Match report by Rahman
Supernatural. Thats one word to describe the day. There must be some kind of supernatural intervention on this day that the win seems to be magically imposed upon by a divine power. Why? For one the rain and gloominess that blanketed the Singapore island didnt bring itself to the Yishun pitch, at least during our game. Secondly, we had expected a strong team, but due to some unknown development(s), we found ourselves facing a rather loose-knit, inexperienced, yet determined team whom seem to be happy just to BE on the pitch, regardless of how well or positive their play. Thirdly, this game brought the core of the team together for the first time in a long while with the return of kelvin and iskandar. we won 4-2, and it was a gift in many ways.
A bonus to the team was that we had achieved this with the same players whom have been playing with the team since its reformation and reorganisation like Shahid, Mustaqium, Me, Kelvin, Karim, Iskandar, and Firul. Although we missed some players whom have added more strength and consistency to the team, this win was a tribute to many of us whom have given us their regular commitment and given us the extra edge we sorely need. Fazli, Wilson, Azman and Azmi though they were integrated later into the team, have no doubt showed the desire and willingness to get this second valuable win for this still very young team. How sweet it would be if only Azhari could have joined us to 'celebrate' our long-awaited victory. However, its as important to not get carried away by this win. A win is a good result, but playing well TOGETHER, even though in defeat, is an even better result.
Formation
The game started well enough, the first goal coming from a rather soft own goal following a corner kick from Fazli from the left. After that, the opponent lost shape and began to scamper around the field trying to close us down (and in a way, creating spaces for us to exploit). we gave them both long and short passes and they struggled to cope. Iskandar looked potent to score froma number of through passes from the centre of the field (note that a number of the through passes were from centre to centre, one from Rahman and one from a delightful pass from Azman that somehow found its way past the defence). Their midfield was totally non-existent, possibly being obliterated by our five -man midfield and overlapping centre back, Fazli and the fact that we played through the centre spoke volumes of how we controlled the first half. Iskandar finally found a way past the keeper with a strong run, before placing the ball at the corner, hitting off the far post. Good goal from a good run of play by our forward.
After this goal, the opponent collapsed. Shahid suffered an unfortunate ankle injury and was replaced by Rafeeq, while Rahman somehow injured his ankle (again) from a resulting 50-50 challenge in the opponents penalty box and was replaced by the already injured Shahid (he later declared that he was unable to carry on the 2nd half).
After a brief and rare attack by the opponent, the team launched a counter attack to unleash Farhan wide, stretching the defence, and in a moment of briliance shot from angle on target but not within the keeper's reach on the far post. It was 3-0. Minutes later, Farhan again came dashing in to meet a diagonal pass to slam in the fourth. 4-0 and soon, it was half time.
The second half saw the opponents adopt an ultra-defensive tactic specifically to frustrate us in their negative, sit back and defend the 4-0 deficit (if there is such a thing). They frustrated us and our team just did not know how to react, and we fell in their trap in attempting to launch our attacks via long balls behind the defence - attacks that they were happy to meet. Our attacks from the centre were blunted by their negative play, and our attacks start to penetrate from the right. Although Shafi did not have a good game, it was the charging and rampaging runs from our right back Mustaqium, that helped us penetrate the right, although not as effective as we would have liked. Crosses begin to come in from the right, and it wasnt until Farhan came on again on the 2nd half that we brought them scampering back yet again. However, it wasnt until the opposition nicked two goals against the run of play from a defensive mistake, and the second, due to space behind our defence, due to a high defensive line we choose to adopt.
In the end, although this game has shown us how far we had gone from our first days, it is still proof of yet the vast room for improvement we have as a team. WE DIDNT MANAGE THE CLEAN SHEET, AND WE DIDNT GET TO BREAK DOWN THEIR STOIC DEFENCE IN THE 2ND HALF. now thats something to ponder upon.