloš, bringing fresh legs and helping us see out the match without ever allowing the home side a genuine route back.
The final whistle confirmed another clean sheet, another three points and, most importantly, nine points from nine.
There were great performances everywhere. Miloš pressed relentlessly and caused problems all afternoon. Ale was outstanding at six, quietly destroying attacks before they had a chance to develop. Richie and Hodgy controlled the midfield, moving the ball beautifully and constantly creating openings. The back four were superb, with Tinisi's performance apparently so convincing that Azur players were jokingly questioning his eligibility by age in the changing rooms afterwards.
And then there was Ala.
As the author of this report, journalistic integrity requires me to tread carefully here. So I will simply report the independently verified facts: one goal, involvement in all three goals, a considerable number of defenders sent in the wrong direction, more than 10 kilometres covered and a landslide Man of the Match vote.
Any allegations of bias should be directed to the editorial board. More importantly, it’s three games, three wins and nine points from nine. After a couple of seasons where we dropped too many points in games we should have won, this is exactly the start we wanted. But it’s only three games. We stay humble, keep working and take it one match at a time. Next Saturday, we go again. Nine from nine. The Whites march on, quietly.
