.jpg)
.jpg)
Scorers (assists)
Farhan (pen)
Farhan (Helmi)
Man Of The Match
Farhan (8) - finally back to his old scoring form with two goals, scored a nice 2nd goal
Shahril (7) - the second of our key players this week marshalled the defence superbly
Yellow card:
Omar (1st half)
Wilson (GK)
Andrew - Shahril - Azmi - Firdaus Masdar
Kelvin - Akim - Azhari - Shafi
Helmi
Farhan
Subs:
Huang
Omar
Azman
Rafeeq
Our team in D2D league
Rest of league results
On the expansive, grassy pitch of Tanjong Katong Sec, Kambing FC spurned a glorious opportunity to go top of the table, for the first time in its short history, after conceding a last minute equalizer to draw 2-2 against Unido FC. Farhan scored both our goals in the first half and we led 2-0 for the majority of the match. We were then pegged back after the half-time break, but it was our lapse in concentration for both of the opponents' goal that undid us. Still, the point gained is better than nothing. The size of the pitch was a fitness test for us and we had to work harder for one another than usual, but we had to pace ourselves too. The gaps between defence, midfield and attack meant we had to cover the ground efficiently and moved the ball quicker to get further up the pitch. Our opponents faced the same problem and in the first half at least, we marginally had more of the ball.
Patience was the key as we kept going forward into the opponents' half but the attacking intent in the final third was not as sharp as we would have liked. Both Helmi and Farhan, who returned to the team after his dismissal two league matches' ago, saw a lot of the ball with decent support from midfield that kept tidy possession in the middle of the pitch. Our defence, marshalled superbly by Shahril, who also returned to the team after two games' absence, coped well with the opponents' deep, long passes as they adopted route one football. We had to be cautious of their lone striker, who was clearly the main threat for them, was adept at holding up the ball and bringing his team-mates into play deep in our half. Azhari and myself, and later Azman, took turns to try and shackle him to almost little effect at times, which made Shahril and co. heckled us and rightly so too.
We took the lead from the penalty spot midway through the first half. Another patient build-up paved the way for an attack deep in opponents' territory from the left flank. Our opponents failed to deal with a loose ball, and Shafi, who had made a forceful run into the box, was felled by the opponent to earn the penalty. Farhan stepped up to calmly sent the GK the wrong way.
We doubled our lead minutes later from a simple move that started with a freekick in our half. Shahril played a crossfield pass to Helmi on the left flank, who weighed his pass for Farhan to perfection on the edge of the box. Farhan then showed us why he is the goalpoacher for the day with a classic striker's goal, as he latched onto Helmi's pass, casually brushed his marker aside to power his way into the box and thundered in a shot past the helpless GK.
Wilson has to be credited for making the save of the match almost immediately after the restart. The opponents' main threat controlled a throw in on the edge of our box, turning me aside far too easily in the process, and drilled a stunning shot that was destined for goal. Our custodian was equal to the task and made a superb, reflexive fingertip save to push the shot over the crossbar, and enable us to preserve our 2-0 lead at half-time.
Our opponents were all guns blazing in the second half, mindful that the game was slipping away from their hands. They dominated and peppered our goal with a few shots. Wilson was almost embarrassed when, from an opponents' long freekick, the ball bounced wickedly in our box and threatened to lob over him into our goal, but he recovered to palm it away over the bar. We tolerated and nullified the opponents' domination with our best spell of the second half. Against the run of play, Shafi had the best chance to extend our lead, when he was played in on the left flank by Omar's defence splitting pass from midfield. Our curly-haired winger suddenly had a clear route to goal, and with a defender closing in on him on the edge of the box, Shafi's low shot beat the GK across the face of his goal but the ball agonizingly struck the outside of the upright into safety. Huang also almost benefited from a cross on the right flank but he failed to make a decent connection, as we pressured the opponents' in their half.
Just when we looked to keep the momentum going, our opponents finally pulled a goal back and no surprise as to who scored their goal. We gave the ball away on the left flank on the halfway line, which led to the opponents' counterattack. Our rearguard were all over the place, and their main threat capitalized on the sudden confusion as he dribbled past three of our players towards our goal and scored a goal to cap off the incisively quick break.
We still had a 2-1 lead and tried to slow down the game to secure the victory. To their credit, the opponents did not back down and mounted long throws ala Fazli from their right-back into our box. We repelled the ensuing waves of attack with time running out but with a minute remaining, we finally caved in to concede a late equalizer. The opponents launched another long throw from the right flank towards the near post, which was headed by an opponent across our goal. His team-mate stole in to head the loose ball home to rapturous celebration. Omar's defending was the subject of a post-mortem inquiry, as he had failed to make any sort of challenge to head the loose ball away before the opponent could get to it. On the other hand, it does take a natural Vidic- or Ivanovic-type defending against such off-the-ball attacking runs, like what the opponent did. In that, at least, we learnt a valuable lesson for our future games.
On reflection, the draw was perhaps a fair result. However, we were still disappointed to concede such a dramatic last-minute equalizer, when a victory would have otherwise seen us start the fasting month at the top of the table, even if it is a slender lead. The finish line is in sight and a strong finish is on the cards. We must remain optimistic, even as we continue to enjoy an Indian summer in our 3rd season in the league. On a brighter note, we are now one goal away from scoring our 200th goal. Farhan, who has scored 3 league goals after this game, is also one goal away from reaching an historic 40th personal 'competitive' goal for the team. I must also compliment Huang, one of our unsung heroes, and also one of our longest-serving players, for filling in at right-back and proving his versatility yet again.
