Rise of the Padawans Scuppered!

Match Report written by Ivan Yong:

Yesterday’s match pitted the Old boys against our Padawan counterparts from Sydney. To make things more interesting (and to actually field a team), the Padawan’s line-up was bolstered by the Oz contingent of the DRM regulars, namely G Khai, Ady, Julberg, Sulhi and yours truly. As per usual for derby encounters, the Old boys managed to field enough players for two teams, with spirited discussions on the makeup of the starting eleven. The Padawans had just two subs initially, and that would be a factor later on in the match. That aside, the Old boys were aiming to show who were the big boys on the block, and the Padawans were keen to showcase their talent with a few of us older blokes hoping to remind the regulars exactly what they missed trading us away.

Early in the first half saw the Padawan’s jump out of the blocks (literally), dominating possession and demonstrating their abundance of pace. The Old boys constantly found themselves chasing shadows and they struggled to keep up with their younger opponents, showing just how old those legs really were. Sadly, this advantage was nullified by some astute defending from DRM’s star import, Javier, and lots of offside calls, reminding us somewhat of the over eagerness of youth.

The Old boys did manage to regain some possession midway through the half and looked dangerous, with the midfield delivering some telling passes. However, the Old boys’ forwards themselves showed similar over eagerness, straying offside on many occasions. Some suggestion perhaps they were reminiscing their early days as fresh faced youngsters. Good defence on both sides kept the scores even, with a noteworthy performance from the central back Majdi, which will surely brighten DRM gaffa’s heart as he searches for much needed depth to the regular backline.

The first goal though came against the run of play. After toiling for much of the first half, veteran striker Haidi managed to beat the offside trap (a feat in itself) and blast past keeper Yazid. This served as a wake up call for the Padawan’s as they redoubled their efforts to search for a goal. The equalizer looked on when Padawan Hafiz managed to beat the Old boy’s offside trap and Sulhi rushed to support, creating a 2 on 1 chance against the keeper for an almost near certain goal. However, the Old boys were rescued by a dubious offside decision when Hafiz squared to Sulhi with both still in front of the keeper. This author can foresee renewed calls for video umpiring as a result of this decision, though it wouldn’t have been needed to see how questionable the call was. Padawan’s kept the pressure on, and a fantastic cross was met with a powerful header from substitute Fazrul, which was well saved by Yusriman. The final chance came when right back Ivan, showing some surprising skill on the ball, managed to dribble past the defence and create a one on one chance with the keeper. Sadly, the end result was a shot blasted high and wide, further cementing his position as a defensive player. This ended the first half at 1-0, a somewhat flattering score line to the Old boys.

The second half came with a new eleven for the Old boys (with a newfound healthy respect for their opponents). The fresh legs and lack of Padawan subs soon told as the Old boys piled on attack after attack with Khai, the two Amirs and Ari demonstrating to the young Padawans that they still had much to learn. Hadini, in particular, found himself unmarked on several occasions behind the defense and quickly put on another two goals for the Old boys after.

The score line could have been much worse if not for some excellent keeping from keeper Yazid (preventing Hadini’s hat trick) and some rather curious attempts on goal by the Old boys’ forwards. The miss of the match had to come from one of the senior forwards from the Old boys (who shall remain unnamed) who, after managing to round the keeper with the goal at his mercy, inexplicably shot wide of the near post. This served to galvanise the Padawans, exposing the Old boys weakness in defence against set plays. The first goal was a delightful corner from Asqa that was headed in by Fadli, who had come up from defence to aid in attack. The next was a fiercely taken free kick from veteran G Khai that just managed to dip to below the cross bar. The Padawans tried to surge forward in numbers in the hope to grabbing an unlikely equalizer. However, the Old boys managed to hold on to their composure (and pride) and the score line ended 3-2. A great showing by the Padawans, earning some respect from their older counterparts. Added mention has to be made of some excellent performances from the two central backs of Javier and Majdi, and the contributions made by the veteran contingent of the Padawan team.