Match Week 8 was certainly one to remember as Group D provided plenty of entertainment while bringing the FC Pro Open’s Group Stage to a close.
Levi De Weerd and Obrun earned the all-important places in the Quarter Finals, but there were also valuable lessons for Tekkz, Fouma and The1OS to take from the evening’s action.
Serious threat
Whoever won the Group of Death was always going to receive plaudits, so Levi De Weerd doing it with time to spare was a real statement. The Dutchman showed his intent with a composed performance and 5-2 win against Fouma in the opener, with an outrageous Alexia Putellas trivela standing out.
He then overcame the persistence of Obrun to earn a 5-4 win and confidently went on to defeat The1OS. While a defeat in the closing match denied the Team Gullit player the FC Pro Open points record, it doesn’t detract from his superb work over Match Weeks 4 and 8.
The massive shout let out when Levi De Weerd’s place in the Quarter Finals was confirmed showed how much this means to him. With that mix of desire and the composure shown throughout, the main lesson for competitors on February 3 is that Levi De Weerd can be a serious threat.
Comeback king
Obrun celebrated his birthday by securing a place in the Quarter Finals, but while there were a couple of gifts from The1OS in the Italian’s opening win, he had to battle his way through the rest of Match Week 8.
Obrun proved that he never gives up, as he even scored four equalisers before eventually succumbing to a 5-4 loss against group leader Levi De Weerd. After that near miss, it would have been easy for the Hellas Verona player’s head to drop when a resurgent Tekkz took the lead, but he scored either side of half time and went on to draw 3-3.
That left Obrun with a deciding match against Fouma. It was just the two equalisers that he had to score on this occasion, before responding to one from the Frenchman with a Mia Hamm strike in the 85th minute to earn all three points - even though he only needed one to progress. All of that not only shows Obrun’s skill, but also his ability to come through tight and tense situations to get the result needed.
Tekkz’s redemption
Tekkz may not have qualified for the Quarter Finals, but having scored 10 goals in the entirety of Match Week 4, he blew The1OS away to ruthlessly earn a 9-0 victory during his opening game this time around.
That incredible performance and result was followed by another superb display in a 6-2 victory over Fouma despite being the player to concede first. A sign of his determination came when he conceded an unlucky penalty with Virgil van Dijk and responded by scoring a bicycle kick with the Dutchman soon after.
A draw against Obrun confirmed that Tekkz wouldn’t make it through, but he still went on to beat Levi De Weerd and maintain an unbeaten record in Match Week 8. Had it not been for the disastrous results in Match Week 4, Tekkz would have been battling with the best on February 3.
Managing your mentality
Fouma looked unsettled at times during his opening two matches of the Match Week, going on to lose 5-2 and 6-2 against Levi De Weerd and Tekkz respectively. Even with the pair being the most impressive on the day, it wasn’t the best start for the Frenchman.
He looked more composed against The1OS and scored a trivela to make the score 3-3 before going on to add three more goals and secure his only win of the evening. That set up a match against Obrun that was all-or-nothing for the Lorient player, but he was the one making more mistakes and lost 4-3.
In Match Week 4, Fouma proved that he can pose a challenge for anyone when he’s at his best, but he seemed to struggle mentally at times in Match Week 8, something that players at this level can’t afford.
Tough at the top
The1OS looked completely deflated towards the end of a 9-0 defeat in his first game of the Match Week, and while things certainly didn’t get any worse than that, they also didn’t get much better.
The Twisted Minds player followed that result up with a 5-1, 6-3 and 6-1 defeat to finish bottom of the group. The main lesson will likely be how important small margins are at this level, as he had a mistake punished by both Tekkz and Obrun.
Looking at potential positives, there will be an understanding that things aren’t going to get much more difficult than this. It was always going to be hard for somebody with The1OS' lack of experience at the very top level to progress through the group of death, and he can at least reminisce on beating Obrun and drawing against Tekkz in Match Week 4.
