Scorers (assists)
Omar (Azmi)
Man of the Match
Omar
Wilson (GK)
Fairuz - Salleh - Azmi - Daniel (debut)
Shafi - Akim - Huang - Omar
Farhan - Ariel Shahril
Subs:
Kevin
Fazli
Ken
Andy (debut)
Kamarul
Our team in D2D league
Rest of league results
In an evening game played at Tanglin Sec, Kambing FC were knocked out by Division 3 leaders Kentridge Rangers, in a round-of-32 match of the D2D Cup. We did well to finish mid-table in an inconsistent league campaign, and were looking forward to a decent cup run. Instead, we were handed a tough fixture. Still, there were, yet again, plenty of positives to take away from this loss and I feel rejuvenated to lead the team into next season.
Ariel Shahril, who impressed on his debut last week, started the match with Farhan in attack. Daniel made his debut in the starting line-up. Otherwise, it was a familiar team that started the match. On the bench, Kamarul, who debuted with Shahril s, was a welcome sight, Ken returned after a long absence, and Andy was poised to make his debut too. Long-time players Fazli and Kevin rounded up the rest of the bench.
We got off to a fantastic start early on when Omar scored to give us the lead. Azmi's freekick on the halfway line found Omar in space on the left flank. Our wingman maintained his composure to elude his defender with a feint and a twist, to dribble his way into the penalty box. Once inside, he looked up at goal and scored with an exquisite finish, to end his magical individual play, into the far corner of the goal.
Kentridge Rangers did not panic as we gave them plenty of possession of the ball. We defended assuredly at times but struggled to retain possession. Our opponents soon found chinks in our armour and adopted a gameplan to stretch both our flanks and played crossfield passes from midfield behind our two fullbacks. Fairuz and Daniel found it tough to cope with those passes as their wide midfielders constantly found themselves with time and space. They utilized these to full effect with a variety of tactical options to dribble their way or cross the ball into our penalty box.
One such occasion led to the equalizer. A counter-attack led to another crossfield pass to the right flank. The opponent drilled in a low cross-cum-shot towards Wilson, who could only fumbled the ball in front of him. An incoming team-mate pounced onto the loose ball to scramble home the equalizer.
Kamarul, who came on for Shahrul early on, came close with a long-range effort that just skied over the bar. Wilson was then being forced to call into action as KR continued to keep up the pressure. He fumbled another low cross but reacted quickly to grab the loose ball, and later made a fantastic save from the opponent left midfielder, who had moments earlier slalomed his way through with a dribble. Failing to deal with those solo dribbles was one of the more prominent weaknesses in our team.
The half-time break provided reprieve from the growing discomfort caused by KR's confident performance in the first half. We made numerous tactical changes, with Shahril s slotting in alongside Azmi in the heart of defence, with Salleh and Kevin deployed at right-back and left-back. Andy, who came on in the first half to assist Huang to minimize the damage in midfield, retained the destroyer role while Fazli and Ken took the right mid and left mid slots. Kamarul and I led the attack.
This team that began the second half was a different animal from the relatively tame creature we had put out in the first. We dominated from the restart and played our best football in the match.
Kamarul and I linked up often to show signs of a promising partnership and one such link-up play almost led us to regain the lead. I latched onto a long pass from Shahril s, and played it first-time towards the penalty box into the path of Kamarul, who had surged from midfield. Kamarul opted not to shoot first-time, and the opportunity was gone when he lost control of the ball after rounding the GK.
We continued to keep up the pressure as the midfield quartet of Fazli, Ken, Andy and Huang became an influential core of our team's performance, such that our defence was untroubled and Wilson was picking on the opponents loose long punts. Shahril s gave us a tenacious and commanding element with some committed tackles. Ken was very lively and although he disappointed with the final pass, he showed glimpses of his potential. Fazli's delivery, on the other hand, gave us some opportunities to sustain our strangehold in and around the opponents' penalty box.
It seems as though we were the more likely team to break the deadlock, and it was heard that the KR players were telling themselves to snatch control of the game. It was disappointing then, when against the run of play, they took the lead from their first chance in the half. We lost possession in midfield and KR launched a counter-attack and switched play to the right flank. The opponent supplied a perfect delivery for his team-mate who scored with a header that gave Wilson no chance.
The balance of play was slowly shifting away towards a more neutral level as KR finally got their game going, even as our performance level were starting to dip. We saw plenty of the ball in KR's half, but could not create meaningful chances. Wilson and co. kept us in the game as Wilson was forced to call into action more often as the game wore on. I cannot fault the commitment of the team, which was exemplified by Azmi's tackle on one occasion, and at only 1-2 down, we still had time to salvage a result, with Farhan, Shafi, Omar, Fairuz and Daniel all coming on to make way for tiring legs.
Ultimately, KR secured their passage into the round of 16 with the decisive goal. We again did not deal with an opponent dribble, who surged from midfield towards our penalty box past a couple of our players. As he drove a low, stiff shot, it seems Wilson had made a fantastic save but the ball cruelly bounced over into an empty net.
