Club M 0-0 Fengshan FC : FT Report

 

 

Club M Stumbles!

Clementi – The dodos dropped two vital points against a very combative Fengshan FC side. Luck was definitely not on the dodos' side after witnessing a wave of scoring opportunities being squandered in front of goal. The refereeing made the day even worst for Club M as it was deplorable, which led to a confrontation between the dodos and the referee at the end of the match. The referee should have received a red card right after the first-half for his obvious partiality in favour of the opponents. The dodos were in fact facing two opponents during this game – Fengshan FC & the referee!

This was a game Club M had to win in order to make up some grounds on its closest rivals – Combined West Utd, which played 2 more matches than Club M ( Note: their new team name is now DHL ). The dodos had 3 weeks of rest prior to this game due to the cancellation and postponement of two matches due to heavy rain and the long weekend of National Day holiday. It was obvious that this long rest period had a negative impact on the team's performance, especially towards the last minutes of the match.

Club M welcomed back their captain and Sandilen after a long absence. Chances were few in the first-half with a tight contest in midfield. The dodos' offensive play was brilliantly cut down by the Fengshan defenders, who made up for their small sizes by closely man marking the dodo attackers made up of Charles and Sandi. Although the pair posed a constant danger to the opposition's goal, they were unable to fully breach this Fengshan fortress.

The first clear scoring chance fell to Charles midway through the half when he skilfully controlled a high ball from Sandi on the left, a few metres outside the penalty box, and headed for goal with only the keeper to beat. The central defenders, however, closed him down so quickly that he had no chance but to smash a shot with his weaker left foot. The shot was well placed and forced the keeper to dive on this right to deflect the ball into a corner.

The dodos continued their relentless pressure on the opposition and inherited a countless number of corner kicks. Unfortunately, the dodos were unable to convert their chances into goals. Fengshan FC did pose some threats in their counter-attacks but luckily for the dodos, their lack of experience led to poor finishes and they could not manage a single shot on target throughout the match. They tried hard to break down the dodos' defence but with the dodos' twin towers on field, there was no way through for the Fengshians. As a result, they could not create a single clear scoring chance throughout the match. Their only half scoring chance came after 25 minutes of play when Brian mis-kicked a clearance, sending the ball dangerously high in the air and towards an unmarked opposition attacker in the penalty area. The dodo's keeper had to react swiftly to intercept the ball before the attacker.

The dodo's keeper only touched the ball 3 times during the entire game and had a very uneventful evening with no shots on target and basically no saves to make! It was evident that the opposition's strategy or game plan was to defend deep and frustrate the dodos. The opposition was not the only one frustrating the dodos but also the referee, who was making terrible mistakes when it came to judging for off-sides, when the dodos' strikers were clearly on-side. The first half ended scoreless and the opposition were more than happy with the result. Club M on the other hand were handed a big challenge to try to break the deadlock.

The second half began just like the first half with the dodos exerting constant pressure on the opposition, creating numerous scoring opportunities but the strikers lacked the killer instincts yet again in front of goal. Charles and Alwyn both found themselves in one-on-one situations with only the keeper to beat, but somehow the latter produced some exceptional saves from close range. Although small in size, he showed great reflexes and earned his team a valuable point in the end.

Club M forced numerous corners and free-kicks in the second half, mostly taken by Djamil, who delivered the ball delightfully into the box most of the time, but the dodos could not make their height advantage count. The dodos tried everything and gave 110% to try to score a goal but were unable to breach the Fengshian wall. Tensions rose high towards the dying minutes of the match as Fengshan FC threw all their remaining strength and breath into the battle. They inherited a few dangerous free-kicks, just outside the penalty box but were unable to hit the target. With the dodos running out of time and fatigue creeping into the players, the game inevitably ended scoreless much to the great delight of the opponents. In the dodos' camp, it was a bitter disappointment and it almost tasted like a defeat.

The dodos experienced similar situations in the RS League last year, especially in the second half of the league, when all teams knew about the strength of Club M and the weaker teams were then much harder to defeat. Club M proved last year that they could overcome immense pressure in order to achieve greatness and now, the Club is faced with yet another big test of the players' character and determination to succeed. With 4 matches left, only 4 wins can guarantee that Club M will finish top of the league. A GREAT challenge awaits the dodos!

 

Thierry

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