Saturday, July 18, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
FlyBoys vs Empire
FLYBOYS 1 Kenny 35
Empire 4
1st HALF:
GK - Yanni
DF - Azman, Zul-Afiq, Julian, Hendra
MF - Hafizh, Amir, Hock(Dzulfadli), Syazwi
FW - Kenny, Zainoel
2nd HALF:
GK - Zul-Afiq
DF - Nasrul, Azman, Julian, Hendra
MF - Hafizh, Riduan, Ismail, Yanni
FW - Dzulfadli, Kenny
Pre-match Analysis:
Things aren't looking good here. Only 10 players have arrived and it's already 445pm, 15 minutes before kick-off. It's the 3rd match played in a week and everyone's knackered.
The opposition look like they don't have an ounce of fat on them meaning they'll be doing a lot of running and there's a strong chance we'll be doing a lot of chasing today.
But FlyBoys spirit will not be dampened. We have the return of our keeper, Yanni who has been busy flying.
Zul-Afiq, FlyBoys's 4th alternate keeper has been playing goalie the last 3 matches and is seen smiling up to his ears. Why you ask? Because he'll finally get to do some running as an outfield player today. The boy's looking keen and beckons everyone to warm-up to the pitch.
Finally Hafizh shows up and that makes it 11 so now we can all play. Hurrah.
Kick-Off:
FlyBoys in our red kit start the game whilst the Empire crew are all donning black. They look like they're wearing full SKINS gear complete with yellow side trim. They are looking menacing and we are looking scared. Is it because we have no subs on the bench? Absolutely.
Hock is playing in the 1st half and we all know he hasn't lasted a full half ever. One day he will though. Plus Amir has a recurring thigh injury so he can't possibly last the whole half either. Frequent glances to the grandstand for arriving subs come to no avail. We are on CMR fuel and the weather is looking shitty.
Our suspicions are confirmed. The opposition are running around like there's no tommorow especially that No 17 fella. Somebody chop his legs off. But nobody does. Because we can't reach him. Before we know it he's running circles around our defence and as a ball is cut through our defence, he comes in a flash and puts one past Yanni.
FLYBOYS 0 - EMPIRE 1
Oh no. These guys look hungry. I think they can see the fear in our eyes.
Despite the absence of Team Capt Hj Effendy on the pitch, Hafizh is doing well combining together with Syazwi and Hendra on the left flank. Hock is doing well on the right, chasing balls and supporting Julian. The only problem is there aren't many chances created. Amir is playing the midfield role but he is hobbling all over the pitch.
Yanni's crazy long goal-kicks are intercepted well by the defence although Kenny and Zainoel do their best to make life difficult for the Empire defenders. They seem to have this player, Number 20 who is holding the midfield well for them. He's not a big boy but he holds the ball well. A bit like our Jerry Joel who is off flying somewhere, no doubt trying to get through line training on the Bus fleet. We're missing his presence right now. I especially miss those awesome Ronaldo-like passes.
Another run from No 17 as he glides past our players and he is through and shoots a low stinger past Yanni. Unlucky for Yanni as it goes through his gloves.
FLYBOYS 0 - EMPIRE 2
FlyBoys are looking dejected but not to worry. We see Dzulfadly arriving. Hurrah, a substitute. Remember our Hendra who scored an own-goal a few months ago. Well this is a different Hendra who is seen playing one-two's with Hafizh and Syazwi and as he gallops up, he sees Kenny and plays a superb combination pass. In the box, Hendra releases a killer pass and Kenny runs through to goal and shoots past the keeper. It hits the post and then into the net.
FLYBOYS 1 - EMPIRE 2
Alright! We scored. We might just get back into the game. But our hopes quickly fade as the team wearing black SKINS take control of the game and put another one past us.
FLYBOYS 1 - EMPIRE 3
It's coming to half-time and Dzul replaces Hock. Well done, Hock the Hero. He may be slightly deficient in football stamina but he has plenty of heart and thats what we all look for in a FlyBoy.
