St. Louis Maroon Knights FC -- Week 2

This is a continuation of the football season started in the previous post.

Fresh off of our 2-1 victory in Kiev, the Maroon Knights headed back home to prepare for week two. The team looked good on the pitch, but the front office discussion was glum. The signing of Park Lee had drained the bank account, and since there would be no income from the away match, we had to start by laying off the team's assistant manager.

Equally important, the medical staff reported that Welsh midfielder Cecil Bowen's knee was hurt in the first match. Since the team only has five middies on the roster (and no one from the youth squad seems ready to make the leap), manager Angus Collins couldn't play the 4-5-1 formation in the second match versus Bucharest. Instead, striker Jory Cornish got the call, and the team went with a 4-4-2 formation.

A total of 13,500 fans showed up for the home match against Bucharest. Cornish had two solid chances in the first half, but couldn't convert. Instead Bucharest went up 1-0 in the 42nd minute and then made it 2-0 in the 63rd. Guyaese wingback Samuel Buxton sliced the deficit in half with a tally in the 68th minute, but Bucharest responded two minutes later with another goal, making it 3-1. Park Lee made it a one goal game in the 81st minute, but the Maroon Knights couldn't notch the equalizer. The game ended 3-2.

The inury to the 32-year-old Bowen might have been the difference, as it forced the Knights to play out of their prefered formation. And, while Bowen appears ready to come back for next week's game against Istanbul, the medical staff reports that American midfielder Owen Jessup is llikely to be out of action. Collins will need to decide whether to stick with Cornish as a striker or to play someone out of position.

After two weeks, the league table is as follows:

Club	W	D	L	GS	GC	Pts
Bordeux	2	0	0	9	3	6
Paris	1	0	1	6	4	3
St. Louis	1	0	1	4	4	3
Kiev	1	0	1	3	3	3
Bucharest	1	0	1	5	7	3
Athens	0	2	0	3	3	2
Marseille	0	1	1	2	5	1
Istanbul	0	1	1	3	6	1