Scorers (assists)
Syafiq (Muhammad)
Muhammmad (-)
Muhammad (-)
Man Of The Match
Muhammad (7) - involved in all three goals
Akim (2) - rarely lost in the challenge and redeemed himself
Syafiq (1)
Shahreen (1) - commanded the team tactically
Yellow card:
-
Danial (GK)
Mubarak - Amin (d) - Firul - Akim
Syafiq - Shahreen - Rahman - Muhammad - Helmi
Yongsheng
Subs:
Farid
Ken
Huang
Karim
Kambing FC spurned the chance to move above Redbacks in the table despite having a 2-goal advantage at 2-0 and 3-1 in the first half. FZE struck back with two quickfire goals to even the match soon after the break but saw their promotion hopes virtually extinguished. The draw meant we sit in the 3rd relegation spot, which will be determined with a match against the 3rd placed team in Division 4, though there is every chance we may stay on in Division 3 depending on the commitment and availability of the teams in the league. We now have two more games remaining against Total Football and Industmarine Football. The new season is slated to kick off in early June but we will certainly try to finish this season with a flourish on the back of a marked improvement this season as compared to the last.
Danial returned in goal while Yongsheng and Ken made their 3rd consecutive appearances for a team that has not always been able to call on their main players this season as compared to the last. Shahreen also returned to the team which more or less sums up our season in what can only be called disruptive in terms of calling up the main players.
Despite that, we continued our decent form in recent weeks and instead of the shot-shy game we played last week, we enjoyed a more open flow of attacking football this time as both teams looked to score goals. The creative, pacy and industrious triumvirate of Muhammad, Syafiq and Helmi were the key to our chances as Shahreen and Rahman ably commanded the center of midfield. In the previous encounter this season, which we lost 1-3, I felt that our midfield allowed FZE too much room in midfield as they deployed the open space just in front of our defence to crush us. Not this time though, as our midfield marginally won the battle. However, nervy defending deep in our half saw FZE racked up numerous chances with shots both on and off target.
To be fair, we defended well on occasions as we calmly passed it upfield at times and retaining possession very well rather than punting it forward. Still, we were often better off when we won the ball in the midfield area rather than deep in defence. On such occasions, we threatened to break down the opponents in search of the first goal. One such example came when Firul intercepted a ball and immediately found Yongsheng in the opponents' half. Yongsheng laid it off into the path of Helmi who surged forward but he could only tamely shot at the GK.
The first goal came in similar circumstances. Shahreen picked on a loose ball in midfield and pass it to me on the left flank, and in turn I passed it to Muhammad in the centre of the park. Muhammad quickly switched play and picked out Syafiq's run down the right flank with a immaculate pass. Even though the opponent GK came out to challenge, Syafiq cooly picked his spot to give us the lead.
The opponents continued to pile on the pressure, perhaps sensing our nervy defending. At one time, Muhammad conspired to set up an opponent just outside our penalty box but fortunately his shot was soft for Danial to handle. We maintained our cool however and were rewarded with the 2nd goal, even if it was scored through fortuitous circumstances. Then again, came the old adage in the football world. If you do not shoot, you do not score. Muhammad took a freekick on the left flank and he perhaps meant to cross for Helmi at the near post who could not latch onto it. The opponent GK, waiting behind, could only fumbled the cross into his own net as the ball bounced off his body. It was reminiscent of my howler last week, but I am glad to be on the winning side.
We expected we had the three points in the bag even if there was still a lot of time left to play. The opponents pulled a goal back immediately however. An opponent cross from our right side of defence, who happened to be one Hady Mirza, was headed away by Firul, an impressive figure in that aerial challenge in spite of his height. The ball could only kindly fall back to an opponent who laid it off first-time to his team-mate inside the penalty box. The opponent took the ball down with fine first touch and scored with aplomb with his second.
Even then, we continued to forage in search of more goals. Helmi had a freekick on target and Muhammad was the creative spark in midfield. Nothing was creative about the third goal, however, as it was all about sheer determination. Muhammad won the ball back three times in quick succession deep in the opponents' half. He burst forward into the penalty box and calmly round off the GK and scored a goal that should have been coup de grâce to restore the team's 2-goal advantage.
