5!ESFC welcomed back British boy Eugene with a spirited performance against a fired up Subbuteo FC, who were looking for their first points of the season. Under the intense heat in coach Kumar’s sacred ground, ESFC fielded an usual 4-4-1-1 formation with Simon in goal, Wei Lin and Eugene in their familiar full backs roles, Lionel and Zhong lined up for what was another impressive defensive quartet. Sinting and Yenhao took to the wings with Adib and Jason Ang in the centre of the park. Ashley, the attacking mid, supported man of the moment, Sebas, who played as striker. Weiming, Zifu and new boy Reyro made up the thinning bench.
Both teams got on to a decent start as the ball was moved all over the field. ESFC squandered some good chances to take the lead, most notably the miss by Adib in front of goal, which if Guo Xing was there, would have been consoled by his shocking miss in the last game out. It was not in the script when Subbuteo FC drew first blood. Their impressive striker deceived a run to “beat” the offside trap, but I say it rather deceived the referee into playing him on. With only the ever so reliable Simon to beat, he made no mistakes and slotted home. 0-1 to Subbuteo FC.
ESFC were not to be undone by and soon enough, 2.5 men Yenhao, despite the arduous – by our standards – Nike 10km run he went for earlier in the morning, marauded down the right flank and sent a low cross in which Sebas gladly tucked away into goal. That equalizer gave ESFC the impetus to grab a second.
British Boy Eugene brought the ball over the half way line and with his cultured left foot, delivered a curving cross which beat everyone but Sebas. He met the ball with his head and sent a looping ball over the goalkeeper, and into an empty net. Brilliant!
The tempo of the game was lifted and both sides had some good exchanges. Subbuteo FC’s right midfield was outstanding with his incisive left foot which fooled the defense time and time again. So much so, Zhong was humiliated once and almost brought him down with a tug at the winger shirt in the penalty box.
There was to be another goal before half time when Adib redeemed his amazing miss earlier on. He won the ball, the warrior style, in midfield and brought the ball goal wards, leaving the hapless defense behind. Slotting it past the goalie, Adib celebrated his second goal in as many as two games.
Half time: ESFC 3 – 1 Subbuteo FC
ESFC shuffled the lineup for second half, with Reyro playing behind Sebas, Ashley dropping down to centre mid, Weiming on the right and Zifu replacing Eugene as left full back.
From the outset, Subbuteo FC showed their hunger with high pressure and raised the intensity of the game. ESFC was shell shocked and it was only a matter of time when Subbuteo FC was to score their second. Zhong failed to clear a simple header from a throw in, and the impressive striker latched on to the loose ball and got his second goal when he slammed it in between Simon’s legs.
Subbuteo FC could have gotten the equalizer soon when they managed to escape ESFC backline, but unfortunately the goal bar denied them. On occasions, ESFC defense had to throw their body at the ball to deny Subbuteo FC from scoring. Wei Lin, in particular, put up an outstanding performance for which any international defenders would have been proud of.
ESFC failed to control the game and a miracle was needed to change the flow of it. That moment arrived when a freekick was awarded for ESFC about 35metres away from goal. Jason Ang stood in front of the ball but Reyro approached him and shoved him aside to take the free kick, beaming with confidence. Reyro unleashed a powerful drive towards goal which appeared to be going out but at the last moment, the ball dipped, hit the top right corner and into the net. Stunning! It was an out-of –this-world shot which would have shamed any other free kick takers around, who thinks they had the most beautiful shot ever. What a way to mark his debut!
That goal dampened Subbuteo and the game was more balanced at this stage.
Sebas completed his hat trick when he was sent through into the opponent’s half by Zhong. With only the goalie to beat, Sebas rounded him, took the ball to the by line before finding the navigation to goal. He got the match ball and also duly deserved the MOTM.
Final score: ESFC 5 - 2 Subbuteo FC. ESFC maintained their winning streak and it was a deserving victory even though Subbuteo FC put up a good challenge. However, it remains to be seen whether ESFC have all it takes as they prepare to face stiffer oppositions in the coming weeks.
- Zhong Times
