Date: 02/07/06
Time: 9am
Location: East View Secondary School
Opponent: Whirlwind Eagles FC

Score: Hornet FC 5-2 Whirlwind Eagles FC

Hornet FC won their first match in the AFL after beating Whirlwind Eagles FC 5-2. Following this victory, Hornet FC had extended their unbeaten run to 3 matches.

Hornet FC are without 3 regular starters, namely Caiyuan and Ti Siang, who are both our central defenders and left winger, Binnson is also out as he is not feeling well. The turnout today was poor too with only 12 players available.

Hornet FC controlled the game straight at the start of the match and as expected, it was them who took the lead. A pass by Yusrizal sent Weiqiang through and although their goalkeeper pushed out his initial shot, he still managed to send in the rebound in the 15th minute. Hornet FC continued to dominate the game with Ruiqiang, Seow Chuan and Weiqiang all came close to extend the lead. A sudden twist of events saw the Eagles scoring 2 goals in the 37th and 39th minutes. In the 32nd minute, a clash by the Eagles’ striker and Boon Chen saw the latter fell down injured. With no extra goalkeeper, Amin took up the responsibility of keeping the goal. The defense, without Amin, had to be regrouped and this caused great confusion for Hornet FC. The defense looked shaky and the Eagles took advantage of this to score 2 goals. Shaken by the setbacks, Hornet FC upped their attack and before half time, a pass to the right by Ruiqiang found Ah Seng and he curved a beautiful shot into the net from the edge of the penalty box.

2-2 at half time.

At the restart of the match, Amin scored straight from the halfway line and this allowed Hornet FC to take the lead again and at the same time demoralized the Eagles. Hornet FC never looked back since and they continued to attack. In the 55th minute, man of the match, Weiqiang, who will be going to BMTC next Friday, dribbled past 3 defenders and scored from outside the penalty box. He put in a great performance today. He will be missing the next 2 matches and his absent will be sorely felt. Hornet FC continued to attack hard as they did not want a repeat of a comeback again like the previous 2 matches.
Ruiqiang, Weiqiang, Seow Chuan, Kenny, Ah Seng and Razali all rained shots at the Eagles’ goal, but the finishing were poor. Ugly scenes began to happen as the Eagles were frustrated and their captain nearly created a free-for-all. Lucky both sides are able to keep cool other than their captain and their no. 33. They continued to provoke Hornet FC and the referee flashed out yellow cards for the both of them. When everyone cooled down, their captain continued to provoke Boon Chen and when Boon Chen shouted back at him, he was being flashed a yellow card. The Eagles’ captain should have got a red card, but the referee somehow did not do it. The match went on and in the 70tj minute, Ruiqiang put the final nail into the Eagles’ coffin by scoring another goal following a well lay-off by Seow Chuan. There’s no way back for the Eagles. Though taking a 3 goal lead, the Hornet FC continued to push forward but till the final whistle, they could not add on to the score sheet. 5-2, the final score and a great victory for the Hornets.

After match thoughts: It was a great win for Hornet FC. We learnt from our previous matches of letting the opponents to stage a comeback. The turnout for this match is poor and I hope that everyone is able to come for the matches in the future. We should controlled our tempers too. It's a great win and lets keep it up and continue our unbeaten run.