Matchday 10 was a good day as the weather remained clear and sunny, preventing the third cancellation in the past month.
The match started with Wenwei in goal, Marcus and Victor in the centreback positions and Ah Guan and Donny completing the back four. In midfield Shi An and Jia Liang occupied the wings while Hogan, Jun Qiang and Chun Seng remained in their usual central midfield positions. Leslie led the attack once again as the lone striker upfront. Fullback Wee Loon remained on the bench due to an injury while defensive midfielder Sherman sat out the match in preparation for his medical checkup the next day.
The match started well with exchanges mainly in the middle of the park. Neither team was able to translate their movements into results in the final third. Play for Unido was as usual mainly down the centre and right flank as the match ended 0-0 in half time.
Second half brought on fresh legs as Ben, Kerong and Hong Lun all made late appearances to help rejuvenate the team. Goalkeeper Wenwei tried a different approach as passes were spread to the left flank to winger Shi An. However, he was repeatedly cut out and the attacks broke down. Kerong had some good chances but the failure to make full use of them meant that the score remained 0-0.
The best chances fell to Hogan as he twice went close to scoring, narrowly missing the goal with the keeper beaten. The second time, Leslie was at the far post but he failed to connect with the ball inches away from his outstretched legs. At the other end, the opponents also twice came close to scoring. Last-ditch efforts by the defence had the ball out for corners and the resulting set-pieces ended in nothing.
Midway through the second half, Hogan picked up a controversial yellow card for an innocent challenge and the referee's judgement continued to be questioned following his recent performances. The match ended 0-0 with the team looking to improve their fortunes on the artificial turf of Bowen Secondary come one week's time.
Monday, March 30, 2009
