SPIELVERLAUF (Basketball oder Fußball)
die Medien kommentieren/übertragen ein Spiel = the opening game/round served up contrasting fortunes; the action was closely contested; the game rocketed to a brilliant start; team recaptures/reclaims/expands its/their lead; team pulled away/raced (out) to a lead; it’s a run-and-gun game; squad favors a goosey loosey game style as opposed to tactical discipline; they managed to close/cut/diminish/ narrow/tighten/slash/winnow down the gap; team manages to erase deficit; squad went ahead to stay after a 2-goal/10-point run; 12 unanswered points/2 goals puts team in charge/early command; team gained some breathing room after scoring its first goal; they didn’t let the game/match slip; a poor beginning in the second half killed off/dashed any hopes of a revival; team overcomes a sluggish/wobbly start/ sleepy first-half and blows the game open; it’s a game rich with sub-plots; team is showing plenty of hustle on defense/is applying some defensive clamps on the opponent; the revved-up crowd rallies the home team; order was restored (i.e. team has confortable edge again); team needs to pick up the pace; class prevailed as team lifted several gears to dictate the rhythm of the match with (name player) as the driving force; team regrouped at the interval; this is a blow by blow (i.e. detailed) description of the game; the glamour team was toppled from first place/the league perch; the clash petered out to a draw; there was too much blue-collar action (i.e. game was dull/sloppy/ blah); play/action was careless/disinterested/sloppy; game was over before the superstars got going; they orchestrated a dismantling/ demolition of (name opponent)
Mannschaft lässt sich durch den frühen 0-1 Rückstand nicht beirren = team wasn’t rattled by opponent’s early goal
das Spiel hat/hatte es in sich = a thrilling/grandstand finish/ending looms; this is a thriller/a nailbiter/a real whodunit/a drama-filled game; it’s crunch/clutch time now; this is definitely a hell/heck of a game; game had a wild/frenzied/surreal finish/ending; game turned into a white-knuckler; game is still on the line/hanging in the balance; there is a lot riding on the game/at stake; it’s one of these thrill-a-minute/ late-drama/down-to-the-wire/heart-thumping/ nerve-racking games; it was pure heartbreak; when the chips were down it is as good as it can get; it’s big time/ riveting entertainment; the late goal set up the game-ending fireworks; it was a highly entertaining game; this game is/was for the record (books)/off the charts; the game looked a treat; the game lived up to the billing/hype
in den letzten Sekunden kam Mannschaft nicht mehr zum Wurf = team couldn’t get off a shot/get a shot away in the dying seconds of the game
jetzt wird es/das Spiel spannend/packend = game is now going down to the wire; it’s a late-game nailbiter; they went toe-to-toe right down to a tense finish
Spiel steht auf Messers Schneide = it’s a nip and tuck/touch and go game; game is on the line/on a razor’s edge; it was a thrilling/a dramatic/ an enthralling/a jaw-dropping final in a tension-filled atmosphere; game had everybody on the edge of their seats (till the very end)
Spiel war auf Augenhöhe, wird dann zur Hängepartie = game turned into a cliffhanger as both teams had gone toe-to-toe/were neck and neck for four quarters; it’s a gut-wrenching/ heartstopping finish; the tennis players were neck and neck in the fifth set at 5-5 in the tiebreak; it was a down-to-the-wire finish
Spiel droht zu kippen = game was at tipping point; that great move was the play that swung the momentum of the game; it was a huge momentum boost and we fed off it; it was an eye-popping/eye-glazing move/the exclamation point of the game
die Schlussphase hatte es in sich; Krimi in der Schlussphase = it was an insane/a wild finish to a wild/wacky game; favored team gets pipped at the line; the last-second play flipped the script; game had a white knuckle finish/final possession; team gets last laugh
in den Schlussminuten hat die Mannschaft gekämpft was das Zeug hält = team goes for broke/all in/fights like hell in the late stages of the game; at the end team had to sweat out/face tense moments
es werden 5 Minuten nachgespielt = five minutes injury/stoppage time were added/given by the referee
das war der Lucky Punch = (That was) the dagger/the haymaker/the final punch/the capper!; player just delivered the knockout punch; player’s 11th hour/last second heroics give team a victory; player scores the last-gasp winner; player dealt opponent a last-minute one-two punch; that goal/shot at the buzzer was the nail in the coffin; that was a last-ditch goal/basket; team hits the lead with just 3 minutes left; team steals win in the final minutes; that was the dagger late goal; that was the cracker (a last-minute goal/soccer) that saved the day; Will they be able to sneak it (e.d. score that elusive last-minute goal?
