Showers earlier in the day and just at the start of kick-off had threatened the match, but it was soon clear and cool. Most of the PMC players arrived early and managed to get in some warm-up. The CMC team looked short on numbers but eventually, they managed to have 10 to start, borrowing PMC's Michael as their GK.
Before the match, Yuen Wai shared devotion, about life's journey and the need to have God in it.
With 21 players, the PMC focused more on participation and giving everyone a good run-out. The starting line-up consisted of:
GK- Sean
RB- Samuel
CB- Mark
CB- Jeremy
LB- Ming Kiat
RM- David
CM- Dominic
CM- Weijie
LM- Lincoln
CF- Ramon
CF- Yi Jun
The substitutes were Michael, Daniel, Yuen Wai, Wei En, Jacob, Kevin Liam, Kevin Ang, Jingzhong, John and Rusydi.
The match kicked off with both teams trying to assert control and keep the ball. The CMC players looked to use the flanks and their speed to cause havoc, but to no avail. PMC was clearly relying on Dominic to win the ball in midfield and drive it forward, looking for Yi Jun and Ramon for goals. A CMC goalmouth scramble resulted in Lincoln clashing with Michael, who looked slightly shaken. In the next move, Yi Jun exploited that by cutting in from the left and firing a stiff low shot, which Michael could not hold. 1-0 to PMC. Mid-way of the 1st half saw quite a number of substitutions made. The fresher legs sought to extend PMC's lead but it was CMC that equalised. A long ball was insufficiently cleared and a speculative 1st time lob caught Sean off his line, leading to the equalizer. However, it wasn't long before PMC took the lead again. Some slick passing in the final third allowed Rusydi to find space in the box and his first time shot from a pass found its way to the bottom left corner of the CMC goal. PMC was clearly dominating the match in midfield and repelling CMC's advances effectively. Soon, it was 3-1. Rusydi's corner found Ramon un-marked and he nodded the ball in for the lead. Unfortunately, some of the good work was undone when at the stroke of half-time, another speculative long ball by CMC was not handled by Mark and Sean, allowing the CMC forward to chip the ball into an empty net. It was still 3-2 to PMC at half-time.
The 2nd half saw most of the 1st half starters take the field, with a few exceptions. The CMC team had been bolstered with a number of players that arrived late and they looked determine to get back into the match. Indeed, that was the case as within the first 5 min of the half, they equalized and led, using their speed and drive down the flanks to cause havoc in the PMC penalty box. It was only some excellent defensive work by Jeremy and a world-class save by Michael (now in PMC's goal) that prevented the game from running away. Knowing that the PMC ship needed to be steadied, Kevin Ang subbed out for Dominic and this immediately had the desired effect. A few more minutes later, Rusydi, Daniel, Jingzhong, Kevin Liam, Jacob and Ming Kiat entered the fray to get PMC back into the match. This indeed happened after many opportunities and from a direct free-kick, Rusydi scored his 2nd of the game, sending the ball into the top-left hand corner with the CMC GK well beaten. With the score at 4-4, it was all to play for unfortunately, it was another defensive error that led to CMC's winner. An insufficient clearance by Jeremy (his only lapse all match) allowed the ball to fall nicely to the CMC forward, whose shot was well saved by Michael. However, the rebound was met by an onrushing CMC player who had the easiest of tasks to tap into an empty net.
It was a good 1st competitive outing for everyone, with participation the goal. Agape Cup preparations will continue with more friendlies or training sessions in January and February.
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