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Scorers (assists)
Helmi (pen)
Akim (-)
Man Of The Match
Andrew (7) - defended superbly, unsung hero, a good addition to the team and need more games to get his sharpness
Akim (2)
Syafiq (2)
Azhari (1) - superb performance as DM especially during 1st half
Mubarak (1) - rampaging fullback
Rahman (1) - reason for all the goals, even for opponent's penalty
Wilson (1) - confident handling
Yellow card:
Fazli (2nd half)
Akim (2nd half)
Rahman (2nd half)
Wilson (GK)
Firdaus Masdar - Andrew - Azmi - Mubarak
Kelvin - Akim - Azhari - Helmi
Azman
Fazli
Subs:
Yazier
Calvin
Amin
Syafiq
Rahman
Our team in D2D league
Rest of league results
After two straight defeats, followed by last week's adjourned game with league leaders Forza Ze East (FZE), Kambing FC got back to winning ways to maintain the pace at the top of the table after this narrow win on an unpredictable, bouncy pitch of Compassvale Secondary School. After a drab, goalless first half, Helmi scored his 1st league goal of the season to give us the lead from a penalty midway through the second, which had been followed by a red card for the opponents. I then headed in my 5th goal of the season to double the lead before Redbacks FC struck back through another penalty to ensure a tight, nervy finish to the game.
The absence of regular players and a strong depth in central midfield meant Helmi was reverted to left midfield and Azman reprised the support striker role. Fazli started as the lone striker, while Andrew and Azhari started their first league games.
We started well against an opponents who began with ten men. The ball was bouncing a little haphazardly, and our basic individual control were tested, but fortunately, it was not an issue for us deep in our half. Azman had an early shot on goal and Fazli had a few early chances to display his trademark long throws, which posed the main problem as Azman came close with a header at the near post. Redbacks played on the counterattacks and Wilson almost fumbled a save during a one-on-one challenge. I then had a glorious chance to break the deadlock after being put through on goal from Azmi's freekick, but the chance was gone when I hesitated instead of shooting first time. We failed to build on our strong start as we wasted possession, myself being the main culprit of giving the ball away cheaply. However, our defence were repelling waves of Redbacks' tentative pressure. Wilson had an easy task of picking up loose opponents' passes and making routine saves from a couple of shots, but was reliable with handling the high balls. The defence held up well, Andrew, particularly, was decisive in the tackles and interceptions, and forged a sound partnership alongside the ever-dependable Azmi in the heart of defence. It remained 0-0 at half-time.
It was a more entertaining second half. Both Syafiq and Rahman, who came on in the first half, were again very lively in attack after the restart, striking up a mutual understanding to link up with each other. However, Syafiq spurned another glorious chance for the team. From Amin's freekick deep in our half, Rahman's knockdown header on the edge of the box was perfectly placed in Syafiq's path but our diminutive winger could only tamely shot at the GK when a goal seemed inevitable. Syafiq did extremely well to make that off-the-ball run though.
Our defence was still doing their part to keep the score goalless but as the game stretched itself, anxiety was creeping in and we needed a goal to calm down some nerves. The bounce of the ball continued to be unpredictable and Andrew was almost left red-faced when his awkward looping header crashed against our crossbar and out for a corner. Calvin was then forced to concede another corner, when the ball simply stopped rolling on our byline. The end result was almost disastrous as there was a strong penalty appeal when Mubarak had seemingly handled the ball from the follow-up opponent's cross. The Redbacks were pushing us hard at this point as we chased shadows and lacked the composure to muster an attacking threat despite Azman's long balls, from freekicks or otherwise, Helmi's incisiveness in midfield, Syafiq's livewire display on the right flank, Kelvin's and later, Fazli's, enterprise on the opposite flank and Rahman's doggedness in attack.
There was finally a momentum of sorts in our favour, when I, having came on for Azman, intercepted an opponent throw-in on the left flank and launched a breakaway attack that broke down prematurely. However, that short burst of spell probably galvanized us and we were awarded a penalty soon after. Fazli's long throw was on display again, and it was catapulted towards Rahman's path at the near post. Sensing danger, the opponent, who probably knew little about it, clumsily hacked down Rahman from behind, and was dismissed when he was shown his second yellow card. Helmi confidently sent the GK the wrong way to finally open the floodgates and scored his 1st league goal of the season.
