Toa Payoh, Singapore
Chestercity FC fresh from the 6-0 drubbing of FC92 find themselves with a tough opponents today in Jurong Shipyard FC. Although the reverse fixture shows in favour of the away team today,
Chestercity FC cursed their luck with several key players out due to suspension and commitment. One of them is City's captain Indra who is serving a 1 match ban after being sent off over the weekend, with Faizal and Charlie pulling out and Miah and Brahim on overseas trip City was left daunting as first choice keeper Safiuddin and Mizan were on their trials with First XI.
City squad was reduced to 14 before kick off. It was drizzling in the northern part of the island and City Coach Ridwan had a couple of last minute tactical changes before the start of the match.
Naming Amin between the sticks, the back 4 was reshuffled seeing Jelson partnering last man Fred with Hairull on the right and Xavier on the left. In midfield, Hakim started on the right pushing Anon to the left, with Naufal joining Bob and Ryan in the centre of midfield. Upfront City's top scorer was a lone striker. City had Tevez and Hafiz on the bench. Coach Ridwan even named himself as a subtitute.
JSFC certainly want to captilised on their numerical advantage they have on the subs bench by going gung ho attacking from the start. They had a couple of shots grazing past the post and the also rattled the bar. City did not backed down. They dust themselves off and with a delicate pass by Bob, Naufal saw his shot parried away by JSFC custodian. JSFC pushed forward leaving gaps in the centre of midfield where City players exploited.
In the 17th minute, it was City up by a goal. Xavier picks up a loose ball and with arch of space, he launched a defence splitting pass to Gabir. The Egyptian will plenty to do, does well to evade his 2 markers and toe pokes past the keeper.
JSFC did not stop there. After the wake up call, they sprung straight into attack, forcing Amin into saves and also shots was a bit way to high.
City pressed on, Bob had a few decent chances but can only see his efforts well wide.
With that referee brought the match to halftime. City coach brought on Tevez and Hafiz in place of Bob and Xavier. Second half saw a different side of JSFC as they made a couple of changes of their own.
Fred organized his back guards well caught the opponents with few offside traps but haplessly was unable to prevent himself from getting into the referee's book after giving away a freekick on the edge of the 6yard box. Up steps their number 7 who feints the City's wall and score by driving a low shot past Amin. Well taken equaliser. Soon City was in 6 and 7s while they tried to cope with their opponents attacking foray. Bob was brought on back to stabilize the midfield but JSFC proved they were too strong.
A defence splitting pass saw their number 11 through shoots past Amin but it went inches past the left hand post. JSFC players held their hands on their heads for that golden opportunity miss. With one strike of luck, Hakim picks up a loose ball sends it to Tevez who skips past his marker and with an acute angle, he manages to squeeze it past to put City in front.
With that goal, JSFC attack again. They had a penalty claim turned down and an attack which left the same number 11 one on one with Amin, who only managed to shoot it wide under pressure.
That prompt City coach to come on in replace of Ryan and shuffled the midfield. He took the defensive midfield role just in front of his back 4, pushes Naufal to left mid with Hakim and Bob in a more advance midfield role.
That proves to be good tactical change as they cut their opponents movement and limited their creating options. City had one final chance, with Tevez through, he was cynically brought down by JSFC defender but instead of sending the player off for professional foul, referee flashes only a yellow which saw City players fuming about the referee's decision.
With Hakim, Tevez, Naufal and City's coach all standing behind this freekick, it was Tevez who took it but he was denied by the crossbar.
City cursed their luck yet again, with seconds remaining, City parked the bus in front of their goal and the final whistle was music to their ears as they continue their winning streak to 6 games with today's 2-1 win.
City coach commented after the game,"We've overcome the odds and the lads did incredibly well today. It was a special win compared to the 6-0 win over FC92. The lads work their socks off and every player deserved the credit. Jelson did well for his first outing as central back and Fred did his best to guide him. It's a fairy tale ending yet again for City as they've given a 130% performance and did not make a single mistake. The match could go either way if the team or the opponents took their chances but in the end it goes the right way and I'm happy with all 3 points. I hope the guys stay focus on our next league match against JFC and even though we are on top of the table, we must not be complacent and must continue to produce results and be consistent."
