Paysafe had the worst possible start to the Fintech Football Championships as Player/Manager Piers Smith was ruled out with a late ankle injury. Things then went from bad to worse, as SaltPay captain Josiah Senu won the pre-game rock, paper, scissors contest, forcing the Paysafe team to adorn the dreaded yellow bibs.
If the Paysafe team were affected by Smith’s late withdrawal, it certainly didn’t show in the opening exchanges. They raced into a commanding 3-0 lead thanks to some expansive attacking football, with the forward diamond of McGran, Berkley and Price looking particularly dangerous.
After the shock of conceding 3 early goals, the SaltPay team slowly started putting their passes together and began to cause some problems for the Paysafe backline. The game turned just before halftime, when the impressive Miguel Eusebio and Aleksander Naperieraj struck in the quick succession just before the break to leave the game delicately poised at 3-2.
SaltPay now had all of the momentum and without the calming influence of Smith for Paysafe, there was a general feeling in the ground that SaltPay would go on to complete a memorable comeback. However, Rajan Bains grabbed another goal for Paysafe early in the second half and that seemed to take the wind out of the SaltPay sails. The teams went on to share another couple of goals and Paysafe ran out 5-3 winners. A good game and both teams will feel confident of making an impact in the league this season
Final Score: Paysafe 5 vs 3 SaltPay
Man of the Match: Miguel Eusebio