Scorers; Zam assisted by Khai Khai assisted by Zam Khai assisted by Zam Dinesh assisted by Nadeem Zam penalty Khai assisted by Syai Zam assisted by Khai Zam assisted by Zhaf Zam assisted by Khai Syai assisted by Navin Khai assisted by Dinesh Navin assisted by Syai Shahril assisted by Dinesh
MOM; Khai
On a cold wintery chilly morning, AlCaliph looked poised to bring their “A” game and provide joy and laughter to a certain birthday boy amongst us.
With the critical pep talk done, the boys really showed the opponents that they were mortals after all. Birthday boy echoed the same sentiment during the initial team line-up conversations. Here is the breakdown of all 13 beautiful gorgeous resplendent goals.
First goal Within 2 minutes, Khaguero latched onto a strong-weighted through ball by Dinesh and made a cross-cum-shot (no pun intended) which the GK fumbled as his gloves were quite buttery. Captain Marvel Zamri happily picked on the loose ball and kicked it into the empty net. Everyone was buoyant and happy; especially the birthday boy.
Second goal The second goal came in quick succession as the opposing team was holding a precariously high line and Zamri played an expert through ball with his left leg for Khaguero. With only the GK to beat, akin to KunAguero, he managed to round the GK and using the outside foot, finished with much aplomb as the defenders scrambled to make a goal-line clearance. 2-0 to the good.
Third Goal Zamri, our burly striker, managed to win a free kick in the opponent’s half. Khai, recalling that the GK is still wearing the buttery gloves, took the free kick and it sailed through the GK’s outstretched hands at about 97km/h. 3-0 to wonderful AlCaliph in a space of 10-15mins.
Fourth Goal The GK was duly substituted just as the butter was about to wear off. Change of keeper? No problem. As the ‘immortals’ were pegged back with wave after wave of attack, Nadeem, our marauding right back produced a peach of a corner which found an unmarked Dinesh. With his gf at the sidelines, he gave head (again no pun intended) to the ball beyond the reach of the goalie and the defenders at the posts. 4-0 and #wegoagain
Fifth Goal After some good interchange of passes down the left flank, Shy Khaguero (pardon the error. He did have a left-legged shot but……….…..) took a powerful shot with the left leg which the GK parried and Zam robustly and bravely I must add, went in for the kill only for the ball to ricochet and eventually met the flailing arm of one of the defenders. Penalty. Zamri stepped up and produced a penalty which even Safuan (who has a record of saving all the penalties he has faced. Or so he claims) will not be able to save. Bottom right. Sealed with a kiss. 5-0 and it suddenly reminds me of Liverpool’s trip to White Hart Lane last year. =]
Sixth Goal Shy picked up a ball deep in midfield and played the ball down the line with the deftest of touches (with his right leg of course) and khaguero pounced on it, beat 1, beat 2, beat 3, beat 4 defenders before unleashing a powerful shot with his blue boot (the left leg of course) at the near post. 6-0 and birthday boy was smiling from ear to ear. Uncle Dino was of course elated (I shall not quote what he said about how he always feels when watching us play but it sounded something like organism)
Half-time came and the boys sauntered off the pitch, preparing for another 40-min onslaught. Birthday boy told us to go for the kill. The pep talk ensued and we all agreed to put the opponents to the sword.
Seventh Goal Through a corner kick on the right side of the pitch, Khaguero drove the ball into the box which Zamri rose majestically to power an unstoppable header. Ronaldo would have been proud of that effort. Zhaf did well by reminding us that it was still “0-0”. That was about all he had done so far for the match. Hehe
Eighth Goal Captain Marvel Zamri (since his jersey no is 8, he had to score one of the most gorgeous goal at this point) bamboozled all the defenders with his trickery and power that even left Shahril confused. Beating the last defender with a “fake shot” move ala Fifa 15, he placed the ball sweetly with his left foot. Even the videoman was in awe. 8-0 with one of the goals of the season.
Ninth Goal AlCaliph is well-known for their aerial threat and through a well-driven corner by the impeccable Khaguero, Syah Jr looked almost certain to score as he was about to leap. Not until he heard the beast’s voice and he then ducked in fear. The beast is none other than Zamri who out-jumped everyone and replicated his earlier header to make it 9-0 to AlCaliph. Insane goal as the defenders walked away crestfallen. That was his fifth goal of the match by the way. Done. Close shop.
Tenth Goal Set-piece has always been our strength and this time Navin swung his Aussie boot from the left side of the corner flag where Shy somehow managed to tweak his body and put in a beautiful volley with the inside of his foot. Precision. Accuracy. Queen Control. Certainly reminds us of a baldie left-footed French ex-manunited leftback who scored against Liverpool before. Or maybe not. 10-0. OMG! Double digit!!! Birthday boy could not wait to enter the pitch to taste some action.
Eleventh Goal As the opponents began to tire and started to wonder why they even came in the first place, AlCaliph piled on the pressure as Dinesh made a good pass to Khaguero. The latter then went on to beat a defender before dispatching a neat left footed shot into the bottom corner leaving the GK stranded. The landslide was about to get worst as opponents hoped for some divine intervention.
Twelfth Goal After some confusion between the GK and his defenders (which was probably the order of the day), Shy managed to get his head on to the ball where Navin gleefully sidefooted the ball into an empty net. This led to an unsightly behaviour as boys started to argue about who got the last touch. A slight hint of arrogance which could have caused the opponents to boil over and really engage in Mortal Kombat. But good goal and anticipation nonetheless from our Aussie import.
Lucky 13th Goal If “Toyota Play of the Day” was still in existence, this goal would have bagged that honour as it oozed team effort and understanding. Aizad played the ball on to Navin who then managed to find Dinesh who made a beautiful cross to family-man Shahril. Putting his glaring misstres aside, he conjured a spectacular volley which hit the upright of the post before nestling in back of the net. Something Fandi Ahmad would have been applauding as well if he had seen it.
All in all, the game was overtly dominated by AlCaliph and the finishing that day was simply sublime. The defence was impenetrable and Safuan had a good outing whilst combing his hair at times to keep it in place. Birthday boy also made a cameo appearance to cap an awesome day and perhaps his weight-loss programme could have affected his fast twitch fibres as well when he could not latch on to some good through balls.
“Attack wins games. Defence wins titles.” Attacking players keep winning MOMs – hehe. #justsaying
by Khai