Akim
Rest of league results
On the expansive, grassy pitch of Tanjong Katong Sec, Kambing FC spurned a glorious opportunity to go top of the table, for the first time in its short history, after conceding a last minute equalizer to draw 2-2 against Unido FC. Farhan scored both our goals in the first half and we led 2-0 for the majority of the match. We were then pegged back after the half-time break, but it was our lapse in concentration for both of the opponents' goal that undid us. Still, the point gained is better than nothing. The size of the pitch was a fitness test for us and we had to work harder for one another than usual, but we had to pace ourselves too. The gaps between defence, midfield and attack meant we had to cover the ground efficiently and moved the ball quicker to get further up the pitch. Our opponents faced the same problem and in the first half at least, we marginally had more of the ball.
Patience was the key as we kept going forward into the opponents' half but the attacking intent in the final third was not as sharp as we would have liked. Both Helmi and Farhan, who returned to the team after his dismissal two league matches' ago, saw a lot of the ball with decent support from midfield that kept tidy possession in the middle of the pitch. Our defence, marshalled superbly by Shahril, who also returned to the team after two games' absence, coped well with the opponents' deep, long passes as they adopted route one football. We had to be cautious of their lone striker, who was clearly the main threat for them, was adept at holding up the ball and bringing his team-mates into play deep in our half. Azhari and myself, and later Azman, took turns to try and shackle him to almost little effect at times, which made Shahril and co. heckled us and rightly so too.
We took the lead from the penalty spot midway through the first half. Another patient build-up paved the way for an attack deep in opponents' territory from the left flank. Our opponents failed to deal with a loose ball, and Shafi, who had made a forceful run into the box, was felled by the opponent to earn the penalty. Farhan stepped up to calmly sent the GK the wrong way.
We doubled our lead minutes later from a simple move that started with a freekick in our half. Shahril played a crossfield pass to Helmi on the left flank, who weighed his pass for Farhan to perfection on the edge of the box. Farhan then showed us why he is the goalpoacher for the day with a classic striker's goal, as he latched onto Helmi's pass, casually brushed his marker aside to power his way into the box and thundered in a shot past the helpless GK.
Wilson has to be credited for making the save of the match almost immediately after the restart. The opponents' main threat controlled a throw in on the edge of our box, turning me aside far too easily in the process, and drilled a stunning shot that was destined for goal. Our custodian was equal to the task and made a superb, reflexive fingertip save to push the shot over the crossbar, and enable us to preserve our 2-0 lead at half-time.
Our opponents were all guns blazing in the second half, mindful that the game was slipping away from their hands. They dominated and peppered our goal with a few shots. Wilson was almost embarrassed when, from an opponents' long freekick, the ball bounced wickedly in our box and threatened to lob over him into our goal, but he recovered to palm it away over the bar. We tolerated and nullified the opponents' domination with our best spell of the second half. Against the run of play, Shafi had the best chance to extend our lead, when he was played in on the left flank by Omar's defence splitting pass from midfield. Our curly-haired winger suddenly had a clear route to goal, and with a defender closing in on him on the edge of the box, Shafi's low shot beat the GK across the face of his goal but the ball agonizingly struck the outside of the upright into safety. Huang also almost benefited from a cross on the right flank but he failed to make a decent connection, as we pressured the opponents' in their half.
Just when we looked to keep the momentum going, our opponents finally pulled a goal back and no surprise as to who scored their goal. We gave the ball away on the left flank on the halfway line, which led to the opponents' counterattack. Our rearguard were all over the place, and their main threat capitalized on the sudden confusion as he dribbled past three of our players towards our goal and scored a goal to cap off the incisively quick break.
We still had a 2-1 lead and tried to slow down the game to secure the victory. To their credit, the opponents did not back down and mounted long throws ala Fazli from their right-back into our box. We repelled the ensuing waves of attack with time running out but with a minute remaining, we finally caved in to concede a late equalizer. The opponents launched another long throw from the right flank towards the near post, which was headed by an opponent across our goal. His team-mate stole in to head the loose ball home to rapturous celebration. Omar's defending was the subject of a post-mortem inquiry, as he had failed to make any sort of challenge to head the loose ball away before the opponent could get to it. On the other hand, it does take a natural Vidic- or Ivanovic-type defending against such off-the-ball attacking runs, like what the opponent did. In that, at least, we learnt a valuable lesson for our future games.
On reflection, the draw was perhaps a fair result. However, we were still disappointed to concede such a dramatic last-minute equalizer, when a victory would have otherwise seen us start the fasting month at the top of the table, even if it is a slender lead. The finish line is in sight and a strong finish is on the cards. We must remain optimistic, even as we continue to enjoy an Indian summer in our 3rd season in the league. On a brighter note, we are now one goal away from scoring our 200th goal. Farhan, who has scored 3 league goals after this game, is also one goal away from reaching an historic 40th personal 'competitive' goal for the team. I must also compliment Huang, one of our unsung heroes, and also one of our longest-serving players, for filling in at right-back and proving his versatility yet again.
Akim