Rosebowl v Central Park

The match which was postponed twice before today was finally given the go-ahead after match officials deemed the pitch playable. However to the disappointment of Sharks fans, most of the key players were being rested and did not make the trip. Instead, it was focused mainly on giving a run-out for long absentee such as Marzuki which have fully recovered from a motor-cycling accident and Rudi which was back from his overseas stint. At the same time, local born winger Jeremy was invited for a trial on the left wing. Shawn, Mike and Kelvin was welcomed back to the foil after their break from last week match. The Sharks were obviously struggling from the kickoff with Rosebowl settling well into the game from the kick-off and the fact that some Sharks players being deployed in unfamiliar positions didn't help the team either. The opponent quickly make full use of the disarray by putting the team in the back foot for most of the match and were duly rewarded in the 12th minute after the defence left an unmarked Rosebowl striker on the blind-side to enable him to slot his team opening goal. Shortly after, they took a comfortable two goal lead with a simple tap in after everyone except the goal scorer seemed to miss the ball. Sharks could have pulled a goal back on several occasion in the final third of the first half but were left ruing their chances with Rosebowl custodian in fine form, acting as a goalkeeper cum sweeper, almost single-handedly covering back Rosebowl sloppy and slow defence. Nawi which was clearly clearly disgusted with the referee offering no protection for him took action into his hands by clearly trying to show his petulance to his opposite number. The referee Khalid would have none of it and showed him the yellow card, which would have been red had this been a competitive match.

Second-half started as expected by the Sharks manager, with Rosebowl trying to catch their opponent on the counter. Despite that, the defence remains assured of Rosebowl long punts into space, leaving them only two clear-cut chances to increase their lead which was squandered. Sharks remain dangerous on numerous encounters with Suhaimi, Nawi and Mike missing chance after chance which they could have scored on another day but were let down by poor finishing. By any standards, Suhaimi and Mike had a very quite outing. Instead, defender convert Zul is enjoying his new role as the team target man with his presence upfront, constantly making runs into Rosebowl box. Despite his new role, he still shows he have not lost that knack with a robust challenge on Rosebowl midfielder, which he was rightfully cautioned. Nawi have the chance to decrease the deficit with a clear strike on goal but shoot straight into a Rosebowl defender. Suhaimi was in disbelieved when he was put through by Azman from a quick free-kick but he skived his shot with only the keeper to beat. The Sharks fans almost stood up thinking that their team had pulled a goal back with Zul missing his header by an inch from an Azman pin-point cross. That was the Sharks final chance of the game with the referee blowing for full-time.

At the post-match conference, the Sharks manager was heavily criticized by some quarters for showing lack of respect to the team that finishes second in an amateur league. He was being quoted 'We know that this is going to be a tough game but what's the point of putting our best eleven every game and winning everyone of them when the team morale for the rest of the players remain low?' He added, 'With a game with the Italians coming up, resting some of the key players was always a priority. However, let's not take anything away from Rosebowl FC, they took their chances well and deserved to win the game.' Despite the setback of two consecutive defeat, the manager remained upbeat on turning the tables back when they meet the Italians. The first encounter ended in a 4 - 6 defeat despite leading 3 - 1 at the end of the first half.