IGDWC: Galaxy on Fire 3D (Germany) vs Seed of Salvation (Serbia)

GERMANY Galaxy on Fire 3D (Fishlabs)

VS SERBIA Seed of Salvation (Fugitive Steak)

The Germans were smarting. Australia’s Real Racing had run the Teutons over in devastating fashion last Sunday night, and the three-times footie world champion was looking for payback.

Serbia, in contrast, had enjoyed an opening round win, courtesy of, appropriately enough, Magnetic Sports Soccer. To add further spice to the story, the developer Fugitive Steak had itself been a last minute inclusion in the Serbian squad following an unfortunate injury elsewhere.

Whilst many had considered it a gamble, its training ground performances afforded it a second bite at a Group D cherry and hence, after several hours of discussion, the Serbs' labyrinthine puzzler, Seed of Salvation, was chosen to take on the Germans today.

Mindful of that humbling reverse in its opening game, Germany bowed to public pressure and selected arguably its trump card, epic space-shooter Galaxy on Fire 3D.

Now was the time to step up and be counted, but could Fishlab's hot seed pip the Serbian puzzler?

Kick Off: 12.30pm, 18th June

The critical view: Keen to impose themselves from the off, Germany set about the task at hand with considerable aplomb, the 10 unique, outfield spaceships producing some delightfully intricate interplay across the park and constantly finding teammates in plenty of space.

Trading one-two combinations down both flanks for extra points, Galaxy on Fire continued to soar through the first 15 minutes and soon notched an opener, headed home by mercenary pilot and stand-in wideman Keith Maxwell. Keen to press home their advantage, the German barrage showed no sign of letting up and only Serbia’s impressive force fields prevented the intergalactic onslaught turning into a rout.

The frantic pace couldn't be maintained forever though and, having endured the opening aggression, Seed of Salvation’s nicely balanced touch and tilt control in central midfield finally began to wrest back the initiative and pose some problems of their own.

At 1-0 it was still very much anyone's game and, unsurprisingly, given the context of the game, pressure began to mount on the German side. Despite a dazzling array of weapons, they simply weren't able to get forward and muster a clear shot on target – Seed of Salvation's 29 levels providing enough of a bulwark. If anything, it looked like the next goal would come from a Serbian shirt.

With the initial impetus lost, the Galaxy on Fire manager decided to take drastic action, trading the starting right wingman for a jet-heeled full-back. Switching their positions reaped immediate rewards, as the big German captain pounced at the near post to give one very relieved nation a two goal cushion at the break.

Half time: Germany 2 – 0 Serbia The Fans’ 45: Noses comfortably in front and forces regrouped, most pundits expected the Galaxy squadron to push on in the second half. However, this view reckoned without the Serbian coach's half time hairdryer, which by all accounts must have been sufficient to send a shiver down even Sir Alex Ferguson's spine.

Spurred into life by the manager's fury and backed by the kind of partisan crowd normally reserved for an X-Factor audition, Serbia's mazy dribblers seemed able to avoid all obstacles in their path as they broke through Fishlabs' formation at will.

It surprised no-one but the German keeper when the Galaxy net bulged just five minutes in and this was rapidly followed by a sublime equaliser, as the Serbians poured forward with renewed belief.

By contrast, Fishlabs' charges looked increasingly nervous and with little fan support to bolster confidence they never came close to setting their own laser-sights on target, descending instead into increasingly desperate rearguard action. As the defending team withdrew deeper into space, Fugitive Steak sensed their opportunity and, roared on by an increasingly boisterous crowd, slid a low ball past a despairing dive to take the lead. The German heads had now well and truly dropped and in truth it was only the final whistle that prevented a greater margin of victory for a resurgent Seed of Salvation.

The Kaisers paid the penalty for complacency in failing to properly rouse support and the unthinkable shock of the group stages had occurred. With two defeats and one game to play, Germany were as good as eliminated.

Full time: Germany 2 – 3 Serbia Latest Group Tables - Fixtures & Voting - Squads

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