Goodfellas 6 (Hans, Bear, Jeetu, Hans, Hans, Peps)
Lei Jun 2
(HT: 3-1)
First Half: Peps; Parker (Nathan), Bear; Alex M (Eddie), Jason, Jeetu
(Alex); Hans
Second Half: Peps; Nathan (Parker), Bear; Eddie (Alex M), Jason
(Hans), Alex (Jeetu); Dessa
Goodfellas earned their first victory since joining the M7 league this autumn, led by a hat trick from Hans. Perhaps spurred on by an inspiring pre-match talk, the team started with much intensity and found themselves camped in the opponent's half. The intensity paid off almost immediately as we found ourselves 2-0 up from two well taken corners. Hans first hit a screamer from the far left, and then Bear looped in a header right in front of Lei Jun's goalkeeper. To round off a strong first 15 minutes, Jeetu stormed down the right flank and shot to the far left post to put the team up by three.
While deflated, Lei Jun continued plugging away, and were rewarded
just before the half when one of their several long range shots looped over Peps into the top left corner. This was a timely reminder that despite being 3-1 up, we couldn't let up.
The second half began with more tempo, although Lei Jun had more
swagger and moved the ball more comfortably across the back, while
Dessa chased their defenders. And their persistent again paid off
when a seemingly innocous shot from the top of the box slipped between
Peps' fingers. 3-2. Soon afterwards, with Jason Li leaving the pitch
to tend to family matters, fresh legs were soon brought back on. With
it, along came a level of intensity that had been missing since the
first 15 minutes. Again, Hans reopened his goal account with a well
taken shot from the edge of the box, and the fellas were back in the
driving seat. Soon afterwards, Hans collected his hat trick and would
have been on song for a fourth had it not been for a clumsy challenge
that brought him down in the box. Making ammends for his earlier
howler, one brave soul stepped up to calmly slot in the penalty.
Goalkeeper and now Goalscorer: Pravesh Narain. 6-2. The final
whistle came soon afterwards, but probably not too soon for a dejected
Lei Jun.
Early in the second half, a frustrated Lei Jun defender was stripped
of the ball by Alex C. As the latter was pulling away, the defender
bear hugged Alex only to be greeted by Alex's response: "What the
is this?". The defender had no response, beyond a shrug after being
showed a yellow card. Perhaps the right response: "A Goodfellas
drubbing".
____________________
Our condolences to Jason Li and his family.
Analysis: The entire team played hard, and getting those early goals
put the opponents on their back heel, and us within sight of victory
even before halftime whistle. Frankly, it was difficult to pick one
outstanding player of the game given the workrate of everyone from
defence, midfield, and attack. Concentration lapses resulted in two
goals against us, but that shouldn't blemish the fact that we played
smooth, disciplined, intense football. Great win.
Man of the Match: Hans
