Match 37 - Win (By Captain Sparrow)

Hmm.. I realised that writing of match report is not as easy as it is made out to be. Kudos to Mervin for making the great efforts to have contributed constructively to most match reports thus far. Papasoh too for his sole ontribution. And Tiger who is always trying so hard to either motivate his teammates or point out their strengths and weaknesses. Well done bros, thanks for keeping the team together!

Match report – Match 37: (Lineup: Junbing, Sybian, Binghong, Kenny, Sweechao, Weijie, Jackie, Yanshou, Rujia, Alvin, Kelvin)

Thanks to our efficient PR manager, Kelvin, we managed to have a match against his so-called ‘ba-ka’ navy friends. From the physique and warm-up of the opponents, it was evident that match 37 would be quite an even and tough match. Most of the players have bigger build and they even have 2 Indians! Tough match ahead..Another point to note was that the referee for this match is not ‘Collina’ but a Chinese Mr Tay who was strongly recommended by Tiger.

The match started cautiously for both sides. The early stages of the game was played in the middle of the park. Soon, Songbo began to stamp their authority on the game and dominated the possession. A good move down the right involving Robin Ho and Fletchee saw Alam putting the ball just wide after connecting with the cross. Looney and Fletchee also tried swinging crosses into the penalty area but to no avail. On another occasion, Kelvin played a poor pass across the goal to Titant after clean through on goal. Once again, Songbo could not turn their domination into convertion in the early stages of the game. And they did not apply much pressure on the keeper who appeared to be the weakest link in their defence. Crosses were going astray and play was broken down in the opponents penalty area.

Frustrations set in and shouts and criticisms can be heard from within the Songbo camp. As the game wore on, the Navy guys began to come back into the game and created a few chances of their own. From a corner and a resulting poor clearance from Sparrow, one of the Indians tried a speculative shot on goal and the usually-reliable Papasoh let a bouble tricked him and the ball trickled into the goal. 0-1.

The rest of the half saw the game being battled mostly in the middle of the park and the lack of any clear chances for both sides. Sparrow was praying for the half-time whistle to arrive sooner so that Songbo can reorganize and he can give the team a good dressing-down for the lack of support and encouragement for one another.

The referee blew for half-time and Sparrow asked for more support within the ranks and the players to enjoy their soccer. We should not surrender our 3 game winning so meekly to an evenly matched opponent.

The team trooped out for the 2^nd half, hoping to gain an early equalizer back first. The team was playing better but there was still not much headway made into the opponents goal. A tactical switch was then made. Tiger was to move up to the striking position and Kelvin back to fullback and Robin in a unfamiliar defensive midfield role. The switch started to pay dividends when the physically stronger Tiger began to irritate the opponents defence with his robust moves. Looney and Flecthee were also starting to make better runs down the flanks.

In one move from the left, Tiger beat the defender to the ball and laid a perfect pass to Sparrow. With one touch of the ball, he took the ball past the defender and the second touch was placing the ball into the back of the net. Its Tim Cahill’s celebration time! 1-1.

The spirit and morale of the team raised substantially and there was an air of optimism that a winner can be achieved. However, the teams were still evenly-matched and chances were few and far between.

Another switch saw Robin moved to the RM role and Fletchee back as the d-mid. Songbo began to have a more settled feel to their play. A through ball down the right saw Kel sprinting to the byline. With Tiger shouting for the ball verociously, Kel attempted a cross aiming at Tiger. As Ladyluck would have shine on Songbo, the cross turned into a top-corner shot which totally caught the keeper off guard. 2-1.

At this point, Mervin was substituted into the game at the expense of Ah Lam to give him some match time for his efforts for making it to the match after his duty. (This part is inserted by Mervin - "knn rush down to the match not even a mere mention of my name where got such thing one?!")

Songbo has turned the game around and they definitely are more comfortable in guarding a lead then chasing one. 4 wins on the trot!

Well done guys! Although there are still lots of room for improvements, lets just hope we enjoy our game and keep it going! Now for match 38!