Kamikaze win by the skin of their Teeth

ESPZEN Sunday League Season 20 Division 6

Kamikaze FC vs Chap Pah Lang FC

26/01/2013
3pm Kickoff
Yusof Ishak Secondary


Kamikaze's clamour for some excitement was duly fulfilled when as many as 5 first-team regulars made themselves unavailable for the game leaving the team with only 12-man to play against Chap Pah Lang.

The game started as a cagey affair as Chap Pah Lang came with a well-organised plan to contain the team and press very high. For the first 15 minutes, Kamikaze were to be content with half chances and a long pop or two. But that changed when KKZ was awarded a freekick 30 yards out for a foul on Pratheep. Hevy stepped up confidently to take the freekick, but was denied by the woodwork. Luckily for the team, returning playmaker Yeli was on hand to nod the ball in. If the first goal came in fortuitous circumstances, there was little luck about the second goal, as a good passing movement from the team saw Hevy chase down the ball down the left flank to lay it on to Vijay, who somehow managed to overcome two tackles and poke the ball into the far-post for his 1st goal in over a year.

At 2-0, the message at half-time was to go for the kill. However, Kamikaze entered self-destruct mode instead as they made a mess of the chances they created and constantly gave away the ball cheaply. The team showed a starkling dip in form and their inability to string together passes was clearly evident. Chap Pah Lang's perseverance soon bore fruit as they scored two goals to bring the match level and looked set to condemn the Champions to a humiliating draw.

But as always, when common sense and tactical discipline failed them, their spirit soared to save the day. With just 2 minutes remaining on the clock, it was a sight to behold to see KKZ launch attack after attack and had 9 men camped in the opponent's penalty box for a free-kick. The move paid dividends as a scramble saw Pratheep free on the edge of the 6-yard box as he rammed home the winner.

Captain of the day Hara, was not pleased with the result though,

"I thought we were tactically naive. We need to have managed the changes better and settled for a 2-0 win. Instead we kept going for goals, when it was clearly not our day and we almost got punished. We should be more tactically smarter in games to come."

Nevertheless, it was heartening to see a Kamikaze comeback after so long, and it was heartening to see that comfortable victories had not taken the team's desire, hunger and spirit away. They now enter a 2-week festive break, following which they prepare for the last game of the season and to watch the curtain fall on Victor's competitive amateur career.

KAMIKAZE!!!

Squad: Pratip (GK), Dinesh Neshsta, Premnathan, Haravin (c), Dinesh Manjan, Karthik Doctor, Aravin Yeli, Hevy, PratheepMuse, Victor, Vijay, Vishnu 

Goals: Aravin Yeli, Vijay, PratheepMuse 
Assists: Hevy (2), Aravin Yeli

Final Score: Kamikaze 3 - 2 Chap Pah Lang FC