We’ve already written about The Bulls Team and YNG SKiLLZ in the VPL Poland Summer League. Now it’s time to turn our attention to the final partner in this competition: The Separatists. As for their predecessors, we can speak of them in the highest terms. The Bulls Team are top of the table, with YNG SKiLLZ not far behind them. As for The Separatists’ players, however, their form is far from ideal, and their fans have little cause for celebration. We believe, however, that this is a long-term project, as more than one team would have called it a day after such results.
Things are looking grim…
We’d love to write nothing but good things about our partners, but sometimes it’s just not possible. We hope you’ll forgive us. After seven matches, The Separatists have recorded neither a single draw nor a single win, resulting in a record of 0-0-7. Hello, James Bond? In just seven matches, our partner have had to fish the ball out of the net 26 times. Despite this team’s poor results, we can see a glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel. This is because most of their poor goal difference stems from matches against The Bulls Team and GSK Esport. Let’s not kid ourselves: at the moment, The Separatists simply aren’t capable of competing with teams like these.
Any win against rivals such as GSK Esport would be considered a surprise – and, in our opinion, rightly so. That’s what team-building is all about: learning from defeats. We mentioned a light at the end of the tunnel – what does that light look like? We can look back at the early matches in this league, where our partner lost 2–3 to MF Killers. Then came the match against FC Shadow Stars, which also ended in a narrow 1–2 defeat. In the third round, they faced OM3N eSports, a fairly consistent side. That match ended 0–1.
In the match against MF Killers, neither goalkeeper had a good game – every shot on target found the net – but ultimately it was our partner’s goalkeeper who had the worse game. Although, it’s worth noting that perhaps the shots taken by MF Killers were simply unstoppable anyway. In any case, it’s often the case that a good defensive performance isn’t down to the goalkeeper alone, but to the entire back line.
- 2–3 vs. MF Killers (A.)
- 1:2 vs. FC Shadow Stars (A.)
- 0:1 vs. OM3N eSports (H.)
The Separatists’ goalkeeper (H11_Shaqe) probably put in his best performance of the opening rounds against OM3N eSports. He managed to make two saves, and on one occasion had to fish the ball out of the net. Had it not been for him and the defence’s improved performance, the scoreline would probably have been much higher.
0–7
Unfortunately, we’re not referring to their current 0-7 record, but to the result of the match against The Bulls Team. The match gave the impression that only one team was playing – and by that we mean The Bulls Team, who were constantly on the attack. If we’ve understood the match statistics correctly, the goalkeeper made six saves for The Separatists. He had to fish the ball out of the net one more time. It’s scary to think what might have happened if the goalkeeper had performed a little worse. We’d probably be looking at a double-digit scoreline.
- 0–7 vs. The Bulls Team (W.)
Another close encounter
If we were to compare the goalkeepers’ performances and their saves, our opponents’ goalkeeper was definitely the better of the two. In terms of saves, as he made three, whilst our opponents were simply pulling the ball out of the net. Unfortunately, football – even the electronic version – is a team sport, and a goalkeeper alone cannot win a match single-handedly. Iron Ravens created more chances, which is why they won the match 2–1. Rafał Ferenc scored the Vultures’ only goal.
- 1–2 vs. Iron Ravens (D.)
Ah shit…
One might be tempted to finish that with “here we go again”. If only we didn’t know the calibre of our opponents. GSK Esport ran roughshod over our partner team at home, winning 5–1. The sole goal for our partner team was scored by Lukas Yoshida (X3PL). This time, the Vultures’ goalkeeper made two saves. In the next match, The Separatists hosted Casual Kickers at home. The result was another hockey-style scoreline, this time a 2–6 defeat. The goals for The Separatists were scored by Rafał Ferenc and Ksawery Klich. The goalkeeper made three successful saves.
- 1–5 vs. GSK Esport (A.)
- 2–6 vs. Casual Kickers (H.)
What are we to make of The Separatists?
To be honest, we’re not sure how to answer that. On the one hand, The Separatists are playing poorly and below their potential. On the other hand, the ‘main season’ is over and it seems not everyone is putting in the same level of effort as they did during the middle or start of the season. However, in a way, the end of the season can be seen as preparation for the new one, even though the gameplay usually changes completely in the new version of the game. It’s in tournaments like these that you can build your squad, boost morale and test out new strategies.
It’s hard to say much more about where The Separatists’ problems stem from. The team is underperforming, and unfortunately not just in this league. I suppose all we can do is keep our fingers crossed that something will change in the new season and the team will come back with a fresh, new mindset, so that we can start writing about The Separatists in superlatives. Admittedly, at first glance, the goalkeeping statistics give cause for optimism, but on the other hand, if the opposition team dominates for the most part, it’s hardly surprising.
Upcoming matches
Tomorrow at 20:40, they’ll face Spirit.us. At 21:10, they’ll host Elektryczni Esport. The first of these matches will be played at our partner’s home ground, whilst the match against Elektryczni Esport will be an away fixture. Let’s not kid ourselves – in both cases, the opposition are the favourites. We’re keeping our fingers crossed, though, that they’ll break this run of poor form, because once they get a win or a draw, things should go smoothly from there.
- Tomorrow 20:40 vs. Spirit.us (H.)
- Tomorrow 21:10 vs. Elektryczni Esport (A.)
The Separatists (Facebook — x.com)
Sources:
https://www.virtualproleague.com/portal/en/championship/11vs11/2674/table
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