A shock win for DRM

Despite our recent run of good form, this was the one game i felt we'd struggle with as the F19 Hustlerz are the equivalent of a superclub within our small footballing circle. They have strength in depth with a young team made up of pedigree players who have played for the district's best teams. Looking at it from that point of view, that would probably make us a team of bandit footballers in comparison.

Things didn't look very good at the start either as we barely managed to string a team of 11 players, even having to draft our injured captain in goal as none of our established keepers turned up.

The first half was abit of a cat and mouse game really. We kicked off the half and immediately were put on the back foot as the F19 forwards raced up the pitch and really didn't give us any breathing space at the back. To our credit we managed to string a number of good passes around but were occasionally let down but that stray and far too often we caught static whilst in possession. The Hustlerz on the other hand were smooth operators on the ball, feeding their fleet footed strikers with plenty of through passes for them to run on to.

So it was the Hustlerz who broke the first duck, and it happened not more than 10 minutes into the game. A through ball from midfield broke our DRM offside line high up the pitch and it left them with just Azelin in goal to deal with.

I'd like to think that we're not a team that throws in the towel that easily and so we fought back, and it was from a counter on the left led by a mazy Amir S run that put Haidi through on goal and his low shot beat the keeper across his body and tucked nicely in the bottom right corner. Haidi is a man on a mission these days and he was determined to prove that his January performance was no fluke.

It was a cat and mouse game as i said earlier, because not too long after that F19 went back up 2 - 1. Again we were caught high up on the pitch and there was too much pace there for any of us to deal with. Azelin was easily beaten the second time, and we were left thinking if this were going to be how the rest of the night would be.

Fadil on the other hand had other plans. Having scored 5 in the last 3 games, he wasn't going to let Haidi take the brunt of the goal scoring for the team. Some fancy work in midfield and Hammry and Khai TSW really worked hard in the 1st half to set up some nice runs, feeding Fadil and Haidi upfront.

And it was from one of those midfield run of play that Amir S coming in fast from the centre, put through Fadil and he toe poked it into the back of the net to level things for DRM.

At the back, the defense were not letting anything get by, let off for the second time, they were determined not to concede any further and some take no prisoners tackling really proved their intent.

Khai TSW again was instrumental in setting up the third goal. Again it was from a counter attack, and Amir S was put through on the left. He fed Fadil with one of those balls that just seem to slip in between players. Fadil calmly slotted that the same way his first went in and we were up for once in the game.

So we went into the half time break with spirits high from that comeback from what seemed like a dead end and it didn't seem all lost after all.

We encountered some manning problems at the start of the second. Danan had to come off injured, whilst Javier had to scoot off for a worthwhile cause (you better give me good news man!) .

That meant having to resort to the cheeky option of asking the F19 guys for a spare player. And obligingly they lent us Saharin who is a regular DRM Fun Game player much to our relief.

Fadil made the switch to centre back in the second half, determined to keep the score at 3 - 2. And we adopted a somewhat siege mentality defending at all costs our slender fragile lead going into the half.

The move paid off really as he was commanding at the back in our attempts to halt the F19 onslaught. Whilst they were really looking to lick their wounds after throwing away two first half leads.

And they must have had at least 15 corners to prove the point. Whilst we dealt with them pretty well in the most part, there were some scares. Saiful who did not put a foot wrong at all in the game, clearing from off the line was one such incident.

Then a moment of madness, F19 with the ball on the flanks out wide right, and their winger whipped one in with Renny left stranded with two strikers behind him. He inexplicably stuck his hand out in the box and it was clear what the referee had to do.

Much to his relief however, Azelin was up to the challenge, and he coolly palmed the penalty kick away with a dive to his left. And so our skins were saved yet again!

There were several other chances for the Hustlerz to come back in the game, but it was clear it wasn't to be as lady lucked shined on us. The crossbar and in a another instance Azelin's outstretched palms denying them that opportunity.

