Scorers (Assists)
Helmi (-) 1st half
Syaifudean (Farhan) 2nd half
Man Of The Match
Muhammad - 6 SMS votes (one of the better players)
Helmi - 2 (great goal)
Akim - 2
Amin - 2 (not played for awhile and it showed but his potential is still there)
Dean - 1 (good effort)
Azman - 1 (ever reliable and one of our most senior players in the team)
Wilson (GK)
Shahid - Fazli - Akim - Shafi
Kelvin - Muhammad - Amin - Helmi
Syafiq - Farhan
Subs:
Rahman
Saidi
Omar
Azman
Syaifudean
Huang
After a 2 weeks break from the league, it was finally time for the team’s 2nd league match. This being my first time playing for Kambing FC in a league match, I was pretty nervous, fearing that I will be outclassed by the other players of the other team. The team arrived early and were having our warm up while waiting for the opponent to get ready.
The match started at a frantic pace as both sides looked to draw first blood. Unfortunately, it was our opponent, La Calle Doce Futolista, who scored the first goal. A stray pass by the opponent was intercepted by Akim, who then tried to run the ball out of defence. However, our ever-reliable centre back made a rare mistake as he overran the ball which allowed the opponents to launch a quick counter-attack. Fellow centre back Fazli then misjudged the bounce of the ball to allow the opposition striker to run thru clear on goal. Wilson was a little hesitant in coming off the goal, as their striker kept his cool to slot the ball into goal.
However, the team did not let that first goal get us down as we started to attack the opposition with fervour. Amin and Muhammad were an immense presence in midfield, winning the headers, stopping their attacks, as well as trying to start ours’. Shahid and Shafi were similarly solid in their positions, particularly Shahid who was stifling the opponents’ no. 16 (whom Omar commented was one of the more skilful players he had played against). Shafi curbed his attacking instincts to focus more on defending, and as a result, the opponents did not have too many crossing opportunities. Fazli and Akim were also starting to impose themselves onto the opposition strikers, clearing any form of imminent danger, while Wilson was rushing out to sweep away any loose balls that got past the defence.
Farhan and Syafiq were trying their best to get the better of La Calle’s physically well-built defenders, however they were made to feed off an oft inaccurate supply of final balls, me being the biggest culprit. Helmi, playing in an unfamiliar left flank role was a bag of tricks, as his dribbling and pace caused no end of worries for the opponents’ right back. On one such occasion, Helmi, receiving the ball at the left side of the penalty area, cut inside his marker, then beat him for pace before placing a grounder past their keeper for the equalizing goal. It was a brilliant piece of individual play which I felt would have been good enough to win any match.
The substitutions then took place, as Azman, Dean, Huang, Omar and Saidi entered to add more pace and finesse to the team. The team continued to press and in my opinion, dominated the game. In one instance, Dean ran onto a thru ball and was one-on-one with their keeper. Unselfishly, he squared the ball to Helmi, who I think miscued the ball, and hit it wide of the post.
Our opponents regained the lead late on in the 1st half. Another long punt, not for the 1st time in the match and not the last, got in behind the defence and the ball went over Fazli's head and as Akim strived to close the opponent down, the opponent delivered a low cross across goal into the path of a waiting player who slotted the ball home from close range. We entered the break 2-1 down but the mood among the players, bar some, was still high.
The second half began at a much slower pace, as our opponents seemed to tire, which resulted in us having more time and space on the ball. This led to Azman having a field day in the centre of midfield, finding time and space to try his trademark outer foot passes. In contrast, Omar was having a tough outing on the right flank as the opponents, noticing the danger he posed, were double-teaming him. However, Omar occasionally still managed to display his repertoire of neat tricks and flicks, which got him out of several tight situations. Rahman too was giving as good as he got, as he went in hard on one of the opponent. In my opinion, he won the ball fairly, although the tackle was a tad too hard. A special mention too for Huang, who was most probably our most hardworking player of the day. Though playing as a striker, he was often tracking back to his own half to harass the opponents off the ball, a herculean effort from him. Attack after attack was launched, as we desperately seeked the elusive equalizer.
I think it is now common knowledge amongst us players, that whenever Dean and Farhan are in the team, they would more often then not score. And they did not disappoint as the two of our top scorers combined to deadly effect. A deft touch from Farhan produced a sublime pass towards Dean, who displayed his calm finishing to equalize yet again for the team.
However, the level score did not remain for long as our opponents regained their lead moments later. A skirmish between Akim and Rahman at the corner flag with the opponent’s bespectacled striker saw the ball break loose for their no.16. I was the nearest player to him but was left for dead as he turned past me and crossed the ball into our penalty area. Their other striker rose and met the cross, heading it into the opposite direction of the cross, which all good strikers do. There was nothing that Wilson could have done about it and La Calle had the lead once more.
Towards the end of the game, the effervescent Syafiq showed quick feet to earn a free-kick just outside the edge of the box. In addition, his customary shout of pain and expression of anguish also earned his assailant a yellow card. However, the free-kick came to nought and the game soon fizzled out.
