Maestro FC 0 - 1 Stallions United
FC
Match Review by Guo Xian
This week's league match saw Maestro FC play against one of the strong contenders for the Div 3 crown. The match also allows Maestro to see where they stand against a strong opponent, after a morale boosting victory against Collabo FC last week. Maestro certainly did not disappoint as every player put in a great shift and displayed a discipline performance to restrict Stallions to only one goal and a few half chances. Maestro could have snatched a draw or even created an upset, if top striker Rong An had put away the chances he had in the first half.
All the talk over the past week was about how to contain Stallion's star player No. 7 Yeoh Han Joo. Maestro FC started the match without the regular centre-back partnership of Norris and Alan. Although Yeoh did not start the match, the backline defensive four of Chris, Wee Hian, Alywin and Hakim, together with defensive midfielders Gerald and Silas, managed to keep out the strong offensive threat of Stallions. Apart from a shot that hit the underside of the crossbar, Stallions were reduced to half chances as they could not find a way past the strong Maestro defense.
However, Stallions did not dominate possessions as Maestro also have brief periods of good spell in the first half. There were some good interchanging of passes and composed play in the midfield between the front men of Abhi, Kartik, Guo Xian and Rong An. Hakim, playing out of position at left-back, even manage to join the offensive play on a number of occasions. Rong An created a number of chances for himself after some hard running at Stallion's backline and was also fed with numerous chances from Maestro's attacking trio. After scoring seven past Collabo FC, equaling the highest number of goals scored and becoming the league top scorer, anyone would have put their money on him to at least score one of them. No disrespect to Stallion's backline well marshalled by the big defender who intimidated the referee whenever a foul was given against his team, Rong An should have put one away to give Maestro a deserved half time lead.
It was a professional and cautious performance from both teams and the play wasn't pretty in the first half. The referee did not help matters as it seem like he could not keep up with the high tempo of the game and did not issue any cards or warning to some explicit language used. It is important for the referee to always communicate with both set of players and the captain to explain decisions made. By using words such as "don't tell me what to do" and "i know what i'm doing", in the opinion of this writer, the referee has not displayed the fundamental of being a judge in a football game - communication. The match finished goalless at half time.
The instructions at half time was to man mark Yeoh who was to make his appearance in the second half and to play with the same commitment and aggression as the first half. The second half also saw a more familiar backline of Norris, Alan, Walter and Hakim, with Jeramy making his appearance as the lone forward and Rong An dropping deep. Maestro was caught napping right from the second half when a through pass allowed one of the Stallion's forwards to score the only goal of the game. Walter tried his best to intercept the through pass and Calvin made the initial save to deny the forward. The goal was scored after the rebound fell nicely for the forward to tap home into an empty net. Very unlucky.
Maestro FC went on the offensive in search of the equalizer. The dilemma is also to prevent Stallions from extending their lead which would have killed off any chances of another Maestro comeback. Rong An continued his efforts of scoring the equalizer, while Alywin and Eric came in to freshen the defense. The defense held on and kept Yeoh and his strike partner very quiet. It was the cue for Captain GX to push more players up in search of the equalizer.
However, Rong An limped off the pitch with severe cramps in both his calves due to lack of match fitness. With ten minutes left, Captain GX made the decision to play himself and Norris upfront, with Hakim in the playmaker role, for a more offensive 4-4-2 formation. Norris managed to let fly a decent effort from the edge of the box but the keeper managed to dive and save the goal bound shot.
IThe match ended 1-0 in favour of Stallions. The comments at end of the match by all MFCians suggest that if all players were to play with the same fighting spirit, we would move higher up in the table. It has been three consecutive high energy performance by Maestro FC, which saw us score 17 goals and concede only 4. Onwards to the last stretch of the season and let's all strive for the best position available bees!!
High Points
1. Everyone give a good account of himself against one of the top teams in the division. It is because of these committed performances that makes playing in the team enjoyable for everyone.
2. Good weather for a competitive match. I guess if there was a 3rd half, everyone should have no problem playing it.
Low Points
1. Poor referee. Intimidated by the opponent without even any warning for use of explicit language. Wrong choice of words. The referee needs to learn to communicate with the players.
2. Xleague probably have to hire extra manpower. Seem like they are nowhere to be seen nowadays. Even saw Walter being the photographer mid first half.
