Shocking!

It was to be a stroll in the park for undefeated TAMilan SC as they came up against 2^nd from bottom Bintang Biru who were fielding a relatively young squad. However, fate had other ideas and it tore the form book to shreds. TAMilan were gunned down by a very energetic Bintang Biru side with 1 goal in either half. And although Poay did pull a goal back for them, a mistake by Adrian was enough to hand over the 3 points to the young guns. TAMilan even had a man sent off for a questionable foul and Sin the leftback will be missing for the 2 penultimate games against Inpro and NTFA.

TAMilan, curiously looking nervous, was giving away the ball too cheaply in the early part of the game as they looked to pump it forwards to Brown whereas Bintang Biru played with abandon as young boys usually do with 3 for

wards. And although Darlington and Ming produced some very exhilirating pieces of

footwork and skill, there was no final delivery to Brown and Poay to finish

off. While TAMilan tried earnestly to replicate their superb performances in this league's last 3 games, Bintang Biru were just content to soak up the pressure and hit them on the break. Unfortunately, one such break caught TAMilan off guard. A through ball sent their winger sprinting on goal but Adrian was first to react, and as he attempted to win the ball back, he lost his footing, lost possession

in the box, and allowed the player to cross to the unmarked striker to shoot home

. 1-0 and even Bintang Biru couldn't believe it! The trio of Darlington, Ming and Brown quickly picked

themselves up and began their assault on the opposition goal but a series of bad luck, bad judgement, and a slew of nifty but ineffective shimmies was all they could muster in the first half, although Darlington did send 1 r

ocket of a shot whizzing just over the bar. Coach Mustaph

a even made an early subst

itution by bringing on Max at rightback and moving Adrian to the heart of the d

efence, sacrificing Man in the process, in the hope of injecting some attacking impetus into the game.

After the half-time break, TAMilan reappeared with guns

blazing and launched endless raids, pinning Bintang Biru in their own half. Ming occassiona

lly took on his markers and left them for dead but while a pass would surely pave an opportunity to level the game, he opted to shoot instead, leaving Poay and Brown looking on dejectedly and shaking their heads. Brown himself was battling on courageously alone upfront with little to show for whereas Poay toiled on despite his aching knee while Darlington and Keon tried their best to bre

ach their defence. As Bintang Biru was trying to hold on to their slender lead, TAMilan held on to the belief that a goal was not far off. And it arrived through a very familiar source. A loose ball was dinked into the far corner by Poay and it sent TAMilan and their bench into raptures.

That goal seemed to spark TAMilan into life and Jason wasted a fantastic chance to put them ahead when he collected a through ball and only had the keeper to beat. Instead he rounded the keeper, and with the goal mouth begging, he steadied himself but it was too late to produce a decent shot. Poay was also guilty of a miss he knew he should have buried away when he took down a long raking cross and blasted it wide off the keeper's upright. TAMilan were soon to rue those gilt-edged chances. Minutes later, Bintang Biru's marauding right-winger sent in a cross that bounced akwardly on the bumpy pitch and the linesman adjudged that Adrian had handled in the area in his effort to bring the ball under control. Penalty! With his head down and his hands on his hips, he knew his indiscretion had undone all the good work his team were doing. And it was not the kind of decision TAMilan were hoping for as they had fought themselves out of a difficult situation but failed to make their chances count. Bintang Biru's midfielder stepped up and although Suresh guessed correctly, there was enough sting to send the shot crashing into the net past the despairing keeper. As the minutes ticked away, TAMilan drove forward in numbers and eagerness but failed to snatch a late point as Bintang Biru held on desprately for the 3 points.

Final Result:

TAMilan SC 1 - Bintang Biru 2