left to right starting line up: Patrick (GK), Stef, Henry, TonyC, Chi, Ed, DavidP, Flabbo, Cowley, Gez, MarcD
A tough match played in good spirits, we went 1-nil down early on when an unmarked Kar Shung player scored from a corner.
We had more of the possession however their 2 new signings straight from the Ma on Shan stadium stands gave them an edge on the counter attack however only a few shorts on target with our back four mopping up well. Gez pulled a goal back after some good build up play and generally our passing was top notch given the state of the pitch.
Coming in level at half time we were looking good for a point if not a win, in the second half a low cross somehow evaded Stef, and Patrick coming off his line was unable to stop the flick 2-1. More pressure in their half saw us winning a few corners and throw ins in dangerous places however we could not convert, a clash of heads saw Gez off with tunnel vision and we were down to 10 men.
We continued to press with Stef swapping for Ed on the left to give some fresh(er) legs in attack, Cowley was making some good runs down the right and David and Flabbo were working well in midfield, however as the opposition rotated their squad with ~3 subs our tied legs started to show as they hit us on the break a number of times. Chi got caught with the ball on the left and their sub managed to get into the box and score. 3-1.
Another change with David switching with Marc and Henry pushing up into midfield, with 2 mins to go David pulled another goal back however we ran out of time and the match ended 3-2
Overall a good effort especially playing a long time with only 10 men and a draw would have been a fair result.
Most disappointing was the suqad size, Happy Valley games attract huge numbers however these games in far flung places will make the difference between staying up and getting relegated so to have 11 players from a distribution list of ~60 is a pretty poor showing, while it’s tough for many to get out of work ontime a 9pm kick off that’s barely 30 mins from central is not such a huge ask.
Final score 3:2
Goals: Gez/David
YC: don’t think there were any…
