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The backdrop of this game was none other than the impressive Marina Bay Floating Platform or better known as 'The Float' as Sharks prepares for their second game of the new season and their 3rd meeting against Matador FC where they recorded a 2-0 win and a 2-2 draw thus the team were looking for a very close game against familiar opposition. Central Park however took full points for their 2nd consecutive game as they notched a laborious 3-1 win against Matador with a double from Isaac before Jason ensured the win with a 3rd goal after Matador looked to be clawing back into the game with 10 minutes to go.
Sharks made 2 changes to the starting eleven with trialist Jeff taking over Jeffrey who missed out on the game while Harold regain back his place in the wings, taking over Ian Jones from last weekend game. The match started as brightly as the scorching weather for Sharks with several composed passing in the middle and in defense but against the run of play, Zhuoneng conceded a penalty much to the disgust of his manager on the sideline; however Matador failed to take full advantage of the resulting penalty when they shot wide of Aaron's post. At the other end, Sharks kept the pressure with Harold causing a lot of problems down the wings. The best opportunity came when the tricky winger manage to cut inside the box but he failed to beat the custodian in his near post; though a layoff for Isaac at the other end would have put his team a goal up. Nonetheless, it didn't take long for Sharks to break a static Matador's defense when new boy Jeff freed Heng Li off the right wing and the latter placing a delicious cross for Isaac to head home from six yards.
Over the course of the half, Matador created a couple opportunities of their own and their best opportunity fell when they broke the offside trap minutes to the break but Anuar recovered well to cut off the danger with probably a match saving tackle. As the game wore on, there were a couple of opportunities that fell to Graeme, Isaac and Chris but they failed to increase their team's lead though Harold came closest with a scorching drive off a freekick which crashed the bar and into safety.
The record turnout meant that changes were aplenty particularly in defense but it didn't take that long for Sharks to increase their lead. Ian Ong produced yet another impressive performance as he unselfishly laid off for Isaac's second goal of the game with the simplest of tap-in in an open net. The goal put Sharks off the gas a little while the manager continued making several changes in order for the team to experience the playing venue. Matador took full advantage of that as they begin to dictate play in the last 20 minutes of the half and they got rewarded when they broke Sharks poor defense line to break free and the opposition player had no problems beating Aaron on a one-on-one.
The goal seemed to put the pressure on the team as Matador pushed more man forward to grab a point. Jason however had other ideas as he came up yet again with one of his speciality, turning his man inside out in the area and rifling his shot at the bottom right corner to regain his team's two goal cushion. That seemed to deflate Matador's spirit as Sharks finished off the game controlling the proceedings to ensure that they kept their lead and points.
The manager conceded after the game, 'Jason's goal came at a crucial time for the team as Matador's was on the upswing while we slackened off a little. We were pretty solid in the first half and were unlucky to concede a penalty so early in the game. If that had gone in, it would have change the nature of the game.
The manager added, 'It's rare for the team to have so many turnouts thus somehow over the course of the game, we just lost some shape. Nonetheless, it was a good team performance though a cleansheet would have made the victory all the more sweeter.
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