To their credit, Redbacks did not back down and foraged for an equalizer but our defence were stubbornly, if nervously, holding on. On the other hand, so late in the game, we were still trying to string more than two passes together. The goal must have restored our belief, however, as we played our best move of the match with a series of quick passes to initiate a counterattack, that resulted in Syafiq earning a freekick in a dangerous position.
There has been a consistent, almost unspoken rule that the attacking team is given the benefit of taking quick freekicks, and the referee can allow it without the need to ask the defending team for a wall. We knew that and were punished for it in the 0-1 loss against Team Tsubasa three weeks ago. This time around, there seemed to be double standards in refereeing when the referee flashed me a yellow card, coincidentally my first ever in the league, when I tried to take a quick freekick as well. The referee claimed he informed us that he told us that he will blow the whistle once the opponent wall is ready. From what I understand though, a referee is supposed to let us decide if we wanted the wall and anyway, Fazli, our freekick taker, did not ask for the wall too.
Nevertheless, I put my frustration aside and waited for Fazli's freekick to hit on target. It did, and when the ball bounced out of the GK's hands, I reacted fastest to head it into the bottom corner of the net as we crucially extended our lead to 2-0. Till then, I had a disappointing game, and having spurned our first real chance of the match, I felt relieved to have made amends.
Just minutes later, Redbacks halved the deficit when the referee awarded a dubious penalty. For the second match running, Rahman conceded it and like in the previos game, the decision looked harsh. The opponent's corner was going nowhere towards the far post while Rahman and the opponent were tussling at the near post. The referee must have thought that the same opponent could leap twenty feet in the air to take on the corner when he awarded the penalty. For their part in the foul, Rahman and the opponent were shown the yellow card as the opponent smashed home the penalty kick, giving Wilson no chance at all to make a save. That set up a nervy finale for the remainder of the match but the game petered out almost to a whimper. We determinedly held on for the win, and with almost half the season gone, we are in a good position to mount a title challenge in the weeks to come.
Special mention to Mubarak who took the intitative to ask me about the game this week, played an entire match, and patrolled the left flank very well. Also to Yazier, who answered the team's call and put in a good shift.
Akim
Rest of league results
After two straight defeats, followed by last week's adjourned game with league leaders Forza Ze East (FZE), Kambing FC got back to winning ways to maintain the pace at the top of the table after this narrow win on an unpredictable, bouncy pitch of Compassvale Secondary School. After a drab, goalless first half, Helmi scored his 1st league goal of the season to give us the lead from a penalty midway through the second, which had been followed by a red card for the opponents. I then headed in my 5th goal of the season to double the lead before Redbacks FC struck back through another penalty to ensure a tight, nervy finish to the game.
The absence of regular players and a strong depth in central midfield meant Helmi was reverted to left midfield and Azman reprised the support striker role. Fazli started as the lone striker, while Andrew and Azhari started their first league games.
We started well against an opponents who began with ten men. The ball was bouncing a little haphazardly, and our basic individual control were tested, but fortunately, it was not an issue for us deep in our half. Azman had an early shot on goal and Fazli had a few early chances to display his trademark long throws, which posed the main problem as Azman came close with a header at the near post. Redbacks played on the counterattacks and Wilson almost fumbled a save during a one-on-one challenge. I then had a glorious chance to break the deadlock after being put through on goal from Azmi's freekick, but the chance was gone when I hesitated instead of shooting first time. We failed to build on our strong start as we wasted possession, myself being the main culprit of giving the ball away cheaply. However, our defence were repelling waves of Redbacks' tentative pressure. Wilson had an easy task of picking up loose opponents' passes and making routine saves from a couple of shots, but was reliable with handling the high balls. The defence held up well, Andrew, particularly, was decisive in the tackles and interceptions, and forged a sound partnership alongside the ever-dependable Azmi in the heart of defence. It remained 0-0 at half-time.
