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Joker
Prodigy vs Gracebandy! Co (5-7)
The match preview
predicted a very exciting match week, and it did not disappoint! The first
game, between Joker Prodigy and Gracebandy! Co began with a bench penalty for
each side with the call of incorrect equipment. Gracebandy penalized player,
Joo Minn took just 22 seconds to score when he entered the rink, to open up the
scoring. Khairul of Joker responded to level up the score, but from then on,
the first period was Gracebandy’s for the taking. Philip bagged two and
Kendrick another while Anis of Joker was benched for an incorrect hit.
Khairul
decided to take matters into his hands with three goals in the span of three
minutes to equalize with Gracebandy. Sheeda managed to pull Gracebandy ahead
before the end of the second period. In the third period, Joo Minn and Kevin
extended Gracebandy’s slim lead while Megat looked to get a Joker comeback with
a solo goal. But more than goals, the third period was filled with bench
penalties; two for each side. And when Mervin received two minutes for
incorrect pushing at the last five minutes of the game, Joker failed to
capitalize and the result was as such.
Man
of the Match
Joker Prodigy- Khairul: Clearly Joker’s best
goalscorer of the day; provided Joker with a good chance of recovery.
Gracebandy! Co- Joo Minn: A constant threat during
the game and didn’t let two bench penalties hamper him from leading his leading
to victory!
Gang
Bintang vs KLIUC Hornets (6-6)
Certainly
the game of the week, Gang Bintang was looking for a win to stay hot on Subang
Rascal’s heels, while KLIUC Hornets was looking for an upset to climb the
league table. What was to come was an anything but dismal draw!
After
a goalless five minutes, ‘ace-up-the-sleeve’ Juha pulled Hornets ahead. But
Gang Bintang responded immediately with a clinical goal by Anwar after being
fed by Jethro (who was looking to increase his assist tally!). Later in the
period, Ainur was benched for lying play, but Hornets responded in the wrong
way by Faizul getting booked five seconds later for incorrect equipment. Azmill
had a great first period by making a string of spectacular saves to deny
Bintang a lead.
Taqi
pulled Hornets ahead, but Bintang new-girl Aisyah would have none of it as she
soon replied with a goal of her own, to level the score. Taqi scored a minute
after that, not wanting to keep his head down. Khalid was soon benched for
protesting (what else!) but when he re-emerged, he assisted Rizal who got a
brace to put Bintang ahead for the first time in the game. Muiz managed to
level the game late in the period, and from then on, Bintang had to play
catch-up.
The
23’s on both sides bagged two a piece with Iffat scoring twice while Hafidz
pulled Bintang back every time. In the end, the game ended as a stalemate, and
Gang Bintang were left wondering if they could’ve won the game if their
first-choice custodian, Ilyaaz was in the goal-crease instead of the stand-in
Bob.
Man
of the Match
Gang Bintang- Bob: Did enough to earn his team at
least a point, and constantly proves that he can be a respectable goalie.
KLIUC Hornets- Azmill: Kept Bintang at bay
throughout the whole game and a fantastic show during the first period truly
showed why he is touted to be the next national keeper.
GMI
Blackwings vs Subang Rascals (3-18)
This
game was to see a lot of goals, and it was expected that Subang Rascals would
walk away with an easy victory, but GMI Blackwings certainly didn’t sit down
and let Rascals walk over them. Having said that, the first two periods
belonged to Rascals, with seven goals on each period and absolutely no goals
conceded. Apek was literally untested.
Snake
and Kamal scored a hat trick during the first two periods while Dennis bagged
five and Harri netted a brace. Many would argue, however, that Rascals
should’ve scored so much more to truly reflect their possession and the amount
of opportunities they possessed.
The
third period was when things started stirring up. The Blackwing coaches truly
did well in encouraging the team and they opened up their scoring within 7
seconds of the start. Harri, Kamal, Dennis and skipper Sjaiful got a goal in to
extend their lead and dampen Blackwings’ spirit, but Arif of Blackwings managed
to pull back two consolation goals late in the period. Blackwings truly got
their game started too late and had no chance of retaining any points for this
game as Rascals continued their goal glut.
Man
of the Match
GMI Blackwings: Azizi: The goalkeeper showed in the
third period that he has the determination to do anything, despite conceding in
abundance in the first two periods.
Subang Rascals: Dennis: The centre dictated most of
the game from top to bottom and managed to bag an astounding six goals.
GMI
White Knights vs KLIUC Griffins (7-9)
Certainly
a contender for game of the week, GMI White Knights was looking to retain the 4th
spot ahead of arch rivals KLIUC Griffins. However, the Griffins had another
idea in mind, and almost immediately took the lead via Aqil. After almost half a period, White Knight scored a brace in 20 seconds. Griffins replied with two
goals of their own in 10 seconds! But White Knights managed to equalize before
the end of the period.
Griffins
began the second period with flare, scoring 4 in a row with Muhammad and
Humaidi involved in two goals each. Things got even worse for White Knights
when the referees (Jethro and Snake) gave Shahir a 5-minute bench penalty for
dangerous play. However, the skipper Aizuddin led his temporarily handicapped
team to maintain no concession and even scored two in the process. Iwan of
Griffins pulled on back for the away team before the second interval.
White
Knights hit the ground running in the third period with Amarul and Shahir
inching the home team closer to Griffins score. But Iwan, as he did in the
second period, had the final say when it came to goals, to extend Griffins lead
with 14 minutes to go. In the last 10 minutes, though, Amir and Hanan received delayed
bench penalties for too many players on the rink and repeated offences respectively.
Unfortunately, White Knights again showed that they could perform better under
pressure instead of at ease-scoring when they where a player down but not when
they had an extra player on two separate occasions-even when they brought in an
outfield player in exchange for their goalie in the last minute. It certainly
was a valiant effort by White Knights, but proved to be ‘too little, too late’
as Griffins managed to hold onto their lead.
Man
of the Match
GMI White Knights- Bard: Showed impressive tenacity
to constantly press and chase down every ball, intelligently reading the play
to find weakness. Reminded me of Zahir during his first season that impressed
Dennis to recruit him to Subang Rascals.
KLIUC Griffins- Iwan: Lead a very strong offensive
line that saw the winners score vital goals to claim the win.
Bangi
Rusty Blade vs Salibandy! Co
As
predicted, Salibandy! Co managed to inch out a victory in a tightly contested
match, despite Bangi Rusty Blade still feeling the pinch after the transfer
window. Salibandy trying to catch up with the clear-cut leaders and hoping for
them to slip up. They will be looking for a win against Subang Rascals, which
is no easy task.
WEEKEND
OVERVIEW
The top three teams
retain their spots despite a minor hiccup by reigning champions Gang Bintang.
KLIUC Griffins managed to usurp GMI White Knights for the fourth spot; clearly
fighting hard to grab that 4th stop and a contention spot for the
Super Cup. Despite falling down the pecking order of the standings, KLIUC
Hornets are clearly not going to dwell on the past as they are still fighting
for a much higher spot. Gracebandy! Co’s win leapfrogged them one spot up and
they will be looking for a comfortable mid-table position to not repent for
some of their bad performances before. Subang Rascals are on course to
achieving the 300-goal target made by fellow Rascal Arizal. They have scored
221 goals in 12 games-averaging out at 18 goals a game-and are looking to
capsize at least 5 out of the next 6 games to confirm their maiden title.
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