Bowen Bullets seal comeback win

1 Feb 2012

Canberra Secondary 2 - Bowen Secondary 3

The Senior Bullets came thundering back from two-down halfway through the 1^st half to record a pulsating 3-2 victory over Canberra Secondary School in a preliminary round match of the North Zone Inter-Schools B Div Boys Tournament, with captain Muhd Ali netting a sensational hat-trick.

In the first 10 minutes, Canberra played direct, with no. 20 midfield man spraying penetrative passes into the Bowen penalty box. Coupled with the Bullets’ inability to settle down early, Canberra punished them with a quick goal in the 7^th minute. A cross from the left was not cleared and a Canberra striker hit the target from close range. The Bullets conceded another goal in the 19^th min, this time from a cross-field shot from the right. Goalkeeper Casimir did well to block the shot but only pushed the ball to a grateful Canberra striker who did not waste the chance to double the lead.

Royzat about to launch another free kick

The shock of conceding 2 early goals roused the Bullets into action. From a free kick just outside the penalty box, skipper Muhd Ali curled an inch-perfect shot into the top left-hand corner, catching the goalkeeper out of position. The goal gave the Bullets a lifeline and finally settled the Bullets’ nerves. Canberra came roaring back but were caught out again from another set-piece in the 27^th min. A corner was swung into the far post by Royzat and Ali was at the right place to nod the ball into goal off the goalpost.

In the second half, the real Bullets finally turned up. The whole team worked hard to close out the space from which Canberra launched their attacks, frequently winning possession in the middle of the park. With the game still deadlocked at 2 goals apiece after 70 minutes, the game was there to be won. Substitute striker Karthik came close when he won the ball in the penalty area. Forcing his way to the byeline, he chose to shoot into the arms of the Canberra goalkeeper, rather than cut the ball back into the danger area.

Muhd Ali scoring the last-minute winning goal from a free-kick

The turnaround was complete 1 minute from the final whistle when Muhd Ali scored - again from a free kick- after Muhd Azfar was clumsily brought down just outside the penalty box. The Bullets skipper kept his cool from the tantalizing free kick position to again curl the ball round the wall and away from the Canberra goalkeeper. The Bullets bench erupted with joy and had a little trouble getting the players back on the pitch.

The Bullets showed a healthy fighting spirit to produce the sort of comeback that could inject much needed confidence to calm a nervy start to the season. However, they could definitely do without the type of early match anxiety that nearly cost them the match today.

Man-of-the-Match: Muhd Ali for scoring his first hat-trick which made all the difference in a match hanging in the balance for most of the 2nd half.

Line-up:
Casimir, Hanafi, Shafiq, Royce, Akhsan, Royzat, Renyu (Shayid, Hakim), Azfar, Ali, Prem, Arsyad (Kartik)