Both teams still had the chance to qualify for the quarter-final draw next week. But the one that showed the greater hunger lost out to a moment of hesitation. Hougang Secondary, though the technically inferior team, out fought the junior Bullets in a NZ C Division match this afternoon at Yishun Secondary School but eventually lost the game 1-0. Bullets forward Muhd Afiq took advantage of a shaky Hougang defence to steal the ball in the penalty box to score the only goal in the game.
The goal came in the 6th min but for the rest of the match, it was Hougang Sec that stole the show and almost caused a major shock in the preliminary round of the tournament. Playing in an unusually short field, the Bullets had trouble adapting, finding space to play their pass-and-move football difficult. Add to that, the absence of centre-back Muhd Akmal, who was injured with a fractured arm, made dealing with the many long balls by Hougang Sec a nervous task. The lack of communication in the Bullets’ defensive ranks almost cost Bowen the game. Fortunately, Bullets keeper Muhd Rozaini had an assured game with his safe handling.
With 10 minutes left, Hougang Sec gradually took over the midfield area from the clueless Bullets, breaking into the Bowen penalty box time and again. The unease was plain to see when Bullets Coach Lim summoned for his team to play it safe and close out the game. The fighting spirit shown by the Hougang players was refreshing to see from a team who began the game as underdogs. The resilience and determination was something that the Bullets would have to learn from if they want to proceed further than the quarter-final stage.
Man-of-the-Match: Aloysius Lee. A surprise but Aloysius' ingenuity and trickery was one of the few positives to take away from the game in which the usual performers like Javier Ho were disappointing.
Line-up: Rozaini, Adrian, Danial, Sureen, Samuel (Riley), Rafid, Aizan, Aloysius, Hazim, Javier, Afiq
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