Barely a month since the new committee took over and internal strife arose. We had to decide on the kit color for this week. Considering that it was a 3pm game, Captain chose black. Deciding that it was better to look good rather than bother about the heat. Man U fans were shouting loud for red as their team finally had something else to be proud of and not just 6th place. But the opponents were supposed to be wearing red. Shows how intelligent the fans were.
Similar to last week, sign up wasn't great but we ended up with 15 at the pitch, thanks to 3 guest players. The Captain took the helm as the Manager was not available. The opposition were big and fit Caucasians. They were imposing, most of them were at least half a head taller than us. And a full head and a half over our Treasurer. So naturally, our Captain say keep the ball on the ground. And the best way to do that is to demote the "promoted" one. Starting with Harold at the back and we were told to try to play like how we did against Nitro at exactly the same pitch.
Off we went. Game started. Less than 10 minutes, we were a goal down. A mix up in defence allowed the striker to score. And as usual, we then started to play. Pressure on the backline led to a pass from the keeper to their right back. He did not control the ball properly and Brian nip in to go past him and chip the ball into goal. An equaliser! And we were happy. Sadly this didn't last long. Playground Rivals took advantage of our lacklustre play and scored 3 more goals after that. Leaving our guest keeper, Octavius, no chance with any of them. A change of formation to Lawrence being moved upfront. Chances were then created. A good move down the right led to Damo whipping in a cross. Patrick was alone in the middle. So while he waited for the ball to come down, and it certainly took its time, he decided to try his usual overhead/scissors/scorpion/69 kick instead of heading the ball. Caught in so many minds, he totally miskick and it ended up in the grateful keeper's arms.
Halftime came. 4-1 down. And tired from the hard running. Team was silent. No one spoke. Bee commented that this was the most quiet half time ever. Maybe because Colin and SK were not there. The Captain decided that no point defending, so just play with the same formation. And we started again.
Although we were losing, the team kept plugging away. This time round, with our latest signing, Faz, making the difference in centre midfield. Covering loads of ground and attempting to distribute the ball properly. Even arriving late onto a rebound outside the box to take a shot that went over. We were creating more chances and we got one back when Lawrence flicked the ball that looped slowly over the keeper to make it 4-2. And we thought we were back in the game. But then they broke away and scored 2 more goals. Making it 6-2. The ever willing Brian was chasing ball after ball. A breakaway led us facing a 3 on 2 towards goal. A sharp 1-2 with Lawrence saw Brian poked home his 2nd goal of the game. A real surprise to everyone when they all thought that Lawrence, faced with the goal, would take a shot but instead chose to pass it back to Brian. Game ended 6-3.
Despite the defeat, we held our heads high as we drew 2-2 in the second half. Apparently a good result in the eyes of the Captain. But we concur. It was. Against a tough, fit and physical team, we managed to match them in the second half. It was still a good performance overall and we need to keep this going. Following the game, the Manager announced the team new signing, Fazril, whom promptly issued a statement to the media.
"I was out of contract and Incepcion swooped in with an interesting offer. I was impressed by the exciting plan the management has laid out and I am excited to play my best years in the Champions League." Oops.. Someone must have oversold him. He claim to be firing his agent as we spoke. We thank the Manager for signing another Liverpool fan, albeit he claimed that the new signing declared himself as Geylang United fan.
Another similar scoreline to last week, but we seem to be improving week after week, with crisp passing and certainly more pace. Let's see how this pans out.