Match Review by Guo Xian
This week's league match saw Maestro FC play against one of the strong contenders for the Div 3 crown. The match also allows Maestro to see where they stand against a strong opponent, after a morale boosting victory against Collabo FC last week. Maestro certainly did not disappoint as every player put in a great shift and displayed a discipline performance to restrict Stallions to only one goal and a few half chances. Maestro could have snatched a draw or even created an upset, if top striker Rong An had put away the chances he had in the first half.
All the talk over the past week was about how to contain Stallion's star player No. 7 Yeoh Han Joo. Maestro FC started the match without the regular centre-back partnership of Norris and Alan. Although Yeoh did not start the match, the backline defensive four of Chris, Wee Hian, Alywin and Hakim, together with defensive midfielders Gerald and Silas, managed to keep out the strong offensive threat of Stallions. Apart from a shot that hit the underside of the crossbar, Stallions were reduced to half chances as they could not find a way past the strong Maestro defense.
However, Stallions did not dominate possessions as Maestro also have brief periods of good spell in the first half. There were some good interchanging of passes and composed play in the midfield between the front men of Abhi, Kartik, Guo Xian and Rong An. Hakim, playing out of position at left-back, even manage to join the offensive play on a number of occasions. Rong An created a number of chances for himself after some hard running at Stallion's backline and was also fed with numerous chances from Maestro's attacking trio. After scoring seven past Collabo FC, equaling the highest number of goals scored and becoming the league top scorer, anyone would have put their money on him to at least score one of them. No disrespect to Stallion's backline well marshalled by the big defender who intimidated the referee whenever a foul was given against his team, Rong An should have put one away to give Maestro a deserved half time lead.
It was a professional and cautious performance from both teams and the play wasn't pretty in the first half. The referee did not help matters as it seem like he could not keep up with the high tempo of the game and did not issue any cards or warning to some explicit language used. It is important for the referee to always communicate with both set of players and the captain to explain decisions made. By using words such as "don't tell me what to do" and "i know what i'm doing", in the opinion of this writer, the referee has not displayed the fundamental of being a judge in a football game - communication. The match finished goalless at half time.
The instructions at half time was to man mark Yeoh who was to make his appearance in the second half and to play with the same commitment and aggression as the first half. The second half also saw a more familiar backline of Norris, Alan, Walter and Hakim, with Jeramy making his appearance as the lone forward and Rong An dropping deep. Maestro was caught napping right from the second half when a through pass allowed one of the Stallion's forwards to score the only goal of the game. Walter tried his best to intercept the through pass and Calvin made the initial save to deny the forward. The goal was scored after the rebound fell nicely for the forward to tap home into an empty net. Very unlucky.
Maestro FC went on the offensive in search of the equalizer. The dilemma is also to prevent Stallions from extending their lead which would have killed off any chances of another Maestro comeback. Rong An continued his efforts of scoring the equalizer, while Alywin and Eric came in to freshen the defense. The defense held on and kept Yeoh and his strike partner very quiet. It was the cue for Captain GX to push more players up in search of the equalizer.
However, Rong An limped off the pitch with severe cramps in both his calves due to lack of match fitness. With ten minutes left, Captain GX made the decision to play himself and Norris upfront, with Hakim in the playmaker role, for a more offensive 4-4-2 formation. Norris managed to let fly a decent effort from the edge of the box but the keeper managed to dive and save the goal bound shot.
IThe match ended 1-0 in favour of Stallions. The comments at end of the match by all MFCians suggest that if all players were to play with the same fighting spirit, we would move higher up in the table. It has been three consecutive high energy performance by Maestro FC, which saw us score 17 goals and concede only 4. Onwards to the last stretch of the season and let's all strive for the best position available bees!!
High Points
1. Everyone give a good account of himself against one of the top teams in the division. It is because of these committed performances that makes playing in the team enjoyable for everyone.
2. Good weather for a competitive match. I guess if there was a 3rd half, everyone should have no problem playing it.
Low Points
1. Poor referee. Intimidated by the opponent without even any warning for use of explicit language. Wrong choice of words. The referee needs to learn to communicate with the players.
2. Xleague probably have to hire extra manpower. Seem like they are nowhere to be seen nowadays. Even saw Walter being the photographer mid first half.
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