DBFC 45s 7-8 HK ex pro rep team
Monday 16 October at Wong Chuk Hang, K.O. 6.30pm
Squad: Mark/Baz, Matija, Steve, Mike C/ Patric, Ricky, Macca, Resco/Kieran M, Greg.
Initial subs: Morse, Anago, Kieran C.
Scorers: Greg (3), Kieran M (2), Ricky (2).
Despite the early KO and a couple of late withdrawals, we managed to get decent numbers for our regular fixture against Mr. Koon’s ex pro team. We welcomed back Matija who had just finished his remedial coaching course on “Maintaining on-pitch discipline for off-pitch CEOs” and indeed he redeemed himself with an impressive performance despite leading a defence that shipped 8 goals in a narrow 7-8 defeat with goals from Greg (3), Kieran M (2) and Ricky (2). The game started with DBFC causing the greater threat and the pros content to bide their time and assess what they needed to do. Greg and Kieran M up front were a consistent threat to their defence and we had good chances to score before the pros went 1-0 up against the run of play. We then gave away a penalty with their striker going down under a challenge from GK Mark and Matija. Heads did not drop and we kept in the game, going into the first break 2-1 down after Kieran M scored his first. We had a good spell in the second quarter but their playmaker number 22, who was causing a constant threat between our defence and midfield, lobbed Mark from the half-way line. Again we came back strongly and got back to 3-3. The pros started to go through the gears in the third quarter and posed a consistent threat from their extremely quick LW. As players tired, we struggled to cut off the source of supply and the pros exploited the same space on numerous occasions. For our part we too were a constant threat going forward and, to our credit, we never let the game get away from us. We were not helped by the fact that none of the marginal decisions went in our favour and, in the absence of a referee and linesmen, the pros showed their competitive instincts by insisting on decisions in their favour and denying us our calls. There was a flurry of goals in the final half hour, with most of the goals on both sides decent creations rather than defensive mistakes or scrappy finishes. In the final analysis, it was an enjoyable game as ever against a team that play simple and effective football. We move on to what is usually an even bigger challenge – playing the South China ex pro team on the vast expanse of the pitch at South China Athletic Association.