Maestro FC 1 : 3 USSR United Match Review
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Match Review by Gerald Tan
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Maestro FC slumped to a disappointing 3-1 defeat as old foes USSR United turned the tables on a confident Maestro team. Despite the best efforts of the Bees, it was a game of two halves as USSR were hungrier, with Lady Luck shining on them.
From past experiences with USSR, this game was never meant to be pretty. With their tough, long ball style of play, Maestro Captain Guo Xian geared the team up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with specific emphasis on wing play and speed. With an eye on set pieces, Guo Xian also briefed the Bees on positional play for corner kicks.
USSR's winless streak, the return of Player of the Year Hakim, the Captain's pre-match brief further fueled the already confident Bees to go for the win and the Bees started better of the two teams. Early on, the Bees would go onto spurn and regret 3 clear scoring chances. Abhi made the most of his pace as he drifted from the left flank into the penalty box but was let down by a poor finish. Likewise, Gerald pounced on a loose ball outside the penalty box but his strong shot lacked accuracy. Perhaps the best missed chance fell to striker Jeramy. Abhi had drifted into the penalty box again, and he squared the ball to Jeramy who scuffed what should have been a simple tap-in.
It was all Maestro for the first half as USSR played aimless long balls around and did not threaten. With half time score at a deadlock, USSR was possibly the happier of both teams. The Bees' gameplay seemed to work but a spark of inspiration was needed to find a way through the Russian wall. So often Maestro star striker Rong An could be counted on for a spark of inspiration, but his absence today meant that Maestro needed a new hero to step up.
The second half saw Maestro push further forward, with Hakim pulling the midfield strings and dictating play. In a dominant 10 min spell, USSR's defence had to be at their best to repel Maestro's attacks. Surely it was a matter of time when Maestro would score.
Sadly, the match swung into USSR's favor after Maestro conceded a soft deflected goal. The Maestro defence had deflected a shot but the deflected shot somehow evaded keeper Brian as it looped in at the far post of the keeper. It was scant reward for Maestro's effort and the players were shellshocked. It was however not unpredictable as USSR had by then turned up the pressure on Maestro, having scored twice earlier, only to have them called off for offside.
1-0 ahead, USSR sensed the game for the taking and they committed 3 upfront to pressure the deflated Maestro team. Their change paid off as 2 more goals were scored. 1 via a penalty after a USSR striker blitzed into the Maestro penalty box and had his heel clipped from the back. The third goal was a result of poor defending as the USSR striker nipped the ball from Wee Hian who tried to shield the ball. The ball was squared and a simple tap-in later, it was 3-0 to USSR.
Captain Guo Xian switched to a 3-5-2 formation and that put a buoyant USSR on the back foot. USSR suffered a late scare when Joel got one back for the Bees after he received an excellent cross field ball from Hakim and finished with a smart low shot from the right penalty area. It could have been 3-2 if not for another good chance gone begging from Jeramy. He had shrugged free from a USSR challenge and found himself free with the keeper to beat from an acute angle but he could only shoot straight at the USSR keeper.
The referee's whistle signaled the end of any miraculous comeback and the team was visibly distraught and deflated after the defeat. It would have been great if Maestro had won but if there were any lessons to learn from this game, it was for each Maestro player to ask themselves how can they contribute to the team, what are the areas to improve on, how can the team support them, how can we change our undesirable behaviors if any.
No more excuses, no more "its not my problem" or "i have no issues" mindset. We need to play as a team, we need to support each other, we need to play our best, put in a good shift all the time and most importantly, we need to change what is undesirable in our performance and behavior.
The Captain and Vice are there to help you. Talk to them, share your concerns with them and once we get all these performance and behavior issues out of the way, Maestro would be a better team.
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High Points
1) New player Jin Teng joining in for a first half stint. More time is needed for him to blend in but this writer has a good feeling.
2) Guo Xian's effort in educating the team on formation and corner kick positional play. The corner kick one is especially useful and should be practiced.
3) Return of Hakim and his silky smooth on the ball performance.
Low Points
1) To concede in the way we did for the first goal killed off all motivation. The team was visibly affected as the defence went MIA. Trust between keeper and defence must be rebuilt.
2) Kartik's late challenge on the USSR keeper was uncalled for. We should always try to play fair and acknowledge when we make a poor challenge.
3) USSR's poor disciplinary record in the X League must be monitored. 2 red cards in the past 2 games plus a barrage of yellow cards in our game. Also, time spent by USSR on arguing with the referee on a few occasions led to start stop play.
4) The first 3 chances in the first half should have put the Bees out of sight. We need to be more clinical in finishing.
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