Barbarians

3

vs

Central Park

2

Central Park rue the opportunity to go 3 victories on the trot when their run was abruptly halted by leaders Barbarians at Temasek Secondary on Sunday. The opposition took a 2-1 lead at half-time and went on to go 3-1 in the second half before some strong plays by Sharks got them to 2-3. However a glut of opportunities in front of goal which were not capitalised by the boys in yellow allowed the opposition to held on for maximum points in their run-up to consolidate their position.

Sharks started the game knowing that a victory would mean a step closer to safety as they looked to dent the leaders run-up towards the end of the season. Both teams started the game confidently stroking the ball and keeping possession in the middle of the park with Graeme and Steven marshalling in midfield. Barbarians on the other hand look dangerous on the right making it their focal point of attack and it was no surprise that they went to take the lead off a cross from the right in the 13th minute, Sharks clearly given the runaround in their box. The lead didn't last long as on the other end, a quick exchange of passes between Harold and Heng Li allowed the latter to catch the opposition's custodian off his line to make the game leveled. With the game even, Sharks had to rue a couple of opportunities on the break with Nigel and Harold missing from 10 yards on two occasions. Barbarians on the other hand were looking ever so dangerous with dead ball situations but their goal before the break somehow summed up Sharks season as its defense were caught asleep to allow Barbarians to sneak in their 2nd goal just before the break, much to the fury of Sharks manager on the sideline.

The second half started with Sharks trying to get back into the game but Barbarians took full advantage of a lapse of concentration from Jermiah from an innocusous clearance as they took the lead to 3-1. That goal seemed dead and buried but Sharks continued to solder on and got their reward when Isaac was on hand to connect with the slightest of touch to guide Nigel's cross into the net to make the score 2-3. It was all Sharks at this point while Barbarians still look ever dangerous on the ball particularly in the middle of the park. On the other end, Sharks had no less than 3 chances created by some nifty exchanges between Heng Li and Harold but the finishing left much to be desired as Isaac missed a glut of chances in the last 20 minutes of the game. Nigel had his piledriver came off the bar as Sharks rue the opportunities which were missed as they dropped all 3 points in the encounter.

The manager commented, 'With the team's participation in the IWL confirmed, it's disappointing when we still make school boy errors in the back. On the other hand, we knew that in the division, you will be punished for not taking your chances and this was one of those days. Isaac could have netted at least 2 of those opportunities on any given day but this just wasn't it.'