Hall 2 vs Hall 13
WIN 5-0
Hall 2 Vinoth
39, Farhan 40+1, Brendan 58, 74, Billy 78 (P)
Hall 13
Tuesday, 24 December 2013
ST WILFRID’S SPORTS COMPLEX – In the end, it was a
relatively straightforward win for Hall 2. They made neat work of their inexperienced
opponents, to the extent sometimes we wonder if the “mercy rule” should be
introduced to avoid instances such as these.
There was a makeshift look to this Hall 2 side, a
consequence of both the graduation of senior players as well as the absence of
key players. Long-time stalwarts of the team such as ex-Hall President Teo Yu
Hao and ex-captain Chai Ming Long have left the Hall, while Tan Yong Geng and
Christopher Gan missed out on this one.
Hall 2 lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with the surprise
deployment of Brendan Liang at centre-back, probably to give a relatively inexperienced
backline some much-needed tactical nous. Another surprise inclusion was that of
Nicholas Tai at left-wing, perhaps hoping that the chemistry with his loomie,
the makeshift left-back Arnold Wee, might deliver the goods. Billy Wong lined
up in the hole behind the lone striker Farhan, while elsewhere there were
debuts for Dalston Leong and Blven Chan.
Hall 13 on the other hand lined up in a Mourinho-esque
4-3-3, with their midfield triangle sitting very deep. The end result of this
was the lack of space in midfield, with Billy largely anonymous in the first
quarter as he was starved of space he needs to thrive; it was not uncommon to
see Billy completely surrounded by Hall 13’s midfield trio, unable to affect
the play in any way other than set-pieces.
Hall 2’s main avenue of attack in the first half largely
involved playing balls behind Hall 13’s left-back for right winger Terence
Cheng to exploit the left-back’s lack of pace. It was a good strategy, taking
in account the high positioning of Hall 13’s left-winger, the narrowness and
high line of the defence, as well as their midfield’s determination to deprive
Billy of any space at all. This left their left-back isolated against Terence,
who was able to send in a couple of crosses into the box, but they were all
either overhit or comfortably cleared by the Hall 13 defence, with Farhan,
Billy and Nic Tai not providing much of an aerial presence in the box.
The unexpected injury suffered by Nic Tai in the 13th
minute put a premature end to his loomie partnership with Arnold, the duo
enjoying solid, if unremarkable, games. The introduction of Vinoth in Nic Tai’s
place gave Hall 2 an extra dimension in attack, providing both directness on
the left wing and an aerial presence in the box. The way he would start out
wide, receiving the ball from deep before either driving infield towards goal
or down the touchline was reminiscent of Balotelli in his Manchester City days.
Before the first goals arrived however, Hall 2 was exerting
pressure with no real danger. Terence’s crosses, Billy’s corners and freekicks
all contributed to the feel that Hall 2 was in control, but to call it a siege
would be overstating the case; other than a Billy freekick in the 16th
minute and a Billy cross that left the Hall 13 keeper flapping at thin air, he
was largely unbothered.
Vinoth’s influence on the game finally told in the 39th
minute. 2 minutes before, he had cut in from the left to fire a shot that flashed
just wide. Lesson not learnt, Farhan, who was working hard to run the channels
and occupy both centre-backs, had a shot on the turn that ricocheted off the
crossbar. The resultant scramble outside the penalty area eventually found
Vinoth completely free in the box for an easy sidefoot home.
Hall 13’s pressing and compactness up till the 30 minute
mark was a crucial factor in keeping Hall 2 at bay. Such incessant pressing,
however, would eventually take its toll, and as they tired towards halftime, space
started to appear; spaces that Billy would soon exploit.
Billy’s positioning throughout the game was very
interesting. Early on, he was crowded of space in the middle of the park, thus
he resorted to either floating towards the flanks to create overloads and send
crosses in, or hovering around Farhan waiting for the second ball to drop, akin
to a second striker. As Hall 13’s pressing started to drop, however, Billy
became more involved in the game as he dropped deeper and deeper into spaces
where the Hall 13 midfield was reluctant to follow him.
One such instance led to the 2nd goal in the 41st
minute. Receiving the ball deep on the left, Billy drilled an angled crossfield
ball that Scholes would have been proud of into the inside-right channel for
Farhan to run onto. With the Hall 13 backline caught flatfooted, Farhan slotted home to give Hall 2 a 2-0 lead at halftime.
From then on this became Hall 2’s main mode of attack, and
everything good about Hall 2 flowed through Billy, a sharp contrast to his performance
for large parts of the first half. Having said so, a contributory factor
towards Hall 13’s fatigue was Hall 2’s ability to retain the ball and recycle
possession, denying Hall 13 the chance to rest on the ball.
The overall technical superiority that the Hall 2 backline
and midfield duo enjoyed was at times painfully obvious. Sathiya occasionally
dropped into the backline to provide a passing option for Kenneth Gan and
Brendan Liang, reliving the pressure on the Hall 2 backline. Dalston played slightly further ahead, his
passing neat and crisp, keeping the play going. Arnold and Blven just did what
they were supposed to do, staying back, keeping it simple.
Having ran himself into the ground during the first half,
Terence’s influence on the game started to fade, just as Billy’s was growing by
the minute. No matter, the job was done. 29th President Parthiban
came on for Terence, prompting a tactical reshuffle for Hall 2. Parthi slotted
in at centre-back alongside Captain Kenneth, Brendan moved all the way to
centre-forward, Farhan dropping slightly deeper, while Billy took over Terence’s
place on the right. Hall 2 morphed into a lopsided 4-4-2; Vinoth continued to
stay high and wide, and while Billy was the notional right-winger, he was
really just moving wherever that allowed him to spray balls towards the 3
forwards on his left.
His next was a work of art. Kenneth spotted the run of
Brendan and lofted a ball over the Hall 13 defence, while Brendan did superbly
to not only beat the offside trap but to lob the goalkeeper from 25m out. He
then showed that his link-up play was up-to-scratch as well, playing the
through ball that led to Billy’s penalty, which he converted with aplomb for
Hall 2’s 5th goal.
Billy’s crowding out in the first half and Brendan’s
deployment as centre-back contributed to Hall 2’s relatively muted start.
However, once Hall 13 started to tire, Billy promptly grabbed the game by the
scruff of the neck, and was ably supported by Brendan in the 2nd half.
With Christopher and Yong Geng to return for the next games, a full-strength
Hall 2 side is a terrifying proposition for anyone to face.
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