In the much anticipated semi-final of the FM Base World Cup, there was no lack of drama, as a late goal sparked riots in the stands, forcing the game to be delayed by 10 minutes right at the end.
Two strong teams that have excited the fans throughout faced off as The Angry Burritos took on Carlisle City FC.
In many ways this would be a battle between two Serie A strikers, in Carlos Tevez, who has been vital for the Burritos in the tournament this far, and Gonzalo Higuain, who is yet to show his quality for Carlisle.
The crowd had barely found their seats after the kick-off, when Tevez struck first blood. He was slid in by Callejon and brilliantly turned Per Mertesacker. From 15 yards, he hammered a bullet-drive into the top corner, out of reach of Begovic in the Carlisle goal. 1-0 Burritos!
As the game progressed, the Angry Burritos kept creating opportunities, but were denied again and again by a brilliant Begovic. Asamoah, Tevez and especially Hulk were left frustrated by the heroics of the enormous Bosnian.
And is so often the case in football, if a team keeps wasting their chances, they will be punished. After a Burritos corner, Carlisle countered in style, Danny and Cerci combined well, but it was a Marcelo slide tackle that played Higuain clean through. He went past Srna with ease and finished in style. Tevez 1 - 1 Higuain!
The game turned into an end-to-end battle after this, both teams creating chances. A Coutinho header (!!!) hit the bar, and Begovic kept having a good game. In the 63rd minute, there was a moment of big controversy. After a Carlisle free kick that was cleared, they regained possession, and a fine pass by Cerci played Jordi Alba clean through. He finished brilliantly with his right foot, and the Carlisle crowd went wild! However, the linesman was flagging, and the goal was disallowed. Replays showed that the linesman had made the correct decision.... by about 10cm.
The Burritos took the game to Carlisle after this, and Begovic was forced into action again and again. He produced an absolute world-class save to deny Asamoah.
The Burritos grew angrier and angrier as Begovic made a triple-save to deny Asamoah, Valero as well as Tevez. On the following corner, he was well beaten by a Callejon shot, but on the line, Lahm came to the rescue to keep the game level.
With the game edging towards extra time, it looked like noone would be able to make the breakthrough, but the man of the match, Jose Callejon had other thoughts. It took a lucky deflection to beat Begovic, but as Lavezzi hit the post after being played through by Valero, the ball fell kindly in front of goal, and Callejon was first to react, to smash the ball into the open net. 2-1 Burritos!
This sparked another controversial incident, as Burritos fans ran onto the pitch in celebration. The crowd were extatic and caused a delay of up to 10 minutes in the game. When the game resumed, both teams seemed exhausted, and were unable to do much. And as the added time passed, the referee had seen enough. He blew his whistle, which caused another pitch invasion. The Angry Burritos are through to the FM Base World Cup Final!!!
I'd like to thank CraigWL for a very enjoyable game. Despite our late frustration over the game freezing, spirits were high, and the game was a lot of fun. Credits to a very tough opponent, who could have won the game on another day, were it not for the eagle-eyed linesman!
Best of luck in the 3rd place playoff!