Match report for 26 January 2003
It was matchday once again for Reds FC after a weeks break and many
players were looking forward to another exciting 90 mins of
kicking,heading,tackling and teamwork
in a game they call soccer.
In contrast to the week before,the weather was fine,in fact it was
a little hot and dry.Apart from a few patches of bumpy ground,the
field was
fit to be played on.
The visitors were Bluebird FC,made up of rather young players,and
hence most of them had good stamina and several of them had
individual flair and terrific ballskills.Referee for the match
was
none other than Mr Magoo.
Reds FC started the match with several positional changes.Alvin
Ang
was pushed up as a striker and Boon dropped back into right
midfield.Lawrence and Damien were absent due to injury and work
commitments respectively.
The first half saw the Blues tormenting the Reds with their
possession and fast wingplay down the left.Their star player was
without a doubt their Thai left winger,Tom Yam.The nifty
winger
on numerous occassions got past Kelvin using his speed and tricky
turns to cross the ball into the box.The Reds were given a warning
when one of the dangerous crosses was met by the head of their
striker
and just went narrowly wide,forcing the first dive of the match
from Colin.
Manager Rob came out early in the first half due to a torn boot and
Superfly Jimmy came on in place of him.The Reds were sluggish and
were simply not playing hard enough compared to the Blues who were
putting their body into every challenge.
The Reds were in for another scare when the Blues had a striker
played through on goal but the man in green blew for offside.
It was a gruelling battle between the two sides which saw many
fouls being committed.The chance for the Blues came when Alf hacked
a player outside the box.Reds FC were always a suspect when it came
to set pieces
and true enough,the Blues took the lead when the free kick was
floated to the far post and the striker who was left unmarked
headed the ball home with ease.
Reds FC looked second best for most of the first half,with only
Khairul creating most of the chances.Jimmy had problems planning
his runs and Bara was often in his own world,and when interviewed
after the match he said,"i was running with the ball and later
forgot what i wanted to do
and also Man U suxxxxx". 
The Reds had several chances mainly created by Khai for Jimmy and
Alvin but the finishing just wasn't up to mark.
As the clock ticked by,the game became more and more aggresive and
intense.Players were falling like flies,and fouls were being given
like pamphlets.Ian who moved up to left midfield,was sprinting up
and down the flanks,trying to create chances but had no support,and
on one occassion,was tackled ruthlessly which resulted in a yellow
card for the Bluebird's right-back.
The Blues at the other end continued their onslaught,but credit
must be given to the defenders ,for doing well in containing the
strikers and apart from a shot or two,the Blues never really
troubled the keeper Colin.
The best attempt from the Reds had to be the left-legged shot from
Robin which flew at top speed just over the bar.
The half-time score remained at 1-0.
Early in the second half,the Blues once again obtained a free kick
outside the box.This time a shot was
taken and Colin got a hand to it but
the ball had already crossed the line.There were calls for an
infringement on Colin,claiming that he was pushed,but the ref was
steadfast in his decision and was nonchalent towards the cries for
foul from the Reds.
Things were not looking good for the Reds and unless they came up
with a new gameplan in the next fifteen minutes or so,they were
surely headed towards their second defeat in a row.
Top scorer Russ was included into the Reds side and the team hoped
for some magic from the star striker.The formation of the Reds
changed with Khai pushing up to partner Russ and Alvin.The new
formation seemed to be very effective!!!!
The game started turning around after the second goal,and Reds FC
lived up to their name of "never say die" attitude.They began
challenging for every ball and the workrate of the midfielders
improved immensely.Jimmy who had a quiet first half,atoned for his
mediocre first half performance,by chasing for every ball.He could
be found all over the pitch,often running back to help out in
defence and created some chances upfront as well.Manager Rob was
exceptionally fired up and fought hard to win the balls in
midfield.And also not forgetting Boon who was fitting quite
comfortably in his new role.In short,Reds FC were winning most of
the balls in midfield,and any stray balls that got passed the
midfield were professionally cut out by the defence.
Reds FC kept up the incessant pressure,in search for a much needed
goal.Russ came close to scoring when Khai passed the ball into the
centre but the keeper covered the angle well and the shot was
saved.On another instance,Khai crossed a high one to Bara who
almost got a head to it but miss time his jump.
The much awaited moment came when Jimmy played Khai through on
goal.Khai made up for his previous attempt when he shot straight at
the keeper, by cheekily chipping the ball
over the keeper and into the net, throwing the Reds a genuine
lifeline.Brilliant goal indeed!!!
The Reds were fired up more than ever and for the first time in the
game felt that they could take this game.The Blues retaliated by
trying to pump the ball down the flanks but Pat and Alfred released
some fearsome sliding tackles to make sure nothing went past
them.Arial balls were cut out by Jem,the lanky stopper and last man
Charles was alert and cleared all the loose balls that came his
way.The blues were being frustrated.Their players were being
man-marked out of the game,even star player Tom Yam.
Amidst all the enthusiasm and excitment,Manager Rob picked up a
yellow card after reprimanding the ref,who was sick and tired of
being shouted at all day long.
A free kick taken by Jem from defence put
Khai and Russ through to goal but neither was able to finish it.The
Reds knew the equaliser had to come ,but just didn't know when or
how.
Late into the second half,the Reds were given a corner.Manager Rob
stepped up to take it.Stopper Jem ran up to add some firpower
upfront.
Strangely enough,there were defenders surrounding him but
nobody
actually marked him tight.Rob floated a beautiful ball across the
goalmouth and Jem got behind a defender and finished it superbly
with a diving header,which was totally unstoppable from that
distance.Reds FC drew level finally.
After coming back from 2-0 down,the morale of the team was sky
rocketed and it stung the Bluebirds into a late flurry.
Midfield maestro Khairul who had a wonderful outing came close to
snatching the winner when his shot went narrowly wide.Ref awarded a
goal kick even though it seemed an obvious corner.Bara also had a
chance to seal the game.Khai swung a pass across goal,but Bara was
hesistant to finish it,which epitomised his shyness in front of
goal!!!
In the dying seconds of the game,Bluebird FC once again were lining
up for a free kick in a dangerous position just outside the
box.They envisaged this chance as the best to win the match,since
both their goals came from similar set pieces.A curling cross was
aimed towards the far post but this time,stopper Jem confidently
headed the ball out of danger,right after which the full time
whistle was blown.
The two sides shook hands and any hostility that loomed during the
match had evaporated into thin air and i guess both sides were
happy to share the points,although if you open your ears wide,you
could overhear whispers from the stands that the Reds should have
taken the game,but nevertheless,it was a great effort and the
entire team played very well in the second half.
