We won. 2-0. But don't let the scoreline fool you. It was an undeserved win if you look at the possession and chances created. We could have easily lost this game 4-2. But perhaps we're not giving ourselves enough credit. Lets look at the positives.
We were relatively clinical. Temasek did not create many chances, but we scored 2. However, we had a multitude of short corners that were kept out by the opponents. True our play was not as fluid as in previous games, but we were effective. Much like Italy. Ukraine seemed to have Italy on the ropes for most of the game, but Italy ultimately won 3 zip. I admit, our play was disjointed, we just couldn't seem to string more than 3 passes together and we lacked the movement we normally had. The team was suprisingly lethargic. We only played well in patches. In fact, TPJC looked like the team in 2nd place in the table, not us. And yet we won. This performance was nothing to be proud of. Our worst this season in fact. But never question a win. We can never expect to be firing on all cylinders all of the time. Fortunately for us, our blip came against a weaker team and we were not punished for it. But to get a result in our next 3 games, there has to be a vast improvement.
But far from being demoralised by our performance, i am actually quite heartened by it. A sign of a good team is that it can grind out results even when not playing at its best, and that was what we did. We forced our win. The team managed to carry the players who were not playing well, and that is something we must all be proud of.
Match Report:
We started off with exctly 11 players as Nirmal had not arrived, and with him were Zarir's socks and Yang Wei's shinpads. The opening exchanges were fairly even, and after the 3 subs had come on, we just about shaded it. Edwin, our newest recruit, looked lively upfront. At times though his rustiness showed; forgivable as this was his 1st game in 5 years. Midway through the first half, we won a short corner. Despite a slightly off target push by Huzer, Zarir controlled the ball and played it back to Nirmal who slotted it past the keeper.
Those who expected Temasek to be brought to life by this goal were sorely disappointed. TPJC started to gain momentum with sheer determination, yet we defended as if we had the game wrapped up. Perhaps we were overconfident as our defence has been rock solid, and this was perhaps their most demanding game to date. The defenders responded magnificently; Azri especially was immense.
The 2nd half was no different. TPJC pushed forward again and again, but to no avail. Temasek buckled down, and started to force free hits and mistakes by the opponents to slowly progress up the field. This resulted in top-D hits, long corners and finally, a series of short corners. Every corner was well defended, until the TPJC captain stuck out a leg to block a shot by Nirmal. The referee had no choice but to award a penalty flick, and we were all treated to the now familiar sight of Azri sprinting forward to claim it. The flick was a poor one by Azri, but he sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to put us 2 ahead. Towards the end of the game, Temasek started to play more like we normally do. However we did still suffer a few scares from their counterattacks and TPJC was desperately unlucky not to score. The game ended in our favour, but TPJC could feel rightly aggrieved that their efforts did not show on the scoreline. Temasek though claimed the victory despite hardly ever coming out of 2nd gear.
Special mentions:
Azri - was a rock in defence for us today with numerous vital interceptions and tackles, capped with another goal. He rightfully admonished the midfielders for failing to screen the opponents, and those harsh words provoked a better performance from them in the latter part of the game. His faultless performance wins him the NSMotMA (you all should know what this is by now)
Jason - his performance on the left for once outshone that of his counterpart on the right. His tireless running could also not be faulted. Earned himself a green card for his troubles.
Edwin - Was enterprising and full of commitment even though his touch let him down sometimes. Should have scored when put through by Huzer, but was denied by an excellent save by the keeper.
FangHao - Intelligent runs into open spaces was let down by poor stopping of balls. Correct this, and he will start to have many opportunities on goal.
Prap - for being the first to arrive (she arrived when Huzer just woke up), and also for continuing the winning / clean sheet streak of the girl managers
Adila - for being our photographer, although there were more pictures of the ref than of the Temasek players.
Meihui - for coming down and making Mervyn *star player* happy
Manish - for doing the nation proud in his NDP rehearsal today
Derrick - for perfecting his vanishing act
Remember, the next 3 games will be the toughest of the season. It's make or break time now. Lets show them what Temasek is really made of. And by that I mean we must win. No pessimistic comments please Jigar.
