The week wouldn’t be complete without a managerial duel with Australian football legend Mark Bosnich.

Bozza is without a win so far but will be looking to amend that this week having only grabbed a point from the first two rounds of our Football Manager 2016 simulator series.

Both teams set up in a similar shape, with The Football Sack operating with a slightly more defensive midfield to combat Bozza’s usual attack minded trio. Here’s how they set up:

The Football Sack

Bozza’s Marvelous Men

The Football Sack had a firm grip on the first half. Ben Kantarovski was shielding his back four excellently, winning the ball from anybody who dared move towards him and allowing his midfield control of the game.

But the Sack’s attack failed to deliver. Gui Finkler and Andreu Guerao teed-up their forward line time after time but they failed to convert their chances.

Brendon Santalab and Sidnei each missed two golden opportunities in the opening half an hour.

Bozza’s side would make them pay for their wastefulness on the 40 minute mark.

The Marvelous Men found plenty of space after breaking from a Football Sack corner and Mooy was finally given time to pick a pass to Jamie Maclaren.

He was played in behind the Sack’s defence and wouldn’t miss the resulting one-on-one with Danny Vukovic.

But the Marvelous Men’s shock lead wouldn’t last too long as they conceded straight from the kick-off.

They surely must have been distracted by their manager’s over the top celebrations on the side line as they allowed Finkler to ghost his way towards the edge of the box and slam one home from distance.

The second half would follow a similar pattern to the first as The Football Sack controlled proceedings but couldn’t put the game to bed.

Finkler tested Mark Birighitti again from range, Sidnei had a free header at goal and Santalab should have done better with a cut back.

The Sack would rue their missed chances.

Bozza’s team hadn’t had too much of the ball but they looked dangerous on the counter and unlike their opponents, they made their chances count.

With just five minutes left to play, Jamie Maclaren was played into the box. His shot was well saved by Vukovic but he was helpless to stop Mitch Nichols tapping in the rebound.

Despite having most the play, The Football Sack walked away with nothing as Bozza’s side held out until the final whistle to claim a true smash and grab victory.

Standings

The Marvelous Men picked up their first three points of the competition with an unlikely 2-1 win. But a win’s a win. If you listen close enough you can hear Bozza cackling in the distance…

The Football Sack P3 W1 D1 L1
Mark Bosnich P3 W1 D1 L1