Jethro Shines in MD12 against FC Istanbul
By: Drew Peacock
After the magic of the cup wore off, both the hosts, FC Istanbul, and the visitors, Zagreb NK, found themselves needing to right the wrongs of the previous match day. In match day 11, Zagreb stumbled against a very compact FC Berlin, unable to break the deadlock, while Istanbul got torn apart by cup winners London. The match saw the captaincy of the club change hands from Muka Lodric to Sami Bohoum. With this change came a new lineup, one with an emphasis on the wider areas, replacing the 4-3-1-2 with a 4-2-1-3. Zagreb also altered their emphasis in this match, keeping the same starters but instead of a 3-4-1-2, they came out in a back 4; 4-1-2-3, returning to the set-up that was used in previous seasons.
The game started with both sides feeling each other out, working the ball around the pitch. The first opportunity came to Muka Lodric, as he broke through the normally very stout back line for Zagreb. He took several dribbles before taking his chance, and unfortunately for his home fans, his shot was well wide of the goal. Ten minutes later, some early heroics from Istanbul's defense as they blocked shots from Pepe Lozano and Henry Kamel helped keep the scores level early on. Another chance for the Turkish attack came as Harry Mahon was able to shoot at goal, which was deflected by Aki PawPaw, which made the save more difficult for Owen Majmunovic, but he put it out of play for a corner.
Then the Jethro scoring clinic began. In the 36th minute, Zagreb captain Scooter Mcgavin, playing as a central midfielder today, created a turnover in Istanbul's half and found Marcus Neagu streaking towards their box. He held the ball up against two defenders exceptionally and was able to send a cross into the box, into the path of Jethro, who headed it home; Zagreb takes the lead. Just moments later, Jethro would find the net a second time. Majmunovic played a long ball up to Jethro, who headed it down for Neagu who flicked it behind to Henry Kamel. After their 1, 2, buckle my shoe, Neagu set up Jethro for a first-time shot from outside the box, and he took it perfectly to give the visitors a two-goal lead. Jethro was able to complete his hat-trick just before halftime. A quick counter saw Jethro, Kamel, and Scooter streaking towards goal, and Scooter's final through ball gave Jethro enough space to give Zagreb a comfortable three-goal lead into the break.
The hosts came out of halftime with a much greater emphasis on getting something from the match. Unfortunately for them, Jethro was not done scoring yet. Substitute Alexei Alpha played Jethro in behind the defense, and he claimed his fourth goal. This one would complete the perfect hat-trick as he scored with his head, his left (twice) and now his right. Amidst the celebrations, Istanbul was able to score one for themselves. In the most blatant kick-off glitch in the history of the league, Istanbul were able to one-touch pass & dribble through the Zagreb defense like never before, with substitute Danny Optic being left perfectly unmarked just in time for the consolation goal.
The game would end with the score staying at 1-4, with Jethro taking home man-of-the-match honors. Zagreb's firepower tonight helps keep pace with the league leaders, as their 26 points from 12 matches played are good enough for 2nd, one point behind Vienna (who have yet to play this MD). Credit to the hosts and captain Sami Bohoum for putting forth a strong effort against one of the top clubs in the league.
