Scorers (Assists)
Syaifudean (Azhari)
Farhan (Amin)
Man Of The Match
Bay (9) - despite early game blunder (must warm him up earlier), his point-blank and reflex saves kept us in the match and we would never be able to stage a comeback otherwise. was like a brick wall between the posts
Farhan (2) - match winning goal
Akim (2) - enjoying life as a full-back
Rashid (1) - produced an awful lot of excellent shift despite his brief appearance
Bay (GK)
Akim - Fazli - Firul - Shafi
Omar - Azman - Azhari - Muhammad - Helmi
Syaifudean
Subs:
Imran
Rashid
Kelvin
Farhan
Rahman
Amin
Huang
Our promotion hopes to D2D Division 3 virtually faded with the defeat last week, although mathematically we can still secure the 2nd promotion spot. So we were looking for maximum points in the last 3 games of our rookie league campaign, knowing our last 3 opponents were Samalongkok, Sporting Goras and Macheda. In doing so, we strive to finish as high in the league as possible.
I would like to believe that we have made our presence somewhat felt for being a team with great fighting spirit and striving to play football the way we want it to be played. We displayed the former in this match, not much so the latter apart from the good build-up to our 2 goals.
In the first of these last 3 matches, we faced Samalongkok, a team which I had missed my one and only game for KFC ever since its inception, and in which we suffered a heavy 5-1 defeat previously in the 1st round of matches. Therefore, I was keen for us to play as well as possible and for our team to match whatever strength this team possessed so that we can look forward to the next season, which we are gradually heading for, in a few months' time.
This would be no easy task for sure, considering Samalongkok have made it through a stunning 8 consecutive unbeaten games in Division 4. Prior to this game, across all 4 divisions, they are only one of 3 teams still unbeaten, they are one of only two teams to score the highest number of goals and they have conceded among the least number of goals. They have secured one of the two promotion spots and will now tread their way against more competitive teams in Division 3.
However, putting all that aside, we can also draw on the very important fact that our team is close to the full-strength squad I feel we can have to ensure we keep ourselves competitive for the new season. It is also pleasing to note that our core group of players are still part of the mainstay of this team since its inception.
Most importantly, and I can never emphasize this enough, we must never forget it was always our intention to enjoy the social competitive football. Never shall we get sucked in into the vortex of negativity and create conflicts within the team. At the final whistle in this awesome victory, the joy was clearly etched among our players for all to see. Even Bay, the quiet one, celebrated Dean's equalizing goal with much fervor and energy.
In the opening minutes, KFC were seemingly building momentum. Omar and myself were linking up on the right flank while Muhammad, Azhari and Azman were trying to pull strings in midfield. An early cross from me, a left foot skyhigh volley from Dean and Helmi's wizardry on the left ensured we were having the brighter start.
Till the first ball for the left winger down my flank started Samalongkok's domination.
The first winger had muscled his way past me and caught me by surprise. He would later switched to the right flank to be replaced by another winger, who by all accounts, had scored a brace in our previous encounter, and was quite simply a threat for the team. I had mentally braced myself for this latest challenge, getting a new lease of life since being released from the shackle of being a central defender. But he also turned out to be a very tricky customer indeed.
Much of Samalongkok's play was to stretch our flanks to the byline, with crossfield passes over our defence, being the order of the day. They would then roam forward in numbers hoping to get to the end of the seemingly dangerous crosses. In addition, they had many players who were comfortable with the ball at their feet, as they exhibited drag-backs and neat footwork on numerous occasions. We were failing to clear our lines miserably at times. A stunning left foot shot from their left-back crashed low against the upright while a towering header from their central midfielder smacked the crossbar.
It was from a free-kick that set open the floodgates. Azman's foul was seemingly soft. However, the subsequent converted free-kick seemed to be an elementary save for our GK but Bay inexplicably spilled it into the path of the incoming opponents who shot into goal for Samalongkok to take the lead. Samalongkok smelled blood as they proceeded to dominate the 1st half.
Our wingers were now doubling up as extra full-backs as our central midfielders dropped deep too. On a rare offensive move, a mistake from their defence led to a steal from Omar whose shot sailed high over the bar. Huang was not having much joy up front on his own after replacing Dean even as Muhammad also found himself alone at sea in the middle of the park. Such was the way Samalongkok forced us into a defensive shell. After the spate of substitutions, we did passed the ball better, especially in the closing minutes of the first half. However, we were a tad lucky to go into the break only 0-1 down.
The second half began with Imran and Rashid making their appearances. The newcomers immediately provided steel into our defence as Samalongkok continued to open up the wings. Rashid, just only recovering from flu and fever, would be forced off later but in his short cameo appearance, he was tremendous in the tackle, showing us how to clear our lines properly. Firul, a makeshift centre-back, saw three different partners today, but was also equally influential at the back. He is still learning the trade and with time, who knows, he may learn fast enough to be even better. It can't be denied though that he is a better option at left-back being a natural left-footer.
