Hard fought Social unlucky to lose against Woodlands Vista
For the past 2 games against Woodlands Vista last season saw both games ended with 2 goals each side. Both fixtures had players putting in every ounce of energy and giving their best to find a winner. With the departure of Terence, Fabian, Robert and Edmund as well as the absence of John Yeong, Fang Yi and Nur, the current Social squad was doubtful that this game would end up with another draw. However, all was not lost, the introduction of several new players such as Asyraf, former Saint Andrew Junior College school team player, Alan Goh from Marine Devils, Brendan Larkins from Australia, Dylan, Kevin Wun and Melvin Lim boosted significant confidence in the team for the absence of many important players featured in previous encounters.
Vipers played a usual 4-1-4-1 formation with Ewan at goal, Siwei, Fairuz, Eddie Tan and Mick in defence, Ken Choong as defensive midfielder, Kevin Chow, Asyraf, Brendan and Jiahao across the midfield and with Alan Goh spearheaded the attack. Both teams had equal chances at goal early in the first half with debutant Alan giving Woodlands Vista problems with his constant harassment in their defensive line but toned down after he was cautioned for kicking the ball away after the referee had blown the whistle. Viper’s chance came when a loose ball into the opponent’s penalty area was cleverly headed forward by Mick but eventually brought down by the defender while running past him, resulting in a penalty kick. Ewan stepped up for the spot-kick but his shot was guessed correctly by the goalkeeper whom turned it into a corner kick.
In the 35th minute, Elfry played a hopeful ball ball into the opponent’s penalty area, Eddie Chow was quick to take control of it, advanced towards the keeper and slot it to the bottom right hand corner of the goal. 1-0 to Vipers Social.
Just as Social thought they could go into the second half with a 1-0 lead, things did not go their way. In the 40th minute, an out-swinging corner kick by Woodlands Vista met the head of their player which was headed for goal but cleared off the line by Siwei’s quick reflexes. Unfortunately, the danger was not over yet as the ball was not entirely cleared away from the penalty box allowing Woodlands Vista to unleash a shot towards goal but was blocked by Elfry’s arm in its path which resulted in a penalty awarded and was converted.
There were little changes to Social in the second half as Alex felt the team had the flow and communication amongst its players. But yet again, Social were caught sleeping at another Woodlands Vista corner, and the unmarked ‘Fellani-hairdo’ player executed a lobbing header which was unable to clear off the line, taking Woodlands Vista into the lead for the second time. With time on Social’s side, they gradually picked up the pace and managed to control the game with majority of the possession. The attacking buildup initiated mainly from Ken, Elfry and Asram - feeding the flanks with opportunities to cross the ball in. Kevin Chow had several chances to drill the ball low into the penalty area only to find a majority of white shirts. Additional attacking option was made when Melvin was brought in and he managed to get into useful positions to assist the flow of attack. On the other end, Woodlands Vista also wasted glorious opportunities to put the game beyond when they had a volley went off the crossbar, a one-on-one flipped away by Dylan and a header from the resulting corner cleared off the line by Kevin Wun .
Towards the final minutes, Social produced tsunami of attacks but the final ball was unable to find the net and the game ended with Woodlands Vista as the winner.
The gaffer was pleased with the new players who made their debut for Social, “ Alan Goh has a tough time as a lone striker, lacked support from the midfield, many times, he had to drop deep to receive the ball. Brendan clearly not used to the humidity in Singapore as he just arrived from England while Asyraf had a good game in central midfield. His touches and passes are calm and precise, “ mentioned the gaffer.
Line-up:
1. Ewan
2. Fairuz
3. Eddie Tan
4. Mok Si Wei
5. Mick Ho
6. Ken Choong
7. Kevin Chow
8. Pek Jiahao
9. Brendan Larkins
10. Asyraf
11. Alan Goh
Substitutes:
- Melvin Lim
- Kevin Wun
- Elfry
- Dylan
Vipers Social Man-of –the –Match: Asyraf ( Had a great game is his attacking midfielder role, comfortable with the ball, made several penetrative passes with good dribbling skills).