CRC2012 Match #6: PMC vs BENS (12th August)

PMC's CrossRoad Cup journey continued at Hai Sing Catholic School, where a very young BENS team of 12 players showed up to deter PMC from reaching the knock-out stage of the tournament. Similar to the last match, PMC knew that only a win would do to ensure that they did their part to make the top 4 in Alpha Group. Already before kick-off, PMC had 2 players robbed from the team, with Andrew's flight delayed from Penang, and Damien succumbing to the 'Z monster' at home. Nonetheless, there were still enough for a full team of players as Kevin was already the 19th man, and Lincoln was ready to play, even though he had come only to support the team.

PMC players kitting up for the crucial match

Isaiah & Maurice ready to go!

Bob from BENS led both teams in Singspiration before Titus shared about his A Division football journey and how through it, he learnt more about what it meant for Jesus to 'wipe our slate clean at 0-0' so that we could recover from our mistakes.

Bob leading both teams in Singspiration

After the pre-match proceedings, PMC proceeded to huddle for the all important team talk, focusing on playing with heart, and wanting the victory. The PMC team lined up as follows:

Martin

Jingzhong - Jacob - Rusydi

Isaiah - Dominic

Kee Min - Mark - Daniel Low

Maurice

Shah blowing for 1st half kick-off at Hai Sing Catholic School

Immediately from kick-off, PMC tried to impose themselves on the match. The long grass did not help matters, as it slowed down the pace of the ball, leading to some changes of possession for both sides. The 1st 5min of the match was quite even with the ball spending much time in the middle of the park, with no shots on goal. It was only after the 1st 5min that the PMC team was able to control the game a little better, with Jingzhong and Jacob heavily involved. Jingzhong was put through on goal, but his shot was weak, choosing to use his right foot instead of his left to shoot. Jacob provided a number of good crosses from the right, but there was no one in the box to meet them. Isaiah and Dominic were having a good game marshalling the middle of the park, and in defence, the back 4 was able to clear dangerous balls without Maurice having to make a significant save. On the odd occasion that the ball found its way into a dangerous position in the PMC box, Maurice was on hand to catch, or the BENS player made little out of it. As the 1st half reached the halfway mark, the only 2 significant attempts on goal had come from Dominic and Martin, both firing over the bar. It took a deadball situation to break the deadlock. Rusydi crossed the ball low from the corner and it evaded the BENS defence before Dominic fired it first time into the net with his right foot. With the 1st goal scored, the early jitters left PMC, who spent the rest of the 1st half pressing for the 2nd goal, which never came. As the referee blew for half-time, PMC knew that the match was theirs to lose. The half-time team talk focused on maintaining its dominance of the match, and to go for more goals in order to assure the victory.

The 2nd half kicked off with only 1 change in the PMC side, Kevin coming on for Kee Min at LB. It also began where the 1st half ended, with PMC dominating the match, mostly through midfield. BENS also signaled their intent for an equaliser, by playing up to 3 forwards at the beginning of the half. With extra men committed upfront by BENS, PMC found it easier to move the ball around but clear-cut chances were still few. PMC made its 2nd change of the match when Jacob left the field for Jeremy Sin (back from Korea!), with Dominic pushing up at AM and Jeremy sitting at DM. This move immediately brought dividends as Dominic found space up front on the right and crossed for Martin to take the ball in his stride and fire the ball into the net at close range. At 2-0 up, PMC continued to play with confidence and pressured BENS through a few corners. After 1 of them, BENS was unable to clear its lines and Isaiah was able to knock the ball back into the box for Jingzhong to place into the corner from just outside the 6-yard-box. Immediately from the kick-off after conceding the 3rd goal, BENS scored one of 'those' seemingly impossible goals. Firing the ball towards goal from kickoff, the soft, lofted ball appeared to have been left by Weijie for Maurice to collect (without any form of verbal communication). However, in what can only be described as a 'Robert Green moment', Maurice was slow to pick the ball (perhaps because he had expected Weijie to clear it), allowing it to roll through his hands and legs, and into goal. The BENS players reacted in disbelief, and so did the PMC players, at the 3-1 scoreline. Still ahead by 2 goals, PMC focused on the task of putting the match to bed, bringing on Steve for Martin and Neil for Jingzhong. PMC still had the lion's share of possession even though BENS tried to force an equalizer and brought on their only substitute and manager, Bob, to achieve this. However, tried as they could, the PMC back 4 held firm and when a BENS player handled in his own box, Isaiah stepped up to the penalty spot to put PMC 4-1, with a firmly struck penalty into the corner of the net. PMC brought on their final substitutes in Jeremy Tan (for Rusydi) and Lincoln (for Dominic) so as to keep the pressure on BENS. PMC did this well for the remaining 15min of the match and held on for the 4-1 victory.

During the post-match team talk, Kevin commended the team for a job well done, even though some of the ghetto-style defending was unnecessary with PMC being 3 goals up. As the results of the other matches filtered in, PMC moved up to 4th place in the table, as CMC lost to CAG 4-1. This virtually confirmed PMC's place in the knock-out stages even though mathematically, there was still a chance for PMC to drop back to 5th place if it collected too many yellow cards in its final match against AMC. Maurice closed the session in prayer, thanking God for the victory and keeping the team injury-free.