We looked hungry for more goals as we found gaps and room to roam with the ball. Mubarak was having a great game to support the attack even if his crossing was very suspect. Syaqiq, and later Karim, Huang and Ken, when they came on, added dynamic and energetic displays too. Yet, we could have found ourselves reduced to a one-goal deficit again. The superior height of the opponents at set-pieces always meant we ran a risk of being outjumped by them. One such corner led to a header which was goal-bound but Firul denied it with a goal-line clearance. I also found myself stranded later on when a ball was floated over me on the left side of defence towards his team-mate. I recovered to get the slightest of touch to the loose ball to defy the opponent who was closing down on me menacingly. Muhammad came close to extending the lead after good work from Karim who released Helmi on the left flank. Helmi set up the chance for Muhammad early but he could not generate power on his shot. We were however, becoming more impatient as half-time loomed. We became sloppy with the passes and were looking to push the ball upfield when a more patient approach could have been adopted. A footballing lesson beckons on how to protect a 3-1 lead as we go into half-time.
The second half restarted with minor changes. Karim picked up where he left off and almost got through on goal following Danial's massive long goal-kick. We failed to settle down as FZE looked more pumped up knowing their backs was against the wall. It was something of a disappointment therefore when they got their 2nd goal of the game. We failed to decisively cut out the play on the right side of defence and the opponent perhaps wanted to cross the ball but scored a fluke goal over Danial instead.
We found ourselves on the backfoot for the first time in the match as FZE sustained pressure on us. We struggled to string passes, a continuation from towards the end of the first half, except that FZE was cranking it up this time. The pressure was getting to us as we made one mistake after another and that finally culminated in the equalizer for FZE. It was good possession play as FZE string a set of passes that at one time, restarted from defence. The opponent attempted to switch play with a wayward cross from the left side of our defence. Mubarak seemingly had the situation under control but inexplicably gifted it back to FZE just outside the penalty box. Even though Muhammad tightened up on him, the opponent had a second to control the ball on his right foot and struck a shot on his left. Even then, Danial seemingly had an easy catch to make but on a bumpy surface, he perhaps misjudged the bounce of the ball, as it ricocheted off his knees into the net.
For the remainder of the match, we gradually clawed back into rhythm. Syafiq came on at right midfield for Helmi, who hobbled off injured, and made an immediate impact. Twice, he ran past his marker on the byline, but on the first occasion, poorly cut back his low cross despite an unmarked Muhammad perfectly placed and on the second, his cross was cut out. Amin saw his header from a corner easily saved at the near post while Ken and Rahman had good chances to score too. Sensing a tiring FZE, we attempted to go for the jugular and tried to pick up the pace. FZE was defending well, however and caught us a few times on the offside as the match ended in an entertaining 3-3 draw.
Our team in D2D league
Rest of league results
D2D review on footballopod
Akim
Danial returned in goal while Yongsheng and Ken made their 3rd consecutive appearances for a team that has not always been able to call on their main players this season as compared to the last. Shahreen also returned to the team which more or less sums up our season in what can only be called disruptive in terms of calling up the main players.
Despite that, we continued our decent form in recent weeks and instead of the shot-shy game we played last week, we enjoyed a more open flow of attacking football this time as both teams looked to score goals. The creative, pacy and industrious triumvirate of Muhammad, Syafiq and Helmi were the key to our chances as Shahreen and Rahman ably commanded the center of midfield. In the previous encounter this season, which we lost 1-3, I felt that our midfield allowed FZE too much room in midfield as they deployed the open space just in front of our defence to crush us. Not this time though, as our midfield marginally won the battle. However, nervy defending deep in our half saw FZE racked up numerous chances with shots both on and off target.
To be fair, we defended well on occasions as we calmly passed it upfield at times and retaining possession very well rather than punting it forward. Still, we were often better off when we won the ball in the midfield area rather than deep in defence. On such occasions, we threatened to break down the opponents in search of the first goal. One such example came when Firul intercepted a ball and immediately found Yongsheng in the opponents' half. Yongsheng laid it off into the path of Helmi who surged forward but he could only tamely shot at the GK.
The first goal came in similar circumstances. Shahreen picked on a loose ball in midfield and pass it to me on the left flank, and in turn I passed it to Muhammad in the centre of the park. Muhammad quickly switched play and picked out Syafiq's run down the right flank with a immaculate pass. Even though the opponent GK came out to challenge, Syafiq cooly picked his spot to give us the lead.