Attitude determines your Altitude.
HALF-TIME:
The ref blows the whistle for half-time.
Good news. Nasrul, Ismail and Riduan are here. About bloody time. We're knackered.
Wtf have you guys been?!?
2nd HALF:
A pinch of salt, a change of personnel and FlyBoys walk back to the pitch hoping to make a comeback.
Amir, Syazwi and Zainoel are replaced and Nasrul slots back into his Vidic role. Zul-Afiq decides to take a breather and becomes goalie as Yanni reverts to CAT 1 Single only.
I mean he reverts to his role as winger just like when he was back in his old school days. Oh to be young again. Ismail takes on the left winger role and Dzul is leading the forward line with Kenny.
And they kick-off and at this point, i'm not really paying much attention to the game. We seem to have a bit of a fan club at the grand-stand and the idea of merchandising FlyBoys gear light up in my head.
Before i could see the cash registering, we've conceded another goal.
FLYBOYS 1 - EMPIRE 4
Oh dear, the scoreline is looking similar to the one at Old Trafford a few months back. I've had nightmares eversince. Will i be sleeping well tonight?
But after the 4th goal, the tide changed. The Empire crew are looking tired and weary. Azman is now playing the Makelele role with Nasrul as sweeper. It's looking promising because now we're playing like the real FlyBoys we know and love. For one we're keeping posession and two, we're passing better and creating more chances.
With Riduan in midfield, Hafizh is finding it easier to create passes and switch the play around. He finds Julian on the right and the boy with the dash of pace runs forward. Julie passes to Yanni and he in turn produces a quite magnificent cross into the box. Kenny towers over the defenders and cause havoc in the penalty box. But the ball is hooved away by the defence.
Hendra combines well with Riduan and he passes to Ismail. The winger makes a run and then squares it to Hafizh who shoots at goal. It's wide but we are now looking menacing.
Another wave of attack from FlyBoys sees Kenny produce a long distance low shot to the goalie, who saves it. The keeper kicks it high and long forward. Azman and an Empire striker are fighting to head the ball.
Can i just state that a funny moment occured here. The Empire guy jumped up and landed on Azman and for a good 5 seconds he found himself hanging helplessly on Azman's back with Azman standing on both feet. Okay that was weird but his girlfriend and Aainaa are laughing on the bench.
Yanni is creating a lot of chances with his sharp penetrating crosses and FlyBoys are passing well controlling the midfield. Yanni has a look at goal and drives one straight at the keeper. The shot is saved but we know the goalie's hands are in pain. What a shot!
Another wave of attack from FlyBoys sees Dzul dribble from the left side of the field and cuts into the defence but it's blocked by the Empire crew. Kenny has another pot shot at goal but again their keeper is in form. This is looking good. We're dominating posession, passing well and creating chances. All we need to do is score.
There was the odd counter-attack from Empire but Hendra, Julian and Nasrul marshalled the strikers easily. Zul-Afiq looks bored at the goal post but he gives plenty of vocal and moral support.
A few more chances by FlyBoys courtesy of Dzul, Kenny, Ismail and Hafizh but none are taken and so as darkness looms, the full-time whistle is blown and it's a graceful defeat for Team FlyBoys.
Post-Match Analysis:
We were pretty lacklustre in the 1st half but it was a game of two halves with us dominating possesion and chances in the 2nd. The scoreline was flattering for Empire and at best, we would've probably lost 4-3 or 4-2. But que sera sera, it is what it is.
Amir injured his thigh and discovered what Hematoma finally means and will be sidelined for at least 2 weeks. Julian also injured his knee and will be unavailable on Wednesday unless somehow he can heal quickly like Wolverine. Hendra was also injured and his status for the next game is uncertain.
Despite the defeat, FlyBoys stuck a finger up to Empire in the 2nd half and said,
" They may take our lives but they'll never take our freedom!".
Apakan.
- Written by Amir who will be sleeping well tonight.
ps. Next game is on Wednesday 15th July 2009. Be there because we don't have enough players.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Match 2 of 3
Torrential rain nearly drowned the pitch in the early afternoon.
