Singapore isn't that big after all. This was the second in the series of our 're-matches' which do not involve Shangwei's team. And to top it all, we played them twice in two weeks - in a home & away format.
1st leg: Unido 4-0 'Jesus Saves' KB, 10 May 2008
It was a blustery morning that greeted us as we arrived sporadically at Farrer Park. I'd had some difficulty with my new contact lenses, and together with almost the whole team, arrived later than expected at the pitch. There was a slight drizzle and grey skies, which helped cool the normally humid mornings down.
We knew we'd played them before, and drew with them at Carlisle the last time. However, we were determined to do better this time around and confidence was high despite the previous week's 2-2 draw.
However, we played like headless chickens for the first 20 minutes. Passes went astray, ball control was virtually absent and link-up between defence, midfield and attack was abysmal. Perhaps it was a severe case of nerves.
Despite this, it only took us 25 minutes to break the deadlock. Seng broke through the defence and placed an outside-foot shot into the far corner to give us the lead. The goal calmed us down some, and allowed us to slip into our normal game. Passing improved and our play became more fluid.
5 minutes to half-time, and we doubled our lead. A looping header by Hogan was diverted into his own net by the Koreans' number 21, not that it mattered much since it was on its way into the goal anyway.
Their number 7 was lively, as was the number 19. However, the defence stood up well against their attacks, and broke them down easily. That was the way the first half ended.
The second half saw the introduction of their number 10, who was a tall, lanky fellow with some silky ball skills. He managed to put some shots in, but Jackson was equal to the task, even managing to palm away a stinging shot in a one-on-one situation. Try as they might, they were continually frustrated by a combination of excellent shot stopping, offside calls and fouls. Their tempers began to fray as the number 10 began to sulk and look disinterested.
Then, a long ball out of defence sprung the offside trap, leaving Leslie with a simple shot past the keeper for a 3-0 lead. Not long after, a pass by Seng was left by the defence, who stood still thinking Leslie was offside, and SA sprinted away from an onside position to beat the keeper from close range to make it 4-0.
The final whistle sounded not long after as we ran out deserved 4-0 winners.
2nd leg: 'Jesus Saves' KB 0-2 Unido, 17 May 2008
There could not have been a bigger contrast in the weather for the return leg. For the second time in three matches, our dear captain managed to turn up 5 minutes before kick off! And again, we endured a nervy start as they made a few changes, fielding their older players for this game.
Number 10 started upfront, and as he was continually frustrated, switched into the heart of their defence. Their left wing back, number 21, was at his dirty best as he used every trick in the book to try and stop JL from making his dangerous runs down the wing.
This time they managed to capitalise on our nervy start as the number 7 raced through and sprung the offside trap, but Ben did well to chase back and make him rush his shot, which was wide of the goal. KR had a glorious chance to break the deadlock as well, but the number 22 managed to get back in time and stole the ball off KR's toes as he was about to shoot.
The number 10 did a sterling job in defence, as we were also continually frustrated by a combination of their good fortune and our misses in front of goal. The half ended 0-0.
The Koreans threatened a few times in the second half, but either they shot wide or Jackson was equal to the task. At the other end, we continued to push forward and attack their weaker flanks, but again the number 21 was tugging at shirts and whatever he could get his hands on, preventing us from getting a quick break.
But again, we prevailed as KR struck a sweet shot into the net from close range in the 70th minute, helped by some appalling defending. The goal spurred them a little, as they pushed number 10 up front again, but as fate would have it, JL got his first goal since his return from injury. Exactly the same spot, exactly the same type of goal as KR to make it 2-0.
You could see the despondent looks on their face as they began to use every dirty trick in the book. The number 16's shirt-pull on Seng was the straw that broke the camel's back as the referee failed to spot it despite the obviousness of it all, and Seng was booked for retaliation and a free-kick awarded to the Koreans. Even that failed to make any impact and the game ended 2-0 in our favour.
Final aggregate score: Unido 6-0 Jesus Saves Korea Branch
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
