Match 93 - Win

Date : 04-Jan-09
Venue : Kent Ridge SS.
Jersy : Black

Score FT : 4 - 2 (Jeremy[Rujia], Jackie, Jackie, Jeremy)
Score HT : 3 - 1

Starting Lineup
GK. : Junbing
Def. (L-R) : H.Weijie[Kelvin], Kenny, Suichao, Kaiseng
Mid. (L-R) : Jackie, Alvin Cai, Rujia, Hweequan, Sybian[T.Weijie]
Front (L-R) : Jeremy[Jiaxiang]

Match Summary
Season of 2009 got underway!!!!

The first match for the 2009 season kicked off at Kent Ridge Secondary School where the field was more squar-ish than rectangular and a drop kick can land straight in the penalty area.

The opposing team was recently just formed and it comprises a couple of teammates of Sybian’s former club. Zhi Yuan, who has rendered good service to the short-handed Songbo over the years, helped to arrange the match.
Songbo came into the match in high spirits, both on and off the pitch, as we have carried off an unbeaten streak from 2008 and the team just had their inaugural AGM the night before.

The team started off with the tried-and-tested formation of PapaSoh in goal; Huang, Chaoz, Seafood Ken and Lusty across the backfour; Jack, Quan, Lam, Sparrow and Sybian forming the engine room and Jeremy as the lone striker. CapiTan’s season got off to an inauspicious start as he discovered his boots were missing in the morning and had to visit Mustafa to get a replacement.

As usual, the match started off cautiously as both teams took some time to settle into their paces and analyze each other’s style of play. It was very apparent that Songbo FC were very much still in their holiday partying mood as they appeared sluggish and not focused on the day’s proceedings. A few uncharacteristic hesitant defending from the normally solid pairing of Chaoz and Seafood Ken put Songbo under some early pressure. On the back of receiving the Player of the Year award the night before, Seafood Ken was probably still thinking of what awards he should aim for in 2009.

The organization and systematic approach of Songbo FC soon ensued and they dominated the early proceeding and could have put the team up at least two to three goals. The main culprits were the usually lethal Jeremy and Jackie who skied a few one-on-one situations and scored a few rugby tries. Then, totally against the run of play and aided by some hesitant defending, the opponent took an early lead. Songbo defence failure to clear the ball resulted in their striker being put through and he slotted the ball for the opener. 0-1 against Songbo!

At least the goal seemed to serve as a wake-up call for Songbo as they started to react to the incessant barking of Sparrow on the pitch. In one move, receiving the ball from the midfield, Sparrow played a through ball to Jeremy and he finally made the chances count and opened his already impressive account for 2009. 1-1.

Finally, Songbo appeared to get rid of all the good food from the steamboat the night before and started playing to their potential. Noting the opponent’s lack of organization due to the recent forming, Songbo grew in confidence and was hungry to take a halftime lead into the dressing room. Jackie, who had been misfiring throughout the first half, found himself free on the right edge of the penalty area with a loose ball and unleashed an unstoppable shot to the top right corner of the goal. The ball went right through the side netting and initially the referee (who seriously needed a pair of spectacles) blew for goalkick. Upon hassling from players from Songbo and the obvious lack of argument from the opponents, the blushing and still-not-yet-woken-up referee blew for a goal. 2-1!

Songbo did not wait too long for the third goal to come as a foul near the penalty area resulted in a direct freekick. As per usual, top-scorer Jackie stepped up, oblivious to the hungry-for-a-freekick-chance looks of his teammates, and planted the ball neatly into the centre of the goal. His goal celebration was one of arrogance and cockiness as he kissed his two fingers, firmly reminding the team that he has a two-goal lead at the top of the goal-scoring charts. 3-1!

Soon after, the halftime whistle was blown and the teams trooped back to their ‘dressing room’. The steamboat food was just about digesting within some of the players and some were still figuring out who were the hunter and guru were some of the reasons cited for the lacklustre performance. The halftime message for Songbo was clear: The team was there for the taking, take our chances and finish the match off. Kelvin came on for Huang at the break as CapiTan waited on the bench eagerly to test out his new boots.

The second half started like how the first half ended as Songbo stamped their authority and dictated the proceedings. A few half chances were created; notably Sparrow looking to break his duck with a diving header and Jeremy rounding the goalkeeper but placing the ball onto the oncoming defender on the goalline. However, Songbo finally made their chances count when a great clearance from the defence turned it into an immediate counter-attack and throughball. Jeremy, burst through with his well-endowed speed and close control, and finished the neat move with a good shot to the corner of the goal. 4-1 and Songbo appeared to in cruise control!

Lalalala.. and Songbo reverted back to its holiday mood, seemingly assuming that the match is well and truly over when its not even three quarters over! Showboating, misplaced passes, individual glory, Rio-Ferdinand defending and complacent finishing were displayed by Songbo following the fourth goal and some went back to guessing who was the hunter and guru for the game the night before. It wasn’t long before Songbo finished digging their own graves and firmly buried themselves inside as some hesitant defending allowed the opposing striker to nick in and scored the second goal. 4-2!

In these friendly matches, a two-goal lead is as fragile as glass and Songbo probably know this loud and clear and they have surrendered a coupled of two-goal leads over the last season. The anxiety and nervous-ness soon appeared and this translated into their play as they were put under intense pressure by the opponents. However, the pressure all came to naught as Heaven was kind to Songbo and let them off in this opening match of the season.

All in all, Songbo should have finished the opponents off way before halftime given the numerous chances they had. Instead, they let the opponents in with a sniff of chances here and there and on other days, they might have been punished severely. Let’s hope that this serves as a good wake-up call for the team in this opener and prevent Songbo in slipping into party mood during the course of the year!
Nevertheless, a good win to start the year and let’s strive for greater achievements for both the team and individual performance in this coming year!

Cheers!
By Capt. Sparrow (with the help of Bullocks)