Domzale Season 3 Winter Break Update
A very encouraging first half to the season in what is shaping up to be another really tight division again. At the half way stage four teams sit on the same points at the top! But more of that later.
The season started with the experimental 4-3-3 and what an opening game! Hamsun took on the hold up man role up front as if he'd played it all his life. His power and strength really shows there and his passing is good enough too to complement it perfectly. Added to being probably the best in the air bar Libermaan in the entire squad. He scored 2 as three time we took the lead against Altach and three times got pegged back before a late, late winner from Dodo, his first ever goal for the club! So first game a 4-3 away win! That was followed up with a 2-0 win against Vardar, the irony not lost that this was the team we couldn't beat just two games previously to get promoted.
Next up was Lech Poznan who took the lead in the first minute and made life very difficult for us but another late goal, this time from Minanda, a nice low shot from the edge of the box, grabbed us a point. Another really hard fought game came next against a St Polten side who had two players up front that I could not handle at all, they went in 2-0 up and could have had more. A huge second half fight back though from the boys who it seems this season are not willing to give anything up and goals from Hamsun and Burchet got us what seemed an unlikely point after the first half.
A complete change of 11 for the cup resulted in a 3-0 loss to Altach although it was a tighter game than the score suggested. What was really interesting was that I was completely unable to play a similar game to previous league games without Hamsun as the focal point up front. First Huylens and later Fouque played there during the game but neither were really effective. Ordaz may have been able to do it but he was also being rested. We went on to draw the second leg 1-1 but for the third season running we fail to progress beyond the first round of the cup. Although I like to say we went out in the quarter finals
We then drew 1-1 with GA Eagles after a sloppy bit of defending in the third minute cost us an early goal and it was a hard slog to get it back, but eventually we did. Dodo also hit the bar late on but it would have been an undeserved win. Next up was a real battle with Korona who went toe to toe with me and another late goal, this time from Ordaz after being fed in the area by a Hamsun pass for a big win. Last game of the first half of the season was against bogey side Heracles. Again I started sloppily and found myself a goal down inside five minutes and things got worse as it went to 2-0 by HT. This season though as I said there seems to be a real will to win from the team and somehow we got two goals back, the last again late on to earn a really hard fought point.
And so we reach halfway with the table looking like this
Lech Poznan 13 +6
Domzale 13 +4 ( 3-4-0 13-9)
GA Eagles 13 +2
Korona 13 +2
St Polten 10
Heracles 7
Altach 6
Vardar 4
A four-way tie for the lead! And we have managed to go the first half of the season unbeaten, despite going behind 2-3 times in games.
Top Scorer Keita (St Polten) 5 one of the two strikers I had real trouble with
Top Assists Vaculik (St Polten) Armenteros (Heracles) and Hamsun, Ordaz 2
Domzale
Top Scorers Hamsun, Burchett 3 Ordaz, Dodo!, Macco! 2
Top Assists Hamsun, Ordaz 2
Top Rating Dodo 6.6 Hamsun 6.5 (Minanda 6.3 at 37

) also Fouque 6.5 but has been mostly sub appearances.
14 yellows, 0 reds so far (8 reds last season!)
Players:
Dodo has now added goals to his game as if he wasn't already doing everything else! I'm sure there's two of him out there on the pitch.
Hamsun has come of age. An absolute revelation at the point of the attack, winning headers from crosses, holding it up and holding off defenders, bringing the wide men or Minanda/Dodo into play and defending from the front, using his strength to win the ball.
Burchet and Ordaz doing a fine job out wide, Ordaz's pace is helping him adapt to the role and like Burchet he's dangerous coming in late for crosses from the other wing. Macco has also been excellent coming on usually on 60 minutes for a tired Burchett, scoring 2 goals in the process.
Jaric (6.2) has settled into midfield really well, so well I've not missed Stein at all. Not quite at a Dodo level but solid and a very tidy passer, also his left foot gives us balance in there. So I'm really pleased with how that experiment has gone. Stein for his part has come on as sub and also covered both full backs during suspension and done well in all roles as always. Minanda continues to exude class. The three in midfield are in a 2-1 formation and he is in the two with Jaric with Dodo ahead of them getting stuck in first but if the opposition are getting on top in there and he's not getting much room then I switch him with Dodo after about 20 minutes. That's happened probably 2-3 times of the 7 games. He could have had four or five assists if the recipients had managed to finish but has just the one to his name.
Defence: Ivarov has been solid with no mistakes. Libermann has been a little bit off the pace (5.6) although still dominating the high balls, maybe having Stremer for a partner is stressing him out

Stremer's doing ok but if someone retires this season a CB is my ideal choice if there's a decent one to be had. Giersen and Ruskin have been steady and to be fair with the two wide men playing up front don't have as much cover, relying on a DM dropping out wide to help, have it a bit tougher this season.
Fouque, Macco, Ximelez, Espimas and Valeny have been restricted to substitute appearances in the main but all done well enough when called upon.
Lothar, Ceciu, Iouga, Castolo and Huylens have only played in the cup this season. Lothar managing to concede 4 in 2 games, so no change there.
Zamenhof is topping up his tan in Bali. His agent rang to see if there's any news on his contract renewal.
Ruskin, Jaric, Dodo, Hamsun and Ordaz have developed another point across the board during the first half of the season and with them all being 22/23 that's half the team getting very strong and with their best yet to come.
So half way and right there in the mix. Going on last season 25/26 pts could do it seeing as how close it is. However after last season I know there's a lot to do yet and I'm really not pleased to know Heracles is the last game of the season!