Match 169 - Win

Songbo FC 5:2 Opponents

Date: 8th Jan 2012
Venue: Commonwealth SS.
Jersey: Kappa Red

Starting Line-Up: 4-4-2
Junbing(GK), H.Weijie(LB), Swee Chao(CB), Kenny(CB), Kaiseng(RB), T.Weijie(LM), Binghong(DM), Rujia(CM), Mervin(RM), Alvin Toh(CF), Yanshou(CF)

Substitutes:
Kelvin, Jeremy, Shawn, Bingheng, Sybian

Scores:
HT: 5-1
FT: 5-2

Scorers (Assists):
Alvin Toh (Binghong)
Alvin Toh (Rujia)
Alvin Toh (Mervin)
Rujia (Yanshou)
Mervin (Yanshou)

Songbo FC begins their 8th season with a much needed win

With a bad 2011 season over for Songbo FC, the club was eager to hit the ground running for the new season but they had not played since early November where they lost 0-2.

Luck was probably on Songbo FC's side when the game had to begin with the opponents having only 8 men on the field. With vast numerical advantage, complacency was a danger that could creep into the players.

Fortunately, that was not the case as Songbo FC went 5 goals up in the 1st half. A clearance from the opponent's GK only found Binghong's head and the ball fell to Berbatoh who had the time to juggle the ball twice in the air before sending a volley through the air and beat the out-of-position keeper.

Another goal came when Rujia got to the ball at the byline and crossed the ball to Berbatoh who was lurking at the far post with no one near him. Berbatoh's hat trick was complete when he reacted quicker than the keeper to get to the ball and stabbed it into the net as Mervin planted a pass to the near post.

Rujia got into the goalscoring act as well when Yanshou laid on a ball for him to cannon it at the back of the net from outside the box. Yanshou grabbed another assist as he got himself into a great position on the right to deliver a square pass into the box. Mervin was unmarked when the pass found him but he miscued this shot on the 1st try and still managed to find time and space to drive the ball home on the 2nd attempt.

A late goal in the 1st half by the opponents dampened the mood a bit as the opponents started to find a footing in the game and their numbers were slowly getting up to 11.

The 2nd half started with a proper 11 v 11 match and Songbo FC's lack of recent match practice started to show. What they have at their disposal, however, was a healthy bench of 5 players and Kelvin, Sybian, Jeremy and Shawn made their 1st appearances of the season from the bench from half time. The small pitch, now made crowded by the full 22 players, made the game rather scrappy as Songbo FC found it hard to string passes together or to display any real attacking intent. In the end, the defenders were kept busy as the opponents launched waves of attack which passed through the defense several times, culminating in a goal line clearance from Kenny; not for the 1st time and certainly not the last, one suspects.

The opponents managed another goal when a ricochet found their striker in a good position and he promptly converted the chance from inside the box, though suspiciously offside, the goal was given. The scoreline could have been more respectable have the opponents taken their chances well, with a chance that went begging after the forward was clean through but the shot was way over the bar. Bingheng was given some game time near the end of the match and managed to thwart a goal bound effort.

In the end, Songbo FC came away with their 1st win of the season but this might not be remembered as a win they thoroughly deserve.

Hat-trick hero Berbatoh thinks win was "not justified"

Berbatoh felt that the win today will not happen if the opponents started the match with a full team: "I don't think we would have won it (if the team had 11 players). In the end, a bao jia match became tio jia."

Songbo FC's new treasurer Missing-In-Action

Despite volunteering for the position of treasurer, he was nowhere to be seen and was not contactable for the game. Rumour has it that interest for the job has waned as the proposed pay cut was announced.

Report by, 
Mervin