Khai and Saharin in the meanwhile were playing some fantastic football upfront when F19 weren't on the ball. With Amir S pulling the strings in the middle, the three combined well to set us up in some good opportunities but the lack of finishing again let us down when it mattered.

The Hustlerz continued to throw men forward and it really helped opened the game ahead of us, as each time we broke another one of their forays upfront, it gave us space to counter from the flanks.

And so it was, that from a counter attack, the ball going from Hammry and then in circles between Khai and Saharin on the left, his tidy pasing set up Amir S on the right, who floated one in to the box and it was the head of Haidi met the ball with force. The unthinkable happened and we were 4 - 2 up!

The whistle for full time went shortly after and timely was it too as our tired legs had really taken a beating. I won't expect that much charity in our next head-to-head with the Hustlerz, the next time being our DRM league game with more than just pride at stake.

HSBC salvages a draw

This was our first real away game this year having not played out of BSRC in awhile, and boy did it feel weird playing next to a highway! 

It'd been raining all day, and the weather certainly wasn't going to cut us any slack as it continued to pour down through the game. The pitch looked heavy from the start, and as play went on it really turned into a mudpit which made for extra gritty football.  

The team pretty much selected itself as we enforced the 'first come first play' rule. The only problem being that we ended up with a starting 11 that had an abundance of midfielders and no real defenders apart from Majdi and the Gaffa. 

That called for a change from our usual strategy as we adopted a more riskier 3-5-2 formation, which in hindsight paid off as we were able to make full use of our numbers in the middle of the park where it mattered, and the huge pools of water on the pitch as that extra defender!

We started the game confidently, really using the full width of the pitch with some good short play, making use of that extra person in midfield. Sulhi having just been promoted to the senior team ranks, in particular was extra keen to prove himself and he would cause all sorts of headaches for the HSBC defense with his trickery and pace. 

The formation also meant that we were able to play wide, away from the surface water in the middle of the park and that proved to be crucial as Amir S on the left and Pg Sham on the right took full advantage of the space on the flanks with some pin-point crosses flying in from all sorts of places. 

It was the kind of game that really suited our own version of the twin towers as Haidi and Fadil easily won the headers, and we really should've scored more. Fadil missing the inside of the post by just inches when his theatrical flying header met a cross from Amir S on the left. 

It was no surprise that we drew first blood, when Fadil was put through from a long ball, coming off the feet of Sulhi, and when in those kind of one on ones, Fadil really doesn't miss much. 

There were several more chances to double the lead in the remainder of the half, but the soggy field and heavy ball really didn't help as we struggled to keep our passing game going, whilst HSBC really dug in and came back at us with some determination. 

They too were guilty of missing some sitters, breaking free on the counter attack leaving us short at the back, but they failed to get any of their shots on target when they really should've scored much to Yusra's relief. He really didn't have to make too many saves and had solid hands when called on.

We fielded a completely new team in the second half and things looked good for us as HSBC didn't really have any fresh legs to throw on. 

The midfield combination of the two Khai's and Arch in the middle would probably have done alot more damage had the weather been kind to us, but playing on the heavy waterlogged pitch meant that they weren't able to play their fancy-dan ways somewhat dissapointingly. 

The stand out performer of the half definitely was Amir D on the left. He made plenty of space for himself on the flank running circles round their right-back, and he too was unlucky when his 20 yard screamer, which from the benches really looked like it was going to put us up 2 nil, only managed to canon off the cross-bar. 

Meanwhile in defense, Nazrul and Rahimin were on top of their game, really tidying up all the loose ends as HSBC went in search of their equaliser. 

It was perseverance in the end that paid off, as HSBC finally did manage to break free of the two centre backs with a clever one-two and Yusra wasn't able to put his gloves behind a shot that ended up in his top left corner from inside the box. 

Obviously a draw was less than what we had deserved having dominated the game throughout, but we simply paid the price for not being able to seal the deal in the business end of things upfront. A rematch awaits!