"I was anxious about this game as our boys might not have adapted to the fasting conditions yet. However, the numbers we had today was simply jaw-dropping, and that certainly compensated the fact that we were indeed fasting. I hope we could have a similar attendance for the next game, before we go for our long festive break," said Manager Khairi, who delivered his promise by playing the whole game. The next game that he mentioned is another crucial tie against Tuas Soccerites, who would probably consist of fasting players as well.
The manager had a plan in store to surprise Dynamites ahead of the game. With a plan to soak-first-punish-later, he set out his first 11 accordingly while reserving some quick legs to enter just before the break. This surprise was never needed, as Dynamites had their own surprise - they started with just 10 players. With that, TeamCuzz were always on the front foot, dominating at least 80% of possession. As in the first game, a few loose passes in defence did cause a minor scare, but those were wasted by Dynamites. They would probably kick themselves in the tooth if they had known the way TeamCuzz were going to make them pay.
The first came from Joseph Obaje. Picking up a backheel pass from Imran, the striker raced clear of the incoming defender, sidestepped to his favoured left foot, and released a belter which almost ripped the net apart. The wonderful goal was reminiscent of Daniel Amokachi's strike against Greece in '94 World Cup in USA. Having scored the first, he made the second. Chasing a loose goalkick by Dynamite's custodian, Joseph squared the ball to Shahrudin who had ample time to place it beyond the outstretched arms of the goalkeeper. The third was as cool a goal as you will ever see, and once again, it was scored by Joseph Obaje. After the opposing goalkeeper had rushed out to punch a cross from the left, Joseph simply lobbed the ball into the unguarded net using his head. It was perfectly placed that no goalkeeper in the world (except Petr Cech & Ross Turnbull) could have saved it. Joseph's impressive performance in the first half saw him earning yet another Man-of-the-Match accolade eventually.
With plenty of reserves to draw from, the team was significantly reshuffled during the interval. Nevertheless, the game did not follow suit, with TeamCuzz refusing to put their foot off the pedal. Just after the restart, Faisal scored his maiden goal in Espzen with a neat chip over the goalkeeper, after being put through by Shukur. Shukur then put himself on the scoresheet, after beating the offside trap following Shahrudin's defence-splitting pass. Shahrudin then continued the trend, once again being completely unmarked at the far post to receive Joseph's pass and slotting home easily. That turned out to be the last kick of the game.
TeamCuzz had so many positives to draw from this match, including Hyder's growing confidence in midfield, reshuffling of players all around the pitch, & Faisal's scoring touch. Top of the list though, was how they handled the test of Ramadhan while not compromising the need to notch 3 points. The test came in 2 forms - the referee and 2 extremely aggressive Dynamite players. Based on how they handled them, it must be said that TeamCuzz passed this test with flying colours.
No comments:
Post a Comment