It’s been a while since we last won a game. Having lost 8 games in a row didn’t bode well for this title decider cruncher. Manager used all his persuasive powers to try to get a good team out and emphasised many times the importance of today’s game through the club board. He even banned sex and drinking the night before. It was all to play for. One game in hand and 5 points behind. Win this game and we stand a real chance of winning the league. The team did heed the advice and most showed up early but not as early as the Eagle Boys. The message to the team prior kick off was that we had to win and to press hard. We kicked off and the message clearly got through as we were all over EB. We stopped them from playing their game and when they did break through, SK was there to save us. Two fantastic last ditch tackles from Ben and Kenny kept the scoreline 0-0 at half time. We did had a blatant penalty claim turned down. Benny was clearly clipped in the box but the referee said that he committed a foul first and didn’t give it. Strange logic. Two wrongs doesn’t make a right. Outstanding performance from the defence kept us in the game, while our midfield and forwards were harassing hard upfront. Half time score was a great result at 0-0. It was very obvious to everyone in the team that we showed a lot of fire and determination. Kudos were given out by manager to all who played. As we went back for the 2nd half, we lost our focus a bit and were clinging on. EB missed a few easy chances and we got away with some mistakes that we made. We then had a glorious opportunity to score. A delicious cross field ball from Benny found Patrick. Our best header in the team, it should have been a goal but it hit his shoulder and went out. A dubious foul by Andy have them a free kick midway in our half. The opponent unleashed an unstoppable shot to the top right corner which gave SK no chance. We didn’t give up. We switched gears. We launched wave and wave of attacks but couldn’t make it count. As we kept pouring forward, we left a gap behind. And their forward pounced on it, despite the late tackle from Kenny, managed to lob it over SK. 2-0 down. Nothing to lose. We had to go for it. Benny was being kicked all over the field and that gave us a couple of free-kicks which we didn’t convert. With time running out, we got another free kick. The captain decided to give it to Stuart to take it and he didn’t disappoint. A delightful curling ball went to the top right corner. 2-1. In with a chance now. Referee decided to play 2 minutes of injury time. But it wasn’t enough. As most of us were coming down with cramps and injuries, the referee blew he final whistle. Game over. League dreams over. To lose it this way is gut wrenching. But to have come so far, it’s been a real great achievement. We only have 2nd place to fight for now. Credit to the team for trying so hard. The desire and fighting spirit was amazing. The committee is really proud of the team today. We did well. We worked hard. All played well. Unsung heroes at the back, like Kenny, Jansen, Dave, Ben and Clarence made a lot of difference. Jerome covered a lot of ground and made a brilliant goal line clearance. In the midfield, Andy stuck to his task very well. Patrick ran till he dropped. Harold worked hard which was very unlike him. Benny was a constant threat and was unfortunate to bear the brunt of the physicality of the opponents. Faz, what can I say? He ran and ran. Covered a lot of ground. Made the difference in the upper half of the field. Henry too. Going for every ball bravely. Finally, SK. Without you, we would have conceded more goals. You saved us many times and don’t deserved to be on the losing side. But the biggest applause goes to the few players who didn’t play but yet turned up to support. Bee, Siong, Kee and Yiong. Thank you for your support and encouragement. Team, we might not be winning the league. However, we had a good chance to being second which in itself is an amazing result. Let’s win the last 2 games and finish the season in glory.
