Warriors on the Warpath
Date : 17th June 2007
Venue: Stadium Tun Fatimah, Melaka
Redbacks: 3
TNB Melaka: 2
Scorers: Aki, Aiman, Nordin
The Redbacks suffered some hiccups before we were able to take to the field against our Malaysian hosts. Ajis was almost refused entry into the country due to a mysterious "tax issues". At kick-off, there were only 10 spiders. We had no choice but to borrow a goalkeeper from our kind hosts who were gracious enough to allow the game to start a little later than planned.
In the first 15 minutes, the Redbacks struggled to gel as the players were clearly exhausted by the journey. We were forced to sit back as the home team stringed a few passes with confidence. Once we got into our groove, we began to initiate dangerous attacks. Much-maligned striker Aki got the first goal, pouncing on a loose ball in the penalty area. Not wanting to be upstaged in front of their supporters, TNB equalized when Abu failed to hold on to a stinging shot. TNB scored an absolute beauty of a second goal when a superb team moved was clinically finished by their striker.
Unfortunately for the hosts, fatigue hampered their progress and a resurgent Redbacks team looked to snatch a victory. Azhar should have put us level but somehow our captain missed from about 5 yards out. Aiman equalized when a defender misjudged a punt from goalkeeper Abu. The man who cannot stop scoring raced free and applied a delicate finish. He should have had another afterwards but the TNB goalie was quick off his line to snuff out the danger. Nordin then raised the roof when he spotted the keeper off his line. The midfielder's attempt from 40 yards out caught the goalkeeper napping and gave the Spiders yet another victory on Malaysian soil. A great team effort all around.