The opponents continued to pile on the pressure, perhaps sensing our nervy defending. At one time, Muhammad conspired to set up an opponent just outside our penalty box but fortunately his shot was soft for Danial to handle. We maintained our cool however and were rewarded with the 2nd goal, even if it was scored through fortuitous circumstances. Then again, came the old adage in the football world. If you do not shoot, you do not score. Muhammad took a freekick on the left flank and he perhaps meant to cross for Helmi at the near post who could not latch onto it. The opponent GK, waiting behind, could only fumbled the cross into his own net as the ball bounced off his body. It was reminiscent of my howler last week, but I am glad to be on the winning side.
We expected we had the three points in the bag even if there was still a lot of time left to play. The opponents pulled a goal back immediately however. An opponent cross from our right side of defence, who happened to be one Hady Mirza, was headed away by Firul, an impressive figure in that aerial challenge in spite of his height. The ball could only kindly fall back to an opponent who laid it off first-time to his team-mate inside the penalty box. The opponent took the ball down with fine first touch and scored with aplomb with his second.
Even then, we continued to forage in search of more goals. Helmi had a freekick on target and Muhammad was the creative spark in midfield. Nothing was creative about the third goal, however, as it was all about sheer determination. Muhammad won the ball back three times in quick succession deep in the opponents' half. He burst forward into the penalty box and calmly round off the GK and scored a goal that should have been coup de grâce to restore the team's 2-goal advantage.
We looked hungry for more goals as we found gaps and room to roam with the ball. Mubarak was having a great game to support the attack even if his crossing was very suspect. Syaqiq, and later Karim, Huang and Ken, when they came on, added dynamic and energetic displays too. Yet, we could have found ourselves reduced to a one-goal deficit again. The superior height of the opponents at set-pieces always meant we ran a risk of being outjumped by them. One such corner led to a header which was goal-bound but Firul denied it with a goal-line clearance. I also found myself stranded later on when a ball was floated over me on the left side of defence towards his team-mate. I recovered to get the slightest of touch to the loose ball to defy the opponent who was closing down on me menacingly. Muhammad came close to extending the lead after good work from Karim who released Helmi on the left flank. Helmi set up the chance for Muhammad early but he could not generate power on his shot. We were however, becoming more impatient as half-time loomed. We became sloppy with the passes and were looking to push the ball upfield when a more patient approach could have been adopted. A footballing lesson beckons on how to protect a 3-1 lead as we go into half-time.
The second half restarted with minor changes. Karim picked up where he left off and almost got through on goal following Danial's massive long goal-kick. We failed to settle down as FZE looked more pumped up knowing their backs was against the wall. It was something of a disappointment therefore when they got their 2nd goal of the game. We failed to decisively cut out the play on the right side of defence and the opponent perhaps wanted to cross the ball but scored a fluke goal over Danial instead.
We found ourselves on the backfoot for the first time in the match as FZE sustained pressure on us. We struggled to string passes, a continuation from towards the end of the first half, except that FZE was cranking it up this time. The pressure was getting to us as we made one mistake after another and that finally culminated in the equalizer for FZE. It was good possession play as FZE string a set of passes that at one time, restarted from defence. The opponent attempted to switch play with a wayward cross from the left side of our defence. Mubarak seemingly had the situation under control but inexplicably gifted it back to FZE just outside the penalty box. Even though Muhammad tightened up on him, the opponent had a second to control the ball on his right foot and struck a shot on his left. Even then, Danial seemingly had an easy catch to make but on a bumpy surface, he perhaps misjudged the bounce of the ball, as it ricocheted off his knees into the net.
For the remainder of the match, we gradually clawed back into rhythm. Syafiq came on at right midfield for Helmi, who hobbled off injured, and made an immediate impact. Twice, he ran past his marker on the byline, but on the first occasion, poorly cut back his low cross despite an unmarked Muhammad perfectly placed and on the second, his cross was cut out. Amin saw his header from a corner easily saved at the near post while Ken and Rahman had good chances to score too. Sensing a tiring FZE, we attempted to go for the jugular and tried to pick up the pace. FZE was defending well, however and caught us a few times on the offside as the match ended in an entertaining 3-3 draw.
Our team in D2D league
Rest of league results
D2D review on footballopod
Akim