Broadrick, Old Airport Road - TeamCuzz was held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by Team Any-Color-Will-Do-Jersey. In a match deemed as a tune-up match for the upcoming SAMTAS League, TeamCuzz did not manage to gel together in time to score that elusive winning goal in a scrappy affair which neither side dominated.
TeamCuzz did not have the best of preparations leading up to the game. As the clock struck midnight, first-choice GK Sharil reported an injured foot which ruled him out. Then, as the clock struck 8, the team bus awaiting at Shahrudin's Carpark was still empty, with many of its players still absent and uncontactable(We really need to address this. Do we meet or just go separately???).
A growing sense of urgency and uncertainty was felt as it got nearer to Kick-Off. In the end, only 4 players clad in light blue were fully ready by kick-off time, while the rest streamrolled straight into the pitch with no warm-up whatsoever. There wasn't much for Caretaker Manager/Player Jose Felipe Imran to decide on as there were only 11 players ready to start, excluding himself. In the end, the starting 11 comprised a group of regulars and 3 new trialists. This included boy-wonder Syukri who made a miraculous recovery from a ligament injury picked up a few days earlier.
The game started off as expected, very slow and mundane as players slowly realise that they are on a soccer pitch rather than their beds at home. A string of good moves down both flanks gave TeamCuzz a slight advantage in the opening minutes. A good build up down the left led to a glancing header by lone striker Shukur which just went wide. Soon after, Captain Shahrudin had a chance from a freekick, but he unusually overhit it. He then had the best chance of the half. After his usual,purposeful run into the opponent's box led to him passing the central defenders with ease, the opposition GK made himself big (he didn't need to do anything actually) and forced the shot to shave off the left side of the upright.
TeamCuzz almost paid the price for their wastefulness as Team Any-Color-Will-Do-Jersey got back into the game. In a rare attack through the middle, the opposition striker managed to pounce on the rebound from his winger's shot after an error by trialist GK Hafiz. Thankfully, he recovered in time to block the shot with a point-blank save. Another attack down the left saw the burly striker with another attempt at goal, only to be blocked by the impressive Man-of-the-Match, Faizul. Overall, the back 4 marshalled by Khairul and Faizul was composed as the teams entered the dressing room at half-time.
The 2nd half saw a change in formations and 3 substitutions being made. Apart from regulars Imran and Shahril Kak Noni entering the fray at Centre Mid and Left Back respectively, TeamCuzz welcomed back Syed Naufal after a season-long loan at C.F. NUSilat. He partnered Shukur up front, as Caretaker Manager reverted to the traditional 4-4-2.
The stint there did not seem to go to waste, as Syed Naufal showed flashes of his usual brilliance in the middle of the park. TeamCuzz were faster off the blocks, and they managed to conjure up a series of good chances. Through balls towards both flanks found wingers Saifudin and Faisal in plenty of space, but they were quickly cut out by opposition defenders. In a rampaging run down the right flank, Faisal managed to fool a couple of defenders with his bag of tricks and distributed a low pass towards Shukur. However, the striker made a mess of it as his shot ended up in row Z. The deadlock was finally broken in the 67th minute. Good work between Syed Naufal and Shahrudin saw the latter bursting through the defence and with a low drive into the back of the net, gave TeamCuzz the lead and simultaneously increase his goal tally to 26. The goal opened up the game instantly. Within minutes, both sides had good chances to score.
Persistence paid off for Team Any-Color-Will-Do-Jersey in the 75th minute. A great shimmy at the edge of the box by their Midfield-in-yellow-socks-General evaded 2 advancing challenges by TeamCuzz players before letting fly a strong shot which TeamCuzz Gk Hafiz only managed to clear towards their burly striker for a Ruuud Van Nilsterooy-like tap in. There were suspicions of offside but TeamCuzz had no linesmen to confront so they just accepted the poor decision. Team Any-Color-Will-Do-Jersey even had the chance to win at the end, where their Portugese winger sprinted towards the goal only to have his shot deflected by Faizul. No other actions were good enough for mention all the way till the final whistle.
"I'm sure the reporters will come up with positives from this match and publish them on websites, but truth be told, we played badly. The weather and pitch was good, but we didn't manage to deliver. We've let our fans down. We can't afford a similar effort in the league . We need to get back to our basics and another match might be necessary to get back our touch and confidence. On another note, I would like to thank all the players who came down, especially the 3 trialists who did not have sufficient playing time as hoped," said the Caretaker Manager/Player after the match.
We managed to catch up with Man-of-the-Match Faizul too. As we presented him the Man-of-the-Match Mineral Water, he said "I'm happy with my performance today, especially my marauding run towards the opponent's defence in the 2nd half. Frankly, I'm amazed at how far I ran. Also, kudos to the whole defensive line as we managed to hold our own in the face of strong opposition strikers and the confusing colours of their jerseys. It's unfortunate that I won't be able to join the lads this season as I have yet to memorise the 3 Newton's Laws for my Exams. I wish them all the best for the season ahead."
In other news, T.C. MBOG suffered a crushing 1-4 defeat in their 1st league fixture at St Wilfred.
Team Cuzz (v Team Any-Color-Will-Do-Jersey on 3 Aug): Hafiz, Khairul, Faizul, Saifudin, Hisyam, Ah Tat (Shahril Kak Noni 45), Said (Imran 45), Shahrudin, Syukri (Syed Naufal 45), Faisal, Shukur.
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