The Men’s first match against Sport Club was always going to be crucial to Sunday’s play-offs, so it was galling to be beaten by a dubious penalty. A tight first half ended without either side able to score, but 4 minutes in, Philipp Wenzel took the ball off a defender, rounded the keeper and squared the ball for João Miguel Freitas to open the scoring. Within 10 minutes Sport had taken a 2-1 lead from two penalty corners, but a great pass from Nicolas Wenzel let in his brother Philipp to make it 2-2. On balance a draw would have been a fair result but, with 50 seconds to go, Sport converted a frankly erroneous penalty stroke for a 3-2 win. In their evening match Casuals took on a strong Carris team, and were 0-7 down at the interval. Although they were always going to struggle against the eventual National Champions, a much closer second half saw them score 3 goals through João Ralha, João Miguel and Nicolas with a lovely lob over the keeper.

The 9am start on the Sunday for their last group match against Juventude did not seem to suit the Casuals, and they ended the first half 2-3 down, despite Miguel Ralha scoring twice to add to his impressive midfield work. Three minutes after the break, Philipp intercepted just inside the opposition half to take the ball past the last defender and the keeper for a tremendous equaliser. Miguel scored from a penalty corner for the Casuals to take the lead but, when a nasty head injury sidelined João Miguel, the team could have lost their focus: instead, 2 more goals from Miguel and 1 from Hugo Jesus sealed a great 7-4 win.

The play-off game against Lamas was a very tight and evenly contested match. At the interval only 2 penalty corner conversions by Lamas separated the teams. After half an hour Joe Kodde, whose defending throughout the weekend had been tremendous, finally pulled one back with a clever tip-in at a penalty corner. But, in pushing for the equaliser, Casuals left themselves open to the 3^rd Lamas goal which sealed a 1-3 defeat. Their final placing of 6^th out of 8 does perhaps not do justice to the progress in their indoor game that this young Men’s team has shown over the last 2 weekends under João Miguel’s leadership.

Tony Pringsheim

At the Intermediate Indoor Tournament this weekend, the Men showed some serious improvement in their level of play. They began on Saturday with a 7-3 win against Futebol Benfica. 2-3 down at the break despite two goals from Miguel Ralha, they stormed back with 4 goals including a penalty corner from Philipp Wenzel and another from Miguel. In the evening they suffered their only defeat against União de Lamas, but the final 2-5 score line belied a very tight game.

Sunday saw them beat Juventude 7-3. With João Miguel Freitas and Joe Kodde switching to man marking in defence, their opponents found little space to attack in. But even so, they managed to wipe out an early 2-0 Casuals lead to reach the break all square at 2-2. In the second half Casuals again pulled away, scoring 5 more goals for a strong win. In the evening’s play-off game, they exacted revenge against Lamas with an excellent 7-5 victory. Next weekend they travel to Espinho for the Indoor Finals.

Tony Pringsheim

O jogo começou com André Rosa, João Miguel, Joe, Fred e Philipp. Os suplentes eram Hugo Jesus, André Teixeira, Nicolas e João Ralha. Entramos bem no jogo, fortes, sofremos o primeiro golo, com um jogador a menos da equipa adversaria, devido a um cartão verde dado à Carris. Continuamos a lutar, e numa jogada de contra ataque Philipp marca o primeiro golo do LCHC ao minuto 19. A primeira parte acabou com o resultado de 6-1 para a Carris.

Entramos para a segunda parte de cabeça erguida, fechamos bem na defesa e sofremos poucos golos. Nicolas estreia-se esta época de sala com um excelente golo ao minuto 27, onde o guarda-redes atira-se para o chão, e Nicolas remata a bola a meia altura por cima do guarda-redes. E ainda criou uma oportunidade de perigo, onde acertou no poste. O jogo acabou com 10-2 para a Carris, onde André Rosa brilhou em muitas ocasiões, e não esquecer o esforço e a garra com que a equipa jogou, graças ao grande treinador João Miguel, que nos tem apoiado e ensinado muito.

João Ralha

After the U18s beat Casa Pia 5-1 yesterday, the Men had to come from behind twice today for a draw against Juventude. After falling behind to a high strike after 7 minutes, they went level 10 minutes later, when a fierce backhand cross from Philip Wenzel was neatly tucked away at the far post by João Ralha. A silly mix-up in the Casuals’ defence allowed Juventude to take the lead again 15 minutes into the second half.

With Fernando Custódio, Fred Santos and André Teixeira working tirelessly in midfield, Casuals gradually took control of the game. But, despite several inviting crosses flashing across the visitors’ goalmouth, Casuals’ finishing was simply not up to scratch.  After failing to take advantage of a host of penalty corners, Philip Wenzel finally drove one low inside the right-hand post for the equaliser. With Casuals wasting another clear-cut chance for a winner at the left-hand post in the final minutes, the game reflected some much improved team play, but a disappointment at the final 2-2 scoreline.