Maestro shocks high flying BMFS SC

Maestro FC 3 : 1 BMFS SC (Abhi x2, Jeramy)

Match Review by Gerald Tan

Every dog has its day and today was Maestro FC's day. Not that it is this writer's intention to link Maestro to dogs (ala Roy Hodgson and "space monkey") but this victory was nothing short of Maestro coming in as underdogs to shock BMFS SC with 3 excellent goals. In the earlier fixture with BMFS, though Maestro lost narrowly 2-1, this was a team high on confidence after coming on the back of 2 back to back wins, scoring 8 goals in the process and claiming Ironfield United as their latest scalp. Lest we forget, Ironfield thrashed Maestro 5-1. Just to stack the odds further, Maestro only had 13 players, 2 of whom are new players. The regular centreback pairing of Alan, Norris was absent, midfield maestro Hakim and striker Rong An still not fully back to action. Recent matchwinner for Maestro - Dino, was also not available. The team almost lost Calvin too, due to his grandmother being hospitalized but thankfully he still made time for the game. Captain Guo Xian partnered Chris at the heart of defence, with Walter and Howard as the wing backs. Gerald was DM, with Kartik, Abhi, Alwyn and Victor (Alwyn's friend) in the midfield 4. Jeramy led the attack. The pre-match atmosphere was low; the team knew the odds was heavily against them. BMFS had more subs, bigger players who were also skilful. There was no mention of victory, only a good game, to keep the formation tight, with more passing. Right from the first whistle, it was as if divinity's hand was at play, as Maestro somehow managed to control the game. The lack of players meant that the team kept to short passes where possible and everyone seemed to possess iron-lungs to keep closing down on the opponents. This frustrated BMFS as they tried to keep possession and launch attacks but each time they tried, Maestro managed to peg them back and regain possession. The first half ended 0-0 but the tempo was with the Bees. Freekicks, corner kicks and outstanding runs by Abhi down the left flank kept BMFS busy defending. The Bees was relieved at the goalless scoreline at half time and it seemed like everyone was just hoping for the scoreline to remain goalless for the point. Never did we expect to score 3 in the second half. It did not take long for Abhi to start the goal rout. It started from a move from the back as Guo Xian picked up a loose ball, charged forward and launched a beautiful long through ball to Abhi. Abhi was flying down the left flank by then and he latched onto the ball, beat his marker before nicely putting the ball into the bottom corner, past the keeper who came out to block his shooting angle. It sparked hope in the Bees and goal number 2 soon came as well. Abhi again was the scorer, this time he did it himself. Picking up the ball on the left flank , he dribbled past the opponent right back and cut in to a similar position he scored from. Instead of shooting past the keeper, he chose to lob the keeper instead. As the ball went in, the team was rocking and BMFS was rocked! Goal number 3 came quickly again from a set piece. This writer delivered a free kick towards the keeper and his weak punch fell to Jeramy and simply tapped in the ball. It was just rewards for him after putting a good shift upfront closing down defenders. His time off from football did not make him less fit, on the contrary he was fitter than before! "The score is 0-0!" Captain Guo Xian reminded the team as he anticipated BMFS to awake from their slumber. They did score, courtesy of a well taken direct free kick which left Calvin with no chance. At 3-1, BMFS tried to come back into the game but it's too late. Tempers flared near the end of the game when a scuffle involving Howard and a BMFS winger over sportsmanship (or the lack of it). Chris tried to defend Howard from potential punches from BMFS but he too got implicated as BMFS players charged towards them and threaten physical action. Thankfully sanity prevailed and the referee did the needful. The final whistle was met with much joy as the Bees overcame the odds to beat a strong team. The win puts Maestro up the table and further from the relegation battle. These are the moments to savour, certainly at least up to next week when we face our opponents!

High Points

1) Centre pairing of Guo Xian and Chris did well in keeping BMFS away from goal. Walter and Howard also played well
2) Abhi was truly the man of the match. His two goals aside, he was instrumental in many attacks.

3) Jeramy put up a good shift upfront and he pressured opponents to lose the ball on a few occasions. Coming down despite his exams makes his presence a lot more appreciated
4) We have 2 potentially good players to join us - Victor and Mark (Jeramy's friend)

Low Points

1) One of the BMFS player was rather unsporting on a few occasions
2) No clean sheet