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| Cup exit and league stall for VNU |
Viking North Utsire came within an ace of going the whole of February undefeated, but after shipping a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 away at Cricket Utd last week they went one worse this past Monday by seeing a 1-0 lead end up as a 3-1 defeat.
It was VNU's first loss since the last day of January and came, coincidentally, on the last day of February. In an absurdly tight Division 1a, it dropped them three places to 5th, where they now sit equidistant at two points away from both the top and bottom of the table.
For a team who had lost just once this year and only four times in total since last August, there was a further jolt in shock however come Friday. Meeting a team as strong as Cornish Celts this early in the competition was bad luck, but a booking on Monday also saw key midfielder Ulrik Klovning suspended for the first time in his long career -- in his 19 previous seasons before this one he had picked up just 9 yellow cards in total, but had now added 3 more in just 11 games this term.
Even with a penalty miss from Eamon Poppe after half an hour the Celts still had far too much in the tank for Viking, Poppe redeeming himself by scoring just after the hour and one of the Cornish Reynolds clan, Ian, netting the clincher.
For a VNU side who reached the semi-finals last season it is a bit of a comedown. Silver linings, though: the sixth-round draw would've pitted them against the defending holders Compass Rose! All attention instead returns to the league, where VelvetAndroid's team are next at home to FC Dinamo Bucuresti.
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