After a week long hiatus, Ramblers were itching to get back into a game. And our opponents for the day was none other than Penang Sports Club (PSC) whom we have always come unstuck against. The last two games against them ended with us losing 3-1 and 6-4 respectively. So, I think the thing that crossed everyone's mind was “is third time's a charm?”
With a first eleven of Chris in goal, a defence consisting of Adrian and Fajar being flanked by Max and Michael,a sparkling central midfield trio of Benni, Poay and Derek, with Ming and Keon on the wings, and striking-supremo Heng as our main man upfront, the team oozed class in all departments. But little did we know that “class” was not balanced by discipline and tactical acumen. Ramblers sent out a team that had more technique than tactics in a game that required both!
The first half was an evenly contested affair with both teams having a go at each other. Poay had a great chance as early as the first minute but dragged his shot just wide. Then Derek's shot got acquainted with the opposition's upright after a clever set-up from Heng. Keon, after a long absence, was proving to be a handful on the left. Poay as usual was his “latino” self with the silky moves and oles; even nutmegging Woon Siang in a smart move at one point. But PSC were also launching numerous attacks of their own with their focal points being Alan their Croatian striker and Woon Siang, Penang's former football captain. But the defence held firm with Max and Michael cutting off their crosses while Fajar and Adrian kept Alan on a tight leash. However, all that was to go to waste. A poor clearance by Fajar allowed PSC to put Alan through on goal, and with our defence caught flat-footed, he duly slotted the ball past an advancing Chris to open the scoring. Then shortly after, with our defence back-pedalling and with no one to close him down, it was Woon Siang's turn to double their lead when he curled in a beauty to Chris' top right corner.
Max aimed to provide some much needed muscle and steel to a very gifted midfield by playing himself as a defensive midfielder while switching Benni to right-back. Aaron also came in at right midfield while Ming was pushed out on the left with Keon taking a breather. Michael C. subbed Chris in goal in the other notable switches. And surprisingly, PSC took a better grip of the game after the re-start with wave after wave of attack being brilliantly thwarted by Michael C. – hand and feet. The much needed muscle and steel was nowhere to be seen although to be fair to Max, he was trying his best with inadequate cover. Our defence was, on the other hand, being stretched to breaking point with our defenders looking jaded and disoriented but holding out with a LOT of luck and desperate tackles. Heng was battling a lone battle upfront with Derek looking unusually subdued. Poay was also beginning to tire out as he dropped deeper and deeper, exposing the midfield to quick and short passess between the PSC players. But football is a funny game and while PSC were looking for that nail in the coffin, Ming's pace and wizardry allowed us to pull a goal back and salvage an already crumbling piece of hope and pride. With a bamboozle and dance, he left his marker for dead, strided to the edge of the box and with what looked like an impossible angle, arrowed his shot into the bottom right hand corner. And with a celebration that mirrored Kaka's, we were wishing that they were related somehow. Unfortunately, PSC closed ranks after that goal and continued to pound our goal like it was Pearl Harbor. Although Ming did have 2 very good free-kicks, I'm afraid that was the best we could muster in a very dispirited 2nd half. In the end, we were outfought, outdone and outplayed, and even class couldn't save us.
Final Score:
PSC 2 – Ramblers 1
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