Match Review by Gerald Tan
The definition of a "friendly match" was thrown out of the window today when MFC took on Barcalavaii FC. Though billed as a friendly match, the significance of it went beyond that; it really was the clash of the top 2 teams in the Sunsports League and pride and bragging rights was at stake for both teams. Barcalavaii FC went in with the better record; they won 2 of the last 3 meetings.
MFC was near full strength with the notable absentee in top scorer Guo Xian. His absence was sorely missed though in his place, Silas and Benjamin took turns as lone striker against the Barcalavaii defence.
The match began in a fiery mood, with MFC taking the game by its neck and turning on the heat on Barcalavaii. MFC had a glorious chance to take the lead through Kartik. A through ball by Silas led to a good run into the penalty box by Kartik. He duly rounded up the goalkeeper but missed with the open goal at his mercy. MFC did not have to wait long for more chances. One went the way of Augustine, who was put through to a one on one with the goalkeeper despite offside calls from the opposing defence. His attempted shot hit the crossbar and was cleared away quickly.
After that, Barcalavaii FC began to stamp their authority and on a few occasions, they caused panic in MFC's defence through their set pieces and freekicks. To MFC's credit, Eric, Firdaus, Alan and Zi Rong played well to keep the opponents out. Barcalavii's best player, no. 10 Jianming, was holding up play well in midfield and he opened the scoring with a freekick. His well placed shot from the right side of the field evaded everyone and lobbed over keeper Calvin. It stayed 1-0 to Barcalavaii FC till the break.
The second half began in similar fashion, with MFC faster out of the blocks. Gerald had a half decent chance to score from long range but his shot went just over the crossbar. MFC was also pressuring Barcalavaii with some fast counter attacks but failed to find the Midas scoring touch. It was also around this time that tempers started to flare; protests against the referee's decision was heard from some Barcalavaii players.
Just when MFC looked to have the game under control, football violence reared its ugly head. Football violence has always been an issue in Sunsports league but rarely was it as serious as today's incident.
Alan, taking a center midfield role, went for a 50-50 tussle with Barcalavaii's Jianming. Jianming went down under the challenge and in a matter of seconds, Barcalavaii's team captain led the team's physical assault on Alan, flying in with a kick and raining punches. MFC reacted by trying to separate Alan and the opponents and because of that, some MFC players like Eric and Hanrong got punched and hit instead.
It took more than 15 minutes to clear the mayhem and after listening to both sides, Referee Lao Li sent off Barcalavaii's captain for throwing the first punch. Barcalavaii reacted to the referee's decision by staging a walkout from the match. After the referee and league organizer Koh spoke to the captains from both sides and Alan apologizing to every player from Barcalavaii, the match was resumed 20 minutes later. But by then, it was a little too late, as MFC failed to find the motivation to push for the equalizer. Tackles were withheld and communication was non existent between players. Barcalavaii took advantage of this and extended their lead to 2-0.
The match ended 2-0 to Barcalavaii FC and though it could have been a great match between 2 good sides, this fourth meeting between them will always be remembered for the wrong reasons.
High Points
1) Some good play from Maestro FC which resulted in good chances being created
2) Maestro FC defence's good performance again
3) Improvement from center midfield, especially in the air
4) Pitch condition was good
5) Alan's apology to each and every player showed his professionalism and great character
Low Points
1) Maestro FC's failure to find the net despite numerous chances
2) Football violence not being taken seriously at league level
3) Lack of communication between midfield and attackers
4) Poor positioning from some players
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