"Rainy day never say goodbye..." as Kenny D a RS diehard fans tuned into Radio kapsiao.fm, wondering how his Saturn boys doing under the raining evening. He prayed to the ultimate God that Nip Tomori will turn up and not chicken out the game as the rains kept showering the Padang Belia. "BSLau was in the starting XI playing under the rain, surprised surprised!" kapsiao.fm voicing tune of excitement.
Saturn opened the game with arch rival Motorola R&D, with all football boots soaking in water, as the rain kept pouring. Early warning sign showed as early in 4 minutes from left side of the field as Moto kept pressuring and RS lost possession.
The water clogged field hampering Saturns' mobility, Saturn could hardly move the ball during counter attack. Saturn was hand-tide without the ability to showcase their best counter attacking tactic.
Sensing the lack of mobility at the back line, Saturn swapped tactic by re-arranging EM to partner with TK, pushing Endmundo further up to protect the defense.
in the 10th minute Moto broke thru Saturn's defence and scored a goal to take the lead with a good inter-changing passes between the 2 strikers. Moto took advantage of the water condition and exploited the gaps between Saturn defense. Moto lead 1-0.
during the pre-match interview, Coach Mr X hinted a new formation which include placing the speedy Hans and Zharif to lead the offence. The new formation caught Moto in surprised. in the 14th minutes a thru-ball played by Au found Hans running from the middle. As Hans speed to break, the ball halted as it met a patch of water, preventing Hans from receiving the ball. On a dry pitch this perfectly timed pass could reach Hans easily for a chance to shoot. Or perhaps no Ah Moi shouting on Hans' name from the stand due to the rains.
20 minutes into the play, Moto took advantage from a mis-calculated pass by Moto's defence line. Allan attempted a back pass while under pressure, only for the water patch to turn a perfectly executed backpass into a risky pass. Moto scored a controversial 2nd goal as the moto striker's shot was blocked by the advancing Rueben, and then the ball went into another Moto winger to score. The attacking movement was offside but the linesman did not flag. Referee rewarded the goal and moto lead 2-0.
Saturn fought back and scored a goal in the 30th minute via the Guest player Ah Long. Andrew muscle thru from midfield easing the pressure, drove the ball to byline and hit a cross to center. Ah Long appeared to the perfect position to calmly and expertly tap in with his left foot. it wasnt an easy goal given the rainy condition and the ball control was timely.
BSLau ran and lasted 20 more minutes surprisingly under the heavy raining condition, and replaced by WJ. Such a heroic display from Lau is better than the no-show Nip Tomori. RS fans made it clear that they appreciated BSLau's display under the raining weather by applauding and cheering to Lau. Kapsiao.fm speculated that a stern disciplinary actions could be taken and Nip Tomori is facing a fine for 2 months' salary.
Searching to level the score RS pushed forward for the equalizer. the midfield trio Edmundo continued to marshal the defense and occasionally launch some long shots. Andrew's kept the midfield in check with the signature tackles, only with the watery surface made his tackles more chaotic. Au searched to link up the RS attacking threats connecting wingers with strikers.
Moto restored young winger to speed up their attacks. Moto winger broke thru from right side and released a fierce shot. RS Keeper Rueben dived and block out the shot.
Moto kept asking question to RS defensive line. By now the RS defense looked fragile and could not coup with Moto's attacking display. Moto broke thru the middle and shot from 10 yards. Rueben threw his body up to tip the shot over the bar. A quick double saves Rueben managed in the space of 5 minutes.
Rueben was called into action once more into the 65th minutes. RS restored Hans into right defense as Moto applied attacking pressures. Another powerful low drive from the left winger of Moto after flipping passed Hans, Rueben dive to the lower right to the post to expertly palm out the shot. If it is not for Rueben's heroic saves, Moto could be leading 4-1 by this time.
Moto finally regained a 2-goal cushion in 68th minute, scoring from outside the D. Moto lead to 3-1.
Saturn's coaching team made a serie of tactical changes and restore Au to lead the attack. Au became the target man and the focus made dividend.
Au expertly blocked a pass from Moto, won 5 physical battles before exchanging a one-two passing with Long. WJ dragged 2 moto defender away to allow Au an opportunity to dribble. Au got passed Moto right back and calmly chipped the ball flying to the right top corner. RS reduced the gap to 2-3 and chasing the game.
Thunders started kissing the skyline and the referee blew the whistle for safety. Fans applauded all 13 RS players efforts and their heroic display under heavy rain. The players' thought are with the Tomori-no-show.
