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Sharks threw away a two goal lead at half-time to allow familiar rivals Barclays Capital to draw 3-3, perhaps the unpredictability of the Jabulani ball, courtesy from Barclays summed up the Jerkyll and Hyde performance for the boys in yellow as Central Park ran the boys from Barclays ragged in the first half while Barclays came back strongly against a poor Sharks performance in the second-half.
After a stop and start to Season 13, Sharks were back in the league and their opponents for this encounter were the familiar sight of Barclays. Central Park were looking to build on a good result against FC Venom on their last league outing and everything seemed to go accordingly to script when a low cross driven by Srikant on the right were bundled in by Heng Li after just 12 minutes. However, Barclays came back strongly to draw level shortly afterwards. In the 20th minute, Heng Li gave his team the lead again when he caught the custodian off his line and he completed his hat-trick two minutes later. 3-1 up and Barclays were rocked as Sharks continued to build on the score. Nonetheless, they squandred a couple of opportunities with Murugesan missing no less than 3 clear chances, which was to prove crucial in the second half. In defense, Sharks were rock solid after conceding a goal with Jaleel and Charlson forming a formidable line against countless Barclays attack. Just before half-time, Graeme had a glorious opportunity to put the game in the bag but his tame shot was easily gathered by the opposition custodian who somewhat began to gain his composure as the game wore on.
A couple of chances were made during half-time which could possibly prove crucial as it left a big gap between midfield and attack as Barclays looked to take control the middle of the park and they made their posession count in the opening minutes to pull a goal back. The goal seemed to provide the opposition with added impetus while Sharks could not get a grip of the game. Midway in the second-half, Barclays level the score with some quick thinking while Sharks defense fell asleep. They could have taken the lead on a number of occasions but Micheal, when called upon were up to the task.
Sharks introduced Heng Li and Murugesan for the final 15 minutes but the latter's finishing were disappointing, missing no less than 4 chances since his introduction despite being one of Sharks dangerous man in the match. Harold had the best opportunity to seal all 3 points in the final Sharks play when a cross from Srikant found him at the far post but his tame shot was yet again easily gathered by the custodian. Both teams ended the game 3-3, a result which could have gone either way, just like how the Jabulani showed both teams how unpredictable the ball could be.
The manager commented, 'The game could have gone either way in the second half. However, the way we are missing opportunities in the first half was a cause for concern. Second half, we just didn't turn up and allow Barclays to rein themselves back in. The forwards have to make the opportunities we created count or we will be punished in future tight games.
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