The last time MiB FC tried to play Club De Bishan Football Club (CDB), we were short of players, wearing all sorts of jerseys, and had to borrow players to make it a game. After waiting almost 5 years for the day, MiB played their closest adversaries again on a hot Saturday afternoon at Clementi Woods Secondary.
I say closest adversaries but it's interesting because both teams have so many things in common, roots from SJI, CJC, ACJC, NUS, NTU, goalkeepers dating chinese girls, but yet, we've existed in separate worlds, only for these worlds to collide today. The field was pretty good, freshly cut, but a bit sandy and bouncy in the centre. Hoping to build on the good warm up we had in the last game, MiB was already kicking around 15 minutes before kick off. The last time that happened, Sat thought Riz was Tamil.
13 players were ready at kick off, 14 if you include Player X. SK and Chan were scheduled to come after work so 5 reserves added to the professional look of MiB, donning our new away White Adidas kits for the first time.
Harvey lined up in goal behind the versatile Shyam at left back. Sat and Riz started in defence while Harish was at right back. Puvan and Farhan anchored the midfield while Navin KK and Vana were on the wings. Maran partnered Faizal in attack. Yes Faizal, MiB's long absent but never forgotten number 9, making a swansong appearance before jetting off for Europe. Prak, Anan and Player X were on the bench.
After a Champions League style intro, the game started at a frenetic pace and CDB could have scored inside 5 minutes. A through ball down the left was squared for the rushing striker. Harvey tried to salvage the situation by rushing out and his fingertips caused the ball to spill on the goal line, only for Shyam to somewhat clear, and then Harvey hacked it away. A close shave!
MiB struggled to perform with CDB looking hungrier and more determined to put MiB in their shadow. They continued to threaten and some careless passing from MiB's midfield only led them to gain in confidence. They gained a couple of corners and forced Harvey into 2 saves before MiB even strung their first attack together.
But as the game settled down, Navin KK started to find some space on the left and get some dangerous crosses in. We won a few corners that barely threatened. A tactical switch saw Vana switch with Puvan to the centre of midfield, lending some stability to MiB's game. Off a clever free kick, Vana laid the ball off to Puvan when everyone was expecting a shot. Puvan delivered a delicious ball across the face of goal that the effervescent Zal connected with. To MiB's despair a CDB defender put his body on the line and deflected it away.
Chan came on in the 25th minute and it immediately paid off. A corner was floated in that the CDB's defence made a hash off, and true to script, Faizal was there to smash in his goal. 1-0! Before the goal, MiB were struggling to settle, owing to their carelessness in front of goal, where Anan missed a contender for miss of a lifetime. But the goal settled the nerves and after that we started to play our football. Chandra again broke through around the 30th minute, but dallied in front of goal and saw his shot cleared. Anan was starting to link up with Zal and one combination saw Zal's volley brilliantly saved by CDB's keeper.
Just as MiB thought they had done enough to see out the game till half time, a harmless throw in saw the ball ricochet to CDB's dangerous striker who toepoked the ball past Harvey leaving him no chance. 1-1 and it was game on again. MiB looked deflated and the half time whistle came.
Some changes were made at half time and generally it was a case of using just a little more time with the ball instead of rushing it that paid dividends in the second half. By now SK was back at left back.
MiB started the second half strongly but you could see that CDB felt that they believed we were there for the taking. About the 60th minute mark, their striker again broke through. His shot was saved at point blank by Harvey and MiB scrambled it away. The ball reached the frontline where Chan slid past 3 defenders before slotting the ball home. 2-1 when it could have been 1-2 10 seconds earlier!
At this point CDB started to throw avalanches into the MiB defence but Sat was having a determined afternoon, making sure nothing was going past him. Shyam also came in for Harish after he suffered a knock and had a stable game at right back. It is not his best position but MiB is missing 2 natural defenders (Navin PP and Dinesh), and the sooner they return, the better for Shyam. But he did well and never complained.
Puvan and Vana were also winning everything in midfield and KK was running tirelessly down the wings, till he stretched his hamstring and had to be taken off. Anan and Maran took turns to lead the attack in the second half while Prak came in for intermittent spells with Riz. But back to the game and the opponents looked dangerous when they attacked, but Harvey's experience and time-wasting was draining them out slowly. MiB continued to launch attacks of our own but could not get the killer third goal.
A few dangerous free kicks at the edge of the box saw CDB try and grab an equalizer, but MiB defended stoutly to protect our lead. About the 80th minute mark, Player X made his long-awaited comeback and looked lively in a new position for him, striker. It was then MiB put together the move of the game with the strikers linking up and putting Chan through on the left. He squared the ball for Player X who still had a lot to do, but he finished like a seasoned professional, much to the delight of MiB. 3-1. Game set match.
The opponents then threw everything at MiB, who despite some scares, especially as Sat called Riz a female private genitalia in Hokkien, hung on to claim a precious and oh so sweet victory. It was not easy playing in the 3pm desert-heat and later thunderstorm, but we pulled through and that's all that mattered in the end.
For admin purposes, we managed to lose a ball today. That's disappointing so please take note and make sure we try to keep a look out of our belongings every time we play.
Adios Faizal, have a blast in Europe and thank you for coming down today. Please share your photos with us and let us know when you're back. The number 9 is waiting for you. (It costs $70 by the way.=) )
Also thanks to Anan for organizing the game and for Player X for his contribution today.
A sweet victory guys. Savour it. We're doing well at the moment but let's keep it going and spur each other on.
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