[Post-Match Thoughts] Hard-fought Away Victory (Kitchee 1 Sailors 2)
Sorry this one took so long. After the game, we had to go celebrate our team’s victory away from home, and also experience for ourselves the sights and sounds of Hong Kong. I took an extended holiday after that with my parents, and brought them around to see Hong Kong as well. Away days are special not just because of the football team that we follow, but also because it allows us to make friends with fellow football fans, and experience a different city. A win, is sweet, of course, don’t get me wrong. But I think the bonds forged on this trip would be no less strong even if we ended up losing this game. That being said, we never looked like losing this game. We may have almost chucked away a 2-goal lead to draw at the end, but thankfully we managed to survive that late scare to take home three vital points. Another reason for this one taking so long is because I had to rewatch the whole game twice. When you’re in the away stands behind the goal, it’s not the greatest view and your thoughts can be skewed by what you perceive from that angle. Clamping Down on Cleiton The Kitchee fans weren’t lying. Cleiton is a magnificent player. He turns 37 later this year and yet he moves around the pitch elegantly, efficiently, and quickly. He was involved in almost everything that Kitchee did as play flowed through him. Obviously, the Kitchee players also sought to look for him at every opportunity. But our Sailors clamped down on him, through fair or foul means. Whenever Cleiton got on the ball, one of Rui Pires, Diego Lopes, or Anu would be there, engaging him. Sometimes, even the rest of the players helped out. For example, Richairo loses the ball in the 15th minute, chases back a little, sees that it is Cleiton on the ball driving at speed, and gives him a little tug. Yellow card. Richairo does have a tendency to pull people back instead of running with them on defensive duty, but in this case, perhaps it is understandable. It is no surprise to see that Cleiton was the most-fouled player on the pitch. He was fouled 6 times. The next most-fouled player was Law Tsz Chun (more on him later), suffering 5 fouls. Of the 4 yellow cards dished out to Sailors players, 2 were for fouls on Cleiton. Maybe there was a tactical instruction to stop him from being so influential, or maybe he just had a knack for sniffing out space in midfield and thus the players knew that he had to be stopped, by hook or by crook. I think this was crucial in stopping Kitchee’s flow. Until Jantscher came on in the second half and tried to share the creative burden, I felt Kitchee was abit over-reliant on Cleiton being the sole source of inspiration. Law Tsz Chun – Steady on the Right I got many confused people tuning in to the broadcast and asking me why Kitchee was fielding a full foreigner lineup. The explanation is simple, quite a few of them are actually naturalised citizens because they have spent a long time in Hong Kong plying their football. A look at this recent Instagram post by Kitchee should make things clearer. They are all in the HK team. Law Tsz Chun is the only Chinese-sounding name in the lineup and for that he gets my utmost respect – it must be difficult being the only local-born person in the starting 11. This guy is someone to watch for the fans who are gonna head down to Jalan Besar for the return fixture in December. I was so impressed by him and his bags of energy down the right flank. Played at right wing in the first half, he became a right back in the second half when the coach made half-time changes. His directness caused problems for us, and as mentioned above, he was fouled 5 times. Always showing for the ball, and never scared to take on his man, I felt he was the most influential player after Cleiton for Kitchee that night. In fact, sometimes he was the one who helped Kitchee escape LCS’s press in the first half. He ended the night with an assist after his beautiful cross was headed in by Jantscher in the dying minutes of the game. but I felt his most important contribution was actually stopping LCS from making it 3-0. Just before half-time, with Kitchee in disarray, Richairo raced clear on the right wing, and it looked like 3-0 was inevitable because he had Diego Lopes running with him in support. But Law Tsz Chun not only kept pace, he managed to deflect the pass inside towards his keeper, and they avoided a damaging 3rd goal just before halftime. A fantastic performance from Law, and we will be watching him closely in the next game. Zharfan Answers His Doubters All season long, Zharfan has had his doubters. There were some moments where he could perhaps have done better, and sure, he’s no Hassan Sunny, but really, who is? I’ve always backed him this season, because Hassan aside, I don’t think there’s a better local keeper in Singapore. And Hassan has moved on, so who else would I get behind besides Zharfan? If you look at the saves alone, you might not think that Zharfan was overly extended against Kitchee. We’ve seen him make far more spectacular saves in the SPL – remember that double save against the Young Lions? However, I think his performance, taking into account his distribution and handling, were excellent. And in a must-win game where every mistake would prove costly? Just excellent. Interestingly, the lead-up to both goals sees Zharfan feature quite prominently. 2nd goal His contribution to our second goal is easy to notice – it was Zharfan’s quick thinking that saw him place a perfect drop-kick into the right channel
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