The second week of the 2023 E-League competition is officially complete, with both Brady Carr and Lachlan Neal playing four games of FIFA 23 against some of the best players in the country.
Facing last season’s champion DylanCampbell of Sydney FC on Tuesday night, it was a tough matchup for our youngster, Lachy. Taking an attitude of ‘I’m not going to make this easy for him’ into the match, Lachy had a tough first half, finding himself down at the break.
A positive second half saw him concede just once more in the match, with some serious work to be done. Unfortunately a late comeback was not quite on the cards, however our rookie did score twice against the reigning champion in the second match, the final score in the tie ending 10-2.
Coming up against NoahJa in the first F3 derby of the E-League season, confidence was high after his spirited performance last match.
Following a tight first half that saw no goals scored, NoahJa was able to quickly put two on the board to head into the second game with a 2-0 lead.
Determined to make the most of the second match Lachy demonstrated his ability, scoring twice and going close on multiple occasions. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough, going down 3-2 in that game and 5-2 overall.
Currently sitting at the bottom of the table, Lachy is keen to secure some victories and learn from the experience next week. He comes up against Perth Glory’s BoomFC and Western Sydney Wanderers’ Mark11.
Coming up against this year’s Path to E-League champion Mattbro27 of the Newcastle Jets, Brady was looking to continue the momentum from last week’s positive performance. Unfortunately for our Pro he conceded almost directly off kick off, needing to chase the game from that moment.
A second soon became a third as Mattbro27 continued to hit on the counter, with Brady regularly smacking the woodwork without quite finding the back of the net.
Heading into the second game 3-0 down our FIFA Pro begun to build into the match, winning a penalty with Jason Cummings. He opted to chip his penalty down the middle, with Newcastle’s goalkeeper reading the play before saving it.
Despite having chances to bring the scores closer it was the Newcastle Jets player who again pounced on the counter, scoring two unanswered goals to win the tie 5-0.
Drawn against Western Sydney’s Negede in the second match, it was a tight battle throughout. Our opponent scoring the first of the match before Brady hit straight back. The pair trading ‘Griddy’ celebrations in a hotly contested game.
With both keepers producing some remarkable saves, the first leg ended 1-all. Negede took control of the tie immediately after the kick off of the second leg, scoring twice in quick succession. A goal from Brady was then ruled out by another Negede goal, before out FIFA Pro got a second to draw the scores to 4-3 overall.
The second half was unfortunately a tale of missed chances, with Brady unable to find another goal. The match up ending 4-3, leaving him in tenth on three points.
Having played three of the top five players already, Brady will look to secure some more points next week. It doesn’t get any easier, taking on the third seeded Sadd from Western United. He will then play Wellington’s JMKKing.
