Mid-Season Chronicle: Triumphs and Challenges in Northern Ireland

Hey there,

We've hit the mid-season checkpoint, and I'm here to spill the beans on what's been cooking in Northern Ireland for the last +8 weeks.

So, buckle up for a wild ride through Northern Ireland's football journey – exclusive chats, behind-the-scenes tales, and a front-row seat to the footy rollercoaster. Enjoy the read and soak in the excitement!

First off, let's talk about our national teams. The U-21 crew had a bit of a tough run, with some seriously challenging matches and a sprinkle of bad luck. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the second stage of the World Cup. Coach Troeter (711087) summed it up as follows:

Despite a fair draw and good replays of the matches in round 1 the NI U21 did not manage to proceed to round 2 of the WC. We had a good squad but due to form drops we used a lot of players which caused that we could not call up extra players in the end. All we can do now for the rest of the season is prepare the prospects for the next CC and WC. A big thank you for all those coaches training those talents.

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Switching gears, our NI national team has been on its classic rollercoaster ride in group G. After enduring four consecutive defeats, we've found ourselves cozying up in the 5th position. But fear not, my friends! There's still a glimmer of hope on the horizon. The coaching crew is revving up for the last two games, going all-in to snag that 4th spot and secure our ticket to the World Cup. For more juicy details and to hop into the discussion, check out this forum thread:(17565420.1) . And here's the inside scoop from Coach Themongos (711278) :

We got drawn in one of the more difficult groups, for what it's worth. But we started well, a great draw away to Germany where the preparation was exactly as planned, followed by a good home win over Turkey (allegedly the Turks were unlucky with this, but they played CA, and nothing about CA can be predicted). We then had a set-back against the Netherlands, in a match where we should have been braver, but in round 4 we got the away result against Wales.

It's an interesting thing - Wales have had an awful campaign, with numerous hammerings. This allowed us to take advantage of their low TC, and we caught them out formation wise, but even with that the odds say we got a bit of luck there. The funny side of it is though, okay, Wales have had a nasty time of it and are out of the running - but this hasn't really made things any easier for us. If anything, it's made things harder, because other teams hammering Wales have greatly boosted their TC, whilst we had a more respectable win away against them. It's actually mad, I wouldn't try and argue that Wales deserve to have a lot of points here, but the hammerings they have suffered in almost every game have been ridiculously over the top. It's like watching one of my own club teams... the Match Engine has decided to absolutely hate them this season. I'd be hugely frustrated if I were their manager, because if you'd lost a lot of those matches by a goal or two you'd say fair enough, but not by the hammerings they've been given.

Similarly, we had an away match against Turkey there where we really went for it with a MOTS. I actually correctly foresaw that Turkey would focus on attack and give up a bit of midfield, and this left them open to losing the midfield, which often costs the match in Hattrick (not this season though...). So we went MOTS and won the midfield, great, but hey guess what, winning possession doesn't give you the chances any more. We lost 4-2; on the surface, the ratings might justify this, but the reason I find this incredibly annoying is because we lost the chances 7-5 despite winning possession. The one thing we set out to do in this game, and we did it, and the game decided it didn't mean a thing for the night. If we'd lost the match, but won the chances 7-5 in our favour, I wouldn't even mind as much.

Anyway we are in a difficult position now where we need another 2 results from the last 2 matches really. It seems a very large mountain to climb, and after the Turkey match, the reality is we'll need to be hugely fortunate to get anything out of this group.

I will give more analysis afterwards, but I feel we've mostly played pretty well, there's one major thing I would change but that's hindsight for you. I guess it's just fingers crossed times for the last two matches.

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Switching lanes to the Masters Cup, we've had quite the thrill ride this season. Boston Celtics might have bowed out in the first round, but Limmat Lighting (710937) took us on an exciting journey, making it all the way to the 5th stage. The drama peaked as they faced off against the tournament runner-up and, in a heart-stopping turn of events, got knocked out in the penalty shootouts. It was a nail-biter till the very end, but alas, the luck didn't swing our way. Let's hear it straight from the source:

I think my team's Masters performance was quite good, for the first time we reached the top 16. Unfortunately we lost after leading 3-2 until the last minute and also in overtime we were leading 4-3, penalties are always a lottery in the end.

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We witnessed another riveting national cup final showdown, and this time, the underdog (Team Trash. (711029) ) emerged victorious, clinching the title. Limmat Lighting's pressing tactic put up a good fight to stifle Trash.'s long shots, but fate had other plans. Trash. managed to net two goals in two special events, sealing the deal with a 2-0 victory. Huge congratulations to Trash. for their triumph in the national cup, and we're sending them all the best vibes for the upcoming Masters Cup next season. Let's hear what they had to say about this remarkable achievement:

If I had to describe the cup victory I would say "an early Christmas present"

I didn't think I could win the cup, I was hoping to reach the semi-finals as my seasonal goal, so I have to say it was an amazing victory...

I understood that perhaps it could be the season to do it when you have quarter-finals I won you have penalties against Boston Celtics F.C... I will remember that 18th penalty for a long time having also followed that part of the match live..

From that moment on I sacrificed the championship a bit to have a high TS in the cup and luckily it went well. The victories in the semi-final and final were due to that choice, to an impenetrable defense (catenaccio all'italiana) and a bit of random positive for me...

In the final, above all, Michael Rickard's injury for Limmat Lightning shifted the flow of the match in my favor..

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Exciting news! I've kicked off a new project aimed at reaching out to the fresh faces in Northern Ireland — those brand-new teams finding their footing in Hattrick. The goal is to guide them through the Hattrick ropes, introduce them to the vibrant community, and get them acquainted with the forums and our national teams. If this project piques your interest or if you've got some cool ideas to sprinkle into the mix, hit me up! Let's chat and make this initiative even more awesome together. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Until next time,

Best of wishes
Sor3na

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