Date: 20 November 2010
Time: 1330 hrs
Venue: Ho Man Tin #2
Opposition: Mes Amis
Final Score: 3-3 (Cedric, Paul 2)
Team: Andrew, Justin, Howard, Kelvin, David C, Chris, Cedric, Kai, Julian, Ariel, Steve G, Mark C, Belgium (mate what's your real name again?), Paul
P9 W5 D1 L3 F28 A13 GD+15 Pts: 16
Sequence: W W W L L W W L D
League Position: 4th
A must win game for us in order to keep our title hopes alive and get back on track after narrowly losing to Spartans 2-1 last week.
After a brief pre-match rambling from yours truly (sorry Howard, I know how lousy that speech was), we took to the pitch to face the 08-09 league champions Mes Amis - one of the most unpredictable teams in the 09-10 and current season.
1st half line up:
Julian(GK), Steve G(LB) Howard(CB), Kelvin(CB), Andrew(RB), Cedric(LM), Justin(CM), Mark C(CM), Kai(RM), Ariel(FW), Paul(FW)
The first 15 minutes of the game was very evenly contested but we slowly asserted our dominance with Justin winning 90% of the high balls/goal kicks and Mark C marshalling everything on the ground in the midfield. On the flanks, both Cedric and Kai were giving their markers plenty of headache by making well timed runs and simple one-two plays. Cedric once again displayed his superior skills by running circles around his markers on numerous occasions and Kai did well to put in a few good crosses. Up front, Ariel and Paul were giving the opposition's defence a tough time as there were plenty of supply from our tireless midfielders, both came agonizingly close to scoring but Mes's big keeper pulled off some fine saves to keep them in the game. On the other end, their speedy forward (no.20) had his share of chances and made some very threatening runs but our back four plus Julian coordinated well to keep him at bay. Garrow in particular was rock solid at left back and defended very intelligently - he rarely had to chase after his target but was always able to position himself at the right place and time to clear any impending danger. Against the run of play, Mes broke the deadlock with a well taken corner and equally well timed header, the ball bounced in from an unlikely angle and we went into the break one goal to the bad.
2nd half line up:
Julian(GK), Steve G(LB) Howard(CB), David C(CB), Belgium(RB), Cedric(LM), Justin(CM), Mark C(CM), Kai(RM), Ariel(FW), Paul(FW)
The second half started in similar fashion as the first half with both sides playing attacking football and creating chances. David C and Belgium came on for Kelvin and myself and played their respective positions exceptionally well. Our equaliser came when Ariel managed to beat two defenders down the right flank and crossed a perfect ball for Cedric to slot home (his goal celebration was pure class). Unfortunately, Mes won a free kick not long after and "big time" struck home with a rocket shot into the top right corner, Julian did well enough to at least react in time to attempt a save but it was not to be. Despite falling behind for the second time, our spirit was unbroken and we worked even harder to fight back, no heads were dropped and with well over 20 minutes on the clock, the game was still open ended and we had everything to play for. Chris came on for Mark C and had a few good touches despite his hamstring injury, which crippled his usual skills and pace somewhat. Our efforts finally paid off with two extremely well taken goals by Paul, both were scored in the most adverse of situations and had he delayed both shots by half a second, their defenders/keeper would have definitely denied him (just like how he scored against Spartans last week). Just imagine how much damage Paul and an injury free Chris can inflict on any team! Mes Amis didn't take this lying down and shattered our hopes of bagging all 3 points by equalizing in the dying minutes of the game with an incredible solo effort. The final whistle came not long after restart and the points were shared.
Unlucky lads! We must destroy JLeaguers next Saturday!!
