Scorers (assists)
Kelvin (Muhammad)
Farhan (Muhammad)
Man Of The Match
Akim (5) - confidence in dealing with the ball at the back spreads to the team, solid, brave, decisive and versatile. think i will stop here
Muhammad (3) - influential in both goals!
Helmi (3) - did well overall in defence and midfield
Farhan (2) - hero of the match with that equalizer
Shahreen (1) - looking to impart his experience as the most senior statesmen in the team, only his 2nd appearance for the team
Yellow card:
Amin (d) 1st half
Akim (GK)
Helmi - Rashid - Amin (d) - Firul
Farhan - Azhari - Azman - Amin
Muhammad
Huang
Subs:
Calvin
Rahman
Shahreen
Kelvin
KFC came back from two goals down to finally secure our first point of the season. In a dramatic comeback, Muhammad was involved in both goals in the second half. Kelvin got our spirits lifted when he pulled a goal back and Farhan's header from Muhammad's corner was as glorious as it comes with mere minutes remaining in the match. Sensing blood, we could have gone for all three points but a draw is more than what we deserved. At least, we finally snapped our 5 game losing streak, including four in the league.
Samalongkok allowed KFC a sparkling start in the first half of the first half. However, they proved to be resilient in defence and wily in attack. From quick counters, deep in their half, they launched their wingers down both our flanks who made Firul and Helmi worked hard to close them down. They made many defence-splitting passes too, that allowed them to lunge into our penalty box. On a few instances, I was scampering from my goal-line to intercept such passes.
It was KFC who got the first decent break at goal. Muhammad's free-kick found Farhan inside the penalty box. From a narrow angle, Farhan could not find his bearing. We were looking bright but there was still that lack of drive and creativity in the final third. My goal-kicks and punts were poor too which gave possession back to our opponents more often than not.
Another defence-splitting pass almost led to their striker one-on-one with me but Helmi did exceptionally well with a superb covering challenge. Two free-kicks in dangerous areas, one of which earned Amin (d) a yellow card, were wasted and wide. But they finally broke the deadlock when their striker burst through our entire defence into our penalty box and his powerful shot with the goal at his mercy could not have been more deadly. KFC struggled then as we suddenly found ourselves pegged back by the opponents in our own half. The occasional counter-attacks were quickly broken down, undoing all the good work we did earlier on.
The second half began bizarrely for KFC. Passes were misplaced, Firul suffered a laughable cramp that effected a change in our backline, and my punts were struggling to find their mark as we were well beaten in the air by our opponents, not our strong suit. But Samalongkok were backing off too, which was probably a mistake on their part. Yet, they managed to stretch their lead when a cross from their right flank had me in no man's land, and the unchallenged striker's header into an empty net saw us conceding our 2nd goal in a game for the fifth consecutive league match. The omens are not good.
Even so, we continued to play football. And if ever football is defined by how goals are scored, then it could not have been defined better by Kelvin's goal. We know we are capable of this but somehow we just do not do it consistently enough. A quick series of passes on the right flank led to a Muhammad quick-thinking pass that saw Kelvin bursting through into the penalty box. He managed to hold off his marker brilliantly and scooped it over the GK to finish off a brilliant move that involved four players on that right flank. Kelvin is currently top scorer for KFC in the league with two goals.
Samalongkok did not look too disappointed however. They were still playing the better football, passing the ball better, closing us down efficiently, winning the aerial challenges more often than not, and all in all, winning the game. Despite us scoring that goal, they could not be blamed for thinking they had the three points in the bag. Ultimately, what they probably failed to realise is that football is played over 90 minutes, or in this league, it is for 80 minutes. Farhan's point-saving header only summarised the stuffs football are made of.
It was not pretty, this was not KFC's best game by far, but hopefully this first point allows us to get into stride to build the team up mentally at least, if not physically. There is still work to be done all around.
Next week, we head into D2D Cup in a three-team group in a round-robin format consisting of 12 groups. Our group consist of FC Tempastella (4th in Div 2) and Casanova XI (current wooden spooners in Div 4). The matches are played over one leg only, and all 12 top-leaders will go through to the q-finals with the four best 2nd-placed teams rounding up the numbers. Let's try to go far in this tournament.
Our team in D2D league
Rest of results
akim
Samalongkok allowed KFC a sparkling start in the first half of the first half. However, they proved to be resilient in defence and wily in attack. From quick counters, deep in their half, they launched their wingers down both our flanks who made Firul and Helmi worked hard to close them down. They made many defence-splitting passes too, that allowed them to lunge into our penalty box. On a few instances, I was scampering from my goal-line to intercept such passes.
It was KFC who got the first decent break at goal. Muhammad's free-kick found Farhan inside the penalty box. From a narrow angle, Farhan could not find his bearing. We were looking bright but there was still that lack of drive and creativity in the final third. My goal-kicks and punts were poor too which gave possession back to our opponents more often than not.
Another defence-splitting pass almost led to their striker one-on-one with me but Helmi did exceptionally well with a superb covering challenge. Two free-kicks in dangerous areas, one of which earned Amin (d) a yellow card, were wasted and wide. But they finally broke the deadlock when their striker burst through our entire defence into our penalty box and his powerful shot with the goal at his mercy could not have been more deadly. KFC struggled then as we suddenly found ourselves pegged back by the opponents in our own half. The occasional counter-attacks were quickly broken down, undoing all the good work we did earlier on.
The second half began bizarrely for KFC. Passes were misplaced, Firul suffered a laughable cramp that effected a change in our backline, and my punts were struggling to find their mark as we were well beaten in the air by our opponents, not our strong suit. But Samalongkok were backing off too, which was probably a mistake on their part. Yet, they managed to stretch their lead when a cross from their right flank had me in no man's land, and the unchallenged striker's header into an empty net saw us conceding our 2nd goal in a game for the fifth consecutive league match. The omens are not good.
Even so, we continued to play football. And if ever football is defined by how goals are scored, then it could not have been defined better by Kelvin's goal. We know we are capable of this but somehow we just do not do it consistently enough. A quick series of passes on the right flank led to a Muhammad quick-thinking pass that saw Kelvin bursting through into the penalty box. He managed to hold off his marker brilliantly and scooped it over the GK to finish off a brilliant move that involved four players on that right flank. Kelvin is currently top scorer for KFC in the league with two goals.
Samalongkok did not look too disappointed however. They were still playing the better football, passing the ball better, closing us down efficiently, winning the aerial challenges more often than not, and all in all, winning the game. Despite us scoring that goal, they could not be blamed for thinking they had the three points in the bag. Ultimately, what they probably failed to realise is that football is played over 90 minutes, or in this league, it is for 80 minutes. Farhan's point-saving header only summarised the stuffs football are made of.
It was not pretty, this was not KFC's best game by far, but hopefully this first point allows us to get into stride to build the team up mentally at least, if not physically. There is still work to be done all around.
Next week, we head into D2D Cup in a three-team group in a round-robin format consisting of 12 groups. Our group consist of FC Tempastella (4th in Div 2) and Casanova XI (current wooden spooners in Div 4). The matches are played over one leg only, and all 12 top-leaders will go through to the q-finals with the four best 2nd-placed teams rounding up the numbers. Let's try to go far in this tournament.
Our team in D2D league
Rest of results
akim