Many brave men looked out the window at about 3.30 and said "forget it" and watched Powder Puff Girls on Cartoon Network instead.
The tragedy of this was that as the time for action drew near, only eleven good men and true were on the pitch. A couple of players came with notes from their Mothers excusing them from playing due to 'sore leg' ,'forgot my kit' and 'my children have been missing me'. All pretty weak excuses, but the Flyboys are a tough bunch and we came to the decision that we could take on the smarties from UBD without any substitutes.
And so the referee summoned us on to the arena of glory.
Starting the game in goal for us was the mighty Zul-Afiq who keeps getting phone calls from some Scottish guy from Manchester asking him to replace Edwin Van Der Saar. ZulAfiq has been told by Aainaa not to talk to strange men so he hangs up every time the Scottish guy calls.
Our right back was Speedy Gonzales, a.k.a. Julian. Julian started the game by running very fast and winning every ball. Clearly he intended to set the standard of play.
Our two centre backs were Malek and some other guy who used to like being called Veron but now goes by the name Hj Effendy. You could tell them apart by their boots. Malek's were white, Hj Effendy's were stationary.
Left back (left back in the changing rooms) was Haydn. Haydn was nervous before the game started and was extremely relieved to know that his father would be just ahead of him on the pitch to guide him and tell him what to do. Anyone who knows teenagers will know that this is complete rubbish. Teenagers NEVER listen to their parents.
Our player with a sense of fashion was playing right midfield. The famous Hock, still basking in the glory of his goal on Monday, was the only player to turn up with the wrong colour shorts.
"It's a fashion statement", he said.
"Don't lie, you just forgot them didn't you", said Amir.
The team's two mighty power houses Hafizh and Azman took up their usual positions in the centre mid field and an overweight overaged Allan settled down to his usual spot on the left half / left wing.
Our ever potent strikeforce of Ismail and Syazwi were up front.
We had already noticed that UBD were all young and fit and could do something that some of us couldn't do. They could run. So our brilliant tactician Amir came up with a cunning plan, - Pass the ball. Make them do the running.
Guess what ? It worked !
1ST HALF:
The referee blew his whistle to start the match and battle was joined.
A smart man once said that,"Old age, wisdom and cunning will always defeat youth and enthusiasm" .
Because of this, I can now tell everyone that Amir is old, wise and cunning.
The UBD players ran and ran and ran.
The Flyboys passed the ball and for the most part kept possession. Flyboy's back four were solid in defence. Hj Effendy and Malek swapped positions as the situation demanded, while Julian and Haydn handled any fast attacks down the wings.
The wonderful thing to watch was the back four were thinking and making space and time with their tackles and passes.
No rushed kicks in just any direction.
They tackled, won possession and passed the ball in a way that gave us space and time to think. During this time the calling was constant and lots of lovely passes over the tops of the UBD back four were made for our strikers to run onto. Lots of lovely through - passes on the ground were also played. Flyboys were playing like a well oiled machine and a goal was just a matter of time.
UBD did have their chances and were always threatening a fast counter attack. We were lucky to have Hj Effendy, Julian and Haydn in our back four who were able to keep pace with the fast breaks and stop the threat becoming serious. Malek in the meantime handled the high balls with a solid heading ability that by itself, broke down many of the UBD attacks.
Our mid field boys were doing fine work. Most UBD attacks started from their goalkeeper's kick up field, but they were stopped by the brick wall that was Hafizh and Azman. The work rate of these two players cannot be over stated. They played hard and provided sterling service all game.
Allan and Hock played wide on the wings forcing the UBD defence to spread themselves out very thinly and make a breakthrough for Syazwi and Ismail more likely.
On one of UBD's few attacks, it came down to a one on one between the attacker and the goalie. Zul-Afiq dropped down quickly to his right and blocked a solid shot. He also fell into the mud puddle and got soaked.
