Match 20 - July 19, 2003 Saturday
Jurong East Stadium,Crowd : 1,748
Referee : Abdul MalikJURONG FC 1
Rafi Ali (55th)
SEMBAWANG RANGERS 0
STABLE NEWS MAN OF THE MATCH : RAZIF MOHAMUD
JURONG DESERVED THE VICTORY
This was truly a game that did not deserve to be telecast live on national TV. After the high of holding the league leader at the Stable, many fans had upped their hopes for this game. A win would have helped in closing the points gap to our nearest rival in the table, Sinchi.
But this was one of those game? Jurong East Stadium had never been a lucky ground for us. Our record at the stadium is woeful. And since this is a live game, we were even less confident of getting a result, as we?ve seldom done well on TV too.
Jurong, with two defeats before this game, looked the hungrier side and set the game alight with some delightful, crisp passing football. Rafi Ali was the man that dictated most of the play. Ronald was yet again disappointing and his lack of cohesiveness in the middle didn?t help the team.
Tawan Sripan, Razif Mahamud, Supakit Jinajai and Yazid Yasin played reasonably well in the game, while some of their team-mates were either off the pace or just could not match a superior opponent.
Razif, sporting a new "skinhead" look, was playing some of the best football of his career and it was he and Yazid who were the key men who kept the score respectable.
In the second half, the Jurong captain, Rafi, caught our defenders sleeping, sneaking in at the back of the box. He calmly took the ball on his chest and then lifted it over Yazid, who?d come off his line to narrow the angle, to give his team the lead.
The goal seemed to wake the young Stallions , as they started to string some decent attacks that threatened an equaliser. Tawan had his shot blocked and Cumpee was unlucky as his shot, parried away by Bashir Khan struck the post. Norfahazly was first to the lose ball, but the young striker?s effort was again denied by the keeper.
That miss summed up a night where our boys were always second best. Another away defeat at Jurong East, this time witnessed by thousands on TV.KP