Final Score: Alwyn's Friends 2 : 6 MFC (Rong An 3, Alex 2, Kartik 1)
A salvo hat-trick from Rong An and 3 long range shots from Alex and Kartik saw MFC grab a high scoring win over Alwyn's friends in this weekend's friendly game at a rather small size Bukit Timah field. With the match starting at 2pm under the scorching afternoon sun, the Bees were up for this friendly game though only 13 MFCians turned up for the match. With a shortage of players and substitutes, it was going to be a tough test for the 13 players, to cope with the hot temperature and also to battle a youthful but tough and speedy looking opponent. Alwyn's friends were a newly formed team but they certainly had no shortage of players; they had more than 5 substitutes ready to step in when needed. Nevertheless, MFC took to the field with a strong 11- Rong An was back upfront while Alex, Alwyn, Gerald, Jeffrey and Augustine formed the midfield. Chris dropped back to form a centre back partnership with Walter and Howard, Kartik filled the left and right back slots. In Gary's absence, Alan kindly took up the goalkeeping duties. As soon as the kickoff was signalled, it was always going to be a long ball strategy for both teams due to the pitch's short and narrow dimensions. Alwyn's friends took the lead shortly after kickoff when their striker won the battle against Walter to reach a long punt upfield; he managed to just put in a decent strike, which evaded Alan who was off his line, into the far post. The players' confidence was deflated and the Bees needed to conjure up some magic to win the game. Luckily, the magic came from Rong An shortly after MFC conceded. Playing upfront on his own, Rong An had worked hard all afternoon to get past 2 very good central defenders. He was rewarded when he managed to find enough space to get past the defence on one occasion and his low strike found the back of the net. With the equaliser, MFC started to press harder into the opponents' half and it was not long before Rong An punished the opponents again with an almost identical finish to put MFC 2-1 up. He was clearly enjoying himself in this game, showing the opponents his fancy footwork throughout. On 1 occasion, his delightful backheel just outside the box flatfooted the opponents but the MFC player (forgot who) who received the ball did not get a good strike on it. It was all MFC for the rest of the half, with Kartik, Augustine and Jeffrey doing very well on the flanks to test the opponents' pace and defending. Augustine and Kartik both penetrated the opponents' defence on a few occasions with fine runs but they failed to be converted into goals. At half time, MFC was leading and the though of defeat was never on the minds of the players. Walter summed up the confidence when he requested for a minimum 5-1 final score! One key change made in the second half was Wee Hian taking over Alan as goalkeeper, so as to allow Alan some playing time. The Bees continued the next half in the opponents' half, pressuring them into making bad passes or intercepting loose balls. The opponents made a wrong decision to change their goalkeeper at half time; the replacement keepers (they changed their keeper thrice) showed that they were very uncomfortable with aerial balls and that translated into 2 goals from long range freekicks from Alex and Kartik. In between the freekicks from Alex and Kartik, Rong An completed his hat-trick when he ran onto a long range freekick and did just enough to lift the ball above the goalkeeper. Not to be outdone, Alex showed his determination to add to his tally when he ran onto a long ball (again!) from the deep midfield and struck the ball well beyond the goalkeeper. Kartik then made it 6-1 when his long range freekick caught the keeper unaware. Alwyn's friends did get another consolation goal when one of their strikers did well to find himself on a one-on-one position and placed his shot just beyond Wee Hian, who had dived low to his left. With a four goal lead and time winding down, MFC continued to defend resolutely against Alwyn's friends and soon it was all over. Another morale boosting, big margin, victory for the Bees! High Points 1) Rong An's hat-trick and impressive run of form in recent times 2) Alan and Wee Hian taking up the goalkeeping duties in Gary's absence; thank you guys! 3) The referee did well , its a friendly and he obliged by keeping his cards too. 4) The opponents were friendly in this good tempered match. Both teams apologised when needed and showed fair play manners Low Points 1) The hot temperature at 2pm! 2) The small, narrow Bukit Timah pitch 3) MFC must try to play the ball more on the ground instead of the long ball strategy 4) The little miscommunication that resulted in MFC playing with 10 men for a while. Howard had subbed out but no players came in |
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