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It was back to league action for the Sharks as they faced off old foes Simei United at Bedok North Secondary on Sunday. The opposition were on a back of a 3 games unbeaten streak coming into the game and with several new faces in their team line-up, Sharks looked to a very long afternoon against some very young legs. Nonetheless, Sharks raced to a 2 goal lead after just 18 minutes of the game. The first courtesy of Murugesan who probably scored for the first time with his head off Yi Quan's freekick while the second was off the penalty spot when Heng Li was kicked in the area and Murugesan, who calls himself the 'Indian Express' made no mistake from the resulting penalty as Sharks held on till half-time and despite several scares in the second-half, they consolidated their lead and took maximum points.
The flu bug seemed to hit the team for the game as the team lost the likes of Harold, Isaac, Kelvin and several more for the game and with a thin bench, Sharks knew that it was important to take an early lead against their much younger and fitter counterparts. Simei United on the other hand were comfortable whenever they had the ball but against the run of play, Sharks were awarded a freekick just outside the area. A nicely floated freekick found Murugesan who jumped highest as he planted his header at the top left hand corner of the post. Shortly afterwards, just when the opposition were getting back into their groove, they were hit with a sucker punch. An aimless ball aimed at Heng Li was easily collected by the custodian but nonetheless, his sly kick to the dimunitive forward didn't go unnoticed as the referee pointed to the spot to the bewilderment of the opposition. Nonetheless, Murugesan took the opportunity to increase his tally to two when he took full opportunity from the spot. That seemed to deflate the opposition a little as Sharks were creating chances of their own. Despite failing to keep posession, the boys in yellow clearly made their experience count as they surged forward whenever they get the ball in the middle. The likes of Murugesan, Naoki, Heng Li and Brendan were causing and creating ample opportunities at goal. Naoki could have added a third for his team when Yus found him clear in the area but the former first touch took the ball away. However, the biggest opportunity fell to Brendan. With Heng Li starting the move in midfield, he took his marker off his position and several exchange of passes with Murugesan found Brendan clear in the box. Despite failing to bury the opportunity the first time round, the midfielder had a glorious opportunity to make amends from the rebound with the open net, however he fluffed his chance with a miskick as Sharks go into half-time with just a 2 goal advantage.
The second half though was a different affair as Simei United laid siege on the Sharks half and they were duly rewarded after some poor positioning by Michael allowed them to pull a goal back. Despite the error, the custodian have so far kept his team in the game with several top notch saves in the first half and the second half was no different as he became the one-man wall whenever his defense failed him. Simei United however were relentless in their attack but Sharks held firm as they stood and repel everything that came onto them. They had a couple of opportunities to put the game beyond the opposition midway in the second-half but Murugesan fluffed his chance with only the custodian to beat. At the other end, Sharks kept their shape and held on for their win.
The manager commented, 'The team knew what to expect from the opposition today and while we lost some shape in the second half, the players made their experience count.'
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