Jimkana (0) - Skopets Invicta (4)

Arriving earliest, at about 3.45pm, I had a good look at the 2 'veteran' teams that were playing at the same venue as us. Their passing was wayward, their movements sluggish and their general outlook, well they looked veteran indeed.

Well our opponent, Jimkana, looked nothing of that sort as they arrived as 1 humongous youthful group, strolling into Yio Chu Kang secondary.

They appeared content, relaxed and compared with my Skopets, where only a handful were present at that time, I guiltily thought that we were going to be done for by their speed and movements.

Deprived of our black jerseys, Skopets made do with white, and I suppose that it was a good thing as White didn't absorb as much heat as Black does, on a heaty afternoon.

The first half kicked off frantically, as Jimkana closed down Skopets' spaces quickly, breaking attacks after attacks more often than it could be finished off.

Jimkana countered swiftly, as expected and almost nicked in with an opening goal as well, but no thanks to some rugby-like finishing, and, ahem, good goalkeeping.

A good game was brewing and it deserved to be rewarded with a goal,which duely arrived. Gratuitously, it was in Skopets favour.

A beautifully flighted left foot curler from Syaffie evaded everyone, but the posts. It was like watching a slow-motion replay, as the ball caressed the back of the net. 1-0 to Skopets, and soon after, the half time whistle was blown.

The second half promised more action from both set of teams, as Skopets obligingly stepped up another gear, passing the ball around and across the pitch, looking for that final pass. Meanwhile, Jimkana harrassed constantly, and threw everything they could to stop us.

Open play proved to be frustrating for Skopets, whom eventually extended the lead via a corner from the right. The cross wasn't cleared far enough, landing at Mar's feet at the edge of the box, who then gleefully controlled it for a moment before letting fly a chip-shot which float-lobbed above the Jimkana's goalie, and into the net. 2-0 to Skopets, and silence gripped Jimkana's players.

The goal appeared to break their resistance as Skopets extended their lead further.

Next up, pun intended, was Fad with a well placed header, again from a scrumptuous, pin-point corner delivery, thanks to Prem, guiding it into the back of the net. 3-0 to Skopets. Good goal.

Skopets fourth and last goal came curtesy of a miscontrol from Jimkana's centreback. Harassed by the tall and gangly Juffry, one of Skopets new additions, the centreback pushed the ball away only to be intercepted by Mar, who squared the ball towards the path of onrushing XY, who slid the ball past the flailing Jimkana keeper. 4-0 and you'd thhought it was game over.

It only spurred Jimkana for a fightback. Credit to them for not taking things lying down, as they pushed forward towards the end of the game, and even earning themselves a penalty, which was woefully thrashed above the bar unfortunately.

Jimkana's late rush, though aplaudable, didn't really matter in the end as Skopets held firm for a 4-0 season-greeting, moral-boosting win, in the inaugural 3rd Division of D2Dsports's Saturday 3-5pm League.

Despite the haul of goals, there are still plenty of areas and aspects of play which Skopets can definitely improve and built upon, but for the moment, we'll be more than content to bask in the aftermath of this recent victory.

Skopets, bask you will.


Yours sincerely,
Lord Mar.