By thirty minutes into the first half the game had settled into fast paced passing battle in the UBD half as Flyboys kept applying constant pressure. One of our raids forced a corner. As preparations for the corner were being made, Allan called Haydn to swap positions for the corner kick. As they passed each other, Allan said, "Get up there and score a goal".
A beautiful cross from the right corner caused mayhem in the 6 yard area. Eventually it fell to Haydn's left foot and he blasted it. Several players were between the ball and the goalie, so he saw the ball late.
Too late. It shot straight through his fingers. The net bulged.
Flyboys 1 - exUBD 0
As we ran back to the centre-circle, I said to Haydn, "See what happens when you do as your father says ?".
Haydn's answer was unprintable.
We now had the game by the scruff of the neck and we knew what we had to do. Only two minutes later another shot from our right midfield was blasted towards its target. Their goalie was only able to get his body in front of the ball but wasn't able to hold on to it.
It bounced off his chest into open play. Syazwi pounced like a leopard and slotted the ball neatly into the bottom far corner.
Flyboys 2 - exUBD 0
It seemed like this was going to be repeated several times over, but the smart boys from UBD knew how to play the offside trap. Several times our two forwards were stopped by the referee's whistle when they were offside by a good 5 meters.
Situational awareness is not just for the flight deck.
At this point in the game, Amir decided that a tactical substitution was in order. Hock was given a rest and Mahdini trotted onto the pitch to add fire to our attack.
Flyboys also played the offside trap well. But not well enough. On one occasion the UBD counter attack was a ball through our back line which was a long way up the pitch. A call for offside was ignored by the ref and Hj Effendy was left chasing their striker who had a 5 meter lead. Zul-Afiq moved out quickly to narrow the angles but the striker's aim was true.
Flyboys 2 - exUBD 1
Shortly after, the referee's whistle blew for half time.
A tired but delighted group of Flyboys left the field of play for a break.
Amir knew that he couldn't let the Flyboys relax. Complacency could let the UBD back into the game. So he made some masterly substitutions that kept the Flyboys buzzing. Off came Allan for a break. On went Simon to add some height and strength to the attack.
Also entering the battle was Salleh from MCC. His speed and determination was a welcome fillip to the hard work being done by Hafizh and Azman.
2ND HALF:
And so the game re started. UBD were determined to get the scores equal and their younger legs were beginning to outrun some of the older flyboys. Fortunately Julian, who has amazing dash speed was equal to their fastest on the right wing, and Haydn kept their attacks down the left wing from doing us any harm. And all the while, the power houses in the centre broke up attack after attack, then initiated our counter attacks.
One such counter attack brought forth a simple, yet stunningly effective run of play. The ball was passed out to the right. Simon collected it and took it deep and wide. Simon held the ball and forced the defender to commit to a tackle. Simon passed the ball off to Salleh who put over a superb cross that landed ever so sweetly on Ismail's head and rocketed into the goal.
Flyboys 3 - exUBD 1
The game now entered a period where the Flyboys endured attack after attack. Simon was rested when Allan returned to the fray. Haydn got a yellow card for bringing a drink (Tiger Beer) onto the field of play. After that he made a challenge that the referee considered illegal and resulted in a free kick to UBD just on the edge of our penalty area. The atmosphere was electric, but cool heads prevailed and the defence remained solid. The ball sailed harmlessly over the top of the goal.
Eventually the referee blew his whistle for the last time.
- Written 2 hours after the game by 'Not just a hat-rack', Captain Allan Bradley.
(*Editors note: Any errors or omissions made in the report by Captain Bradley are unintentional. If there were any, forgive the man. Because we've already forgiven him for supporting Derby County. - Amir)
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Photo-Slideshow from the match against Civilian Mindef
Match Day 1 of 3
Match day! The skies are gloomy and it looks like it’s going to start pouring any second. This doesn’t cause concern to team Flyboys. The fact that they don’t know if anyone is bringing drinks, does. MINDEF Civilians, the opponents for today show up in their fancy blue kits and look like they know what they’re doing. No matter, Flyboys have a pretty good idea how to go about this game too especially in their newly printed yellow kit.