ein sportlicher Leckerbissen steht heute Nachmittag an = a mouth-watering encore/a marquee/blockbuster matchup between the league’s two top teams takes place this afternoon
(zwei Mannschaften) treffen heute Abend aufeinander = (name both teams) face off/square off tonight; squad goes head-to-head with (opponent); side does/takes battle with (other team)
heute geht es um die Wurst = it’s a do-or-die/must-win game; it’s the be-all-and-end-all game; it’s for all the marbles; team mustered the energy and came up with a heightened sense of urgency
zunächst tasten sich beide Mannschaften ab = the beginning of the game was kind of a feel-out
am Anfang zeigt Mannschaft zu viel Respekt vor dem Gegner = in the initial minutes team was in awe of their opponent/the setting and was very jittery
Spieler/die Jungs zeigen gute Ansätze = they/players/guys/boys showed some good moves
zeitliche Abfolge eines Spiels = down the stretch, early on, midway through the first half, late in the first half; late in the game; in the early/ late stages of the game
pieler bekommt rote Karte nachdem gerade 2 Minuten verstrichen sind = all of about two minutes into the game, player is ejected from the field/floor for a vicious foul
es war ein kampfbetontes/umkämpftes/hitziges Spiel, es ging hin und her = it was a rugged win; game was chippy/frantic/ugly; game was a dogfight/a gruesome grind; it was a scrappy/herky jerky match with wild ebbs and flows
es war ein schnörkelloses Spiel = it was a no-frills match
Mannschaft kann nicht mithalten = team cannot keep up with the opponent; squad lacks the necessary firepower to stay with (other team)
Mannschaft setzt sich (bald/sofort) ab= team starts on the front foot and jumps out to a comfortable lead; team is up big; team pulled away /grabbed complete control of the game in the second half/third quarter; that marvelous move/play opened the floodgates; team then stayed ahead for good, did not relinquish the lead; team prevented opponent from mounting/making a serious challenge; team got in front early and never were really threatened the rest of the way
fast hätten wir noch das Spiel noch aus der Hand gegeben = team builds big lead but barely hang on down the stretch for the win
in der Schlussphase wird das Ergebnis/Spiel nur noch verwaltet; Spieler schinden Zeit = we sort of calmed the game down/cooled off in the fourth quarter/in the end of the second half; during the last 5 minutes team coasts/cruises to maintain the lead; close to the end players start to dribble out the clock/burn a lot of clock; in the waning minutes players milked/ran down/managed the clock
es war tote Hose/ein langweiliges Spiel = game was actually plain vanilla style/grinding tedium/slow beat; game turned into a snoozer; (team) slept through win; it was a yawner/sloppy/lame game; there was no uptempo
dieses Spiel war eine Zumutung für die Zuschauer = this game was the pits/bad news/ a pain for the spectators
es war ein sehr foulbetontes Spiel = match was a chippy game/an ugly game/a foul-choked match
die erste Halbzeit war kräftezehrend = the first half was a grind-out
nach einem frühen Gegentor wirft die Fußballmannschaft alles in die Waagschale, kann aber letztendlich den Ausgleich nicht erzielen = after conceding an early goal football team throw/s everything but the kitchen sink (also throw the kitchen sink) at opponent but were unable to find a breakthrough/to score the equalizer
Mannschaft gleicht doch aus, Spiel ist wieder offen = team pulls even/evens up/ties the score; with the equalizer the game was busted/broken wide open
jetzt ist Spannung im Spiel = all of a sudden a sleeper of a game turns into a heart-pounder
das Spiel droht zu kippen = equalizing goal was the turning/tipping moment; the goal by the opponent halted our momentum
