Maestro takes the positives against new X-League team
Joga Bonito 4: 3 Maestro (GX, Kartik x 2)
Match review by Alan Chiang
As the inter-monsoon period begins to greet the final period of the X-League Division 2 Season 2, Maestro FC also gets the opportunity to take on X-League Division 1 newcomers Joga Bonito to test our mettle. The match served as a kickabout to better understand how we would stand for the next season, either to promote to Division 1 or to remain in Division 2. Though Maestro FC might have lost to the newcomers by a mere soft penalty goal, there were plenty of positives to ponder upon.
The match would have favour Maestro FC for the majority of chances and possession for most parts of the game. But the newcomers reminded Maestro FC that there was more urgency to win the game, particularly when they were eager to begin the second half even before the referees can have their well-deserved break. There was no surprise why they did that, as they were trailing 1-2, even though they had taken the early lead through a great half-volley strike by their striker.
Guo Xian and Kartik gave the shout-outs to the opponents that Maestro FC was not going to be the pushovers. Guo Xian showed Maestro FC how much we missed him playing upfront with the strong run-ins into the opponents’ penalty area. Deploying Kartik as the central midfielder also paid off, after he found himself through on goal, with only the goalkeeper in his way. But the goalkeeper could not keep out his lobbing ball, which went straight into the net.
The opponents’ eagerness to begin the second half did pay rewards. They managed to get off an early goal and took the lead again when the striker pulled away with an easy tap-in following a poor clearance by Norris. Norris had been a major force for Maestro FC with several heroic tackles to deny the opponents’ attack.
Maestro FC pressed on for most parts of the second half after which. And Kartik’s mazing run found himself through on goal again. He rounded off the goalkeeper and scored Maestro’s equalizer with a cool finish. As the game approached the final period, there were much argument and disagreement between the opponents’ central defender and the referees. Topics such as FIFA rules, time-wasting, ball-switching were raised. Maestro’s attacking momentum came to a halt since then. Inside the final minutes, the opponents got their winning goal after their winger was adjudged to have been nudged by Alywn from the back. Calvin could do nothing with the resulting penalty kick.
In the end, the drizzle presented a nice cool off to a game with many positives.
Good points:
- Good cooling weather, good pitch
- Some great passing around the field
- Kartik proved to be the great talent in central midfeld, great link-up with GX too
- Brian being deployed as an outfield player
Bad points:
- Opponents questioning referees’ abilities to officiate the match
- Some bad tackles – Gerald got the most of them
- Calvin’s time-wasting attempt was largely felt by the opponents; even the opponents’ goalkeeper raised his concerns from the other end of the pitch.
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