Uncharacteristically Flyboys, the team rocks up just in time for kick-off. The players suit up with minimal limbering up, looks to be an exciting match.
Formation 1st Half
Goalkeeper: ZulAfiq (29)
Defence: Hj Effendy (18) and Nazrul (3) playing in the centre. Hendra (28) and Julian (4) plying their trade in the left and right back positions respectively.
Midfield: Jerry (25) and Azman (14) looking to make their presence felt in the middle. Young Hayden Bradley finds himself on the left wing and Wazien on the right.
Striker: Dzulfadli (10) and Amir (7) look to score plentiful goals.
It Begins
Flyboys have kickoff and straight off the bat begin a series of short passes between players, making the opposition team run in circles chasing after the ball.
The wingers, Hayden and Wazien are giving the opposition fullbacks a tough time with their penetrating run. The opposition made to go under more pressure when the attacks were bolstered by the Flyboys full backs rushing up the pitch in hopes of scoring.
10 minutes:
Very early in the game, Wazien finds himself put through on goal and he out sprints his marker to the ball. Just as he makes contact with the ball, the defender tackles from behind. He ended up sweeping Wazien off his feet, falling awkwardly and hurting his shoulder. While this is all happening, the ball flies goal bound and looks to be a pretty decent shot. The goalkeeper is forced to parry the ball away but unfortunately no Flyboys player was able to slot home the loose ball. Wazien writhes in pain before being assisted off the field for medical attention (ice from the cool box). Flyboys, no stranger to injury woes, quickly regroup by putting on Allan Bradley (22) to replace Wazien. Left footed Allan slots into the left wing position and Hayden switches to the right.
15 minutes:
At this point, it’s all Flyboys. The opposition team is barely able to make a substantive play. Julian receives the ball from Zulafiq from a goal kick and runs with the ball down the line, the Flyboys predatory natured strikers angle their bodies in anticipation of a long ball to run onto. Julian releases a diagonal long ball which falls straight into the path of striker Dzulfadli who manages to take it mid stride and make his way towards goal with the defenders hot on his heels. Dzulfadli pulls the trigger and feelings of joy momentarily flood through Flyboys hearts, only to be replaced with disappointment when the ball didn’t find the back of the net. No matter, with the amount of possession seen over the past quarter of an hour, more chances are sure to come!
20 minutes:
The performance of Hafiizh and Jerry in the centre of the park last week was quickly overshadowed when looking at the performance put up by the Jerry and Azman pairing. They quash opposition midfield plays with ease whether it be in the air or on the ground. With the ball, they tiptoe past opposing players with what some might even call ballet like grace.
Around this 20 minutes mark; Allan receives the ball from Hendra and passes it first time over the heads of the opposing defenders. Dzulfadli takes off at full sprint after the ball and manages to get control of the ball just outside of the penalty box. At this point the defenders have caught up and look to crowd Dzulfadli into making a mistake. He dribbles the ball deeper into the penalty box until he finds himself on the by-line with his path to goal blocked by a defender. Magically, he pulls a 180 degree turn with the ball which completely fools the defender who’s caught flat footed. Out of nothing, Dzulfadli crafted himself space just outside the 6-yard box, with time and space to shoot. At the same time, opportunist Amir comes rushing towards the penalty spot screaming for the ball to be squared. Dzulfadli, heeding his strikers’ instinct took a shot which sailed just agonizingly over the crossbar. Again MINDEF Civilians find themselves lucky not to be a goal behind.
28 minutes:
In another sequence of team passing, Flyboys were unfortunate to still find themselves not on the scoresheet. The move began from goalkeeper Zulafiq who passed it short to Hendra. Finding limited options ahead of him, Hendra turns and kicks the ball across the field to right back Julian. Turning with the ball, Julian quickly releases a low ball to the feet of striker Amir. Still feeling the effects of an injury sustained in a previous match, Amir opted to thread the ball through to midfield running machine Hayden before running into the penalty box. Hayden crosses the ball dangerously into enemy territory but is unable to connect with a team mate. However, he did manage to find Allan on the other side of the penalty box who had time to trap the ball and release another cross. In a feat of super athleticism Amir leaps high above all the defenders and connects with the ball but in true Flyboys fashion the ball sails over the crossbar for another miss.
