Senior Bullets put up steady performance to trounce Christchurch Sec 7-0

3 Feb 2016

The Bowen B Boys continued their strong start to the season with a 7-0 thrashing of Christchurch Secondary School this afternoon at the Punggol Secondary School pitch.

Bullets centre-back Muhd Tahalif closely watched by Christchurch player

However, the final scoreline was far from what would be expected as Christchurch, as with Greendale, came with an organised defence, putting 10 men behind the ball and trying to soak up the pressure.

Bowen Bullets starting line-up

After half an hour, there was still no score but the Bowen Bullets remained patient and did not allow the opponent to frustrate them with negative tactics. With possession freely conceded by Christchurch, the Bullets moved the ball around the field with ease and competence rarely seen in their matches so far. Their patience paid off in the 30th minute when Bullets striker Aizal finally found space just inside the penalty box to curl a right-footed shot into an empty net.

Bullets right winger Marcus Wong making a foray into enemy territory

The second half saw the Bullets gaining  more ground in the possession statistics. Striker Muhd Zamani's twists and turns in the penalty box 10 minutes after the break attracted a defender's frustrated tackle that took the ball as well as Zamani. The referee pointed to the spot and Aizal coolly converted.

Bullets striker Zamani (in blue) looking to challenge for the ball

In the 54th minute, aggressive pressing by Bullets midfielder Josiah Phua saw him rob the ball off a Christchurch player and deliver an inch-perfect through ball to Zamani who slot the ball past a helpless Christchurch keeper to register a 3-0 scoreline.

Bullets attacking midfielder Josiah Phua turning away from danger

At this point, Christchurch looked physically drained and lost some of the discipline to keep their shape. Zamani continued to terrorise the Christchurch defence, this time bringing the ball down to the left byeline and cutting the ball back for Josiah to score his first hat trick of the competition.

Bullets striker Aizal scoring the first goal for Bowen

Immediately after the goal, Bowen made a curious substitution that saw them play with 10 men for the final 10 minutes. Striker Zamani was taken off to facilitate Brendan Tan's entry when right-back Ithar Nur Iqmal was unable to continue after suffering cramps at the sideline.

Bullets right-back Ithar Nur Iqmal making a pass out of defence

Yet, there was no need for alarm as the Bullets scored 3 more goals. Josiah capped a refreshing performance with two goals from assured shots inside the penalty box and then providing an assist for right-winger Muhd Hisam to score his first goal from close range.

Bullets skipper Benny Tan commanding the Bowen defence

Teacher-in-charge, Mr Winston Chua was upbeat after the game and praised the boys for their smart performance.

"The boys played a more assured and patient game today. We passed the ball well and the build-up play was fantastic in the first 10 minutes, though we did not find the net. But that's due to the opponents' tactics of setting up shop in front of goal. The boys learnt that they can keep possession of the ball better if  they don't force a risky pass. They now know they can play as a team and rely on one another, so I hope they have more faith in the way we want to play our game, which will definitely come in handy at the later stages of the competition."

However, he declined to talk about that strange substitution that left his team handicapped for the last 10 minutes of the match.

Bowen Starting Line-Up	Jersey No.
ONG JIAN HAO DESMOND    out 41’	1
MOHD SHAKIR B SIRAJUDEN	2
HARITH ANIQ B AZMAN	3
BENNY TAN TENG SOON	4
MUHD TAHALIF B ABDULLAL J   off 45’	5
JOSIAH PHUA YONG QI   goal 62', 63’, 65’	6
ITHAR NUR IQMAL B ABDUL WAHAB	13
MUHD ZAMANI B MD ZAMRI   goal 54’   off 62’	8
AIZAL MURHAMDANI B AHMAD   goal 30’, 50’ (pen)	9
MUHAMMAD RASYDAN B ARIFFIN      off 60’	7
MARCUS WONG JIAN YUAN        off 31’	14
Substitutes	Jersey No.
KEITH  WONG JIA FENG  in 41’	20
R SHARVEEN RAM  in 45’	11
MUHAMMAD IRFAN B MAZLAN    in 60’	10
TANG GUAN YU	19
DAVID SANJAY SINGH SAMBHI	18
ONG JUN YONG TERENCE	16
BRENDAN TAN LEON KEAT   in 62’	15
MUHAMMAD HISAM B ROZIMAN         in 31’   goal 76’	12
ITHAR NUR IRFAN B ABDUL WAHAB	17

NZ Inter-Sch B Div Boys Group C : Standings
	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
Bowen Sec	3	3	0	0	19	0	19	9
Fuchun Sec	3	3	0	0	10	1	9	9
Punggol Sec	3	1	0	2	3	4	-1	3
Greendale Sec	4	1	0	2	6	10	-4	3
Si Ling Sec	3	1	0	2	4	17	-13	3
Christchurch Sec	2	0	0	2	0	9	-9	0