It was a more entertaining second half. Both Syafiq and Rahman, who came on in the first half, were again very lively in attack after the restart, striking up a mutual understanding to link up with each other. However, Syafiq spurned another glorious chance for the team. From Amin's freekick deep in our half, Rahman's knockdown header on the edge of the box was perfectly placed in Syafiq's path but our diminutive winger could only tamely shot at the GK when a goal seemed inevitable. Syafiq did extremely well to make that off-the-ball run though.
Our defence was still doing their part to keep the score goalless but as the game stretched itself, anxiety was creeping in and we needed a goal to calm down some nerves. The bounce of the ball continued to be unpredictable and Andrew was almost left red-faced when his awkward looping header crashed against our crossbar and out for a corner. Calvin was then forced to concede another corner, when the ball simply stopped rolling on our byline. The end result was almost disastrous as there was a strong penalty appeal when Mubarak had seemingly handled the ball from the follow-up opponent's cross. The Redbacks were pushing us hard at this point as we chased shadows and lacked the composure to muster an attacking threat despite Azman's long balls, from freekicks or otherwise, Helmi's incisiveness in midfield, Syafiq's livewire display on the right flank, Kelvin's and later, Fazli's, enterprise on the opposite flank and Rahman's doggedness in attack.
There was finally a momentum of sorts in our favour, when I, having came on for Azman, intercepted an opponent throw-in on the left flank and launched a breakaway attack that broke down prematurely. However, that short burst of spell probably galvanized us and we were awarded a penalty soon after. Fazli's long throw was on display again, and it was catapulted towards Rahman's path at the near post. Sensing danger, the opponent, who probably knew little about it, clumsily hacked down Rahman from behind, and was dismissed when he was shown his second yellow card. Helmi confidently sent the GK the wrong way to finally open the floodgates and scored his 1st league goal of the season.
To their credit, Redbacks did not back down and foraged for an equalizer but our defence were stubbornly, if nervously, holding on. On the other hand, so late in the game, we were still trying to string more than two passes together. The goal must have restored our belief, however, as we played our best move of the match with a series of quick passes to initiate a counterattack, that resulted in Syafiq earning a freekick in a dangerous position.
There has been a consistent, almost unspoken rule that the attacking team is given the benefit of taking quick freekicks, and the referee can allow it without the need to ask the defending team for a wall. We knew that and were punished for it in the 0-1 loss against Team Tsubasa three weeks ago. This time around, there seemed to be double standards in refereeing when the referee flashed me a yellow card, coincidentally my first ever in the league, when I tried to take a quick freekick as well. The referee claimed he informed us that he told us that he will blow the whistle once the opponent wall is ready. From what I understand though, a referee is supposed to let us decide if we wanted the wall and anyway, Fazli, our freekick taker, did not ask for the wall too.
Nevertheless, I put my frustration aside and waited for Fazli's freekick to hit on target. It did, and when the ball bounced out of the GK's hands, I reacted fastest to head it into the bottom corner of the net as we crucially extended our lead to 2-0. Till then, I had a disappointing game, and having spurned our first real chance of the match, I felt relieved to have made amends.
Just minutes later, Redbacks halved the deficit when the referee awarded a dubious penalty. For the second match running, Rahman conceded it and like in the previos game, the decision looked harsh. The opponent's corner was going nowhere towards the far post while Rahman and the opponent were tussling at the near post. The referee must have thought that the same opponent could leap twenty feet in the air to take on the corner when he awarded the penalty. For their part in the foul, Rahman and the opponent were shown the yellow card as the opponent smashed home the penalty kick, giving Wilson no chance at all to make a save. That set up a nervy finale for the remainder of the match but the game petered out almost to a whimper. We determinedly held on for the win, and with almost half the season gone, we are in a good position to mount a title challenge in the weeks to come.
Special mention to Mubarak who took the intitative to ask me about the game this week, played an entire match, and patrolled the left flank very well. Also to Yazier, who answered the team's call and put in a good shift.
Akim