R.A.B

1

vs

Central Park

3

Sharks maintained their strong challenge for second spot in Espzen Div 4 as they secured a 3-1 win against a gritty RAB FC. Caretaker manager Jeremy Lee was pampered with a strong turn out to choose from with a 9 man bench as Sharks welcomed newcomers Adjie & Richie to the family.

In the blistering heat, Sharks had the upper hand for most of the early exchanges but saw several efforts thwarted by the RAB custodian or the woodwork. In the 25th minute, the breakthrough finally came when good work from Graeme released Andreas who delivered a pinpoint cross from the right for the unmarked Heng Li to head home the opener. Sharks continued to press on as Harold was causing all sorts of problems down the left wing while the trusted centre midfield pairing of Graeme & Jiayong were directing play comfortably. Just before halftime, Muru found space down the left and squared for Graeme to smash a first time effort to the top corner to give a 2-0 lead.

In the second half, changes were ringed in to freshen up the squad as Brendan, Jason, Yus, Yi Quan, Richie, Kit & Adjie took their places. A tame ball by Yi Quan was misjudged by the RAB defender and with Muru breathing down his neck, he played a short back pass which was gleefully intercepted by the India speedster who tapped the ball into the bottom corner for a 3-0 lead. Despite the score line, RAB FC never gave up and was duly rewarded when a surging run from their striker caught the Sharks napping as they pulled a goal back. As the unforgiving heat started to take its toll on players, Jeremy continued to make substitutions to bring in fresh legs as the Sharks saw out the remainder of the game.

The caretaker manager was delighted with his first game in charge as his charges played some neat football, scored 3 goals and tested the St Wilfred woodworks 5 times. With this win as well as Andernese’s draw with VNNTU, Sharks cemented a top 3 finish and remained in pole position for 2nd spot which will ensure automatic promotion. All eyes are now on the mouth watering clash between Andernese & Barclays who will lock horns just before the final Sharks game with DHL, both games to be played at Meridien JC at 11am & 1pm respectively.