Match report - game 3, 8th April 2009

Hey all,

Well, Bitheadz took to the court in anger once again this evening, and a very bolstered lineup looked as follows:

3. Van Pham
11. Magid Shehab (sub)
14. Nhan Nguyen
15. Brad Horton
16. Shane Johnston
17. Ahmed Ismail (check this) (sub)
18. Edward Williams (sub)
90. James Pham (gk)

We took on Team Green, who were big, and scary looking, and wearing Green Camo uniforms which were scary.

But that didn't stop Van Pham from drawing first blood soon after the game started - 1-0.

Green were given a penalty soon after, unfortunately, which was duly converted, but after some tussling, Brad Horton took us back into the lead with a shot their keeper couldn't hold onto; Bitheadz up 2-1.

We were unlucky to go back to 2-2 after a fantastic shot from one of Green's players from just inside Bitheadz' half, and a little after halftime came around. During the half, Bitheadz racked up 4 fouls, taking us dangerously close to penalty territory. Team Green by comparison, had none.

After the break, it didn't take long for both team's attempts at power play to tell, and Bitheadz conceded the fifth foul. It looked inevitable they would score, Green's penalty taker aiming for the top left corner but James Pham was up to the task, and pushed the ball out. The resulting corner amounted to nothing, and Bitheadz advanced, coming very close to scoring through Shane Johnston.

The second half was a veritable see-saw, as both teams pressed the point, the match became very end-to-end. Every time Green came forward, Bitheadz then countered, and so on. Some great shots came from both teams - Shane Johnston, Van Pham and Nhan Nguyen leading the way. Magid Shehab was instrumental in carrying the ball forward several times, Edward Williams got in the way of a few Green plays in defence, Ahmed Ismail was also a great ball winner.

But the next goal went to Green, another big strike from outside the box. 3-2. At kickoff, after this, something special happened. Edward Williams laid off to Van Pham from the centre, who then struck true with his second touch - 3-3.

Soon after, Shane Johnston's hard work paid off after a looping run saw him shrug off three defenders, and tuck the ball between the Green keeper's legs - Bitheadz up 4-3, 5 mins to play.

Bitheadz continued to press the advantage of having subs, frequently swapping players as soon as one of us got tired. The rotational policy seemed to be holding on, even getting several more shots close - Van Pham, Brad Horton and Nhan Nguyen all came agonisingly close; Shane Johnston and Edward Williams managed to get on target, only to be stopped by the Green keeper who was redoubling his efforts. Magid Shehab and Ahmed Ismail were both on hand to provide fresh legs, as well as Brad Horton, and the bench seemed to constantly rotate for the last several minutes of the match.

It took another wonder strike from Green from well outside the penalty zone to score to finish off the match, with about a minute left to play. Scores were 4-4. Some final desperate play from Bitheadz to restore the lead came and went, but it was all for naught, however, and the lads will need to wait another week for their first win.

Bitheadz FC 4 - 4 Team Green

Scorers for Bitheadz:

(2) Van Pham
(1) Brad Horton
(1) Shane Johnston