We played against a Rojak team comprising of Viets and Ang Mos. Someone told me that we had played this team before but it must have been quite a while back.
We started with the team below:-
Keeper: SK
Defence: Jiunn / Ben / Clarence / Bee
Midfield: Harold / Yiong / Lawrence / Patrick / Richard
Striker: Colin
For the second week in row, our team conceded a goal in the eighth minutes after kick off. We defintely started better than our previous game. Despite the early goal, our team responded with some good movements from the middle of the park. The game plan was to press higher and to pass the ball faster from either through the middle or the flanks.
Our first goal came from a sweet movements down the middle and Richard scored a fabulous goal while attacking from the left. After receiving the ball in the middle, Colin spotted Richard's run from his left and neatly sqaured up the ball for him to score our equalizer in the 13th minutes. The goal seems to spur us up with more confident. Shortly after the first goal, Yew Boon was introduced for Colin. His won us a penalty with almost his first touch. A nice thru pass again from the middle led to him being fouled in the penalty area. The referee pointed to the spot without hesitation. Lawrence stepped up and converted. He later admitted that the ball was slightly under hit which could have been easily saved but somehow their keeper didn't dive quick enough to his right to prevent the goal. We lead 2-1 after 15 mins.
Our second goal seems to spur our opponent up. It could be due to our substitutions that lead to them forcing us to make mistakes. Their star player was dictating the play and their forward has been causing the defence some difficult suitations. He was quite mobile popping all over the final 3rd and making good runs into the channels.
Their second came in the 21st min. The goal was a contentious one and it shouldn't have stand as their striker was in an off-site position. The referee did admit that it was his error and he apologized for his mistake.
The moment of madness came deep in the first half. Clarence made a reckless challenge and hacked their striker in the box. The Referee blew for a penalty and awarded him a yellow card. Fortuntately for us, the opponent blasted his spot kick high and we remained at 2-2 at half time.
The team started the second half with more intent. The plan was to have the midfielder press more in this half. Richard and Patrick were deployed in the attacking position supporting Colin. The move worked and Richard became more influential in the game. We scored our 3rd goal in the 49 mins. Good link-up play between Richard and Lawrence created a goal scoring opportunity for Colin and he duly converted.
Yew Boon got into the score sheet in the 59 mins. Our goals of late all came throught the middle and this time it was Patrick's good work that assisted YB with a fine taken goal. Our attacking midfield trio has been working tirelessly in creating chances and defending well. Our 5th goal was resulted from high pressing again. A back pass from their defender resulted in the opposition own goal. Credit must be given to our midfield again for the high pressing.
Clarence got his marching order towards the end of the game with his seconf yellow card. We played out the last 5 minutes with only 10 on the pitch. The game ended 5-2 to Fluid United.
Well play lads!
Richard is the MoM for this match. He's first equalizing goal and his contributions stand out among his peers. Keep up the good job, Richard.
There are a few areas that we still need to work on before we can embark on a unbeaten run. By now, we should be familiar with the system and formation. We need to remain calm and composed during play. There are still moments that we were rushing our play and was punished by our lack of composure.
A couple of weeks back, I brought up the issue of communications. Let me re-emphasize again, it is the Manager's job to bark instructions during the game. The captain in the pitch will reinforce the Manager's instructions. Those on the sidelines are welcome to give your encouragements to your teammates but not instructions. I do not wish for the players to get confused during game play.
Another thing I want the team to show is Respect to the Referee. Please remember, we are not playing in a professional league so do not expect a professional referee running our game. They are humans too and they will make mistakes. His job is not easy and it's more difficult playing without linesmen. The least we can do is show some respects whether his is doing a good job or not.
Lastly, let's continue to give encouragements to our teammates during the game. No one wish to make mistakes and no one deserved to be slendered for making one. So please encourage and respect your teammates.
See you guys this week.