Another season ends without silverware after this cup tie defeat. It has been a frustrating stop-start season, especially in the league, but I hope our performance in this last game can spur the team forward in a new campaign with an expected fresh start all around.
Akim
Rest of league results
In an evening game played at Tanglin Sec, Kambing FC were knocked out by Division 3 leaders Kentridge Rangers, in a round-of-32 match of the D2D Cup. We did well to finish mid-table in an inconsistent league campaign, and were looking forward to a decent cup run. Instead, we were handed a tough fixture. Still, there were, yet again, plenty of positives to take away from this loss and I feel rejuvenated to lead the team into next season.
Ariel Shahril, who impressed on his debut last week, started the match with Farhan in attack. Daniel made his debut in the starting line-up. Otherwise, it was a familiar team that started the match. On the bench, Kamarul, who debuted with Shahril s, was a welcome sight, Ken returned after a long absence, and Andy was poised to make his debut too. Long-time players Fazli and Kevin rounded up the rest of the bench.
We got off to a fantastic start early on when Omar scored to give us the lead. Azmi's freekick on the halfway line found Omar in space on the left flank. Our wingman maintained his composure to elude his defender with a feint and a twist, to dribble his way into the penalty box. Once inside, he looked up at goal and scored with an exquisite finish, to end his magical individual play, into the far corner of the goal.
Kentridge Rangers did not panic as we gave them plenty of possession of the ball. We defended assuredly at times but struggled to retain possession. Our opponents soon found chinks in our armour and adopted a gameplan to stretch both our flanks and played crossfield passes from midfield behind our two fullbacks. Fairuz and Daniel found it tough to cope with those passes as their wide midfielders constantly found themselves with time and space. They utilized these to full effect with a variety of tactical options to dribble their way or cross the ball into our penalty box.
One such occasion led to the equalizer. A counter-attack led to another crossfield pass to the right flank. The opponent drilled in a low cross-cum-shot towards Wilson, who could only fumbled the ball in front of him. An incoming team-mate pounced onto the loose ball to scramble home the equalizer.
Kamarul, who came on for Shahrul early on, came close with a long-range effort that just skied over the bar. Wilson was then being forced to call into action as KR continued to keep up the pressure. He fumbled another low cross but reacted quickly to grab the loose ball, and later made a fantastic save from the opponent left midfielder, who had moments earlier slalomed his way through with a dribble. Failing to deal with those solo dribbles was one of the more prominent weaknesses in our team.
The half-time break provided reprieve from the growing discomfort caused by KR's confident performance in the first half. We made numerous tactical changes, with Shahril s slotting in alongside Azmi in the heart of defence, with Salleh and Kevin deployed at right-back and left-back. Andy, who came on in the first half to assist Huang to minimize the damage in midfield, retained the destroyer role while Fazli and Ken took the right mid and left mid slots. Kamarul and I led the attack.
This team that began the second half was a different animal from the relatively tame creature we had put out in the first. We dominated from the restart and played our best football in the match.
Kamarul and I linked up often to show signs of a promising partnership and one such link-up play almost led us to regain the lead. I latched onto a long pass from Shahril s, and played it first-time towards the penalty box into the path of Kamarul, who had surged from midfield. Kamarul opted not to shoot first-time, and the opportunity was gone when he lost control of the ball after rounding the GK.
We continued to keep up the pressure as the midfield quartet of Fazli, Ken, Andy and Huang became an influential core of our team's performance, such that our defence was untroubled and Wilson was picking on the opponents loose long punts. Shahril s gave us a tenacious and commanding element with some committed tackles. Ken was very lively and although he disappointed with the final pass, he showed glimpses of his potential. Fazli's delivery, on the other hand, gave us some opportunities to sustain our strangehold in and around the opponents' penalty box.
It seems as though we were the more likely team to break the deadlock, and it was heard that the KR players were telling themselves to snatch control of the game. It was disappointing then, when against the run of play, they took the lead from their first chance in the half. We lost possession in midfield and KR launched a counter-attack and switched play to the right flank. The opponent supplied a perfect delivery for his team-mate who scored with a header that gave Wilson no chance.
The balance of play was slowly shifting away towards a more neutral level as KR finally got their game going, even as our performance level were starting to dip. We saw plenty of the ball in KR's half, but could not create meaningful chances. Wilson and co. kept us in the game as Wilson was forced to call into action more often as the game wore on. I cannot fault the commitment of the team, which was exemplified by Azmi's tackle on one occasion, and at only 1-2 down, we still had time to salvage a result, with Farhan, Shafi, Omar, Fairuz and Daniel all coming on to make way for tiring legs.
Ultimately, KR secured their passage into the round of 16 with the decisive goal. We again did not deal with an opponent dribble, who surged from midfield towards our penalty box past a couple of our players. As he drove a low, stiff shot, it seems Wilson had made a fantastic save but the ball cruelly bounced over into an empty net.
Another season ends without silverware after this cup tie defeat. It has been a frustrating stop-start season, especially in the league, but I hope our performance in this last game can spur the team forward in a new campaign with an expected fresh start all around.
Akim