Madcats United

3

vs

Central Park

3

Sharks let slip whatever slim chance they have to finish among the top 2 when they collapsed in the match against their old rivals Madcats United on Saturday. Finishing the half with a goal each from Heng Li and Murugesan, Stefan provided the killer pass to Heng Li in the second half as the latter increased his team lead to 3-0. The 3 points looked a certainty till Charlson got himself sent off when he brought down his opposite number in the box shortly afterwards as they narrow the deficit from the spot. That seemed to prove a killer blow to the team already missing a couple of defenders for the encounter as Madcats ran the show for the remainder of the half to share the spoils.

Heng Li lead the team in the scorching Saturday afternoon with the Sharks looking for maximum points to put pressure on the top 2 teams and to give themselves a slim chance to finish among the top 2. With almost half the team missing from the starting lineup, it doesn't look rosy from the sidelines as Madcats managed to control the opening exchanges and were rewarded with a couple of corners. As the game wore on, it was the boys in yellow who was dictating the game with Murugesan particularly a thorn in the opposition defense. As the game swung from end to end, it was Sharks who struck the first blow when Hassan, with ample space on the left found Murugesan lurking in the box and the former pin-point cross found Murugesan who have the easiest of opportunity to tap the ball into goal as he celebrated his return from his unfortunate layoff. That seemed to settle the game down as Sharks look to increase their lead and leaving Madcats trying to find their feet in the game. Captain Heng Li however ensured that his team go into the break with a comfortable lead when he headed in a cross on the right from Azri, which suprised many on the sidelines considering his lack of height for the stocky forward.

The second half started with minimal changes as Jason took his place in favour of Hassan while Kit made way for Lucky. Only 3 minutes have passed in the second-half before Heng Li gave his team a commanding 3 goal lead when Stefan trickery found Heng Li just outside the area and the forward chose placement rather than power as the ball found the bottom right corner. Sharks were cruising at this point and with several players warming up on the sidelines to take their place in the team, the team were staring at playing the remainder of the half with 10 man when Charlson floored his man in the box shortly after the restart, a situation which with his abundance of experience should have never happen. Leading comfortably and then giving away a goal and playing a man down in the scorching Saturday sun was never a good idea. Madcats reduced the deficit from the spot and the comeback from the sleeping cats looked to be on the cards and Sharks pulled whatever resources they have from the bench to plug the gap in defense. The fact was, Sharks didn't have any to call upon from the bench as they struggled to contain innocuous ball from the opposition. Before long, it was 3-2 when yet again a ball from the top somehow eluded everyone in defense while some just watch in amazement. At the other end, Sharks were unlucky not to recapture their 2 goal cushion when Kay Hwee and Azri missed from just six yards. The comeback was complete when Madcats equalised with 5 minutes on the clock left and they were unlucky not to capture all 3 points near the end when Michael pulled off a block blank save in an one-on-one encounter. For the Sharks, it was a game which they could have comfortably won.

The manager said after the game, 'It's disappointing to let slip away such a game.