| ROUND ROBIN REVIEW |
| Konami Cup VI has a revised format, with 9 teams in the round-robin phase, and a top 5 play-off system. The 9 teams this time are Greece, Jamaica, Switzerland, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Ukraine, Croatia, Uruguay, and Belgium. Belgium qualified for a second successive cup because they currently hold the Benson and Hedges cup, having recently won it off Spain. This victory coincided with Belgium’s push for a greater role in the hosting of future Konami Cups- Belgium will play all of their round-robin fixtures at home, meaning they will be defending the Cup in every match. The opening match of the tournament pitted the might of Jamaica against Konami Cup rookies’ Uruguay. Only a few weeks ago Jamaica had embarrassed Uruguay 7-0, but the result was different this time, as Daniel Fonseca cancelled out Kurt Christensen’s 4th minute goal, the first of the tournament. Greece made a stronger start then their old rivals as they beat both Turkey and Yugoslavia 2-0, while Switzerland scraped past Croatia in a thriller. After a booming strike from Dano Bob gave the Swiss the lead, Milan Rapajic equalised in fine style in the 76th minute. It was left to the trusty head of Assmaster to give Switzerland an injury time victory. Ukraine had a good start with a 1-0 win over Croatia, while Turkey got off the mark in great style with a 3-0 win over Yugoslavia, Derelioglu Oktay getting a goal double. Jamaica’s unconvincing start to their title defence continued, as they drew 0-0 with Belgium, and 1-1 with Turkey. Uruguay now challenged Belgium for the Benson and Hedges Cup. Maximiliano Silvaira’s goal handed them the highly prized Cup and their first Konami Cup victory. Switzerland was in fine form, beating Ukraine 3-1, and were Uruguay’s first Benson and Hedges Cup challenger. The daunting task was too much and Switzerland defeated Uruguay 1-0 thanks to an Assmaster goal. Greece’s campaign stalled as they drew 1-1 with Ukraine. The struggling Yugoslav’s managed their first point in dramatic fashion with a last gasp equalizer against Belgium. Savo Milosevic rolled home a loose ball from a corner, after Emile Mpenza had opened the scoring for Belgium. Turkey continued to impress as they came back from a goal-down to defeat Croatia 2-1. The real story thus far was the poor form of Jamaica. They went into the game against Ukraine winless, and things got worse when they were dramatically defeated 2-1. Kurt Christensen had opened the scoring, and Jamaica had had the better chances and possession throughout, but quick fire headed goals by Sergei Konovalov in the 71st and 77th minute gave Ukraine a surprise victory. Greece was only able to manage a 1-1 draw with Uruguay. Switzerland was still going strong, despite the odd anxious moment. Their 4-2 win over Belgium was one of the most exciting of the Cup. Emile Mpenza opened the scoring in only the second minute, only for Laurent AABBCCBOB and Aaron Denyer strikes to give Switzerland the lead at half-time. Mpenza was coming into fine form, and levelled the scores in the 62nd minute. Assmaster gave Switzerland the lead, but the result was not secured until 2 minutes from time, when Rhys Lloyd, who was in fine playmaking form in midfield, laid on a goal for Cole Te Whiu. Yugoslavia and Croatia were starting to become tournament strugglers, and fought out a dull 0-0 draw. Belgium’s games were far from dull however, as they followed up the 6-goal thriller against the Swiss with a 2-2 draw against Turkey, Luis Oliveira the hero with an 87th minute equalizer. Jamaica was desperate for a win, and it seemed a certainty as they raced to a 3-0 win against Croatia after 21 minutes. However, a double by Igor Cvitanovic gave them heart palpitations, Jamaica eventually hanging on for a 3-2 win. Yugoslavia’s performances were less encouraging, as they became the next speed-bump on Switzerland’s road to glory, going down 2-0, although they did hold the Swiss out for 80 minutes before capitulating. Uruguay hit some impressive form with a comfortable 2-0 win over Turkey, Alvaro Recoba scoring both goals. Belgium deservedly scored their first win, a free flowing 3-2 effort against