30 minutes:
Midfielders Azman and Jerry are imposing themselves effectively in the centre of the park, looking quite organised when they take turns bolstering the attack and venturing high up into the opposing half. In multiple occasions they find themselves taking shots from range, none however managed to put the goalkeeper under any real pressure.
Around 35 minutes, Azman runs onto a through ball leaving the opposition backline in his wake as they had stopped running thinking he was offside. Feelings of joy again re-emerge. Azman makes a beeline with the ball straight for goal, the goalkeeper makes a move forward but then steps back again as he finds himself in two-minds. Azman is now at point blank range and all the players are screaming at him to pull the trigger. Instead, he decides to go around the goalkeeper which he manages to do. What he didn’t expect was the goalkeeper to barge into his lower body disrupting his balance. With the balance and grace of a ballerina, he manages to stay on his feet with just the ball and the empty net in front of him. He swings his foot, but gravity and momentum finally catch up and he finds himself falling backwards as he does so. What resulted was a weak toe punt which was intercepted and cleared off the line by defender. Tears and frustration all around!
35 minutes:
Hayden was made to run his socks off down the right flank and towards the end of the half Simon (99) comes on to replace him. At this point Flyboys were cruising despite still being level. The situation seems ripe for complacency.
A clearance from the MINDEF Civilians backline sails over the Flyboys defenders who give chase with the opposition strikers not too far behind. Julian, first onto the ball decides to pass the ball back to Zulafiq who looks ready and willing to take the ball under pressure. However, Julian kicks the ball with barely enough pace to make it all the way to the waiting goalkeeper and the distance gap makes it awkward for Zulafiq. The striker comes rushing in and Zulafiq clears the ball straight into his shins which bounces it forward right into the strikers’ path but by some measure of good luck he managed to miss the open goal. A collective sigh of relief ensues.
HALF TIME
Formation 2nd Half
Goalkeeper: ZulAfiq (29)
Defence: A slight change in the middle with Azmi (30) and Nazrul (3). Julian (4) and Hendra (28) remain in their same positions
Midfield: Hj Effendy (18) looks to shine with Jerry (25) in the middle of the park with Zainul (6) and Hock on their left and right respectively
Striker: Simon (99) and Sofian (23) look to break the deadlock
To victory!
Sofian makes an unexpected appearance, refusing to bow down to an injury picked up from the previous game. His shiny new white boots serves as a contributing factor to this. The game kicks off again much like the first half except this time the MINDEF Civillian players are marking much more closely, not letting the Flyboys players maraud about the pitch as they did in the first half. This doesn’t seem to affect Flyboys much and they still control the flow of the game.
Flyboys continue to push forward looking for the ever elusive goal. Sofian, Zainul and Simon finding good space but still unable to make the killer blow. The midfield pairing of Jerry and Hj Effendy is doing well, easily dissecting the opposition formation. However, lacking runners in the wider positions they were forced to run further into opposition territory with the ball.
GOAL! Flyboys 1 – 0 MINDEF Civilians
Halfway through the second half, Hj Effendy who incidentally is also rocking a brand spanking new pair of boots slots a through ball to forward rushing midfielder Jerry who finds himself all alone with just the ball, the goalkeeper and the net behind him up ahead; all too familiar circumstances. The opposition goalkeeper rushes out early and slides into Jerry as he’s about to pull the trigger. The two players collide with a great big bang and the ball trickles harmlessly towards goal. From nowhere, right winger Hock swoops down onto the loose ball and coolly slots home. The players are ecstatic and the fans are close to going berserk. Post game Hock even wants to make a t-shirt with “Wow!” printed on the front.