Samalongkok had their chances, Bay making excellent reflex saves twice in the space of seconds, while more low powerful shots either fall safely into Bay's hands, who got down well indeed, or they drifted wide of the post.
The game was opening up, which worked in our favour, as Helmi, now the chief playmaker in midfield in place of the rested Muhammad, got hold of the ball often. Several openings had Samalongkok scampering to a certain extent and even as the team did well to tire the seemingly luckless opponents, we introduced fresh legs.
That began the famed fighting spirit we are known for. After several close calls for penalty appeals from both sides were brushed aside by the referee, who was in good form today, we finally managed to get the equalizer. A decent play started from the right flank and as Azhari found himself alone in the centre of midfield, he released a clever through pass to Dean who turned his defender well and had the composure to turn the ball into goal. Classic finish from our league topscorer.
The moment of the match must surely be Dean's withdrawal later which led to the introduction of a pumped-up Farhan, who had earlier been frustrated by being marked out of the game thus far, prior to his own withdrawal.
As I reminded him his place is now the lone striker, we stepped up the pace of our game as Omar and Amin took turns to torment the right and left flanks at will. Our opposing defenders were superbly organized though to immediately cover each other well and perhaps, more often than not, won the majority of interceptions and tackles even as we tried to adopt the same strategy of crossfield passes..
I did my best to support the attack whenever I had the opportunity on the right while Fazli's long throws from the left, landing at the feet of Amin who did exceptionally well to receive the throws, were critical for us to retain possession as well. Muhammad, Azhari and Azman were now also finding more room in midfield as Samalongkok opted to hand us the initiative.
In what proved to be the last play of the match, Omar, Farhan and myself were involved in a series of desperate tangle for the ball which also saw Omar clearly upended in the penalty box. A half-hearted clearance from that melee saw the ball land to Azhari who had a chance to strike from range but with Muhammad blocking his way, Muhammad took over and laid off the ball to me. I had clear sight of shot from goal but I chose to switch play instead with a pass to a surprisingly unmarked Amin. He was quickly closed down but his early cross found Farhan all alone in the middle of the penalty box. Time froze as our overall team topscorer seem to take his time to direct his shot but as Dean had displayed earlier, Farhan had enough composure to rifle in the winning goal past the helpless GK, which prompted for the referee to blow the final whistle.
KFC had scored a sensational victory. We had shown tremendous resolve to come back from a goal down, which is quite a rare occurence too. We may not have secured a clean sheet yet again, but clearly, we have enough firepower to pull off a result when our backs are against the wall, if we only worked hard for it. Bay did well to keep us in the game for a long period of time and our top two team topscorers typically took their goals well.
Credit to Samalongkok who pressured us well, had their bad luck with the posts and found themselves with a brick wall to break in our GK Bay. They are clearly a very well-organised team and I would think we learnt a lot from them. While knowing we may face them again, not so soon perhaps, we wish them all the best in Division 3!
I would like to believe that we have made our presence somewhat felt for being a team with great fighting spirit and striving to play football the way we want it to be played. We displayed the former in this match, not much so the latter apart from the good build-up to our 2 goals.
In the first of these last 3 matches, we faced Samalongkok, a team which I had missed my one and only game for KFC ever since its inception, and in which we suffered a heavy 5-1 defeat previously in the 1st round of matches. Therefore, I was keen for us to play as well as possible and for our team to match whatever strength this team possessed so that we can look forward to the next season, which we are gradually heading for, in a few months' time.
This would be no easy task for sure, considering Samalongkok have made it through a stunning 8 consecutive unbeaten games in Division 4. Prior to this game, across all 4 divisions, they are only one of 3 teams still unbeaten, they are one of only two teams to score the highest number of goals and they have conceded among the least number of goals. They have secured one of the two promotion spots and will now tread their way against more competitive teams in Division 3.
However, putting all that aside, we can also draw on the very important fact that our team is close to the full-strength squad I feel we can have to ensure we keep ourselves competitive for the new season. It is also pleasing to note that our core group of players are still part of the mainstay of this team since its inception.
Most importantly, and I can never emphasize this enough, we must never forget it was always our intention to enjoy the social competitive football. Never shall we get sucked in into the vortex of negativity and create conflicts within the team. At the final whistle in this awesome victory, the joy was clearly etched among our players for all to see. Even Bay, the quiet one, celebrated Dean's equalizing goal with much fervor and energy.
In the opening minutes, KFC were seemingly building momentum. Omar and myself were linking up on the right flank while Muhammad, Azhari and Azman were trying to pull strings in midfield. An early cross from me, a left foot skyhigh volley from Dean and Helmi's wizardry on the left ensured we were having the brighter start.
Till the first ball for the left winger down my flank started Samalongkok's domination.
