(Post-dated!)
After swearing off the Yishun pitch, it was a wonder that we actually returned to face these opponents on this patch. Various comments heard regarding the state of the pitch after the draw with Shangwei's new-look team are better left unsaid.
But a bad pitch is better than no pitch as we faced up against a NTU Hall 11 side made up of players who probably were in the same age group as ourselves. They had their grey shirts, with "Eleven" emblazoned on the back, two guys with the number "11", and even a captain in the number 6, who didn't really call the shots (so I dunno what the armband was for anyway). But they had despatched our last opponents on that pitch 5-0 (we could only manage a 0-0 stalemate!) so it was going to be an uphill task.
In addition, we were in our dreaded yellow kit, which made the task seem even more ominous.
The match got underway in the hot 11am sun, and it was a tight encounter in the centre of the park, as both teams played three across. Leslie was left alone up front, with support from Seng, who was making his first return after a period out with some groin trouble. Reuben was in goal for Jackson, who had to "serve the nation".
Hall 11 broke the deadlock first, a through ball well put away by their number 11 with gold hair (the other fella had black hair). However, it didn't take Leslie long to show why he was the first choice striker, chasing down a loose ball and from a narrow angle, slotting home to bring us level just minutes later.
It was 1-1 at half time, as the sun bore down relentlessly on these madmen who were duking it out in midfield. After the restart, both sides had glorious chances to win it, but scuffed shots and lucky blocks ruled the day as the match finished 1-1.
The curse of the yellow jersey - yet to be broken.
Monday, April 7, 2008