As Akim has stated, the opponents only had 3 shots and they converted them all, hence on another day, we could just have won. Overall, it was an accomplished performance by the team.
PS, this is my first time wrting a review and it was based on what I could remember from the match. So I would like to apologise if I missed out any of other key moments that took place in the match. Thank you.
Kelvin - reviewer
The match started at a frantic pace as both sides looked to draw first blood. Unfortunately, it was our opponent, La Calle Doce Futolista, who scored the first goal. A stray pass by the opponent was intercepted by Akim, who then tried to run the ball out of defence. However, our ever-reliable centre back made a rare mistake as he overran the ball which allowed the opponents to launch a quick counter-attack. Fellow centre back Fazli then misjudged the bounce of the ball to allow the opposition striker to run thru clear on goal. Wilson was a little hesitant in coming off the goal, as their striker kept his cool to slot the ball into goal.
However, the team did not let that first goal get us down as we started to attack the opposition with fervour. Amin and Muhammad were an immense presence in midfield, winning the headers, stopping their attacks, as well as trying to start ours’. Shahid and Shafi were similarly solid in their positions, particularly Shahid who was stifling the opponents’ no. 16 (whom Omar commented was one of the more skilful players he had played against). Shafi curbed his attacking instincts to focus more on defending, and as a result, the opponents did not have too many crossing opportunities. Fazli and Akim were also starting to impose themselves onto the opposition strikers, clearing any form of imminent danger, while Wilson was rushing out to sweep away any loose balls that got past the defence.
Farhan and Syafiq were trying their best to get the better of La Calle’s physically well-built defenders, however they were made to feed off an oft inaccurate supply of final balls, me being the biggest culprit. Helmi, playing in an unfamiliar left flank role was a bag of tricks, as his dribbling and pace caused no end of worries for the opponents’ right back. On one such occasion, Helmi, receiving the ball at the left side of the penalty area, cut inside his marker, then beat him for pace before placing a grounder past their keeper for the equalizing goal. It was a brilliant piece of individual play which I felt would have been good enough to win any match.
The substitutions then took place, as Azman, Dean, Huang, Omar and Saidi entered to add more pace and finesse to the team. The team continued to press and in my opinion, dominated the game. In one instance, Dean ran onto a thru ball and was one-on-one with their keeper. Unselfishly, he squared the ball to Helmi, who I think miscued the ball, and hit it wide of the post.
Our opponents regained the lead late on in the 1st half. Another long punt, not for the 1st time in the match and not the last, got in behind the defence and the ball went over Fazli's head and as Akim strived to close the opponent down, the opponent delivered a low cross across goal into the path of a waiting player who slotted the ball home from close range. We entered the break 2-1 down but the mood among the players, bar some, was still high.
The second half began at a much slower pace, as our opponents seemed to tire, which resulted in us having more time and space on the ball. This led to Azman having a field day in the centre of midfield, finding time and space to try his trademark outer foot passes. In contrast, Omar was having a tough outing on the right flank as the opponents, noticing the danger he posed, were double-teaming him. However, Omar occasionally still managed to display his repertoire of neat tricks and flicks, which got him out of several tight situations. Rahman too was giving as good as he got, as he went in hard on one of the opponent. In my opinion, he won the ball fairly, although the tackle was a tad too hard. A special mention too for Huang, who was most probably our most hardworking player of the day. Though playing as a striker, he was often tracking back to his own half to harass the opponents off the ball, a herculean effort from him. Attack after attack was launched, as we desperately seeked the elusive equalizer.
I think it is now common knowledge amongst us players, that whenever Dean and Farhan are in the team, they would more often then not score. And they did not disappoint as the two of our top scorers combined to deadly effect. A deft touch from Farhan produced a sublime pass towards Dean, who displayed his calm finishing to equalize yet again for the team.
However, the level score did not remain for long as our opponents regained their lead moments later. A skirmish between Akim and Rahman at the corner flag with the opponent’s bespectacled striker saw the ball break loose for their no.16. I was the nearest player to him but was left for dead as he turned past me and crossed the ball into our penalty area. Their other striker rose and met the cross, heading it into the opposite direction of the cross, which all good strikers do. There was nothing that Wilson could have done about it and La Calle had the lead once more.
Towards the end of the game, the effervescent Syafiq showed quick feet to earn a free-kick just outside the edge of the box. In addition, his customary shout of pain and expression of anguish also earned his assailant a yellow card. However, the free-kick came to nought and the game soon fizzled out.
As Akim has stated, the opponents only had 3 shots and they converted them all, hence on another day, we could just have won. Overall, it was an accomplished performance by the team.
PS, this is my first time wrting a review and it was based on what I could remember from the match. So I would like to apologise if I missed out any of other key moments that took place in the match. Thank you.
Kelvin - reviewer
Rahman - I have uploaded the photos online. A lot of them suffer from misfocus, so i do apologise. click on the links below to download all photos.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4