Central Park

4

vs

FC Socheaux

2

Three penalties, 1 missed, 2 red cards, a hat-trick and 6 goals summed up what an explosive match between Central Park and FC Socheaux was as it unfolded at Marsiling Secondary. However the key highlight of the game put the man in black in the spotlight as both teams were at the end of some puzzling refereeing decisions which somehow stoke the flames in the game. Despite that, Sharks went on about their game to notch their 3rd victory with a 4-2 win against bottom-placed FC Socheaux with Harold Ho making amends from his 2nd minute penalty miss to notch a hat-trick.

Central Park welcomed back a couple of faces for the game as they looked intent to consolidate their start of the season with the likes of Harold Ho, Isaac Mong and Aaron Huang coming back into contention for the match's selection. However their return was a welcome sight as Sharks were missing a couple of wingers for the game with Girish, Naoki and Andreas out for the game. The game kicked off at a frantic pace but with the match just 2 minutes old, they were awarded a penalty when the opposition handled a throw-in inside the box. Up step Harold with a swagger but his resulting penalty was disappointing as he missed the target completely. That set the game up as FC Socheaux played with renewed vigor with their good build-up and close quarters play in the middle of the park. However, they were left to rue a gap in the back as Heng Li took full advantage of their first attack when he chipped the onrushing custodian and the forward made sure of the goal as he strutted the ball calmly into the open net. That put the Sharks up as FC Socheaux look to regroup in the game. A couple of corners at the Sharks end almost resulted in goal but Michael was quick to push the ball over his net. At the other end, Sharks seemed to be lacking any real impetus in attack as they were pegged back for most periods in the half. Just like the opener, FC Socheaux was hit yet again in Sharks second attack on paper. Graeme winning the ball in one of the few occasions in the first half and he found Harold lurking on the left. The winger wasted no time to bring the ball into the box as he made amends to give his team a 2-0 lead from the narrowest of angle. Things took the turn for the better as FC Socheaux failed to clear their lines 4 minutes later as Harold smashed a half-volley in a crowded area to give his team a commanding 3-0 lead as they held on till half-time.

The second half started with FC Socheaux looking the hungrier side and they were duly rewarded when they were presented with a golden opportunity to reduce the deficit from the spot which they took full advantage to bring the score to 3-1. That seemed to put the opposition's in an overdrive as they poured forward particularly on the right side. Nonetheless, they were caught yet again with some lovely interchange of plays between Isaac and Harold with the latter completing his hat-trick in the 66th minute. He could have added a few more before that but he failed to connect to some wonderful thru passes off Heng Li. On the other hand, the drama kept being unfolded as Charlson were adjudged to have brought his man down in the box, a call which was puzzling. With a yellow card over his head in the first half, the stopper were flashed his second and duly left the field for his marching orders. FC Socheaux converted the resulting penalty as the looked to come back against the 10 man Sharks. Despite the numerical advantage, Sharks held their own and parity was restored 10 minutes later when their defender received their marching orders for a 2nd bookable offence. With the win in the bag, Sharks played out the final minutes of the game with ease as they collected all 3 points.

The manager commented, 'It was a good performance but definitely not a classic and especially worrying is how we fail to dictate any momentum in midfield. However the highlight was definitely the poor refereeing who we have personally highlighted a couple of times but till now, it's amazing that he is still officiating league games.