It was quite a rushed start to the match, with a number arriving late at East Spring. Kevin hurriedly briefed everyone on the line-up, tactics and encouraged all to keep the ball and play to the referee's whistle. It was pretty much a non-descript first half as both sides rarely threatened the goalkeepers. A couple of shots went wide and there were just a few nice touches. The entire PMC team looked quite comfortable with the ball and were moving as a team, thanks to the experienced gained from the tournaments played this year. However, the 2 best scoring opportunities in the 1st half were presented to ECG. Their long ball game twice caught out the defence and Michael in goal, but on both occasions, Adrian was on the line to clear the ball. This woke PMC up a little as we continue our search for that elusive goal, but to no avail. Key changes were made at the 25th min mark to keep the team fresh, with Jeremy Tan, Joel and Damien coming in for Justin, Timothy and Sheldon. However, the half finished scoreless.
The halftime team talk focused on holding ECG but at the same time, trying to craft opportunities to win the match. There was a quiet confidence that as long as we dealt with ECG's long balls, we would be able to win the match. The second half was a little bit more interesting and perhaps even more physical. Damien felt the full force of this when he was challenged hard while going for a header, leaving him sprawled on the ground and being out of the match. We had control of midfield, with newcomer David Lim showing nice touches and lots of speed down the right flank. In contrast, ECG played quite a few route ones to bypass the midfield, and it was with one these balls that saw the ball rolled towards Michael. His final kick was intercepted by the opposing player who went on to score against the run of play. PMC 0-1 ECG. Oh boy! PMC trailing by a goal.
Shouts of encouragement came from all quarters. "Keep your heads up. C'mon!". We never let that minor hiccup bring us down and Tim showed the way. Picking the ball three quarters into the opposing half, he used his body strength to break through their defence, bypassed 2 defenders and slotted the ball into goal with his left foot. PMC 1-1 ECG.
With the score at 1-1, it was going to be anybody's game. PMC then continued with the pressure, sending that the ECG squad was fast tiring under the heat. From a free kick, Daniel whipped in a wicked cross and Marcus, who had been playing ably as left back, went on to score from a looping header. The wicked curve bulged the top left hand of the net, leaving the ECG keeper bewildered. PMC 2-1 ECG.
That deflated ECG and we went into a 4-5-1 formation to hold the match with 5 mins remaining, using the counter-attack when necessary. On one of these, Jingzhong and Justin pressured the ECG right-back enough for him to overplay his backpass to his sweeper. Kevin pounced on this, stormed towards goal and placed it beyond the reach of the goalkeeper to bring the final score to PMC 3-1 ECG.
Though there were no flashes of individual brilliance, the team played well as a whole and deserved the victory. There were a few 'flashpoints' here and there to challenge self-control and patience, but it was a totally good outing for the boys of PMC and generally the match was played with much goodwill. Praise the Lord!
PMC Squad
2. Sheldon Liew 4. Kevin Ang 5. David Teong 6. Michael Chua 7. Daniel Low 9. Choo Jingzhong 10. Justin Ang 18. Raymond Chang 19. Adrian Phuah 20. Damien Chua 22. Joel Tan 24. Timothy Loke 27. Lee Kee Min 66. Jeremy Tan 69. Marcus Tan 72. David Lim -. Nigel Woo
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