First competitive game, and first Mags goal!..

Our first ever match as a team came against Taipei United.  

Magpies vs Taipei United

We arranged this friendly match to see how our kick about people would perform in an actual game.  We played quite well, admittedly against not the strongest opposition.  

We rocked up, and played well considering it was our first ever actual game as a so called team, more like a rabble in the process of forming a team from a kick about group.

We played in white for our friendlies, and looked like a rag tag outfit.  Back to the game, we did well.  We won a corner, Luke pinged the corned into the box, and their was a massive scramble in the box.  Big Ryan got his toe punt on it, and it flew in the back of the net, cue mass celebration.  

After we had played for 90 minutes Taipei United couldn't believe they were losing to such a rabble that doesn't even have a kit, and decided they wanted to play until either it got too dark or they scored more goals than us.

In the end the game ended 1-0 (in normal time) and then 1-1 when it got too dark to play any more with Taipei United claiming it was still possible to play!!!  

Top - Ryan with a mighty toe poke, bottom - Celebrating our first ever goal!

Match Report - Magpies v Badgers

We started the game missing a lot of key players and needed other players to step
up to the plate, and manage to put in a performance to keep our spine solid.  We started
off well putting pressure on the badgers defence. 

They held out well for a little while, but then new Magpies superstar Javi broke past them,
and walloped a peach of a goal over the keeper and in cue mass celebrations as we were looking to end our 4 game win less streak.  

We only managed to control the game for a little bit after this mind you, as the Badgers pressing, commitment to the cause and work rate really didn't give us much time on the ball and always kept us having to play quickly which at times we struggled to do, because the Badgers were doing all the pressing very well.  Yes they are a physical side, and put tackles in, some are late, some are not.  Football is a contact sport and some teams in this league need to learn that.  

We coped with this quite well for a decent period of the game, then the Badgers got a free kick that was not really that much of a free kick (how many times can you say that about free kicks in this league) and then Fred from the Badgers stepped up and curled a peach of a free kick right into the top corner of our goal.  He could not of got it any further into the corner.  Great free kick, this put the Badgers back into the game.

Before this goal we did actually have a perfectly good goal ruled out, as the offside decision was utterly appalling.  Their defence passed it to each other, Mag superstar Javi sprinted past the first defender, got the ball of the second defender then scored!  The ref and linesman decided to give it offside!  Awful!  We are coming to learn to deal with how awful the referees are and are a lot calmer about it which is a good thing.

Things seemed to be getting a bit tense for both teams then something magical happened.  We scored from a corner!  Michel pinged in a good cross from the corner, and Eivind popped up at the back post to smash it in.  We were back in business this was it, we were 2-1 up and could kick on from here.

Well not likely.  Like Newcastle back home nothing for the Magpies of Taipei is simple, the Badgers won a corner, it came across they won the header, cue mass scramble, and then BOOOM it ends up in our goal!  Oh Oh!  Now we're in the shit because they was not much time to get back in the game!  We popped on some more strikers to chase that god damn third goal.  It was looking less and less likely, and then Michel played the ball through to superstar Javi, to run onto it he steamed past Geordie in the Badgers defence who did his best to grapple him down, by neck, shirt, head, whichever way possible.  He did try with all his Geordie super powers, but Javi wriggled away from him and placed it past the keeper with the last kick of the game a superb ending to a pretty even game.  Was tough on the Badgers, and they are improving a lot.  They will cause more teams problems for sure and add more teams to the list they have beaten not just Daan!.

Classic Magpie Moment!!

If you were, or were not there when we made the long trip down to
Kaohsuing for the winter island wide tournament, we all decided to go out and party like bosses on the Saturday night, to erm celebrate our superb (ahem...) performance from Saturday afternoon, and Jeffy going into a blind panic
thinking he had lost his fellow Belizian started running around the club
screaming, WHERE'S HUGO!!!!  WHERE'S HUGO!!!!
Cue, mass hysterics from the rest of us at Jeffys blind panic!!

Club LEGEND #1 - Stefan!

What can be said about Stefan, the catchphrase I'm from Geneva is forever in printed 
upon the whole football club now.  We should all claim we are from Geneva because of Stefan!  A mainstay in our team from the beginning, until he left for the most polluted cities 
in the mainland!  His words not ours!  

His last game vs Daan was actually a comical performance, after him having one hell of a leaving bash, and turning up looking totally drunk never mind hungover!  I even had to call him and ask where he was to play at a 2.15 game!  He arrived like a boss by taxi, looking like he arrived from the club.

There was a moment in the game where the ball was crossed over and he ducked.  The headache was already banging away on the head like a sledgehammer, something planting your noggin on a ball wasn't gonna improve so he gave it a miss.  Daan went on and scored.

Later on in the game, he made a superb professional foul to keep us in the game, seeing as he was the last man he was sent off, and that meant he could not play any games before he left.  A sad way to go out, but legend status had been confirmed!

We got him a t-shirt made when he left Taiwan as he was one of us original 7 members of the team.  

The t-shirt had "I'M FROM GENEVA" on the back, and "I WANNA BE A MAGPIE RANGER, ONLY LIVE FOR SEX AND DANGER!!!" on the front!

Here are the photos:

Back - "I'm from Geneva"

Front, "I wanna be a magpie ranger, only live for sex and danger!"

Our first league scorer!

Our first ever league game in the CPL people expected us to be absolutely smashed,
or as Pardiola would say, a good raping!  This man had other ideas as he thumped in a 
penalty within 4 minutes and unfortunately smashed the bar too.  His name is Fred, and is 
from France. Later in the season, in a dreadful match involving our team, he broke his ribs 
for the cause too, what a man!!!! 

This is Fred:

This is not our team kit!  Don't worry

The after goal scoring look!!

New Magpies Team Blog!!!

Hello everyone, I will use this page as the blog for our team, this way I can use this for
the team only and my personal blog for my own sheeeet.

I hope you will be all OK with this, I will put all sorts of stuff on here regarding the team
(I hope there are no complaints) 

Anyway here are a few squad photos.!!  From the beginning of our time and existence, to the high level days of 7th in the CPL, BOOOM, BOOOM, BOOOOOOM!  

Top - our first tournament in Kaohsuing.  Middle - Team photo at CPL match in Fuhe, Yonghe.  Stefans last game with Magpie Ranger t-shirt, Bottom - CPL match at Dajia park, Neihu.  Nicholas last game with the Mags.