We headed out to Seng Kang Sec this week for our football game. It’s a nice pitch. And we were looking forward to a good game again after a good result the last time we were there. Early reconnaissance reports informed us that the opponents were a young bunch. There were hardly any veterans. A large squad of 22 dwindled down to 16 on match day as many pulled out. We were expecting a hard game as we scrapped our 442 plan to go back to our usual formation.
Surprisingly, the opponents gave us a lot of time on the ball as we kicked off. We stroked the ball around but didn’t really create much chances. They were definitely faster than us and it told as they closed us down quickly as we approached the half way line. Nothing much happened for the 1st 20 minutes as we cancelled each other out and Ron didn’t get any sniff at goal despite playing upfront. The introduction of Max changed that. The opponents quickly identified him as the danger man and he got fouled numerous times. To his credit, he simply got up and continued playing football without any fuss. They still can’t handled him as he dribbled past one in the middle and shot with his left foot and into goal. Our next goal came when a disguised free kick from the captain landed at Max’s feet in the box. In a state of panic, the defender fouled him and a penalty was given. Colin was initially asked to take the kick but the Captain changed his mind and gave it to Ron. The moment that will forever be etched in the manager’s mind. Ron was lucky as he fluffed his shot but still managed to score. 2-0 it was at half time.
Nothing much was spoken about the game at half time as we all knew how tough it was and we definitely have a good chance of winning it. The only moment was when Bee showed off his linguistic ability by asking why Pat was so pessimistic. All of us were impressed but not Pat.
Second half was kicked off by Fallouts. And they were really up for it. They created a few chances which ended up high over the bar or our defence kept them out easily. They were younger but our experience told. And they don’t have Max. A poor clearance by their keeper was latched onto by Max. He took the ball and in one movement, volleyed it back. It just dipped beyond the keeper for our 3rd goal. A very good goal. More chances came our way. A free kick by the Captain on the left saw the keeper got his fingertips to it. The ball then landed on Pat’s head who was rushing in and dropped into goal. 4-0 up and we were really cruising. Some hard tackles came about but most of us controlled ourselves well by not reacting. The most notable miss was by Colin who somehow managed to toe poke the ball over despite being a few yards to the goal. Probably Ron’s penalty was still on his mind. To make it worse, Ron scores a peach as he lashed a loose ball outside the box low into the bottom corner. Analysts said that the ball didn’t fly out was because he used his left foot and not his right. Harold and Daryl combined to give the opponents a penalty in the dying moments. Analysts again said that Sherman would probably saved it. And they were right. He did saved it. No consolation goal for them. Final whistle came shortly. Final score 5-0.
It was a good victory for us as we overcame a young team. They will probably be better as time goes by as they will learn how to play better as a team and with more experience. Today, we showed them that our experience matters. And we have Max.
