The heart is still beating… FC wins versus Lev-Hasharon, but Ahituv is just around the corner…

FC desperately needed this one badly. The team, who collected only one point in the last 3 games, was under extreme pressure. The club's management called a special meeting this Wednesday, in which Mr. N Liron (head of Comm Division), was called upon to become an emergency active assistant coach. FC was to play Lev-Hasharon, which ordinarily would not have been considered a challenge, but after the Tzafririm fiasco last week, no one in the club was to take any game for granted. The R&B changed their playing array, pushing Ilan A. to the upper midfield in order to support the attackers and reinforce ball handling in the middle. And thus, hoping to escape from the 'Black November' jinx, the R&B were to play what could very well prove to be one of the season's most important games.

The game started in a battle for control in midfield. It became obvious from the very beginning that FC's gamble on Ilan A as a playmaker is a profitable one. FC created chances near the visitors' goal, and were deprived of an early penalty by the referee when Roi C. was brought down by L.H goalkeeper in the box. On the other hand, FC wings were left quite unattended, and L.H. midfielders managed to push the ball up the court from the sides, creating some confusion in the R&B's defense. FC went ahead in the 30^th minute: the R&B won a corner on the left. A short ball was passed to Roi C. who released one of his notorious slashing kicks aiming at the close corner. L.H. keeper was late for the ball and FC's crowd roared in a long awaited satisfaction as the ball hit the net: 1-0!

The 2^nd half began with FC in idling mode. It took the R&B some 5-10 minutes to recover, but when they did, they did it with glamour: Ilan A was brought down about 18 m', just a little right to center - THE ideal spot for a free kick when your name is Roi C! The crowd lifted with anticipation as the youngster aligned his aims and fired a stunning unstoppable bomb into the net: 2-0 FC!

The game's pattern after the goal changed. L.H. was tring to apply the pressure and score, while FC launching dangerous fast-breaks, one of these ending in a red card to L.H.'s keeper, after a brutal foul on Ilan A outside the box. L.H. succeeded in narrowing down the gap when a terrible mistake by the captain Amir R led to a goal from a one on one situation, but the last accord belonged to the R&B. Another fast-break ended with a slalom dribble by Amir R, who launched the ball from left to right. L.H.'s keeper could only touch the ball and Itai R. was there for the finish: 3-1 FC.

"A sigh of relief…" was the expression used by the new active assistant coach N. Liron to sum up his feelings. "We still have a lot of work to do, but at least now we have some lead to work with" he added. Mauro K, the head coach elaborated: "We played in a new array, and it affected our performance in the defensive end, but we won, and it is a great feeling.

"FC will face the league's leader Ahituv next week, and this match will be much harder. We need and we can surprise them, but as we all know, the table has the real story…" concluded Uzi G, FC's devoted midfielder.

See ya all next week…