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The Sharks have made it to safety, after a shaky start to the season that saw them in contention for relegation to Division 4. The boys in yellow are now in the running for second spot, which could result in their promotion to Division 2 instead.
Earlier suspicions that the winning streak was due to the absence of the manager were dispelled, as they recorded their biggest win of the season against Hibernians Social with his leadership. A side missing the big man in front Isaac, still managed to put 6 goals past a hapless Hibs team, to record only a second clean sheet of the season for Central Park.
A strong team took the field, with Vince and Vincent partnering in the centre of defence with the absence of stalwart Anuar. Stefan also made a return to the first team, after a 2 season layoff. Hibs began brightly with a crisp passing game down the flanks, but were repeatedly halted by speedy fullbacks Charlson and Zhuoneng. The Hibs’ weakness soon showed as their aging defence could not catch Chris, who was put through by Heng Li’s deft flick. He coolly passed the ball into the back of the net for the opener. Harold posed a threat on the left flank as usual, and he saw an excellent free-kick bounce off the crossbar.
A good first half was followed by an even better second. Within minutes of the restart, Harold burned his marker to whip in a low cross for Jason to tap in. By then, Hibs looked deflated with the scorching sun not helping their cause. Harold then tried a similar move down the left, leaving his marker for dead. But this time, his cross was turned in by the goalkeeper. Not content with their heavy lead, the Sharks moved in for the kill. As the strikers poured forward, a through ball from Brendan found Jason lurking on the edge of the box. The forward then brushed past the struggling defenders to slot the ball into the far bottom corner. Another Sharks attack saw Harold extend his tally when Jason found acres of space to run into, and lay off for the onrushing winger to blast the ball home.
The yellows came close on a number of occasions, with Brendan shooting just wide, and Stefan hitting a weak shot straight at the keeper when he should have scored. The Hibs kept their heads up however, and conjured good chances that flew just wide of the post. Harold had the last laugh though. A cross by diminutive winger Jeffrey found him at the back post. After coolly controlling the ball with his chest, he beat one defender and finished coolly. The Hibs keeper’s quick reactions saved them from further humiliation, denying both Heng Li and Harold before the final whistle.
The returning manager was quick to praise the team’s performance, "A solid all-round performance right from veterans like Heng Li, down to the new boys like Vinc and Chris. Today we showed how badly we wanted to stay up. Two more games and if we nicked it, it will be considered a good season."
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