Chris
Vick - Viet - Chong - Lam
Qayuum - Derek - Fajar - Ren
Jonathon
Hong
Vick - Viet - Chong - Lam
Qayuum - Derek - Fajar - Ren
Jonathon
Hong
A storm was gathering as the team line up was announced from the very large KDU turnout. Once the referee blew his whistle, the downpour of water from the sky fell - as did the goals! KDU took advantage of their excellent warm up against a still cold Air Force team.
Hong headed Derek's cross against the far post which then rebounded in off the covering defender for the opening salvo and it was again the young striker who was hacked down for a free kick at the edge of the box. Our young Indonesian dead ball specialist rushed forward, smashed the ball low and hard past the goalkeeper to give us an astounding two goal lead after 5 minutes! Needless to say, KDU thought it was going to be a very easy match for the remaining 65 minutes.
It turned out to be anything like that because once the Air Force warmed up, they struck back with their own aerial bombardment. They decided to add to the deluge from the sky by dropping long high balls into our defensive third. The coach was somewhat unnerved by the combination of rain, high balls and Viet's need to wear spectacles and whilst he claimed it didn't bother him, the high balls were not dealt with very well by either the Vietnamese or his partner Chong. Vick was also being overrun on the right hand side of the defence with Qayyumm providing limited assistance in that department. However it turned out to be a goalkeeping mistake that lead to the Air Force opening goal as a slippery ball went straight through Chris's gloves and over the line. Whilst he did well to save at his near post and save in a one on one situation, he was unable to stop their equaliser after they ran in on goal after Lam miscontrolled the ball in midfield.
It had by now turned into a difficult game as the conditions made the pitch very unpredictable. The ball would zip quickly along the surface in some parts but get held up in other parts and this made our passing game even harder. A great example of this was when Jonathon saw Hong unmarked in the middle and played a fantastic through ball for him with only the keeper to beat. Sadly the ball never made it to him because it got stuck in the mud!
In addition to this sticky/speedy ball was the venomous tackling of the Air Force team. It was difficult to know if they were deliberately targeting our players or if they were thrown off by the unpredictability of the ball too but most of the KDU legs were sure sore by the end of the match.
Half time: 2-2
The storm had ceased by the start of the second half but the number of goals hadn't. Air Force continued to dominate after the break and it was a moment of hesitation by Derek which allowed the striker to steal the ball off him, beat Kenny and slide the ball past Chris to put the government team ahead for the first time. However KDU had consolidated most of their attacking via the Lam / Ren side and this was to eventually pay dividends as several corners were won. As a result from one of them, Lam held off the defender to create enough space for Fajar to smash another goal past the goalkeeper. The match had now gone into manic mode as both teams looked to exploit the other's weaknesses furiously.
KDU weathered more Air Force raids, with Kenny and VJ now operating as our full backs, but the blue team conceded a corner. Whilst Chris was able to connect with the ball with his fist, it only went 5 yards - to their striker in the penalty area! He didn't hesitate to drill it past the goal line defender for yet another goal.
However the scoring was not over! Jonathon didn't get the ball as much as he did in the first half but late into the half he raced to recover a hard cross and was cynically hacked down near the goal line and penalty area. Fajar stepped up again and assess his options before making eye contact with his coach. He played in a short pass which allowed Derek to atone for his earlier mistake by sending another bullet past the Air Force goalkeeper!
By the end of the match both teams were very wet, muddy and had enough sore legs to tire a masseur out! It was a game that Air Force physically dominated but with KDU spirit in the house, the team in blue were able to wrestle a draw in this pulsating match.
Hong headed Derek's cross against the far post which then rebounded in off the covering defender for the opening salvo and it was again the young striker who was hacked down for a free kick at the edge of the box. Our young Indonesian dead ball specialist rushed forward, smashed the ball low and hard past the goalkeeper to give us an astounding two goal lead after 5 minutes! Needless to say, KDU thought it was going to be a very easy match for the remaining 65 minutes.
It turned out to be anything like that because once the Air Force warmed up, they struck back with their own aerial bombardment. They decided to add to the deluge from the sky by dropping long high balls into our defensive third. The coach was somewhat unnerved by the combination of rain, high balls and Viet's need to wear spectacles and whilst he claimed it didn't bother him, the high balls were not dealt with very well by either the Vietnamese or his partner Chong. Vick was also being overrun on the right hand side of the defence with Qayyumm providing limited assistance in that department. However it turned out to be a goalkeeping mistake that lead to the Air Force opening goal as a slippery ball went straight through Chris's gloves and over the line. Whilst he did well to save at his near post and save in a one on one situation, he was unable to stop their equaliser after they ran in on goal after Lam miscontrolled the ball in midfield.
It had by now turned into a difficult game as the conditions made the pitch very unpredictable. The ball would zip quickly along the surface in some parts but get held up in other parts and this made our passing game even harder. A great example of this was when Jonathon saw Hong unmarked in the middle and played a fantastic through ball for him with only the keeper to beat. Sadly the ball never made it to him because it got stuck in the mud!
In addition to this sticky/speedy ball was the venomous tackling of the Air Force team. It was difficult to know if they were deliberately targeting our players or if they were thrown off by the unpredictability of the ball too but most of the KDU legs were sure sore by the end of the match.
Half time: 2-2
The storm had ceased by the start of the second half but the number of goals hadn't. Air Force continued to dominate after the break and it was a moment of hesitation by Derek which allowed the striker to steal the ball off him, beat Kenny and slide the ball past Chris to put the government team ahead for the first time. However KDU had consolidated most of their attacking via the Lam / Ren side and this was to eventually pay dividends as several corners were won. As a result from one of them, Lam held off the defender to create enough space for Fajar to smash another goal past the goalkeeper. The match had now gone into manic mode as both teams looked to exploit the other's weaknesses furiously.
KDU weathered more Air Force raids, with Kenny and VJ now operating as our full backs, but the blue team conceded a corner. Whilst Chris was able to connect with the ball with his fist, it only went 5 yards - to their striker in the penalty area! He didn't hesitate to drill it past the goal line defender for yet another goal.
However the scoring was not over! Jonathon didn't get the ball as much as he did in the first half but late into the half he raced to recover a hard cross and was cynically hacked down near the goal line and penalty area. Fajar stepped up again and assess his options before making eye contact with his coach. He played in a short pass which allowed Derek to atone for his earlier mistake by sending another bullet past the Air Force goalkeeper!
By the end of the match both teams were very wet, muddy and had enough sore legs to tire a masseur out! It was a game that Air Force physically dominated but with KDU spirit in the house, the team in blue were able to wrestle a draw in this pulsating match.
Final score: KDU College 4 vs 4 Air Force
