'What a comeback!' That summed up the end-to-end International's game against Afifi United at Cantonment on Sunday when they came back from 2-0 down at one point of the game to notch a 3-2 win, with Naoki grabbing the winner worthy to win any game with 10 minutes to go.
The team knew the task at hand and they were intent to keep up the good work they have done the past 3 games as they look to reverse their 1-3 loss against today's opposition. But Sharks soon found themselves a goal down two minutes into the game as Sharks custodian Amin made a hash of a routine catch to give the opposition an early lead. The goal though didn't hinder Sharks spirit as they conjure up attacks of their own with Soerensen the architect and Robert the enforcer in the middle. One such opportunity found Naoki bursting into Afifi's penalty area after beating 3 defenders but his finishing was disappointing. Shortly afterwards, Richard was convinced he got the equaliser but it was ruled offside after the referee adjudged Iskandar to be interfering with play when the ball had clearly went over the line without his intervention. As Sharks were still rueing about the decision, they were hit by a sucker punch when Jerry lost sight of his man and his low cross found his frontman for an easy touch into goal right at the half-hour mark. At this point, it looked like a point of no return for Sharks against a team who is so comfortable on the ball but two minutes later, they were given a glimmer of hope when Robert's freekick found Vynesh who make his first touch after coming on count by flicking the freekick into the path of Sorensen who headed into the net to reduce the deficit as Sharks go into the break 1 goal down.
The goal just before the break brought up the spirits of the team for the second half particularly with Robert and Jorgensen egging the team on. With Afifi intent to hold their line and relying of their fast breaks, Sharks gain the upperhand as they literally camped in the opposition half in search of the equaliser but the team were often let down by their lack of ideas in the final third as the opposition repelled attack after attack. Half chances fell to the likes of Richard and Iskandar but they were either off target or ended up as a feeble attempt at goal. Just when everything looked gloomy for the team, Jason 'The Birdman' who only came on midway into the second-half due to a tight hamstring came up with the equaliser, planting a shot at the bottom corner of the far post with 15 minutes remaining. The equaliser meant that it was going to be which team wanted to win the game badly as action came fast and furious from each end. As Afifi were still coming to terms with the equaliser, Iskandar could have gave Sharks the lead for the first time in the game when he met Soerensen's cross with a header which beat the custodian but he was denied by the post.
With their tails up, Sharks began to put pressure against Afifi's defense and with 10 minutes to go, Naoki came up with a fantastic winner. Collecting a ball in the middle, he beat two men before unleashing an unstoppable scorcher from outside the box into the top left hand corner to the delight of his team who celebrated his winner. But it wasn't over as Afifi were forced to come out of their shell in search of an equaliser. They had 2 opportunities at the end but poor finishing meant that the Sharks comeback were complete as they grabbed all 3 points.
The delighted manager said after the game, 'It was a team effort at its best. Despite going two goals down, the boys never let their heads down and continued playing as a team. Though we would have settled for a draw, Naoki's winner is worthy to win any games.'
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