Central Park v RCOB

The Sharks returned to their usual hunting ground at Serangoon Secondary for their encounter with local side RCOB, intent on extending their winning streak. There were only 4 changes made to the starting eleven for this encounter. Amran regaining back his position in goal, Ramun coming in for Sarhan who had to miss the game due to personal commitments, Andrew returning to spearhead the attack and Brendan who has been moved to the Sharks second team. His replacements came in the form of debutant Graeme, who touched down on Saturday.

Play was scrappy for the first few minutes of the game, with both sides trying to gain control of the game. When the Sharks do get their opening, it was often foiled by a stout RCOB defence. Andrew was first to have a sniff on goal but his shot was pulled wide. With a congested midfield, the Sharks began to utilise the outlets via Graeme and Raymond but their crosses were often off the mark, by the lack of support from the trio of Azman, Danial and Jeremy. Just when RCOB began to settle down, Sharks drew first blood courtesy of Azman off a nice touch from Andrew. The former made no mistake from close range after RCOB were left stranded. Andrew would have increased the scoreline shortly afterwards after a perfect cross from Raymond found him in space but the crossbar denied him. However the disappointment was short-lived after he got his name twice in the space of 10 minutes. Sharks were controlling the tempo of the game with the third goal and they would have increased it if not for some astute defending from the visiting side. RCOB conjured attack of their own but the Sharks defence stood their ground and chances were minimal for the team in white. The Sharks fans was perturbed shortly afterwards after their team chief striker Andrew signaled to the bench to be substituted, complaining of sudden dizziness.  The change affected the Sharks play with no target-man to aim for. The ever impressive Danial was then given the task to spearhead the Sharks attack and he immediately replied with a sublime finish after Azman's pass broke the offside trap.

Shortly afterwards, Sharks speedy winger Din made full use of his pace to punish RCOB sloppy pass to score his first ever goal for the Sharks. Just when both teams were anticipating the end of the first half, a long pass from RCOB defence caught Ramun and Salihin off guard and a lurking RCOB forward burst through the defence. Amran was caught in the chase for the loose ball but the RCOB forward was first to it. His lob however was subsequently denied by Salihin but while the fans thought that he managed to redeem his mistake, the referee Mr Ganesan was perfectly placed and adjudged the Sharks defender to have used his hand to stop the ball from going into the net. Anticipating a clear sending off incidence, sound mind from the referee meant that Salihin only escaped with a yellow card and a stern warning. RCOB however was not to be denied as they scored from the penalty spot with a cleanly struck shot, leaving Amran no chance.

Despite the massive scoreline at the break, the Sharks were reminded to keep their shape. Andrew returned back to the lineup at the start of the second-half. But despite fears that it was unwise to do so, he added another goal to his tally 10 minutes from the restart. The Sharks manager then made a couple of changes to the team with the comfortable lead. A couple of chances fell for the Sharks to increase their lead but they were often denied by RCOB defence who was rather comfortable dealing with crosses from the left and right. The best chance fell for debutant Graeme after a crisp cross from another debutant Terence. However the former fluffed his chance. The best play of the game however came shortly afterwards when new boy that goes by the name of Boon did an ala 'Ronaldo' at full speed not once but twice to the cheers of the home fans. He almost got his name to the score-sheet but RCOB custodian was there to deny his glorious debut. Just when the crowd thought that there were no further goals, it came off a corner from Raymond. Hazli was there to connect his cross with a rather unconventional finish. Azman added another after beating a tiring RCOB defence. The goal of the game came from Andrew when an innocuous miscued shot somehow slipped through the hands of the RCOB goalkeeper. However the goalscorer insisted that he meant the shot after game.

With the win, the Sharks kept pace with their preparations for their tournament. Their next match will prove to be a stern test against Japanese side FC Nippon.