Match 139 (Robinho's Testimonial) - Win

Songbo FC 6:2 Opponents


Date: 11th Jul 2010
Venue: Fuhua Sec Sch
Jersey: Red

Starting Line-Up
Hweequan(GK), Huang Weijie(LB), Kelvin(CB), Kaiseng(CB), Mervin(RB), Kenny(LM), Tan Weijie(CM), Swee Chao(RM), Jeremy(LCF), Junbing(CF), Binghong(RCF)

Subtitutes:
Rujia, Jackie, Jiaxiang


Scores:
HT: 3-2
FT: 6-2

After a month of rest, Songbo FC came back onto the pitch on the back of 5 wins on the trot. Pundits predicted that surely their winning streak will come to an end as Songbo FC is an aging machine whose cranks and gears require oiling and warming up before they run in full steam. Therefore, Songbo FC came up with a brilliant idea; to declare this match as a Testimonial Match for Binghong, which would render the result insignificant, get some much needed match fitness under their belts and give their new player manager a stress-free match to try out his tactics. A 1-stone-kill-3-birds solution it seemed.

Upon arrival on the pitch, all preparations seemed to have been wasted. The player manager could not make it for the match, the Captain of Songbo FC is still in bed (after uttering at least 3 different formations the night before on an alcohol-induced high) and the opponents could only muster 8 of their teammates for this match. Our disciplinary master, Tiger Yan, made the wake-up call to the Captain, who trudged into the pitch 15 minutes later with alcohol still fresh in his breath.

In his drunken stupor, he fielded 2 sidebacks as centre defenders and deployed 3 midfielders without telling them what to do. The lack of organization showed immediately in the opening minutes of the game; the 2 centre defenders had a hard time trying to get balls out of the area, the 3 midfielders played so wide that our sole man in the midfield, Commando Tan, was left like a naked prostitute with legs spread wide open facing an army of men who has been locked up for months without seeing a woman. In other words, raped relentlessly.

For the good part of the half, Songbo FC played like they had 8 men on the pitch, losing possession needlessly, playing overcomplicated passes and failing to make their numbers count. The gulf of a 3 player difference is still evident; Songbo FC broke through several times that presented 1-on-1 opportunities. However, Songbo FC’s players, notably Jeremy and Junbing, were kind enough not to take advantage of the opponents and shot straight at the keeper. Songbo FC needed 20 mins for their first goal to come, with Junbing finally finishing off a move which saw the ball bouncing around the penalty area begging for a finish. However, the opponents got a shock lead later on in the half.

Playing as a sideback for the whole of his career, Lusty Seng was taught to keep players off the sides and forcing them to the center of the park where more players can sniff out the threat. However, this knowledge went against his this time. After the opponents got the ball into the penalty area, left 1-on-1 with the striker, Kaiseng played like his usual role and left the striker with a good view of the goal. The ball ended up at the back of the net. A similar situation occurred minutes later. A simple fake from the striker left Kaiseng off balance and placing the ball into the back of the net was a formality. The opponents, with a 3-men disadvantage, went 2-1 ahead while Songbo FC hung their heads.

Songbo FC managed to claw back their lead before the half ended though. A good finish from Jeremy after a hardworking display of ball winning on the left saw Songbo FC level. Another bout of good work and perseverance by Jeremy saw him slid the ball beneath the keeper past the empty goal, giving Mervin the simplest chance to score in the history of Songbo FC. Advantage Songbo FC.

Going into the break with a slender lead and 2 goals conceded already, Songbo FC was forced to make changes by reverting to a more usual formation. Junbing got back to defending the goal, Jackie, who was introduced late in the 1^st half, was to continue his good work in centre defense, Hweequan was pushed to a forward role and the formation was reverted to a 4-4-2. Binghong, who had missed a glorious opportunity to score late in the 1^st half, has to leave and was replaced by Jiaxiang. Jeremy was given a rest as our still-high Captain felt it was time for him to play.

With the formation back to normal, it was almost a cakewalk for Songbo FC as the game wore on. The opponents, visibly tired from trying to do an 11-men job with 8, conceded 3 more goals. Tan Weijie, invigorated by the change in formation after being slaughtered in the 1^st half, saw his shot cannon off the top of the bar, on the pitch past the goal line and out of the goal. As we have seen in the World Cup, even professional referees aided by 2 linemen miss such goals, therefore, we did not expect this Sunday amateur referee to make any sort of decision. The ball, however, went back to Swee Chao, who mustered all his strength to ram the ball goalwards. It paid off as the keeper did not manage to keep the shot out.

Jiaxiang finally opened a 3 goal lead for Songbo when he finished off a chance in the area after wasting a few golden opportunities. If the match was played on FICO, he would have had a hat trick at least.

Kenny got his name on the scoresheet as the last scorer for Songbo FC as he placed the ball in the low corner after some good passing work gave him a clear goalscoring opportunity. He had just missed a glorious chance where he dribbled past the last man and was left 1-on-1 with the keeper but he slipped and spilled his shot. Perhaps the F.I.R concert was still fresh in his mind.

6-2 the final score. It would have been an emphatic scoreline on any other normal match day but against an opponent with only 8-men for the whole of the match, expectations of a 7-0 or 8-0 scoreline were not heavy at all. Songbo FC needs to improve on this performance, especially the sharpness in front of the goal, if they are to keep their 5 match winning streak running. Perhaps the inevitable 1^st match for their player manager would bring that.

Summary,
Mervin