Ukraine, with the inform Emile Mpenza again getting on the scoresheet. Greece’s mediocre form continued as they played out a dreadful 0-0 draw with Croatia, which seemed a certainty for worst game of the tournament. Jamaica went into their game against Yugoslavia in big trouble. If they didn’t win it was likely they would need at least one victory over Switzerland or Greece to even make the play-offs. Things didn’t get off to a good start when Sinisa Mihajlovic curled in an unstoppable free kick in just the 5th minute. Nibblet Jones equalised 5 minutes later, and it seemed that Jamaica were going to experience another frustrating draw until 5 minutes from time when the unimaginable happened. Dragan Stojkovic had had an awful tournament in front of goal, and missed a late penalty against Croatia, but in the 85th minute he coolly placed a loose ball in the back of the net. Jamaica, to their credit, didn’t give up. They came with one final, desperate surge, and unsurprisingly it was Nibblet Jones who scored a dramatic late equalizer. Ukraine and Uruguay, two teams well in the hunt for a play-off placed, played in what promised to be an enthralling game. Andrei Shevchenko was in terrific form, scoring a double within the first 30 minutes. Daniel Fonseca pulled one back for Uruguay shortly after half time, giving them hope. However, the match was Ukraine’s in the 79th minute, when Oleg Luzhny surged forward to make the score 3-1, the final score. Switzerland beat Turkey 1-0 with Assmaster again on the score-sheet, and continued their run of winning all of their matches so far. Greece played Belgium, and was in need of a win to restore their flagging form and confidence. Arsenal and Martin Denyer scored goal either side of half-time in a solid 2-0 victory over Belgium, who were now all but out of the play-offs. Uruguay stormed up the table with consecutive 1-0 wins over Croatia and Yugoslavia, the two teams consigned to the bottom of the table. With these wins, Uruguay gave themselves the chance of finishing as high as second on the table. Ukraine on the other hand stuttered, going down 2-1 to Yugoslavia. Belgium were put out of their misery as they drew 0-0 with Croatia, who were alongside Yugoslavia probably the disappointment of the tournament. Yugoslavia, Croatia and Belgium were now all out of play-off contention. Ukraine, who had at one stage looked set for a top-3 finish, went up against Turkey, with the latter desperate for a win to all but assure themselves a place in the play-offs, and make it very difficult for Jamaica to get there. The Jamaican’s owed Ukraine a debt of gratitude, as a tense match finished 0-0. Now only Jamaica and Turkey were unsure of their fates, with Jamaica needing at least 2 points from its last 2 matches to finish in the top 5 and end Turkey’s hopes. So it came down to the final 3 matches between the 3 big guns, with Jamaica in the unfamiliar position of fighting for survival. They came up against a rejuvenated Swiss side who had swept aside all challenges are were way out in front in first place on the ladder. Only Greece had a slim chance of knocking them off their perch. At half time Jamaica had held the score line down to 0-0, but the game opened up in the second and goals from Dano Bob and Cole Te Whiu gave Switzerland a 2-0 victory. Jamaica now needed to beat Greece to make the play-offs, while Switzerland wrapped up the minor premiership. Greece needed at least 2 points to beat Uruguay into second place, although Greece were now certain to play Uruguay in the play-offs and the only remaining carrot to play for was to play this match in Greece. With neither side having a huge amount to play for, Switzerland Vs Greece was a high scoring thriller. Assmaster and Cole each had a first half double as Switzerland lead 4-0 and a record romp looked on the cards before Greece started on one of the great Konami Cup comebacks. First, Fabio Fatasskiss scored what looked a consolation goal right on half time. In the 65th minute Martin Denyer rolled the second past ‘keeper Tubby. 11 minutes later Fatasskiss set up Arsenal, and it was 4-3 with 14 to play. Switzerland managed to hold on and secure an exciting victory. |