It didn’t take those of us stuck in the muggy Sunday evening air very long to realize the defending champs FK Wurst wouldn’t be breathing easy.

Instead, it was C1 rivals FC Hollywood who jumped to an early 3-0 lead on a string of sleepy plays in the game’s early going. Wurst would finally cut into that lead after Darius Tse converted a penalty shot. Teammate Daniel Alfonzetti nearly added another minutes later after literally tumbling into the crease and somehow willing the ball past the goal line. The goal was disallowed and Wurst returned to their bench down 3-1 at the half.

Much like the gathering storm clouds, a fair amount of trash talking augured for a far more sour and chippy second half. With Wurst unable to keep their strikes low and on target, and Hollywood failing to put the game away, it was Tse who would narrow the score to 3-2 with a redirected shot in close, his second of the game. Giuliano Verrelli’s shot off the crossbar would have proved the golden opportunity for Wurst to grab the momentum, but it proved to be a turning point instead as Hollywood striker Olivier Bicari was left completely alone behind two defenders in the ensuing scramble, eventually chipping the ball over the sprawling (and visibly irate) keeper. Deflated, Wurst would give up several more goals on questionable defense, including a pretty back-and-forth play in tight between Vincent Trevisano and Estevan Carvajal.

“A tough loss,” is how captain Tse would later describe it. FK Wurst drop to fourth place in the C1 Division, while Hollywood plays runner-up to undefeated Compulsive Calcio. “Basically, no one really felt up to it because of the weather. We lost due to a lack of communication on the field.”

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