Bukit Rangers v Central Park

The first game of the year was against Bukit Rangers which the Sharks lost comprehensively 2-6 in the club first ever match in June 2003. While the Sharks ended victorious this time round, it provided higher significance to the management as it acts as a gauge on how well the team has progressed since that humiliating defeat.

The Sharks started strongly between the two teams with particularly Suhaimi, Mike and Farhhad proving to be a constant thorn towards the opponent defence. However, most of the exchanges were in the middle of the park with both teams trying to gain foothold in midfield. With the return of Adzmi after a long layoff, the Sharks midfield held on and came on top for most of the first half, ably supported by Azman and the diminutive Razali. The backline which made up of Sidik, Hidir, Sarhan and Kelvin proved to be a tough nut to crack over the past few games including this one, with the opponents reduced to long punt upfield. The addition of Sidik provided a calming presence and new signing Kelvin appears to be making the right-back role his own after some stout display in his last game against Marseille and this time round. The first chance of the game fell to Suhaimi which he should have buried it if he held his composure. Instead he skied his shot, opting for power rather than placement with only the goalie to beat. Azman and Michael continued to test out the custodian with a number of shots over the half but to no avail. Perhaps the match was best remembered as the battle of 2 custodians. The best save from the opposition keeper was when Azman vicious grounder was miraculously saved after being put through by Farhhad instinctive through ball. Sharks keeper Yusri who was reveling in his new position for this season were not to be outdone by making a point blank save from a shot off a corner. While both teams were eagerly waiting for the half-time whistle to blow, a long punt deceive Hidir and he allowed the opponent to have a free rein on the right flank. Despite Sarhan falling back to cover the gaping hole left by Hidir, the opponent managed to squeeze his cross to find his unmarked team-mates and allowed his team to take the lead against the run of play. With time running out for the first half, Sharks went on a last attack of the half with Razali bursting on the left and was brought down unfairly right outside the box. The resulting free-kick taken by Adzmi found Azman who chested the ball nicely for Michael to smash past the custodian to level the score just before half-time.

With the score tied at 1-1 in the second-half, both teams tried to exploit each other's weaknesses. As the game wore on, Suhaimi was again left to rue his luck when he cleverly lob the ball past the stranded keeper only to see the ball hit the crossbar. Nawi which replaced Michael at half-time was denied too when his volley was palmed away at close range. The match looked to be headed for a draw after Azman did everything right by beating 2 men and side footed the keeper on to shoot wide. As time were running out, the Sharks continued to press forward. Azman's numerous cross found no one at the box. It was during one of his jinking runs on the right that found Nawi who slotted the ball home with 10mins remaining. Azman rounded off a good outing for him when he placed his shot nicely to the bottom left hand corner after breaking the offside trap for the first time and ultimately brought victory to the Sharks for their first game of the year. Die-hard fans Mr Anwar were jubilant with the victory as he cited it was sweet revenge after he was humiliated by the opponents fans during the team last encounter. This time, he got the last laugh.

After the match, the manager said that 'Perhaps a draw would be a fair result for both teams as the game was really tight. In fact, the Sharks could have been punished for missing several clear cut chances.' The manager was full of praise specially for Michael for bringing the side level despite going down late in the first half and for keeping his 100% scoring record intact and at the same time praised the concentration of his side and maintaining their patience throughout the game.