In a match played under scorching sun at ITE Balestier, ARFC succumbed to a last-grasp 3-4 loss to a very experienced team made up of some ex-S-League and even an ex-M-League player.
As dependable Jinzhong was absence due to work commitment, Kiat Gulam volunteered to be the goalkeeper for the first half. His defenders were astute-reading sweeper Elvis, Towering Toh, determined Huiming and reliable David Mak. In the midfield, hard-man Tjioe, influential Sebastiano, left-foot wizard Bernard and hard-running Guoxiong were deployed. Up front, talisman Derrick was partnered by unpredictable Blackburn, leaving powerful Alvin, fearless Boon and speedy Hee as the substitutes.
Upon the start, the experienced opponents quickly seized control of proceedings with their slick passing and movement that had ARFC back-paddling. Nevertheless, ARFC still managed to create several good scoring chances, but talisman Derrick spurned 2 golden opportunities that came his way.
The opponent took the lead in a bizarre fashion after Kiat Gulam inexplicably spilled a weak shot to give them a 1-0 lead. However, the ARFC warriors told Kiat Gulam to put the set-back aside and concentrate on the match.
7 minutes later, ARFC found its equalizer. Influential Sebastiano intercepted a pass and seeing their keeper way off the line, he unleashed a high ball over their keeper, ala Xabi Alonso, from almost 47 metres out!! This was his 49th ARFC goal.
However, lightning struck twice barely minutes later. A quick counter-attack by the opponent saw their ex-M-League midfielder chipped a high ball into Kiat Gulam’s goal. The ball struck the cross-bar and somehow the rebound hit Kiat Gulam and triggled over the line. Unlucky!! However, the ever-faithful ARFC fans did not jeer Kiat Gulam but instead encouraged him to play on.
The half-time saw talisman Derrick taking over the goal from Kiat Gulam, with him pushing into the right-midfield role. Powerful Alvin also did not appear from the tunnel after feeling the ill-effects of his hand injury.
About 7 mins after the re-start, ARFC equalized yet again. Talisman Derrick’s high ball from goal resulted in Speedy Hee winning an aerial dual. He followed up on the loose ball and expertly poked the ball past their keeper. By scoring his 47th ARFC goal, Speedy Hee showed that he is back to business after missing nearly 2 months of football.
In the 57th min, ARFC took the lead for the first time in the match. Unpredictable Blackburn brilliantly picked out reliable David Mak who broke the off-side trap. Striding into opponents’ goal-mouth, he faced the keeper on a one-on-one situation. He then showed that he has not lost his Gary Lineker-like instinct by side-footing the ball home, sending the crowd into delirium. After scoring his 23rd ARFC goal, reliable David Mak dashed to the side-line where his lovely wife Dora Mak and adorable son, Marco Mak were sitting. Reliable David Mak then lifted Marco Mak up and down 7 times and also kissed his fore-head 7 times.
The goal seemed to sparked ARFC into more action. However, speedy Hee missed 2 super-golden chances to bury the opponents when he side-footed wide after being put clear.
The good times, however, did not last long. The opponents scored their equalizer after influential Sebastiano failed to close down the forward thereby allowing him to strike from just inside the penalty box. 3-3 now.
The opponents scored the winning goal with virtually, should be actually, the last kick of the match. The winning goal had the ARFC warriors and fans grasping in disbelief!!
3-4 and ARFC was indeed unlucky to lose the match.
No comments:
Post a Comment