2 weeks after losing the league title to Eagle Boyz, we return to the same pitch to face Soccermaniacs. We needed to win to stand any chance of finishing second as Vintage Eagles have games in hand to overtake us. Preparations were not good as we were down to 15 players before game day. Manager made a quick dip into the loan market and managed to get Eugene for this game.
Game plan was simple. Get a fast start and work from there. Within 10 minutes, we got a free kick on the right. It was swung into the far post which Pat reached but was saved by the keeper. The ball fell to Benny and he lashed it in for the first goal. The next 5 minutes we were all over them and scrambled in 2 more goals. Both by Andy. His first was when Colin harassed the defender into making a mistake and passed it straight to Andy in the box. He then made no mistake and finished it. He got his second when he trotted into the box to get just in front of Colin to nod it into an empty net. Clear instructions from the Captain to get into the box were well heeded by him although Colin wasn’t pleased that his durian was stolen. 3-0 up and apparently cruising. But we lost our shape, our patience and our calmness. We struggled to contain their attacks and were fortunate not to have concede any until a deflected free kick gave SK no chance in goal. We were definitely happy to hear the half time whistle as Soccermaniacs were piling on the pressure.
We returned for the 2nd half with the starting 11 except for Benny as he decided to apply some sportsmanship after an altercation with the opponent. We got on the score sheet again when Harold waltzed through the entire midfield and shot from outside the box. Pat then laid on a beautiful ball for Colin, which he miskicked into the bottom corner for the 5th goal. The game wasn’t over though. A long shot from outside the box again evaded SK in goal to bring the scoreline closer and it’s really backs to the wall as we tried to defend. We got a free kick somewhere just after the halfway line on the left when Henry was fouled. Ron stood on it. Looked to Colin. And then swung his right foot. A great shot as it sped straight into the top right corner. Nice. Credit to Soccermaniacs who didn’t give up and continued to play. They then scored 2 consolation goals after sloppy defending from us. Final score 6-4 to us. A win in the bag. Great result.
Standout performance from Andy in the middle of the park and also Stuart who was a constant menace coming in from the right. He should have scored from a Colin miskick but he didn’t. Eugene seemed like a useful player to have as he played his first game for us. SK did well in goal considering that he conceded 4 goals. Could have been more if not for him.
Vintage Eagles actually beat Eagle Boyz 2-0, giving them a great chance to claim the runners up spot. We will meet them in 2 weeks time and a victory for us will put that possibility to rest. Last league game of the season. Let’s finish it with aplomb.
