*Fugly expressions from our ballerina-like Law and keeper of e day, Heiqs
Springfield Sec, 1500 Hrs
YSOSRS FC 2 Supernova 0
(Santosh x1, Habib x1)
Typing this at the half time break for the Singapore vs M'sia game, I have to say that I have been thoroughly inspired by the performance put up by our Lions. Well similarly, the performance from the jokers today can be placed under the same bracket. With a whole host of players out of action, the small squad that trudged down to the excellent Springfield Sec field really responded to the call by the gaffer earlier in the week.
Another week of football and yet again, another week of firsts. A small squad of 15 with 2 guest players for that matter took to the field for the boys in white. On the other hand, just as it was looking likely that Nova would have the bare minimum of 7 for the start of the game, their numbers sprung and doubled for they eventually equalled our match day squad size with 15 as well. Oh boy... Knowing the quality they had in their ranks, we geared ourselves up for a long day under the blistering hot sun.
Kicking off, the idea was to sit and defend our half, in the process making use of our pace down the wings and up front to great effect. However, none of it was followed as Nova ran the show from the get go with Ubai and Saifiee his very able partner in the middle played twinkle toes and left our central trio huffing and puffing. Chances came and went as Nova failed to make their early dominance count.
On the other hand, after much communicating, the jokers finally clicked into action as those dangerous cross field balls to both Rudee and Santosh began to reap dividends.
* Youth is the way to go
1-0: After missing two glorious chances that were created in the first place due to his pace and tenacity, Santosh finally found himself on the end of a cross-field pass by Mok. Just when it looked like the chance had gone with the keeper rushing out and looking to claim, Tosh stepped on the gears and ate a whole load of that pretty darn cool thing called 'bravery' and took a stab at the ball before he was floored by the keeper. With the ball trickling to put us a goal up, our Nepalese boy laid on the ground, knocked out by the impact. What bravery and a crucial goal in what was proving to be a game of fine margins. That was how it ended at the half.
Running the changes at the half, the boys in white took to the field hoping to consolidate their position and at the same time play a similar soak and strike tactic. With Ubai having gone forward and now crowded out by both centre backs and Dinietov who had a good half at DM, Nova were limited to few chances. The same could have been said for us as both sides cancelled each other out in the engine room battle.
2-0: With Bib reinstated to his position up front for the remaining 15 minutes, both him and the very impressive Tosh hustled the Nova backline that was short on confidence at this point into giving away possession with a loose pass at the back. Noting their gaffer's pre-game warning of the reported failings at the back for Nova in recent games, both boys pounced on the ball and eventually sorted out who was going to take the final shot in the box. It fell to our young hotshot, Bib who calmly side footed it with his left peg into the bottom left hand corner of the goal to seal the points.
And with that, time ran out on the game.
MOTM: Santosh gets the nod for his unhuman like fitness and of course quality in the final third. Far from the finished product of course, but his performances in recent games have put a smile on the gaffer's face by showing not only the quality but also the commitment to match. A crucial goal on the day justifies the award. Keep it up Toshie boy. Special mention goes to the entire backline and keeper whom i felt sorted out their early failings well and handled the niffy wingers plus of course Ubai very very well.
Gaffers Thoughts: A solid performance against a very decent opposition. I like the fact that our midfield and attack of Rudee, Habib, Law, AhCool, Syafiq and Dinietov all hustled and played for the cause of the team. It was a solid team performance and also thoroughly professional. Hope you guys enjoyed the run out on a very hot day and let us look forward to our toughest test of the season come next Saturday. Let us stick together, play for one another and we have every chance of achieving a good result next week. See you boys.
Personnel:
Heiqal
Farhan, Huijie, Hizam, Jason, KS (GP)
Rudee, Santosh, AhCool, Law, Mok, Syafiq, Dinietov
Habib, Iskandar (GP)
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