A string of substitutions follows. Sofian bows out due to his injury and Dzulfadli returns to the field as striker. Hock, feeling good about himself opts to take a rest and Roslie makes his debut game for Flyboys. Roslie slots into the right back position and Julian pushes up ahead of him in the right wing position.
Jerry struggling after picking up a slight injury from his run in with the goalkeeper limps out to be replaced by Ismail (12). Amir comes back on to replace Zainul and Simon gets substituted by Azman.
Flyboys look a rejuvenated team and spirits are flying high. Until...
GOAL! Flyboys 1 – 1 MINDEF Civilians
Desperate to look for an equaliser, the opposition midfield once again hoof a ball straight up the middle of the pitch. The ball looks decidedly unthreatening, until the centre-backs still find themselves at full sprint with their own goal fast approaching and 2 strikers nipping at their heels. Centre-back Nasrul makes the decision to go into a slide to pass the ball back to goalkeeper Zulafiq. A misunderstanding ensues and Zulafiq picks the ball up, to which referee Roslan stops play for an indirect free kick.
No worries. Easy way to overcome an indirect free kick in your own penalty box: line up all the players on the goal line and hope that somehow there’s enough mass to stop the ball from going in. Unfortunately this method was proven ineffective as the MINDEF Civilians player manages to slip the ball through the human barricade.
The comeback:
Soon after goalkeeper Zulafiq, having other commitments is substituted by running machine Hayden. Flyboys are pushing for that winning goal. The midfielders make use of Julian and make him run down the right flank into space, however his crosses frequently disappoint miserably and possession goes to waste.
On the left Ismail is making his trademark penetrating runs into space but to no avail. Azman and Hj Effendy rule the midfield; Azman fulfilling the holding role with Hj Effendy roaming around for space.
25 minutes:
A Flyboys player dribbles on the edge of the box (I don’t remember who it was, again) and gets mowed down by a tackled deemed illegal by referee Roslan. Hj Effendy, steps up to take the free kick from 25 metres. Anticipation is in the air. Flyboys players position themselves in front of goal both as distractions for opposing players as well as to sweep up any loose ball that might come their way. Hj Effendy winds up and sends in a curling right footed shot destined for the bottom right corner of the goal. Again, true to Flyboys fashion the ball barely misses its’ target by mere inches.
30 minutes:
Dzulfadli finds himself sprinting with the ball towards goal with the defenders left behind in his wake. The goalie moves forward to close the angle but he steps back again undecided putting himself in no-man’s land. Again; it’s just the ball, the goalie and the net ahead of the Flyboys striker. Dzulfadli adjusts his body orientation and takes a shot. Fans and players alike hold their collective breath. The ball soars high and wide and Dzulfadli falls to the ground pounding it with his fists in frustration.
Towards the end of the game the Flyboys attack is still unrelenting. Multiple corner kicks resulted in nothing more but goal kicks.
Last minute drama:
In the remaining few minutes of the half, an opposition outfield player finds himself sprinting down the Flyboys left flank before squaring the ball for his striker just inside the penalty box. The striker winds up and pulls the trigger. At this point if he scores, all would be lost but out of nowhere centre-back Azmi flies in and slide tackles the ball as it leaves the strikers boot, deflecting it out towards the corner flag. Hero! Even the striker concedes the awesomeness of the tackle.
Game Over
The sun has receded over the horizon and just before the call for prayers Roslan blows the final whistle, game over Flyboys 1 – 1 MINDEF Civilians.
Flyboys played well collectively, utilising the wingers and their abundant space and initiating moves from the defence. Unlucky goal to concede as the decision could have gone in either team’s direction. There were no foul throws for the first time which one would assume is thanks to the posted training video.
The defence was solid throughout, called into action sporadically but managing to come out on top on all occasions.
Tomorrow is match day 2 and tomorrow we will emerge victorious.
Ps: A big thank you to Zulafiq for providing the much needed drinks, Irwanizam (20) for being the designated photographer even though he had nice new shoes to play in too, Natasha for collecting the laundry money and Khalil for taking videos of our game while Sofian was on the pitch.