es war ein umkämpftes/flottes Spiel = it was nip and tuck from the get-go; game seasawed back and forth; game had many twists and turns/lead changes; it was a high-tempo game; it was a match soaked in intensity; it was an absorbing game; both teams were scratching and clawing; ball movement was snappy
der Mannschaft fehlt einfach die Konstanz = too much erratic/volatile play: they exceled in one half/quarter, stalled in the next; team needs to get in sync consistently
Mannschaft bleibt dran/hält dagegen = team wouldn't let opponent get away/pull away; squad tries to stay within shouting distance/ within arm’s reach; opponent wouldn’t go away easily/would never quit; it was an even game as neither team budged through three quarters; team manages to hang around; opponent is used to playing the long game
er wurde zum tragischen Held/zum Prügelknaben (übrigens: GOAT oder G. O. A. T, ein Akronym für den Größten aller Zeiten, wie z. B. einen Boxer, einen Fußballer, einen Basketball- oder Tennisspieler usw. hat eine positive Bedeutung) = although player scored two goals in the closing minutes he missed the deciding penalty shot that would have won the game, so player went from hero to goat (by the way: GOAT or G. O. A. T, an acronym for the Greatest Of All Time, such as a boxer, a footballer, a basketball or a tennis player, etc has a positive connotation)
das war ein Arbeitssieg = that was a grind-it-out game; they (opponent) gave us all we could handle
kurz vor Spielende versucht Spieler mit Verzweiflungswürfen (beim Basketball) zu treffen = player throws a prayer/Hail Mary/a desperate last-minute shot
wir sind enttäuscht, weil es am Ende doch nicht gereicht hat = it was oh-so-close, but for us it was a disappointing end
Mannschaft lässt sich vom komfortablen Vorsprung leicht blenden, am Ende wird es zur Riesenpleite = team was seemingly on cruise control (had big lead)/it was fool’s gold (i.e. illusion) as team led by many points in the beginning, but then ended up losing big time
nicht das erste Mal, dass wir nach großem Vorsprung das Spiel wieder vergeigen = ghost of blown leads past is starting to hover over the (team); team is being weighed down/dragged down by the burden of history; team has blown several double-digit leads this season
diesmal haben wir Glück/Schwein gehabt, weil sich der beste Spieler während des Spiels verletzt hat = this time around we sort of caught a break when their best player got injured during the game
letzten Monat haben wir schon gegen diesen Gegner verloren, jetzt passiert es wieder = game was almost a carbon copy of last month’s game when they beat us
diesmal ist es ein ganz anderes Spiel = this time around the match between those two squads was the mirror opposite of last month’s game
das war ein abgekartetes Spiel (d.h. Mannschaft hat absichtlich/extra verloren) = team seems to be tanking (i.e. loses game on purpose); the game was rigged; that was a put-up game; coach didn’t line up best players intentionally in order to gain an advantage in the playoffs/in the draft (to get the best college players)
das war nicht Fairplay/ein Ablenkungsmanöver = that was gamesmanship, i.e. team makes intentional mistakes to win (or lose) the game
das Spiel wird analysiert = experts break down game/players performance
Spiel fällt aus, wird später nachgeholt = game gets rained out/postponed; blizzard wipes out game; adjourned game will be resceduled/ made up at a later date
wegen höherer Gewalt fällt Spiel aus = game was postponed due to unforeseen circumstances/an Act of God
Mannschaft muss noch zwei Spiele nachholen = team still has two games in hand
nächsten Donnerstag findet ein Nachholspiel statt = a makeup/catchup game has been scheduled for next Thursday
