match32: 30 Nov 08 vs. white-adidas-shirted team @ Yishun 2-0 win

Wilson (GK)

Shafi - Akim - Fazli - Karim

Omar - Helmi - Joharie - Farhan

Rafeeq

Syaifudean

Subs:
Rahman
Syafiq
Huang
Kelvin

Scorers:
Farhan
Omar

p32 w10 d7 l15 f68 a92

finally, after a one week break ( or was it two week? seem like a freaking long time), the Kambings are finally bleeping down our familiar football turf at yishun again!

the day started quite well with a nice cloudy weather that was very soothing, no sun, same old piece of swampland for our kickabout, and all that required now is the opposition and a round ball and it game on!

just before the game started, rafeeq was commenting on our opponents " wah, they look fit. why do we always get the fit fit opponents?" ya.. they do look mean and fit, the typical chinese team i supposed but nevertheless, for some reason, i dun really find them frightening.. hmmmm..

so 9am came and the teams gathered on the field for some kickabout and practice shots.. looking at their keeper, i said to the rest aloud tht just go for shots as in my own exact words " just shoot. the keeper like CMI de".... >.<

as we took to the pitch and started our warm up kicks n crosses, minutes pass n yet there was still no sign of the most important person, the REFEREE! after 30min or so, akim went to make a call and was told tht another referee was coming down -.- wat a downer, the team was raring to go n yet -.- the old man was not here yet.

finally, he came ( another referee not Tay) and game started.. the fit chinese team was quite noisy at the start, shouting instructions to spread out and to challenge for the balls. so it began..

and the Kambings proceed to dominate the game as usual... our midfield completely shut them down with committed tackles and every loose balls was sucked up by our players, only to be squandered at the final third when our usual bad habits come out and bite us in the ass again. late passes, holding the ball too long, too many ppl shouting for the ball at 1 time, these habits always seem to cause us to lose the ball near the edge of the box.. high time we sit down n tink of a effective ball plan...

as it is, Fazli and Akim totally sucked! by intercepting all the balls coming through the mid, they deprived me of a chance to touch the ball, shades of deva ju again.. our wingbacks as usual was galloping upfront, Shafi on the right and Karim on the left operating near the midfield line, with Shafi particularly operating as a second right winger.

despite me hoping around, all i could touch was the occasional looseball that came whizzing beyond the touchline for goalkicks.. our dear Rahman was late as usual and was sitting on the bench chatting happily with the rest of the eager subs...

soon a flurry of subsitutions took place and the tempo suddenly increase again.. despite our domination, our bad habits ensured that we have nothing to show for our efforts. the best chance of the half came when a long punt upfield was superbly controlled Syafiq who managed to bring the ball pass the keeper n toe poked in into the seeming empty goal near the left upright, only for a grey ELEPHANT to collapse and clung on to the ball with its long trunks with a great backward dive( the big keeper la >.< ).

on the other side, a serious miscommunication provided the biggest excitment for me when Fazli was shielding a hopeful ball from their striker and i was hovering near the penalty spot shouting for him to backpass so i can kick it away. but Fazli had other idea : you should come out n claim it. okay.. big miscommunitcation but no harm done. his big size ensured tht the lanky striker never have a chance to steal the ball away and he safetly clear it out for a throw in.. yawns...

another corner from them and Omar manage to get hold of the ball n let loose a whooping cross that was sailing into the opposite half with Syafiq chasing down and managing to connect with a great first time volley INTO THE CORNER FLAG!! >.< tht bring the half to an end..

the second saw us changed to a 4-3-3 with 3 strikers Dean, Huang and Kelvin eagerly chasing down passes and running into any holes availables. despite their effort, the second half was as barren as before before another flurry of subsitution took place. Farhan came on and after some time, his wicked feet took over again.. a seeming harmless ball was threaded down to him and with a defender in attendance of him, he let loose a daisy cutter that the goalkeeper was ready for, only for it to squirm between his fingers and under his legs for our opening goal... elephants have fat legs, cant blame them i guess ( a "light" touch of humour).. it was a soft goal to concede and i faintly remember the days when i did someting like tht too in the past.. haha.. anyways tht open our scoring account and it spur the team on to chase the second goal to end their stubborn resistance.

that being said, again our end was too quiet. i was literally hoping from one end to another end of my box, picking up looseballs. even had time to play abit =p over at the other end, the keeper was getting busy as we found our shooting boots and let loose a barrage of shots and passes that was somehow kept out by him. finally our second goal came. Rahman who was having a great game operating as a leftback, took control of a ball and charges upfield throught the left channel before playing neat 1-2s with Syafiq before Syafiq release a whooping of a cross into the box. Dean was on hand to head the ball but somehow, a combination of the keeper touch and the bar conspired to prevent Dean from adding to his tally with us. but credit to Dean, he never gave up and fought for the loose ball, managing to retrieve it back near the post and cutting back to the box for Omar to gleefully slam home for a 2-0 lead! "GOALLLLLLL" our crazy celebration chants started again !!

that finally ended their resistance and they were firmly pecked back at their own half, with the occasional forays up into our half futile as our defence line stood solid and change their every attacks into one of ours. near the end of the end, a freekick was won and Fazli eagerly galloped forward to take it. sizing upthe wall, he let loose with a cannonball that flew pass everyball into the farside for goal! GOALLLLL not. the refereee blew his whistle for a offside and Fazli had to cut short his celebration but everybody was already pass it, laughing and having a great time while the opponents head was sagging abit. finally the referee blew the final whistle and both teams shook hand for a match that was well-played.

despite us wining 2-0, i was convinced the margin could be even greater if our players would shoot more but a good game none the less. personally though, i was happy to be able to keep a clean sheet but den again, i had nothing serious to do so credit to everybody for helping back at the back.

hopefully, our great 5 game winning streak will be able to continue and end with us lifting the JMK cup! but what the prize? -.-???

Wilson.