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| Trotters promoted after play-off win |
Wondering Trotters seven season absence from top flight ended yesterday evening after a nail-biting penalty shoot-out victory over Spor Progresso. With the match level at one each after the normal 90 minutes and a lack of further goals in extra-time, the Trotters prevailed 9-8 in the shoot-out, Tadeo Lucci hitting the back of the net after Pedro Delgado had missed for Progresso.
'I'll be honest, I think we got lucky last night. They lost their 'keeper to an injury in the final regular match and we were able to take advantage of that in setting our tactics. The all-rounder they put in goal did a good job in the ninety minutes, but when it came to penalties I don't think either 'keeper particularly impressed. I don't see how anyone can argue against that when 17 in a row end up in the net! The 'keeper they missed had the cool SQ and I think they'd have gone through without the injury. That said, we've had bad luck at times recently, and it was good to see things go our way when it really mattered!'
The season was a massive turn-around for the Trotters, who found themselves deep in relegation trouble after just two points from the opening five games. A massive turn around saw the club move up the table after dropping just a further four points for the rest of the season. A thrilling victory 2-1 on the last day against My Boys saw the Trotters jump from fourth to second to earn the play-off spot, culminating in Lucci's winning penalty.
'Looking forward to next season, we know it's going to be tough. We'll have one of the weaker starting elevens and our main priority will be to avoid relegation. If we can finish near the top it would be fantastic but I can't see it happening. Often I'd look to sell one of the older players to raised funds but I can't do that this time - we need all the strength we can get to compete. One of the youngsters double jumped, so we'll be cashing in that way instead. My main concern is in the goalkeeping department - I'm delighted to see Taylor Gritt will be with us for at least another two season, but once he goes we're in serious trouble. Current understudy Paulo Aponte is simply not up to standard.'
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