*Pictures courtesy of Fadilah
Queenstown Sec, 1500 Hrs
St Andrews FC 1 YSOSRS FC 3
(Habib x1, Rudee x1, Juf x1)
The way we sat down in the middle of the pitch and chilled out after the game said it all. It painted a picture of what was a relatively odd day of football for the boys. For one, we were prepared for a tough physical battle against our scottish compatriots and I suppose we got it. The loud brash nature of our opponents were also evident throughout the game. Yet the oddities began in the way we got our goals that explained the eventual scoreline on the day.
Aside from the obvious chances where Khai rocked the bar early in the game from way out, Rudee missing narrowly from just inside the box after being put through and Habib sending a half volley whistling pass the left post, clear cut chances were at a premium today. That being said, our defense was mightily impressive especially in the 1st half when Ronald and Hizam did an excellent job of marshaling the backline. Anyhow, I will attempt to describe the goals for those who were not there.
1-0: After much probing, YSOSRS finally scored it's first goal in division 1 in the 20th minute after a mix up at the back by the scots letting in our 2 youngsters who were able to sort out who wanted the ball more quickly. Habib got it and then proceeded to set himself up nicely before sidefooting a delightful finish past the despairing dive of the SASFC keeper. Our young marksman continues to impress with every passing game. Well done.
2-0: With the boys in white in the ascendency after the goal, a bizarre sequence of events once again let our nepalese boy burst through on goal from the left flank. Despite being faced with a similar situation earlier on in the game which was not converted, our boy opted to do the exact same thing and unselfishly laid it off for our veteran winger, dee who calmly sidefooted the ball home from just inside the 6 yard box. A smash and grab of sorts but a good comfortable lead nonetheless. And that was how the half ended. 2-0 to the good.
3-0: The 2nd half kicked off with YSOSRS wanting to kill it off with an early goal, and SASFC coming at us hard in a do or die manner. Eventually a beautiful defense splitting ball by Khai released Juf whom despite not getting much space throughout his time on the field, raced onto the ball and tugged it past the onrushing keeper without much hesitation. A predatory finish as we are constantly reminded of his ability. Awesome.
Unfortunately, this very in-house writer failed to catch what happened as SASFC scored a goal 15 minutes from the end. They could have made it more uncomfortable if not for the heroics of Phileo whom if I may add abit of exaggeration to it, did a Gordon Banks type of save from a stinging drive just outside the box that was destined for the bottom right corner of our goal. It even got our Scottish friends praising. Well, Phileo was back at it soon after as SASFC tried half volleying from way out to get past our determined keeper. 3-1 was how it ended eventually as it signaled a good start to our maiden season in the top flight.
MOTM: Phileo. Reminded us all of what a good shot stopper he is and the man also displayed plenty of confidence in commanding his backline. Unfortunate that we will not be seeing him much from now on but what a save eh. Top class and well worth the accolades showered on him after the game. Cheers and I hope to see you back with us sooner rather than later.
Gaffer's thoughts: As we continue to find our feet and get used to the new around the team, it is imperative that we maintain a certain level of performance. Today we were able to balance both of that and I am pleased. We will get stronger as we all find our roles in this team, mark my words on that boys. Anyhow, judging by the results elsewhere today, it is going to be anybody's game in this division with all of the teams capable of beating each other. FMFC upset ISA 2-1 today so it will definitely be an interesting game come next Saturday. Let's take it 1 game at a time and cheers to all for your efforts today.
Personnel:
Phileo
Farhan, Jason, Ronald, Huijie, Hizam, Alaric
Santosh, Rudee, Law, AhCool, Mok, WS, Syafiq, Dinie, Khai, Mahdi
Juf, Habib
Fans:
Suzie (Rudee's Fiancee), Fadilah (Dinietov's GF), Allan (Our beloved custodian)
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