FC Gila Galactico

0

vs

Central Park

4

Sharks needed 2 points from their final 2 games to assure themselves of a playoff place and they did it without the need to kick the ball, courtesy of the opposition fielding a suspended player in the form of Hasni Kassim who was supposed to sit out of the game in the return fixture against the Sharks after having cited for the first round of games with unsportsmanlike behaviour. Nonetheless, Sharks soldered on and did it with style as they romp past FC Gila Galactico 4-0 with 2 goals from Murugesan who suffered the unfortunate incident of fracturing his shoulder and breaking his finger in the first tie and Kay Hwee scoring a stupendous goal and Aaron having one out of sheer class.

The boys didn't have the best of news earlier before the game when they heard news that the team will be missing the likes of Vincent, Naoki, Charlson, Zhuoneng among the slew of players who will be missing the game. With only Yi Quan and Jeffrey among the familiar face in the backline, Jeremy Lee and Jaleel had to step up to take central position in the game. The opposition however took the game to the Sharks when they almost instantly put the Sharks on the backfoot as the duo of Jeremy and Jaleel tried to get their feet into the game. The ever dangerous but petulance Galactico forward was always dangerous but the new defensive duo managed to snuff out any dangerous opportunities he carved out on his own. Murugesan who was having an indifferent game however gave his team the lead after 24 minutes when Aaron managed to put him thru on goal and he didn't made any mistake on a one-on-one situation. That seemed to give the rest of his teammates a much need boost as they managed to tear the opposition apart and with Heng Li and Stefan playing in unfamiliar roles in the centre of midfield, they did admirably well to get the attacks going at the other end and were soon rewarded when Jaleel, revelling in his stopper role freed Kay Hwee on the left and the dimunitive winger pounced forward and shot past an unstoppable effort in the near post to give his team a comfortable 2 goal lead. At the other end, Galactico petulant forward was still fuming on his lack on chances and protection from the referee which in any case, was waved aside but his constant petulance didn't go unnoticed as he was booked near the end of the half with his team trailing 0-2.

The 2nd half however was similar to the Sharks last game as they managed to increased the lead to 3-0 when Kay Hwee found Murugesan lurking and the latter managed to finish with a cool placement. This time round, Sharks managed to contain the opposition with the defensive quartet particularly Jeffrey who was intent to ensure the win. The quick fullback was covering every blade of the artificial turf in this game and on numerous occasions, managed to keep his team's lead intact and in the second-half, he was just fantastic as he put his body and mind into the game to ensure that his team ended victorious. Just 11 minutes into the 2nd half, the game was dead and buried when Aaron latched on Stefan's header and with the goalkeeper no where near his line, the forward put one over his head with a touch of pure class. That seemed to put the groove into Shark's play as they tried to increase their lead. The opposition however had one glorious opportunity but Michael came up tops when called upon with a fantastic save among the sea of defenders. Sharks had opportunities to increase their lead but poor finishing let them down but when the final whistle came, the 3 points mattered.

The manager commented, 'We needed two points and we did the job here without even kicking the ball. The season has been one that have its ups and down with players going down injured for a long period but we are hopeful that we will provide a stern challenge for the next season. First up though is to ensure that we gain promotion in the playoffs.