The first winger had muscled his way past me and caught me by surprise. He would later switched to the right flank to be replaced by another winger, who by all accounts, had scored a brace in our previous encounter, and was quite simply a threat for the team. I had mentally braced myself for this latest challenge, getting a new lease of life since being released from the shackle of being a central defender. But he also turned out to be a very tricky customer indeed.
Much of Samalongkok's play was to stretch our flanks to the byline, with crossfield passes over our defence, being the order of the day. They would then roam forward in numbers hoping to get to the end of the seemingly dangerous crosses. In addition, they had many players who were comfortable with the ball at their feet, as they exhibited drag-backs and neat footwork on numerous occasions. We were failing to clear our lines miserably at times. A stunning left foot shot from their left-back crashed low against the upright while a towering header from their central midfielder smacked the crossbar.
It was from a free-kick that set open the floodgates. Azman's foul was seemingly soft. However, the subsequent converted free-kick seemed to be an elementary save for our GK but Bay inexplicably spilled it into the path of the incoming opponents who shot into goal for Samalongkok to take the lead. Samalongkok smelled blood as they proceeded to dominate the 1st half.
Our wingers were now doubling up as extra full-backs as our central midfielders dropped deep too. On a rare offensive move, a mistake from their defence led to a steal from Omar whose shot sailed high over the bar. Huang was not having much joy up front on his own after replacing Dean even as Muhammad also found himself alone at sea in the middle of the park. Such was the way Samalongkok forced us into a defensive shell. After the spate of substitutions, we did passed the ball better, especially in the closing minutes of the first half. However, we were a tad lucky to go into the break only 0-1 down.
The second half began with Imran and Rashid making their appearances. The newcomers immediately provided steel into our defence as Samalongkok continued to open up the wings. Rashid, just only recovering from flu and fever, would be forced off later but in his short cameo appearance, he was tremendous in the tackle, showing us how to clear our lines properly. Firul, a makeshift centre-back, saw three different partners today, but was also equally influential at the back. He is still learning the trade and with time, who knows, he may learn fast enough to be even better. It can't be denied though that he is a better option at left-back being a natural left-footer.
Samalongkok had their chances, Bay making excellent reflex saves twice in the space of seconds, while more low powerful shots either fall safely into Bay's hands, who got down well indeed, or they drifted wide of the post.
The game was opening up, which worked in our favour, as Helmi, now the chief playmaker in midfield in place of the rested Muhammad, got hold of the ball often. Several openings had Samalongkok scampering to a certain extent and even as the team did well to tire the seemingly luckless opponents, we introduced fresh legs.
That began the famed fighting spirit we are known for. After several close calls for penalty appeals from both sides were brushed aside by the referee, who was in good form today, we finally managed to get the equalizer. A decent play started from the right flank and as Azhari found himself alone in the centre of midfield, he released a clever through pass to Dean who turned his defender well and had the composure to turn the ball into goal. Classic finish from our league topscorer.
The moment of the match must surely be Dean's withdrawal later which led to the introduction of a pumped-up Farhan, who had earlier been frustrated by being marked out of the game thus far, prior to his own withdrawal.
As I reminded him his place is now the lone striker, we stepped up the pace of our game as Omar and Amin took turns to torment the right and left flanks at will. Our opposing defenders were superbly organized though to immediately cover each other well and perhaps, more often than not, won the majority of interceptions and tackles even as we tried to adopt the same strategy of crossfield passes..
I did my best to support the attack whenever I had the opportunity on the right while Fazli's long throws from the left, landing at the feet of Amin who did exceptionally well to receive the throws, were critical for us to retain possession as well. Muhammad, Azhari and Azman were now also finding more room in midfield as Samalongkok opted to hand us the initiative.
In what proved to be the last play of the match, Omar, Farhan and myself were involved in a series of desperate tangle for the ball which also saw Omar clearly upended in the penalty box. A half-hearted clearance from that melee saw the ball land to Azhari who had a chance to strike from range but with Muhammad blocking his way, Muhammad took over and laid off the ball to me. I had clear sight of shot from goal but I chose to switch play instead with a pass to a surprisingly unmarked Amin. He was quickly closed down but his early cross found Farhan all alone in the middle of the penalty box. Time froze as our overall team topscorer seem to take his time to direct his shot but as Dean had displayed earlier, Farhan had enough composure to rifle in the winning goal past the helpless GK, which prompted for the referee to blow the final whistle.
KFC had scored a sensational victory. We had shown tremendous resolve to come back from a goal down, which is quite a rare occurence too. We may not have secured a clean sheet yet again, but clearly, we have enough firepower to pull off a result when our backs are against the wall, if we only worked hard for it. Bay did well to keep us in the game for a long period of time and our top two team topscorers typically took their goals well.
Credit to Samalongkok who pressured us well, had their bad luck with the posts and found themselves with a brick wall to break in our GK Bay. They are clearly a very well-organised team and I would think we learnt a lot from them. While knowing we may face them again, not so soon perhaps, we wish them all the best in Division 3!