Central Park v Cool Joes

Sharks finally made their debut in the Clementeers League against Cool Joes in Orchid Park after having their last weekend match postponed due to bad weather. The start of the game came as a surprise for team captain Jeremy when Cool Joes presented the team with a fine gesture in the form of a bottle of Shiraz to mark Sharks debut.

After the exchange of formalities, both teams started the game fiercely to gain the upper-hand in the opening exchanges. Slowly the Sharks gain momentum with a couple of chances but it didn't trouble the Joe's defence. The fact was that both teams had trouble acclimatising to the length of the field which is shorter and both teams had to bypass the midfield which is cramped to the max. Sharks has the better of the exchanges in the first half but were unable to break the opposition's stubborn defence. Heng Li and Ryan however had a couple of chances to put the Sharks in the lead but fluffed their chances. Li however managed to nick a goal just before half-time but he was adjudged to have handled the ball and ultimately the goal was disallowed. Second-half started with Joes taking the initiative to the Sharks and with several lanky players in their ranks, it seems that set-pieces would be their main attacking ploy but Aaron were alert to any dangers and came out tops. Both team had a couple of chances to take full points but Sharks came closest with Kelvin rocking the crossbar from outside the area after a goalmouth melee. In the end, it was a fair result for both teams which were deprived of any clear-cut chances.

Sharks however were not too disappointed with the result as the team gets into gear for the long season ahead. It was evident that the 2 weeks layoff had its effects on the team which resulted in some wayward passing and almost everytime, the Sharks were just a foot slower than the opposition. In the end, the match was viewed a a point gained rather than 2 points lost.