The first day of competition in the Rey Cup was an exciting one for Touchline. We played twice, losing 1-0 against a big, strong HK team in the morning, and ending the day with an exciting 2-0 victory over Bredoblik. Our first international win! After breakfast, we watched one of the early games against teams in our group we would be playing on Saturday. We then made the long walk to another neighborhood for our first match against HK. They were large, strong and skilled, and we hard to work hard to defend. Six minutes into the match a player book loose on our right side and cracked a shot off the near post. We managed to settle down, and were able to generate a few decent scoring opportunities. The half ended 0-0, and we were confident that we could play with them. Midway through the second half, two good passes isolated a player on the right flank, and his hard, precise centering pass found a teammate at the far post for a tap-in and a 1-0 lead. Touchline fought back, but never managed a serious threat. The match ended with HK celebrating and Touchline proud to have played so well against such a quality team. We walked back to the Hilton Hotel, which somehow managed to feed 1,300 players in 90 minutes with multiple buffet lines and a ballroom full of tables. After watching another match in Throttur Stadium, the site of the opening ceremonies, we had an hour or two to rest before heading to the Valbjarnarvollur field complex, the site of our afternoon match against Bredoblik. The grass fields are crammed together, with a two-yard strip between the pitches, allowing just enough room for teams to stand single file. That was our "bench". Bredoblik came into the match having lost to Vestri, and they were hungry. We held our ground during an initial Vestri surge, and then began playing some of our best soccer to date. Both Matthias Einarsson and Isak Larusson had dangerous shots. Matthias forced the Bredoblik goalkeeper to make good save, and Isak hit a shot fro the right side that bounced off the inside of the far post and into the hands of the neaten goalkeeper. Touchline was defending well, and creating good shots as a result of better midfield possession. With ten minutes to play in the half, Touchline made five substitutions, and got a shot of energy from Zane Schiffman, Eric Tysinger, Jackson Fisher, James Kirkpatrick and and Jack McGrath. Five minutes later, Jacob Kubik-Pauw played a ball out of the center to Jack McGrath, who made the great choice to get wide on the right. He beat his defender to the endline and hit a low, hard cross to a streaking Schiffman on the left, who burins the ball for his first international goal.
Touchline started the second half confidently, but needed several strong saves from Jack Maynes in goal to hold onto their 1-0 lead. Kirkpatrick was doing a great job in the center of the defense, working with Gabe Jacobs. Bredoblik's urgency gave Touchline several openings to counterattack, and they took advantage. With 12 minutes to go, Jacob Kubik-Pauw hit a free kick from 235 yards out that was dipping under the bar, only to be denied by a great diving save. Five minutes later, Touchline put the game away. Kubik-Pauw, who earned the Man of the Match award, launched a long throw-in that sent Oscar Miller in alone on goal. Oscar made a great move to shield the ball from a defender and hit a hard shot that beat the keeper to his right. Not content to see the game out, Tysinger nearly made it 3-0 with another breakaway that was barely saved by the charging goalie. The final whistle sounded (we think - referee whistles were hard to come by and hard to hear) and we celebrated our first international win.
After supper at the Hilton, another miracle of good logistics and delicious food (amazing chicken in a wine sauce, ziti, bread with pesto, salad), the players headed to the swimming pool or out for ice cream, and the coaches attended a reception at the national stadium. We head presentations fro several of the international coaches. The story of the team from Kenya is an amazing tale. They have worked so hard and received so much support just to be here. Everyone loves them, and the Touchline players are first in line in that respect. They attended one of their matches, cheering lustily, and have a plan to take them out for ice cream tomorrow. We are friends with the Molina team from Chile, friends with Ross County from northern Scotland, and friends with Burlington, Mass (who lead their division with a 2-0 record! The US was 3-1 today, and our hosts weren't happy about this).
The international friendship and fellowship has been remarkable. So has the scenery of this amazing country. So has the soccer. And our players - so flexible, so friendly, so willing. You won't recognize them!
Tomorrow's a big day. A huge match with Vestri in the afternoon, and ice cream with Kenya. Goodnight!
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