Benedetto United

2

vs

Central Park

4

Central Park kicked off the New Year by proceeding to the Second Round of the FA Cup after notching a 4-2 victory over Benedetto United at Bowen Secondary School on Sunday. Murugesan put the Sharks ahead in the 1st half but Benedetto level the game shortly after the restart and were on their way to an upset after they took the lead 1-2. Nonetheless, Sharks moved up a gear to level the game and score two more goals just before full-time for the victory with further goals from Murugesan, Harold and Heng Li.

The yearly first game jittery were all to be seen as Sharks took the field against Benedetto with the latter showing more zest and purpose as they pegged Sharks in their own half. Sharks on the other hand were unable to compose themselves as they failed to string any meaningful passes in the final third. It was against the run of play when Central Park took the lead with Murugesan whizzing his way against almost the entire Benedetto defense to finish with aplomb. That somehow settled the Sharks but nonetheless, the opposition keep their pace and tempo against the rather lethargic Sharks as the finish the first half with a slender 1-0 lead.

The second half started with a string of changes as Sharks look to consolidate their lead and at the same time, providing some playing time for most of the players in view of the start of league proper next week. On came the likes of Jeffrey, Zhuoneng, Harold, Naoki, Christopher and Steven for the restart. Benedetto however started the 2nd half in similar style pegging the Sharks into their own half and the soon made headway when Vincent conceded a free-kick just outside the box. The opposition level the game from the resulting freekick leaving Michael in goal catching thin air. With the handicap of the FA Cup, Sharks knew that a draw would not do them any good and begin to take some authority in the game. Just when they were getting their feet into the game, Benedetto took the lead off a corner. Things could have been worse shortly afterwards when a misunderstanding between Michael and Christopher almost resulted in a calamitous 3rd goal but the latter managed to put his foot in for a last ditch tackle, resulting in him being substituted by Yi Quan.

With Sharks trailing by a single goal, they moved a gear up with a reshuffle of their attack with Heng Li coming in and Naoki and Harold being pushed wide. That seemed to add more attacking impetus as Harold almost instantly level the game when Murugesan found the winger with a slid-rule pass on the right. That said, Benedetto make a change to their custodian and that seemed to change the opposition's fortune when Murugesan almost handed the incoming custodian a nightmarish start when he was faced in a one-on-one situation. Nonetheless, the forward shot high and wide with that glorious opportunity. Shortly afterwards, Murugesan level the game when some slack defending allow the forward to run into the box and finish from the tiniest of angle, 2-2. Harold made it 3-2 moments later when some great work from Heng Li found the onrushing Harold on the right. The winger needed no second invitation to finish from close range. The goal seemed to deflate the opposition's spirit as they conceded yet another after the custodian failed to hold on to the ball and Heng Li sneaked it to finish from close range, the goal summing up a disastorous substitution from the opposition with the impressive custodian earlier who have kept the Sharks at bay for most of the game.

The manager commented, 'The first game after a long break was definitely a recipe for disaster every season and this was no different.