Match Report: Team Prodigy 2 - 1 Suave Fusion

Match Report: http://espzen.com/matchreport_frame.asp?matchno=5550


First 10-15min
PRODIGIANS edged out a thrilling and tense 2-1 victory over Suave Fusion FC to return to the top of ESPZEN League Division 7.

AS with all Prodigian’s matches, it took the players a while to start up and get their engine going. Suave, who had displayed their commitment by arriving at the pitch 20 minutes before the match to warm up and kick about duly capitalized on the lack of focus and created wave after wave of attack. Perhaps the Liverpudlians amongst the Prodigians were badly affected by the EPL loss the night before to Boro which dented their (in the first place non-existent) title hopes further, or maybe the Man U fans are just too excited and hyped up over their League Cup clash with Spurs later in the night, Team Prodigy struggled to string together what would normally be routine training ground passes. As Prodigy soaked up the pressure from the opponents and attempt to launch their trademark through passes and swift counter attack, the game turned somewhat scrappy with most of the action condensed in the midfield area. Suave did not make the most of their better possession and were goal shy, wasting a number of set pieces, to the relief of Prodigy.

Sub 10 min:
Ching Weng for Kelvin who pulled a muscle on his ermm ass? Hahaha! A loud banter was heard on the pitch when news of that filtered through the team.

25 min
Sensing some tired legs in Suave’s players, Kelvin made four clever substitutions to inject more pace into the lackluster team display. Along came James, Bernard, Ali and Ken for Brandon, Hongyao, Nigel and Derek. It was a brilliant stroke of genius and having soaked up all the pressure, Team Prodigy is now looking for the sucker punch. Prodigy began to play with a greater sense of urgency to search for that all important goal before halftime.

30 min
Prodigy’s first real chance came to the feet of Ali after he found himself one on one with the keeper on the right following a clever (or taiko) backheel by James. However, his near post shot went just agonizingly wide to the dismay of the team and the army of WAGs.

34 min
Prodigy had another glorious opportunity to go 2-0 up. Ali left his marker for dead on the left of the penalty box and unselfishly opted to put the ball across the goal mouth for Bernard who was lurking at the far post. The pace of the pass took Bernard by surprise and he uncharacteristically failed to connect cleanly with the ball rolling just wide.

38 min
Minutes later, it was Prodigy’s evergreen striker Mick who came close on scoring. After taking the ball down with supreme close control, he launched a shot from the left despite a desperate sliding block by Suave’s (big? No, I mean HUGEEEE) skipper which flew beyond the fingertips of the keeper. But the woodwork stood in the way on what would have marked the first goal of the match. Seeing the keeper pick up the ball from behind the net and becoming increasingly frustrated at his defenders, Prodigy turned more committed towards their attack and found themselves slowly but surely gaining momentum on the match.

42 min
True enough, James ended Prodigy’s search for that elusive goal (what’s new?). Upon receiving a pass from midfield, James easily outpaced and outmuscled Suave’s last man and smashed a shot which almost burst the roof of the net, leaving the keeper with no chance at all. In his trademark goal celebration, James dedicated the goal to his girlfriend who was, by than, ecstatic at the sideline.

45 min
Prodigy went into half time deservingly 1-0 up.


2ND Half
The second half began rather similarly as with the first, with the lime green tide pushing forward for the equalizer.

47 min
Within minutes of restart, Suave made the most out of the first clear opening of the half. A perfectly weighted lobbing cross from the right found a Suave player who was played onside by Kelvin. Prodigy eventually paid the price for failing to their footing on the match. Score stood at 1-1 and the match was getting more open and entertaining for the spectators.

66 min
Another mistake on the left saw Suave with a shot opportunity. Thankfully keeper Jia Hui was on the alert and he saved superbly with a full dive to the left, putting the ball out for a corner kick.

75 min
Having been under the cosh of Suave for large periods of the 2nd half, Nigel found space on the left, after a neat one two with Ching Weng and Derek resulted in the former delivering him with a pin point inch perfect pass. Nigel, spotting the keeper off his line, instinctively took the golden opportunity presented and lobbed the keeper on his left foot. The ball floated into the top right corner of goal, making it 2-1 to Prodigy.

81 min
Crisp passing from the midfield found Thian in the penalty area with the ball and two defenders fast closing in on him. However they failed to deal adequately with Thian’s nifty footwork and brought him down, leaving the referee with no choice but to point to the spot. Perhaps the referee could have waited a few more seconds to play advantage as the ball eventually found Bernard who crashed it into the net. Nevertheless, James stepped up (although Jia Hui, urged on by his defenders and players on the sideline, was already jogging forward, indicating his desire to score his first goal for Prodigy) to take the spot kick but it flew over the crossbar.

80-90 min
Prodigy was on the back foot for most of the last minutes of the match. In true Prodigy spirit, players by the sideline were relentlessly urging the players on to keep their focus and heads up. The WAGs in contrast were cool as cucumber, looking pretty as always. The match ended 2-1 to Prodigy, with the league title very much still in sight.

Next game is @ First Toa Payoh Secondary against Red Star Semangat at 1pm this sun, pls confirm attendance via blog chat as soon as you can, thank you!