Team Report
Knight Riders kicked off their start of the season with a 2-1 win against El Gremio FC
Starting Line Up: 4-5-1
Ben (#1) Goal Keeper
Chanda (#12) Left Back
Paulo (C) (#6) Center Back
Jordan (#3) Center Back
Aloysius (#22) Right Back
Jun Heng (#9) Left Winger
Jin An (#42) Center Midfield
Ramzi (#10) Center Midfield
Ariff (#7) Right Winger
Izzat (#17) Attacking Midfield
Kai Sheng (#20) Center Forward
Subs:
Ming Hao Center Forward
Ruth (#15) Full Back
Nicholas (#11) Winger
Daniel (#21) Midfielder
The Knights started the game with some key players missing, such as Reliable Center Backs Ivan Loo(#5), Joseph Joju(#4), Versatile Full Back Ashley Tan (#2) and Midfield Anchor Veera Raj (#8). Starting with a make shift squad, it was an uphill battle for the team to adjust to their new positions and secure a win.
Kicking off, Knight Riders had a good start, dominating possession early on. El Gremio FC defended well, being able to stave off attacks from the constant onslaught of Knight Riders offense. With possession at 60%-40% it seemed only a matter of time until Knight Riders scored their first goal of the season.
Despite the offensive onslaught, they were however caught on the break on multiple occasions, one near-costly one in the 20'th min with Knights midfielders losing possession and El Gremio forwards charging towards the knights defense 4 to 3, breaking off the left side and getting past the defensive attempt of Knights full back Aloysius(#22), the El Gremio winger lined himself up for a driven shot at the edge of the box only to be stopped by a decisive right footed slide tackle by Knights captain Paulo(#6).
In the 25' minute Knight Riders found their long awaited goal, after a long clearance by the opposition center back during a corner, Chanda(#12) found himself with space just beyond the half field line. With perfect timing, he hit a sweetly struck volley which looped and dipped beyond the struggling reach of the El Gremio FC keeper. Was it intentional? It certainly seemed so, with Chanda having done a similar strike the week before in a friendly, unfortunately hitting the crossbar. 25'th minute 1-0 to the Knights!
Knight Riders with high morale and a 1 goal cushion, started to sit back, allowing the opposition to keep possession waiting for their chance to catch them on the break. El Gremio however did not allow their conceded goal to affect them too much and had positive chances to attack the Knights backline.
Knight Riders Goal Keeper, untested for much of the first half made some smart saves to keep his team in the lead. End of the first half and it was 1-0 to Knight Riders favor.
Second half began with El Gremio turning up the heat, channeling through their left wing, they pushed the Knights defense to their limit almost getting an equalizer at the 52th' minute where a slick 1-2 got past Chanda(#12), with covering defender Paulo(#6) rushing in to intercept, however not being able to block the cross whipped in. It would have been an El Gremio equalizer had Knights defender Jordan (#3) not been present to make a crucial double block to deny the El Gremio forwards from capitalizing.
It was end to end stuff for much of the second half, the next goal would be crucial to deciding the momentum of the game. Knight Riders with their pacy wingers penetrating the El Gremio backline and new towering Centre forward Ming Hao posing a new threat in set pieces. El Gremio with their direct brand of counter attacking football catching the knights on the breaks. It was Knight Riders who got their second goal from a corner kick in the 61'min. Nicholas (a half time substitute) whipped in a dipping corner towards the near post which Ming Hao knocked on towards the far post finding the timed run of the unmarked Jun Heng(#9) punishing the sleeping defense and giving his side a 2 goal cushion.
El Gremio were able to grab a goal late on in the 75th minute. A goal kick taken short to the left winger, he danced his way past two midfielders attacking the knights right back head on. Cutting onto his right side, miscommunication from Jordan(#3) & Aloysius(#22) allowed the winger to squeeze past both of them. With the defense exposed and the ball bobbling slightly beyond the reach of the attacker, Center back Paulo(#6) rushed to cover and tried to clear the ball away first time instead of taking a touch. A costly error which resulted in the ball finding its way to the attacker's feet who placed a shot to the bottom corner hitting the post before another forward tucked it into the back of the net. Goal Keeper Ben(#1) was furious with his defenders. An Incisive run. Miscommunication. A costly error. Some Fortune and its 2-1. Game on!
Ramzi (#10) almost sealed a comfortable win for Knight Riders in the 80'th minute. When a low driven corner was touched on by Daniel(#21) at the near post forcing the El Gremio keeper to make a smart save to his near post. Ramzi(#10) lurking, followed up with a driven shot which was denied by another smart save by the keeper. It remained 2-1.
Tensions were high with both sides attacking ferociously to grab another decisive goal, there were excellent displays of defensive work from both teams to keep the score at 2-1. The ref finally blew his whistle and Knight Riders secured their first win of what promises to be a good season ahead.
With smart saves, good presence and composure under pressure, Goal Keeper Ben (#1) kept his side in the lead, earning himself the Man of the Match award from his team mates.
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