Written By: Choa Zhao Xiang Edited By: Valerie Chua & Jolene Wong Photographs By: Eusoffworks
It’s a humid Saturday and the football season for EUnited will boil to this very special day. It’s Eusoff vs Sheares. Bryan Foo vs Wen Hao. Hakim vs Zi Jing. The titans vs the steamrollers. The atmosphere was tense and fiery. After a long wait since their 4-2 victory against KR, the fans and players finally get to face off against their arch rivals. To provide some context, Eusoff guy clinched the championship for IHG 17/18, where the only thing that separated the two side was Amos’ screamer. Sheares are looking for redemption but Eusoff are hungry nothing less than the title. It was going to be a tough one right from the get go, and today’s affair was nothing short of a proper drama. The line up is as follows:
The match from the get go had Sheares looking confident. They were passing out from the back and their goalkeeper looked extremely confident with the buildup play. It was clear from the start that Sheares is not a pushover team. The Eusoffians would need to grind to get the result the wanted. However a lucky break at the 7th minute came for Eusoff. Sheares gifted the ball and it fell to the main playmaker, Syafiq. The midfield maestro stuns his former teammates with a sensational through ball that find Hyrie. Hyrie without much option, had to slide to make contact with Syafiq’s ball as the Sheares defenders piled pressure on him. Somehow, the sliding contact by Hyrie was not saved by the outstanding Sheares goalkeeper and the sequence led to a goal, giving Eusoff the lead! 1-0 to Eusoff!
Striker Hyrie (#9) sliding in for a shot! What a goal!
However, just 5 minutes later, Sheares cancelled out Eusoff’s lead. Syafiq was called upon a foul outside the opponent’s box and it led to the ball getting gifted to Sheares. Sheares utilized the opportunity, transitioned with fluidity quickly and broke through the Eusoffians’ penalty box. The counterattack led to the equalizer, but the boys were not disheartened. Almost immediately, it looked like they had reset their mentality and continued to push on.
Sheares came close on two occasions but golden gloves Cheng Tat’s safe hands denied them the opportunity to take the lead. Sheares would pay for those missed chances as Eusoff changed the momentum of the game at the 24th minute. Gautham was left unmarked at the edge of the penalty box. With a quick feint, he tricked the defender and then cut it, opening his right foot up for the shot. It was a little far away, but with that clear opportunity, he took a shot. The ball curled and dipped at the right side of the goal. The Sheares keeper had no chance to save that golazo and Gautham gave Eusoff the lead! What a goal! 2-1 to Eusoff!
Gautham (middle) sending a curler into Sheares’ net!
What happened next was a relentless barrage of runs and dangerous long ball by Sheares. They were constantly able to break into the final third and Eusoff was forced to drop back to try and cope with the surmounting pressuring. Wen Hao managed to deal with a one on one chance for Sheares and Arun was dominant as ever in the air. The defence managed to keep the game 2-1 for the first half. Without much alteration to their tempo, Sheares jumped right into the second half and looked extremely dangerous. Couple of close offside calls and last ditch tackles by defensive players like Wen Hao and Zi Jing managed to keep Eusoff’s lead alive. Marcus Leow got subbed off at the 66th minute for Nandha, who received an ovation from the crowd for his services today. Sheares came extremely close with a shot through on goal by a chance created by their midfielders but Cheng Tat once again denied them. His performance was one well-deserved of credit and applause as his confidence, poise and bravery was exemplary.
Golden Gloves Cheng Tat (lying down) saving a shot from Sheares players!
However, with just 6 minutes to play, Sheares managed to free themselves at the right wing. They had been overloading the right flank, exhausting left back Captain Amos. Wen Hao managed to stop a cross with a crunching last ditch tackle which earned him a yellow card, but the set piece was in an awfully dangerous zone. Unfortunately, Sheares converted the opportunity with a scrappy goal from that dead ball, making it 2-2. At this point, the game was at its most tense. Eusoff, trying to break away from the disciplined Sheares defence, started to turn up the tempo. At the dying minutes, the Sheares crowd were left dumbfounded as their star midfielder Hakim fired a shot that hit the near post. It was 2-2 when the ref blew for the end of normal time.
Two halves of 10 minutes were going to be played to try and separate the two. Both sides were so equally matched that every single corner, cross and tackle left the crowd with oos and aahs. Sheares came agonizingly close but their shot went wide again. Amos was taken off for Irfan with 5 minutes left to play in extra time, marking the end of his season. The captain and somewhat unsung hero left back has been instrumental in providing the team with tactical stability and consistency in performance throughout the entire season. His display is truly a mark of a professional. With defensive discipline shown from both sides, it looked like the match would go on 2-2 forever if not called. Extra time ended and then, the dreaded penalties begun.
Captain Amos has been pivotal in all of Eusoff’s games.
The crowd was dead silent as each player stepped up to take the penalties. It was truly a moment of immense pressure. The first player to step up would be Hyrie, but he unfortunately missed the penalty. However, Cheng Tat saved the subsequent penalty, bringing both sides back to square one. Nandha then fired a composed penalty, which was cancelled out by Sheares. Andrew, the third player on the spot, converted his penalty as well, but eventually saw it cancelled out too. Next was Wei Shien on the spot. The defender, who has been extremely vocal and composed throughout the match, was assigned to be the 4th penalty taker and he did not shy away from the pressure. He unfortunately missed the penalty, as it flew just above the crossbar. Sheares capitalized on the unlucky shot, converting their penalty to make it 3-2 to them. As the Sheares crowd rushed to celebrate, faces in the crowd looked crestfallen, but some looked puzzled. Did the referee miscount the number of spot kicks? As Sheares continued to celebrate, discussions were ongoing and it turned out that the referees did indeed erroneously awarded Sheares with the victory prematurely. Almost half an hour after the match was over, the referees resumed the spot kicks. However, if Eusoff were to miss this chance to overturn the result, it would indeed be a Sheares victory. With the weight of the world on his shoulders, Arun stepped up. Truly a leader of his time and in the hall, the massive man took up the responsibility. However, his penalty smashed against the crossbar and victory for Sheares was not revoked.
Some might see the result as disappointing, but that is absolutely untrue. Our Eusoff Football Boys showed nothing less than professionalism and excellence in their performance. In the face of pressure and odds, they still persevered and showed character. They did not waver and their efforts were thoroughly recognized by the crowd. The boys have dedicated so much time and effort since the days of GEAFL, and did not stop grinding towards their goal. They are nothing less than an example for us to emulate. They are a symbol of Eusoff. Good job lads!
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