Club M 2-3 Alamak FC : FT Report

 

 

Club M suffers first defeat of 2005

Clementi – Club M endured their first defeat of the year after a closely fought battle against Alamak FC, which proved to be a very resilient and tough side. The opponents were quick and played a very physical game and benefited from a biased refereeing by winning the game in the last breath.

The condition of the pitch also made it extremely difficult for both teams to play fluent football. The torrential rain literally flooded the whole football field and everyone had an unpleasant time on the muddy surface, especially the keepers who had their feet stuck in huge patches of water throughout most of the game. Club M were missing a few players due to injuries and unavailability for this match.

The dodos started the game under pressure from the opponents but the dodos' defense was up to the task. The opponents had a lot of possession in first 10 minutes of the game but were unable to create any decent scoring chance. Instead the first scoring opportunity went to Club M. In the 15 th minute, a shot from Charles from inside the six yard box was deflected by the central defender and the loose ball fell in the path of Kevin Soh, who had an empty net in front of him. However, his right foot shot went wide for a goal kick. This was indeed the miss of the day.

Charles made amends to Kevin's miss by scoring 2 spectacular goals back-to-back in the 20 th and 25 th minute of the game. The first goal was a typical kick-run-score Charles trademark. After receiving a pass from Fardin on the left, he pushed the ball forward and easily beat the central defender with his dazzling pace to send the ball away from the keeper and into the net.

Club M did not give the opponents time to re-organize as they pushed forward in an attempt to score another goal and it paid off minutes later. Charles inherited a loose ball, after a shot from Nicolas was deflected, inside the penalty box. With his killer-instincts, he turned and unleashed an unstoppable shot past the despairing keeper. The opponents were baffled but not undone.

The game took a drastic turn after the goal as spirits ran high within the Alamak camp. Charles was immediately involved in a brawl with an opponent after scoring and decided to stay out of the game to allow things to cool down. The opponents were playing really hard and tackles were coming from all around. The referee was, indeed, biased as he allowed rough tackles from the opposition to go unpunished.

Alamak FC managed to pull one goal back 10 minutes later when the dodo's keeper was unable to intercept a ground cross from the left and the ball was easily tapped in by an unmarked attacker. The opponents looked very menacing in the dying minutes of the first half and almost scored an equalizing goal in the last action of the half. A free-kick just outside the penalty area was cleverly struck by an attacker and Thierry struggled to make the save as the ball was punched away but rolled across the face of goal and was hacked to safety by Johnny.

The second half was a different affair as rain started to pour down once again. The football match turned messy and unplayable. Hard tackles were still being thrown from both sides. The opponents had many scoring chances in the second half and managed to put two past the dodo's keeper. The equalizing goal came in the 75 th minute as an unmarked Alamak FC player was at the end of a cross on the left side. He sent in a sublime and well-executed lob over the stunned dodo's keeper. It was cool finish in the end.

Club M's defense showed some weaknesses towards the end as the dodos were pushing forward trying to find the winning goal. But instead, the game took a new twist as the opposition scored in the last 5 minutes of the match with a bit of luck. As a cross from the left was sent in, two opposition players found themselves alone in the centre with only the keeper to beat, with a suspicion of offside. One of the attackers managed to make a neat contact with the ball for a shot. The dodo's keeper was at the right place to block the shot with his feet but the ball ricocheted against the same attacker to roll over the goal line.

The dodos were presented with a golden opportunity to score their third goal in the dying minutes of the match when Charles dribbled past the central defenders and the Alamak FC keeper only to see his shot saved over the line by a defender. It was too late for the dodos to salvage something from the game against a strong opposition. This was Club M's 7th defeat in 65 games since its foundation in 2003. Not too bad a statistic for a team with slightly more than a 2 years history.

 

Thierry

 

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