(Rong An X02, Augustine)
Match review by Augustine Zhou
Sunday, 23rd October 2011, Katong Field – Just 2 more friendly matches lined up before the start of the X-League in November. The opponents facing Maestro this week were the familiar loud mouthed and trash talking Singh FC. These opponents were known to be physical and technically adept at passing and holding the ball, evident from the last meeting which was won by just 1 own goal forced by the same writer.
Maestro had 17-18 players today present, plenty of eager players wanting to get on the field and see some action. Plenty of sun but the same could not be said of the pitch, which was in a deplorable condition due to rain and such. Maestro started with a 3-5-2 formation. Calvin in goal, Big Eric, Norris and Brian in defence. Centre midfield was marshalled by Gerald (Cpt), Alex with Paul dropping back to provide additional defensive cover for the back three. Left wing was the writer and right was Kartik. The frontline was led by Howard and Nikesh.
The first half kicked off shortly with Maestro’s Abi playing in the opponent’s right wing position as they did not have enough players. The muddy pitch made playing a very patchy and even messy affair. Passes went awry, players running into each other and neither team could keep possession for long. Maestro’s first attempt on goal came after the writer laid off the ball for an onrushing Gerald to shoot from 20 yards out straight to their keeper.
Against the run of play, Singh FC scored first. A long throw in found their tall centre forward, who flicked on for their striker to run straight towards Maestro’s goal. Despite being closed down by the defence, he managed to toe poke the ball, thus catching Calvin off guard and scored. Their celebrations were barely over when Maestro immediately equalized straight after the kickoff. Rong An spotted their keeper off his line and blasted a dipping shot that dropped nicely under the crossbar from over 30 yards out. Excellent technique and awareness.
The rest of the half continued in a scrappy manner where both sides had few chances, the better ones in the opponents’ favour. Calvin redeemed himself with a fine one handed save from the striker who was a constant threat to Maestro’s backline. Half time saw Gerald and Walter switching to a 4-5-1 formation with Howard dropping back to his familiar defensive position and leaving the young Nikesh alone upfront.
The second half started with Maestro showing more urgency and commitment to win the game. Nikesh did well in holding onto the ball, buying space and time for the wingers to come forward to join in the attack. A quick counter attack by the writer after Maestro defended a corner saw him sprint from box to box, beating 2 defenders before finally being dispossessed by the third. But he didn’t have to wait long for another chance as the evergreen and rampaging Hanrong picked up a loose ball and galloped down the right flank. He squared the perfect ball across the goal and this time round the writer opted for a simple tap in, making amends for the horrendous miss 2 weeks ago from a similar position.
Substitutions were made straight after, bringing on more attacked minded and flair players like Rong An and Norris. The changes saw an immediate impact as Rong An and Norris double teamed in a deadly fashion, laying open the oppenents’ defence and creating more chances for the Maestro’s midfield. Tempers threatened to flare as the referee made a series of dubious calls and the opponents got frustrated, which showed in a couple of hard challenges on Maestro’s players. Maestro did not help their cause by arguing with the referee, leading to a few stoppages as the referee had to calm both sets of players and even explain his decisions.
The substitutions paid off as Rong An jinked and twisted his way into the box, beating 2 players on the way. Norris dummied and somehow managed to even block their centre back (with his backside), allowing a somewhat surprised Rong An to run onto the loose ball, cutting into the box and finishing clinically for Maestro’s third goal. The rest of the second half passed uneventfully and overall it was a hard fought and satisfying win for Maestro.
High points:
- Three well taken goals.
- Increased commitment and will to win, evident from players doing a lot of hard running on a terrible pitch.
- Awesome team turnout and most made it in time for the warm-up. It’s not so much about regimental discipline but rather building the team spirit for future games against stronger teams.
Low points:
- The field was terrible. Enough said.
- Referee was inconsistent with his calls and he could have told Maestro earlier about the limit to substitutions? It just goes to show how poorly managed and unprofessional this league really is.
- Maestro players should focus on the game, play to the whistle and not argue with the referee. A FAS sanctioned referee will not tolerate such shouting and sarcasm on the field, please bear this in mind for the X-League.
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