Bowen Senior Boys' progress halted by Fuchun

10th Feb 2016

In a pulsating NZ Inter-School B Div Boys match played this afternoon at the Punggol Secondary School pitch, Fuchun Secondary held the marauding Bowen Bullets to a 3-3 draw.

Bowen Bullets starting line-up vs Fuchun Sec

The Bullets had the lion's share of the play and lead by 2 goals at the break but were pinned back to 2-2 and then forced to hand Fuchun the lead. Fortunately, the boys from Bowen did not give up and made amends by scoring the equaliser 10 minutes from time.

If Bowen had taken their chances in the first half, Fuchun could have been more than 2 goals down at half time. As early as the 4th min, Bullets striker Aizal's snap shot from the edge of the penalty box went agonisingly close, grazing the right post and out for a goal kick. Fellow striker Zamani also came close in the 6th minute with his grounder off a corner going just wide.

Not to be outdone, Fuchun had actually put the ball into goal in the 9th min, just to have the effort cancelled out for offside.

3 minutes later, Bowen opened accounts from a corner that was half-cleared. Captain Benny Tan picked up the loose ball at the edge of the penalty box and relayed it to Aizal who crossed low for right-midfielder Muhd Irfan to swat the ball past a stunned Fuchun goalkeeper.

Zamani doubled Bowen's lead in the 27th minute when he was first to react to a defensive mix-up after some good work from the Bullets down the left. With a swing of Zamani's left boot, the ball went into the goalmouth off the Fuchun goalkeeper's outstretched arms.

The 2nd half started badly for the Bullets as they allowed Fuchun to reclaim the midfield area. Fuchun skipper No 10 man and No, 9 holding midfielder conjured a lucrative 10-minute period during which they scored 2 goals to even the score. First, a free kick floated over the Bowen defence in the 46th minute was delicately glanced into the goal by a rising Fuchun skipper.

6 minutes later, a cross into the Bowen penalty box caused a melee where the the ball finally landed at the foot of a Fuchun player who swung the ball past Bullets keeper Desmond Ong.

The confidence in the Fuchun's camp rose and they finally got the lead they were looking for in the 60th minute after some hesitant defending and half-clearances by Bowen allowed Fuchun striker No. 13 to rifle the ball home from the edge of the box for a possible winner.

Bowen re-adjusted their midfield and the steel came back quickly, After several misses from Aizal, Zamani and substitute Brendan Tan, Bowen found the equaliser. Zamani latched on to a superb through ball and put the ball confidently beyond the grasp of the Fuchun keeper.

Bowen just need a draw in their last match against Punggol Sec to secure a 2nd round place but Teacher-in-charge Mr Winston Chua thinks the boys will not be satisfied until they top the group to secure a favourable grouping in the next round.

"Overall, it was a good fighting performance by both teams but I think the boys looked more inventive in attack and created more chances," said Mr Chua. "It's a pity we did not make our chances count and kill off the opponent. We had a nightmarish 10 to 15 minute blip in the 2nd half when we lost a bit of focus and allowed Fuchun to dictate the pace of the game. I think that was the only regret but it's OK, we are still leading the group by goal difference and the boys will learn from the experience and improve."

Bowen Starting Line-Up	Jersey No.
ONG JIAN HAO DESMOND	1
MOHD SHAKIR B SIRAJUDEN	2
HARITH ANIQ B AZMAN	3
BENNY TAN TENG SOON	4
R SHARVEEN RAM	11
JOSIAH PHUA YONG QI	6
MUHAMMAD IRFAN B MAZLAN    goal 12’   off 73’	10
MUHD ZAMANI B MD ZAMRI   goal 27’, 71’	8
AIZAL MURHAMDANI B AHMAD	9
MUHAMMAD RASYDAN B ARIFFIN	7
MARCUS WONG JIAN YUAN	14
Substitutes	Jersey No.
KEITH  WONG JIA FENG	20
MUHD TAHALIF B ABDULLAL J	5
ITHAR NUR IQMAL B ABDUL WAHAB	13
TANG GUAN YU	19
DAVID SANJAY SINGH SAMBHI	18
ONG JUN YONG TERENCE	16
BRENDAN TAN LEON KEAT   in 73’	15
ITHAR NUR IRFAN B ABDUL WAHAB	17