Wan, Wan, Wan!

Redbacks: 3
Clementi: 1

Venue: Woodgrove Secondary School
Scorers: Irwan (2), Ridzwan

The Redbacks pulled off a great win through a patient and disciplined approach. The shock of day clearly belonged to Irwan, who scored two opportunistic goals. Not to be outdone, our other Wan, the smaller one, added a third late in the game.

It was not easy sailing as we struggled to cope with the speed and flair of the Clementi players. We weathered the storm, thanks to some super saves by Sharizan. It was a tight and cagey affair where both teams carved out decent chances to break the deadlock. Irwan came close on two occassions when he was put through on goal, however he was unable to convert. The half ended goalless as the Spiders urged one another to keep focused on the game and have faith that the goals will come.

The game started brightly in the second half. Both teams believed that they had what it takes to earn the victory. From a counter attack, Faiz broke free on the right. His nudged the ball past the onrushing keeper and Irwan was there to tap the ball into the empty net. We then went to sleep and allowed Clementi to score from a free header via a corner. Both teams, buoyed by the goals, went for the jugular. Irwan scored a second with a cool finish when he was put through on goal by a through ball by Azhar.

Clementi poured men forward in search of an equalizer. Specific instructions to mark their number 7 was heeded and the playmaker did not have much space to stamp his authority on the game. We were forced to camp in our half for prolonged periods. However, when the chance came to score, we capitalized. The goalkeeper completely missed a pass by Ayyub and Irwan, who had been overlapping tirelessly throughout the match, gleefully accepted the gift and scored his first ever Redbacks goal.

It was a superb display of counter-attacking football. A victory well-earned. A truly memorable game indeed.

But not as memorable as Man Utd beating Liverpool by 3 goals to nil….