The Pentecost Panthers kicked off their Agape Cup 2009 season on a gloomy Easter Sunday. It was drizzling earlier in the day but it was nice, cool and dry just before the 5pm match. Church of Ascension (COA) 2 started off proceedings by leading in worship and I shared about the significance of Easter, where Jesus made the perfect 'substitution' for us by conquering sin and death on the cross.
Ronnie briefed us on the formation/tactics for the match and reminded us to challenge hard for the 50-50 balls and to control the match with our experience, seeing the young, energetic and fit opponents that we were facing. Our best guess was that their average age was well below the youngest person on our team at 20. We lined up as follows in a 4-4-2 (diamond) formation:
Ronnie briefed us on the formation/tactics for the match and reminded us to challenge hard for the 50-50 balls and to control the match with our experience, seeing the young, energetic and fit opponents that we were facing. Our best guess was that their average age was well below the youngest person on our team at 20. We lined up as follows in a 4-4-2 (diamond) formation:
The match started off quite evenly with both teams attacking but not finding their way past the respective defences. On our part, Mark was marshalling the defence well with James and Marcus steady. Joel, standing in at right back, was also commendable. Some half chances fell our way at the other end of the field, along with a few throw-ins, but nothing was converted. In the 15th min, from a throw-in, one of COA's midfielders ran in from the blind side and found space in between Mark and Kevin in the box and volleyed home first time inside Felipe's near post. We pressed for an equalizer which soon arrived. Derrick's long range free-kick caught a COA defender flat-footed who deflected the ball pass his keeper and into the net. The match stayed at 1-1 till halftime despite numerous corners and more chances that we couldn't put away. Towards the end of the 1st half, Felipe sustained a nasty foot injury and had to be replaced by Jimmy when the 2nd half started. Also coming on in the 2nd half was Marc, making his long awaited PMC comeback, in place of Ronnie.
The 2nd half started with both teams trying to gain a firm foothold on the match. A couple of long range efforts and through balls that the COA keeper just managed to snuff out summed up our day in front of goal. On the defensive end, things were going well until the 60th min, when a COA corner was poorly defended, resulting in a goalmouth scramble leading to the ball being fired into the net. We kept on pressing for another equaliser, but again, chances were not converted. What looked like a clear foul on Kee Min in the penalty box was not spotted by the referee and a good attempt on goal by Justin was saved by the COA keeper. In the 75th min, a solo run by a COA forward allowed him to let fly from 25 yards. Jimmy managed to get his finger tips to the ball but it was not enough to prevent it from entering the net. We continued to drive forward, but nothing resulted from it. On the 80th min, Keith replaced Joel and Raymond replaced Justin to inject some fresh legs. No further goals were scored and the match ended with us going down 3 - 1.
There were many learning points from this defeat. We lacked communication and commitment to win 50-50 balls. There were gaps in midfield due to players' lack of fitness and discipline. Running into space was non-existent and passing was often wayward and we didn't use our experience against a more youthful side. At times, players were frustrated and did required character and self-control to not let things boil over.
On the positives, the defence played well as a unit with Marcus probably putting in a man-of-the-match performance.
As a final point, please keep Felipe in prayer as he has sustained ligament damage. Pray that he will have pain relief and recover soon.
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