Forza edge out Orange in a close encounter

Going into the game after an entertaining training match at Orchid Park Sec last week, Team Orange was looking to build on the momentum against the highly talented Team Forza. With "BDD" a.k.a "Big Daddy" Damien being unavailable for the game and the other backup keepers all ruling themselves out, it was left to Zhihong to guard the posts. For the start, the T.O gaffer adopted a conservative 4-5-1 formation and chose not to field his strongest lineup, leaving both Chen Guan and Alan Lam on the bench.

Much is known about Team Forza, who is currently competing and sitting on top of the D2D saturday league. As they had played a competitive match only the day before, it was probably the "second" team which took to the field. Despite this, Forza had plenty of talent in its ranks and many wondered if the result would have been one-sided if it was the main team which had played today.

Things did not look too rosy for Team Orange at the beginning as they failed to control possession. Forza on the other hand, settled into the game quickly and showed early glimpses of what to expect from them for the remaining of the game. The T.O wing-backs of Kenneth and Jiayu were kept busy for long periods dealing with the skillful Forza wingers.

It was no surprise Forza went ahead at the 10th minute after their player rose the highest to connect to a corner kick and headed the ball home past the static T.O defence. Forza doubled their lead against the run of play when Dave lost the ball in the penalty box to the Forza winger who was quick to close down on him. The winger continued his run before drilling a low pass to the unmarked striker who had the easiest job of tapping the ball into an open goal. T.O could have scored one themselves after some nice footwork by Junjie allowed himself to dribble past the opposition leftback before sending in a precise pass to the onrushing Yong Keng who could only smash the ball over the top with the goal gaping wide.

Substitutions were made at the halfway mark of the first half with both Junhao and Chen Guan coming for the overworked Kenneth and Treddy. Dave was replaced by speedy Alan while Kelvin took a risk by putting himself on for Zhihong to guard the posts. T.O looked more comfortable in this setting as they poured forward in hope of salvaging something before the end of the first half. T.O was handed a lifeline when the referee awarded a penalty after Yong Keng appeared to have been brought down by the Forza keeper. Jason stepped up to smash home the penalty kick as the deficit was reduced to 1-2, in favour of Forza.

Team Orange put in a much improved performance in the second half with the arrival of Chris and he made an immediate impact by sending an inch perfect through pass to Zhihong who was lurking in the penalty box. Unfortuantely, Zhihong failed to connect cleanly to the pass as his shot was easily saved by the keeper. Another chance was presented to Dave but he too, squandered the opportunity by blasting the ball over the bar.

T.O continued their surge in attack and they were duly rewarded with a goal in the 53th minute. In the midst of some messy defending in the Forza box, Chen Guan thumped the ball into goal for the leveller. Just when the momentum seemed to be building up for Team Orange, Kelvin had to come off the pitch after a recurrence of his back injury.

Forza was unfortunate to see their long shot bounce back off the crossbar, barely seconds after Zhihong had put on his goalkeeping gloves. T.O had to defend deep in their half for the last quarter of the game as Forza continued to pile up the pressure. The third goal for Forza finally came at the 70th minute. A dangerously looking cross into the T.O box was fumbled by Junhao as he could only watch the ball come off his body and roll into his own goal. 2008 Golden Boot winnner Yong Keng had another good chance to pull T.O back from the dead. However, his attempted curling shot went straight at the keeper. The final scoreline, 2-3 to Team Forza, a worthy and sporting opponent. 

Kelvin: We almost completed the comeback 

Despite the loss, the gaffer was satisfied with the overall team performance. 

"We met with a very good team and we gave them their monies' worth. Although the final result was less than ideal, i believe the team had done much better today than if we had played this game about 6 months ago."

"I'm especially encouraged by our strength in the center midfield. The addition of Jason has certainly spruced up life and should provide some healthy competition for places in the midfield area. If our defence had been the star performer for 2008, i'm sure our midfield will achieve likewise for 2009." 

"This being the last friendly game  before we start our league proper, allowed me to try out players in the various positions. Based on the current squad we have, together some new players who have committed to join us on a more regular basis, we should provide some good resistance in the league. Let's all put in 101% effort for the upcoming games and