|
Central Park kicked off 2012 in the most auspicious manner possible with a thumping 4-0 victory over British Exiles to march towards the League Cup quarter-final with fellow Division 3 FC MYK awaiting them for the clash.
Sharks were on a 4 games winless streak coming into the game and while the manager have never taken any cup matches seriously, this was probably the perfect game for his charges to start the year on a good note. The team lined up with an unfamiliar looking backline with Mizan starting at right-back while Aaron took his position in-between the post. There was no place for Heng Li on the starting line-up as the manager look towards having a physical presence upfront with Jasdeep favored to partner Isaac.
The early showers in the morning made the pitch greasy with action going from one side to another. Sharks took the lead after just 18 minutes when Isaac beat the offside trap after a lovely pass from Brendan. The former could have given his team the lead earlier on but his header just missed the target by inches. The lead gave Sharks confidence to stroke the ball confidently but the final pass left much to be desired. The best opportunity for Sharks to double their lead fell to Mizan who made a good one-two exchange with Jason but his shot missed the target by miles.
The second half started with several changes notably in defense as the manager opted to rest the trio of Vinc, Charlson and Mizan. The half barely kicked off when it had to be stopped abruptly after a head injury forced Chris to be substituted and sent to the hospital. That didn't seemed to dampen the Sharks spirits as Isaac double his tally and his team's lead after Brendan made an instant impact coming back into the game. Shortly afterwards, Isaac completed his hat-trick when Ryan's thru-pass found the burly striker bearing down on goal and he made no mistake from close range; with only the custodian to beat.
Heng Li completed the rout when he scored the best goal of the game; a chip against the onrushing custodian after a long punt by Harold. A goal that has been the dimunitive forward trademark over the year. British Exiles didn't have an answer but they almost scored a consolation right at the end of the game after a poor backpass from Vinc put Aaron in no man's land.
The manager said, 'It wasn't vintage but we managed to end the run of bad games over the past couple of months. It was a much needed win considering that morale would be affected if the bad run that we have been experiencing continues.
He added, 'Chris injury wasn't as bad as we thought it was but he still needed 10 stitches from the collision. It's quite 50-50 if he would be available for this coming weekend's game. |
