CDFBP secured their first win of the season by beating Maoist FC 4 - 2 on a day which also saw the drought in Singapore come to an end. In crazy match with 6 goals, 3 penalties and 2 red card no one could asked for any more entertainment. But CDFBP can be proud that they beat a 14-Man Maoist FC as the refereeing was just atrocious. 3 penalties were awarded to the Maoist with only 1 being legit. But it was a case of Yin and Yang as all three were missed with two being ballooned and 1 saved by Chris. And the handling of the red cards went on to show the incompetence of the referee. CDFBP started well and wanted to win and they came off with two quick goals with the first 10 minutes of the game. Francis took a shot from outside the box which left the Maoist keeper no chance to give CDFBP the lead. Minutes later after being played in by Faisal, Francis beat his man and shot down low to the right of the Maoist keeper to beat him. 2 - 0 to the Pakkers. But the Pakkers never like it easy and Vasanth gave away a penalty after a blatant foul on the Maoist Captain after he lost the ball to them. But the Maoist striker blasted the ball over the goal and Vasanth breathed a huge sigh of relief. But that penalty seemed to have spurred on the Maoist and the game was even from then on with both teams squandering numerous chances in the last third of the pitch, a trait which is common in the EFL strugglers this season. A long ball in from the defence was failed to be cleared by Ashraf and as Vasanth tried to play the ball back to Chris, he lost his footing and the Maoist captain edged him and shot home to put Maoist back in the game. 2 - 1 was the half time score.
Second half was also similarly even and the Maoist were shockingly awarded two penalties in a row. The first was when the Maoist left winger was played down the left flank. Ganesh was chasing him and both tripped and fell and the referee blew and pointed straight to the spot. From his point of view and interpretation and giving him the benefit of the doubt, the Pakkers decided to move on. And as the first this was also blasted over even though it was a different kicker. And minutes later, Maoist were awarded a penalty again! This time it was for a handball offence from Satish. A shot from the Maoist striker hit Satish and the linesman interpreted it to be the ball being deflected by Satish purposely using his hand. And up stepped a third Maoist player and his shot was comfortably saved by Chris. This historical event would bring one's attention to 1999 when Martin Palermo missed 3 penalties for Argentina in a Copa America fixture against Colombia. The first penalty rebounded off the crossbar; the second penalty went over; the third was saved by the Colombian goalkeeper. Argentina went on to lose 3 - 0 to Colombia.
CDFBP went on to score the third goal when Mitchell was played through on goal by Cedric and he slotted the ball home to give CDFBP some cushion. Down into the game, came the ugly side of football. As Faisal got the ball he was kicked at by the Maoist midfielder and lost the ball. No freekick was given by the Referee as he seemed have lost his bearings. Enraged, Faisal went on to do the same and the Maoist midfielder retaliated aggressively and Faisal had to defend himself which turned out to be an ugly confrontation. Both players were pulled apart and the Referee sent both of them off. To everyone's bemusement, the referee awarded a freekick to the Maoist. If the Referee had blew the whistle when Faisal was fouled, the red cards and the unnecessary free kick could have been avoided. However, the freekick was beautifully converted by the Maoist midfielder which left Chris rooted to his spot and reduced the deficit. With 10 man apiece, it became an evenly contested match. But CDFBP edged a step further as Meya ran down the flank and pulled the ball back for Francis to score his third and also deflate the hopes of a comeback for the Maoist. CDFBP held on to win the game and recorded their first win of the season in the league.
One would ask if the referee was biased and the view from the general public is more towards the incompetence of the referee.
