Comebacks require a blend of physical strength and mental resilience, a capacity to make something, however improbable, happen, and the ability to ignore the previous openings that produced nothing. Playouts Reunited did just that, twice coming from behind to snatch a draw that might just be a catalyst to promotion at the end of the season.
At the beginning of the first half, both teams were in doubt whether the game would last the full 90 minutes. Had lighting struck, I don’t think the game would have lasted the duration. However, it did not strike twice; the slick astro-turf and gloomy skies were made for football heaven.
Playouts, plagued by the curse of the ‘after match team talk’ at Adam Rd, saw another miserable turn out of twelve players. As Renhan aptly put before kick-off, ‘Lets do this for the twelve of us.’ Fired up by Renhan’s war cry, Playouts started the first half wanting and fighting for every ball. Dominating proceedings in the first fifteen minutes, Playouts, however, were more than guilty of wasting their fair share of half chances to put the game to bed – a worrying habit in the last few games.
Central Park, having braved the storm, came out to play and got a goal against the run of play when Playouts failed to clear their lines and according to injured centre-back Tze Chong, tried to play with too much class. Shao’s square pass got intercepted which was then finely finished past midfielder, centre-back, keeper Guoming.
Playouts regrouped and pressed on, but were largely limited to long-range efforts from Kong, which for some strange reason were all balloons. With the shackles firmly on Isa-the bullet-Gan and Renhan, Playouts went into halftime a goal down.
Second half and manager Tze Chong, stabilizing the backline, moved goalkeeper Guoming to centre-back, Zhuang to keeper and Ryan Gomes to right back. This allowed Playouts to concentrate solely on the equalizer. Renhan’s header was cleared off the line, followed by a scramble in the six-yard box and Isa Gan denied by some good goalkeeping. As the match wore on and more and more of the game was being played in Central Park’s half, Playouts finally found the equalizer, winning the ball in the middle of the park, a quick counter-attack with the ball ending up with Geoffrey and what a Swee shot he let loose from outside the penalty area. Top corner. 1-1. Game on.
They say a team is at its most vulnerable after scoring a goal. And true enough, only a minute after equalizing, Playouts overcommitted players forward in search of the winner and got punished by a swift counter-attack, which left Guoming and Shao against both their strikers. Turning Guoming inside out, the striker slammed the ball past a helpless Zhuang. 2-1 to Central Park. Again, with their never-say-die spirit, Playouts won corner after corner and would have scored if only Guoming hadn’t closed his eyes while challenging an open header six-yards out. As the clock trickled down to the final minutes of the game, Playouts did not lose hope and finally got their reward for the pressure on Central Park’s defense. Edwin, moved into his ‘round hole’ position, proved his worth by unleashing an unstoppable left-foot shot into the top left corner that left the keeper rooted. Frustration that was built up by the referee’s constant nonsensical decisions, Edwin decided to celebrate with that arrogant ‘I do this in my sleep’ gesture.
It could have easily been a lost for Playouts, however it was a good result taking into consideration the injuries and absence of playoutsers including danger man/playmaker Daryl Gomez. This felt like three points to Isa-le sulk-Gan and so should the rest.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Renhan – Led the line well, flicked headers on and for creating a Ronaldinho chance in the 1st half forcing a save from the keeper. Also had an effort cleared off the line.
PLAYOUTS VERDICT: Injuries and other commitments are impeding them; Tze Chong is struggling to find a settled side or a winning formula. Their line-up changes by the game, with Chris the latest man sidelined. Newcomer Ryan Gomes provided glimpses of his talent, first in the centre and then on the wings, but the absence of Daryl Gomez in attack was telling. With remaining fixtures against the top four, they will need more performances like this in order to achieve promotion this season. Hopefully this will be the end of their recent slump.
PLAYOUT OF THE MATCH: Shao’s square pass that led to Central Park’s first goal – back to the basics for defenders (NO SQUARE PASSES IN DEFENCE, SAFETY FIRST)
MOAN OF THE MATCH: From a Playouts POV, the refereeing could have been better to say the least. Also Isa Gan’s attempt to get himself sent off every time the opposition keeper gets the ball; his extra 50 cents as Renhan put it.
