Final Score: MFC 1 - 0 Team Malaysia (Rong An)
Venue: Katong Field
Starting 11: Gary, Guo Xian, Alan, Howard, Lil Eric, Alex, Gerald, Chris, August, Norris, Rong An
Subs: Wee Hian, Kartik, Logen, Nikesh, Jonathan, Paul, Alywin, Silas, Abi
After last week defeat against Star FC, MFC was determined to put in a better performance this time round. It was a perfect day for soccer; the weather was good and the pitch was fine. This week’s friendly was against Team Malaysia, a team that is good on the ball and always looking to spray lobbing passes over the opponent’s defence. As usual, Captain Guoxian announced the team’s starting line up, adopting a 4-5-1 formation with Gary in goal, Guoxian and Alan as centrebacks, Alex and Gerald patrolling the middle of the park and Rong An up front.
The game began with Team Malaysia playing at a very high tempo and controlling the majority of the possession. The pace of the game proved to be a challenge for MFC as the team is not very accustomed to such a fast pace. Nonetheless, MFC managed to shape up and hold off Team Malaysia’s numerous dangerous through balls. This is credit to the awesome defending by little Eric, Alan and the midfield players(Chris, Gerald and Alex) for tracking back and closing in quickly as soon as the Team Malaysia’s players have ball possession. As goalkeeper, I could vividly remember the fantastic sliding clearance by Little Eric and the good reading of the game by Alan to intercept a through ball. Team Malaysia do have their secret Weapon “Fabio” who is extremely pacy and proved to be a nuisance upfront. On the other hand, MFC did not have really clear cut chances in the 1st half. The only threats came from corners, which failed to trouble the Team Malaysia’s Keeper. That summed up the 1st half with the scoreline staying at 0-0.
Guoxian did make a couple of changes, adopting a 4-4-2 formation, with Guo Xian and Rong An upfront. If you expect both teams to be satisfied with a draw at the final whistle, you are absolutely wrong. This second half consists of numerous last ditch tackles, goaline clearance, crucial saves, penetrating runs and shouts of encouragement by the MFC players, to be matched by a whole hearted approach to the game by Team Malaysia. Team Malaysia did have a couple of half chances against the MFC defence, only to be squandered by their strikers as they blast their shot way off target. However, it was MFC who managed to break the dead lock, with a splendid pass by Chris (is it him? or can someone declare who made the pass? haha) to be matched by a clinical finish by Rong An. 1-0 to MFC and the players were extremely delighted that their hard work has paid off.
It was soon an open game as both team’s defence was stretched. MFC came close to adding a few more goals, with several long range shots flewing just slightly off target and also Rong An’s effort hitting the post. Chris also have a shot swerved slightly off at the last moment. Team Malaysia did rally, as a header by one of their strikers from a corner just cleared off the line by Howard. That is brilliant defending by Howard, always alert and aware of the danger in the penalty box. Team Malaysia was playing a very high line as they commit a lot of players upfront in search of an equalizer and they almost got one, as one of their striker fired a low venom shot only to be matched by a charismatic save by Keeper Gary.
It was not long before Referee Koh blew the whistle to signal the end of the game. It was certainly not an easy victory and one that will be recorded as a hard fought victory in MFC’s match achives. Well Done guys!
High points
1. Fantastic play by the whole Team. MFC’s defence was solid!
2. Against a pacy team, MFC’s midfield did well to track back and close down their opponents.
3. Man of the match Rong An announced by Captain Guoxian. His only goal proved to be the winner for MFC! Cheers!
Low Points
1. Referee Koh did make several wrong decisions as he failed to penalized several fouls committed by Team Malaysia’s players
2. The opponents committed a couple of unsportsmanship challenges, which hurts several of MFC players. Little Eric commented that he thought he going bald as one of the opponents scratched his head.
No comments:
Post a Comment