Final Score: Kaki Bukit Hotspurs 1 : 1 MFC (Gerald 1)
MFC played new opponents Kaki Bukit Hotspurs for the first time this weekend and it was an unforgettable match. Amidst the drizzle, mud and water, 22 players played our an entertaining game, full of incidents and "accidents".
With Walter out with fever, Guo Xian took charge of team tactics and went for a bold 4-3-3 formation, with intent to put the Hotspurs under pressure. The first few minutes went well as the Hotspurs were playing cautious football, spraying passes from left to right, looking for an opportunity. MFC did well tactically, to close down the opponents or intercept passes whenever possible.
The first incident of the match came when Norris found his way into the penalty box, only to be pushed from the back and was given a foul. To everyone's surprise, the referee gave an indirect freekick in the penalty box for the foul, with no yellow card shown. This kicked off a series of many ridiculous calls by the referee.
With a 3 man attack of Guo Xian, Norris and Rong An, MFC was supposed to be flying upfront. However, the Hotspurs defence was good in the air and generally calm on the ball, leaving MFC's 3 attackers with few chances.
The first half was mainly a defensive show from MFC, who played tactically well to close off opportunities for the Hotspurs. MFC soaked up the attacks and when possible, the speed of the upfront attackers was used to counter attack the Hotspurs. Another source of attacks was from freekicks- MFC got a number of freekicks due to the rough nature of some of the challenges from the Hotspurs.
As the referee gave MFC more fouls, the Hotspurs were starting to lose their cool; on one instance a Hotspurs player tackled Guo Xian and lashed out a second kick with his trailing leg before taking the ball. After the referee blew for the foul, the player threw the ball onto Guo Xian, who was still on the ground. The referee was once again outstanding, choosing to ignore what happened, keeping his precious cards to himself.
There were chances for both teams to go ahead. First, Alan did well to use his body to block off what seemed a certain goal after a Hotspurs player had found himself infront of an open goal. Abi too did well, using his pace to beat his marker on the left flank and delivering a beautiful cross that evaded defenders and keeper and sadly, Augustine too, for a tap in.
At halftime, it was 0-0 but MFC could sense the match was for the taking. The second half begun with MFC playing the usual 4-5-1. The gameplay was the same though, with MFC soaking up the pressure and playing the offside trap well. The occasional freekicks for MFC were a main source of attacks and finally, the deadlock was broken after Alex's freekick was parried by the Hotspurs keeper and Gerald, who reacted the fastest, took advantage of the loose ball and slid it past the keeper.
MFC was elated and the team played with more confidence as the Hotspurs were no longer effective on their attacks as they wasted a few good chances. With 1 minute on the clock, controvesy erupted again when Abi lashed out verbally at a Hotspurs player for a challenge. The reaction from the Hotspurs players were violent as they approached Abi for a fight. MFCians had to step in to separate Abi from the angry Hotspurs and Gerald got whacked by a ball aimed at the MFC crowd during this melee. The referee's reaction?- freekick to Hotspurs.
With all these happening within 1 minute of game time left, MFCians were waiting for the referee's whistle as the MFC players were now fearful of the Hotspurs, who were out to injure players with bad tackles. From the resulting freekick, keeper Gary was fouled as a Hotspurs player barged into him but the referee ignored and allowed play to go on. The ball was loose in the penalty area and the Hotspurs players were putting in rash tackles on MFC defenders who were trying to clear the ball. When it got out of and again, the referee gave a drop ball, no cards again.
The mood among the MFCians was sombre and the Hotspurs sensed an equalizer as they went hard for the challenges. They got the equalizer after one of their players got into a 1 on 1 chance and he did well to put the ball just beyond Gary's save.
Shortly after the restart, the referee finally blew the final whistle. By then, he had given a generous 5 to 7 minutes of unjustifiable extra time to sum up a man of the match performance from the referee.
Though it was a disappointing draw, MFCians were happy to have played a good match and show how to put up a defensive show. This match should have been for the taking, if not for a good Hotspurs defence and an outstanding referee.
High Points
1) MFC putting up a defensive show and playing the offside trap well.
2) Abi's pace troubled the Hotspurs right back all day.
3) Rong An played an excellent game but was marred by poor challenges
Low Points
I1) The referee. Nuff said.
2) A friendly match negated by rash and unsporting behavior
3) Muddy field, no water pipe to wash. Don't worry, Owner Koh says that they have got the approval to build a water pipe for washing. Mark this down on your calendars and lets see when the pipe dream would materialize.
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