S.League 2010 Match 2

	Opponent: Gombak United Date: 11th Feb, 1945hrs Venue: Hougang Stadium Final Score: 2 -1 (Obadin Aikhena 64′ (og), Jordan Webb 79′ – Obadin Aikhena 89′)
A win! Yes! Murphy takes a boot to the chest... ...while Fazrul gets the boot Gamechanger The own goal moment Jordan runs off with the winner to the delirium of the celebrating home fans Nor Azli gets checked for concussion after a display of heart and guts Starting Eleven Wreckidigidy’s Afterthoughts You know it’s your lucky day when the usual bus you take for home which usually comes in 30 minutes interval,arrived the instant you reached the bus stop. My first look of the boys live and it was such a gratifying 94 minutes for me, of course the victory is sweet. Fadhil Salim was great at the back, made a point blank save from a goal-bound header from either Mamadou or Obadin from an early corner. He made himself big between the sticks, good handling and great goalkicks, one of which hit the back of Mamadou Diallo’s head from 60 yards. The goal was not his fault while I hope the caution would not be costly in due time. Nor Azli, the man with the armband was very vocal from where we sit but he truly led by examples, uninhibited to pull challenges and definitely gave 110%, even got himself badly cronked up through the process. My man of the match and hope he would be alright. His partner in crime Shahmir Hamzah had a grudge game against Gabriel Obatola and really came up strong. The fact that he tried to pull OJ’s feet when he was bamboozled and fell on the green really displayed his commitment to the cause. Lau Meng Meng and Duncan Elias had a near perfect evening, rarely putting a wrong foot and for Duncan, his passing was simple yet effective, seems like his transformation to a leftback is near completion. Jalal was actually the best attacking player in first half but did reasonably well on the left flank when Aide switched to the 4-4-2 formation, even made the telling pass which resulted in the Obadin’s own goal. Murphy Wiredu was the voice in the midfield and like Nor Azli led by example. Despite prone to losing the ball in the first half, he truly shown some deft touches in the second, and it is always going to be hard going up against the giant known as Goran Subara. Of course his freekick led to the second goal too. Sobrie Mazlan was well shackled by either Hamqaamal Shah or Jaslee Hatta on either flanks. Had a glancing header from a Jordan Webb’s intricate by-line cross before being substituted. Mousa Keita had another quiet night, but slowly came to life when joined up front with countryman Mamadou Diallo. Had a goal disallowed from a marginal offside decision. Faizal Amir, whom we constantly mistaken for Farizal Basri had a few good runs coupled with a valiant display in the middle, able to stand toe to toe against the bigger sized Bulls. Jordan Webb looked a livewire on the flanks but failed to make most of his runs count. As observed, he only looked good  hugging the wings and not able to really cut in or provide the telling through pass. However he was alert enough to put a fortuitous deflection off Murphy’s freekick to put it past Zaiful Nizam for the winner. Mamadou Diallo was a match decider as his presence sent panic in the Bulls’ steely backline and really brought Moussa into the game. Sadly his participation will be limited to whether any of the 4 senior foreign talents are available for selection. Young defender Sim Li Ming came on for Nor Azli and earned his due with a goal line headed clearance though still unable to prevent Obadin to redeem himself with the goalmouth scramble. Pny-tailed Darrel Tan came on for a time wasting tactical change and did not really make much of an impression. A big win for the very young and sprawling Sengkang Punggol side. The team played tidy football for up to 93 minutes and the only time when the tidiness was absent, we were punished with the goal. The typical ball passing style was well asphyxiated by the more physical Gombak with Goran Subara the main menace in the middle. The dismissal of Fazrul Nawaz was a tad too harsh but hey we are not complaining. Detractors would say we need to play with a man down (for the second match in succession) to really come into life but still I am truly witnessing some nice passing football not present in the previous 2 seasons. At the end of the day, the hard work was paid off, as the team needed to keep it humble and continue try to snitch as many points as possible as the season progress, the fans would be truly proud of them like I am. Exclusive interview with head coach Aide after the match here. Courtesy of the ever-gracious Mr Ko Pohui from Bolasepako.com.