When the C1 Division Boxing Day stunner was all said and done, FC Croatia made sure to heap all the negative praise into its corner.

“I must start but saying that our opponents did not beat us but we beat ourselves,” declared captain Marko Tokic in the wake of a bruising 5-4 defeat to the down-and-out Rangers FC. “We made incredible defensive mistakes and I must emphasize INCREDIBLE with capital letters. They were capable of capitalizing on these errors and countered flawlessly.”

Croatia’s first loss of the winter campaign – rationalized by Tokic as inevitable given the team’s numerous injuries – has left the squad two points shy of Jagwars in a very competitive C1 Division.

For the dead-last Rangers, meanwhile, the victory will provide some much-needed consolation for a rookie side still struggling with chemistry and an abysmal minus-33 goal differential, among the worst in Totalcampo. “I wouldn’t say last game was a turning point, but we are definitely going to build on this victory for the next games,” explains Barthélemy Aucourt. “As captain, I am very proud of my team. Despite our poor results, we (show up for) every game, always motivated and eager to do better.”

POTG: Although singling out Jawad Tahiri’s two-goal performance, Barthélemy insists his Rangers’ first win of the season should go down as a concerted team effort.

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