Central Park v Italians

With 7 players dropped from the starting lineup in this encounter, Sharks were intent on putting the record straight that a much tighter line-up would prove a match for the experienced Italians, who was taking a 2 weeks break from their league. Jeremy who was featured in their last match were given another outing to prove his worth while Najib was handed a debut at left-back. The return of regulars Farhhad and Adzmi provided a much needed flair in the middle of the park. Surprisingly, Shawn was dropped from the starting line-up and was replaced by Zul, who have almost been deployed in various position this season. The striking duo of Michael and Suhaimi kept their respective places while Marzuki, Daniel, Hidir, Din, Zaidi and Rudi was dropped. The Sharks took the stage with a 3-5-2 formation for the first time and it proved that their intentions were to cut off the supply to Italians dangerous strike-force of Puccini and the big and burly Mike. It definitely paid off when the duo were reduced to half chances for the duration of the game and were constantly being denied by tight marking of Azman and Irman. The first chance of the game fell to out-of-form Suhaimi who broke the offside trap but only managed to shoot straight into the arms of the custodian. Zul was called into action slightly later when Orlando tried to chip the ball after he came off his line but got back in time to save the blushes for his debut in goal. Sensing that the Sharks custodian were quite inexperienced, Puccini almost put his side ahead when his team was rewarded with a free-kick just outside of the penalty area. His sweetly struck shot was duly saved by Zul yet again, making him more confident as the match wore on. With a touch of luck however, the boys in yellow got the lead they thoroughly deserved by putting the Italians defence in constant pressure when Farhhad's corner was headed in by Cavaliere after being pressurized.

The Sharks were unlucky not to go 2 goals up later when Nawi and Mike missed their chance respectively. Time and time again, the team were reminded that against any experienced side, the team will be punished for not taking their chances. Puccini struck against the run of play when debutant Najib misread the offside trap and he leveled the score with a nicely placed shot beating Zul at his near post to end the first-half dreadlocked at half-time. In the second-half, the Sharks fans were treated to something they were surprised to see when Michael kicked a dustbin after missing a sitter. However he made up for his earlier miss when he scores his second goal of the season to put his team in the lead. Italians immediately got their act together and were unlucky not to level the score shortly when Zul just tipped the ball from an inswinging corner. He was again called into action when he misjudged a bounce to save just off his line. At the other end, Suhaimi ended his night of misery when he finally slotted his 1st goal of the season after having several glaring misses. Azman made sure the Sharks ended up victors this time when he slotted the Sharks fourth goal of the encounter. Puccini managed to grabbed a consolation just before the end of the match. When the Sharks were queried on to whether this was the Sharks best eleven, he declined comment but maintained that the changes this week certainly did improve the side. He added 'The additions of Najib provided the stability of the defence this time round but as always, we will change the line-up on every match so that everyone gets a chance.' With team Marina Country Club coming up next for the Sharks, the fans will be hoping that the line-up remains unchanged.