The Sepang-nyol armada had their cannons blown off yesterday after an arduous test against Fire and Flames. The score line of 3-0 clearly depicts the amount of possession F&F had throughout the match. But Sepang-nyol was not to be undermined as they fought hard with a combination of determination and strong will.
The game could have started very bad for F&F after Azim “Pelekat” was diagnosed with a flu virus just before the game. But after a talking to by the manager, Aie, Azim spirit was renewed and he was ready to play the game. With the pitch in “excellent condition” and “primed” for the duel, the match started really quick after F&F launched a scorching attack on the Sepang-nyol front with two chances in the earlier stages. The game was played in the centre of the pitch mostly as both teams were cautious in their approach. F&F first real chance came after a corner by Alwi that was met by the head of Nadeem. Nadeem who has a habit of scoring goals from corners in his earlier days with Sayur United and Kayu FC, was frustrated once again as he saw his header cleared off the line by a Sepang-nish defender. The poorly cleared ball then went to another of F&F defender, Zul K who blasted the ball over the post. Saeed however had a wonderful chance to put F&F in front with an attempt from a dead ball situation but he was left frustrated when the ball could only rattle the post to cap off a dull first half for the Flames. Sepang-nyol had a very good chance to take lead off the Flames when a long ball was directed to their striker but the forwards’ attempt to lob the keeper failed as Azim “Pelekat” was equal to the challenge.
The second half however, proved to be a better half, particularly for the F&F players. They enjoyed much of the possession with Sepang-nyol playing long balls towards the F&F defence on occasions. Boy P had to be flown by a helicopter for this match came on for the inefficient Saeed and nearly pulled off a “Fauzan” trademark move but luckily he was able to balance himself. That move however, did present Boy P with a half chance that he was not able to convert after quick thinking by the goalkeeper kept the Sepang-nyol goalpost undisturbed. Sepang-nyol was trying very hard to put off the Fire but after a sweeping move by the F&F attacking front, the Sepang-nyol defence was undone. Nadeem cleared the ball from the F&F penalty box only to find Zul P on the left side of the field who chested the ball down majestically. He then proceeded to play a wonderful 1-2 with Boy P, leaving two midfielders stuttered along the way. The ball was then passed to the industrious Alwi who curled in a swirling ball towards the direction of Boy P. Boy P managed to bring it down fantastically and with 4 defenders going after him, he was able to keep his cool and slotted to ball home for the first goal of the match. The second goal came right after an attack by the Sepang-nyol players whereby the ball was passed at the back from Fauzan to Nadeem who could not hold on to the ball cleanly due to the bumpy pitch. Sepang-nyol quick striker, Ahmed quickly latched on to the ball but couldn’t make anything out of it after he was closed down by the two experienced defender in the form of Nadeem and Zul K. F&F won a corner shortly after that, and due to a misunderstanding from the keeper and the defence, Nadeem revisited his scoring touch once again after a long drought. The game went on after that in a scrappy manner and an emotional refereeing by the man in black. Sepang-nyol still tried to get back into the game and won themselves a free-kick at the edge of the penalty area after Zul K fouled one of the Sepang-nish players and was yellow-carded that time. The chance was wasted however after a poor free-kick. F&F was presented with a third goal when Zul P lashed a fierce drive to the bottom left corner beating the goalkeeper hands down. But the celebration was procrastinated as Zul P, dubbed “Mat Yal” by his friends, appears to celebrate the goal only after the ball was in the net. The rest of the game was played with F&F trying to defend their lead.
Bob, the Sepang-nyol manager was interviewed after the match and had plenty of good things to say about the F&F team and his own. “I believe we were beaten by a very good team and I hope they are going to win the go on to the final. Three great goals we scored today although one was from a misunderstanding from my players”. Bob remains bullish on his teams performance throughout the match. “ My player did very well I think. The showed the determination I was hoping for and I am satisfied even though we lost the match”.
Aie, F&F gaffer was not present in the press conference to make any comments. We are still trying to get him to get a response from him. But we are able to get some comments out of the F&F caretaker, Sopan Jaafar regarding the team's performance. "It was a strong performance by the lads today. We kept our cool in the first half and analysed how they(Sepang-nyol) are playing and we came out in the second half stronger".
F&F next match will be against the winners of Wizurai and Aman Ruzaimi FC.
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