Central Park

vs

Hougang Sports Club

2

0

Central Park scored a historic 2-0 win over Hougang Sports Club at Clementi Stadium last night albeit fortuitously as Heng Li took full advantage of two defensive errors by the visitors, one via a bad clearance and the other after the opposition custodian were caught in no man’s land against the run of play in the first half. Sharks then had to endure waves and waves of attack for the remainder of the game but they stood firm to ensure that the night belong to the Sharks. The team however had to ponder on the starting eleven with several players nursing niggling injuries. Nonetheless, Ryan were provided an opportunity to prove his fitness on a thigh strain but it was decided that it was too risky for him to play any part in the game which proved correct after it was revealed earlier today that he has a slight muscle tear. His replacement however was a surprise to many in the team.

Sharks started the game nervously with several passes which went astray but they got the break they wanted in the 15^th min when a protruding pass from Zul were cleared badly and Li made a dash towards goal before holding off a defender and beating the custodian from close range. Hougang forays upfront after the setback should have been rewarded with an equaliser after Shahrilnizam was beaten and only to be denied by the crossbar. Li however added another against the run of play when the custodian was caught outside the box and Li made sure of his second of the night with a neat finish. However the second goal didn’t dampen Hougang as they threw everything they had for the rest of the first half but were often denied by an outstanding Sanhaji who were in total control of his defenders. When they did managed to break the defensive barrier on several occasions, they found Shahrilnizam who was in fine form in goal hard to beat.

The second-half started with Hougang bringing in their big guns that ran Westridge ragged in their first match and they dominated play for the remainders of the game but were unable to find the break-thru. The closest they came was a mad scramble after Sharks failed to clear a corner in the dying moments of the game but sheer hard-work meant that Sharks consolidated their position to grab maximum points.

The manager commented, ‘In terms of sheer hard-work, they boys deserved to win the game and it definitely shows in the dying moments of the game when most of them are still running their socks off. On the other hand, we didn’t play as well as we could and I take it just as first match nerves. The statistics doesn’t lie. We didn’t have any corners for the whole night as compared to 8 for Hougang. Nonetheless, it was a sweet victory and one to remember for a very long time.’