IST 5 TEDA 0 (28 September 2010)
A bus journey for over an hour to Tianjin can affect match readiness. A large grass field, particularly after playing on the smaller artificial surface in TEDA, can also take its toll. The TEDA COMETS were clearly not ready for this game, our first away fixture of the season! Having slept or dozed in the warmth of the bus the guys began to wake up just a couple of minutes after kick-off when out hosts, IST, scored their first goal. They were wide awake by the time IST quickly notched up a second strike. By this time the game was almost beyond us. Giving away 2 goals in the space of a couple of minutes at the start of the match left TEDA on the back foot, always struggling to get into the game. From this point it became a damage limitation exercise………… keeping the margin of the defeat respectable. This was a great challenge, made all the more difficult when two of our guys ended up injured in the IST clinic. The TEDA goal was under constant threat and it was not entirely unexpected that IST continued to build on their goal tally with incisive passing and good running into space. TEDA were dismantled and went down battling 5-0!
The coach had a heart attack!
TEDA 5 IST 0 (12 October 2010)
“There is always the next game,” as they say in soccer circles. A chance to make amends! In all truthfulness the coach, following the heavy defeat at IST a fortnight before, could not be overly optimistic. It appeared TEDA had a mountain to climb against opposition that ran riot in front of the TEDA goal. But football is a funny game sometimes and fortunes can quickly change. In this game TEDA took the game to IST, passing the ball well, attacking frequently and clearly wanting to show the visitors that they could play football. In an exasperating early spell TEDA came so close to scoring on a few occasions before they finally broke the deadlock with a fine strike by Kyeong Chan to make it 1-0, a lead that was richly deserved. At this stage of the game there was no sign that the floodgates were ready to open. TEDA continued to dominate the play but to give away a goal would have given the opposition heart, so TEDA needed to be careful. Johnny handled all goal threats well as TEDA built a commanding lead with Kyeong Chan adding 2 more goals to complete his hat-trick and Tony adding a brace to make it 5-0. Between the goals there was also plenty of action and suspense as TEDA hit the post twice and the bar once.
………for the coach………a happier game for the heartstrings!
TIS 3 TEDA 2 (14 October 2010)
Life goes on and there are reality checks!
Off the back of a resounding 5-0 win on Tuesday spirits were fairly high amongst the TEDA COMETS as we boarded the bus for Tianjin on time, allowing for a good warm up before the game at the TIS campus. But when the bus driver had to get off the bus to ask for directions in Tianjin and then took a diversionary route to our destination we were getting squeezed for time. At stop lights the guys changed into their soccer uniforms and when we jumped off the bus at TIS we had 5 minutes to quickly stretch before getting into action. As soon as the opening whistle blew it was evident TEDA legs weren’t working! Control was poor, the passes went astray and TIS were in command of the game, their forwards slicing through our defence. In the early stages of the game we gave away a penalty then lost another goal to TIS, who were simply quicker to the ball. 2-0 down and TEDA looked like they were going to be swamped. Only Johnny kept us in the game with some fine saves. Then against the tide of play Kyeong Chan scored a great goal at the very end of the first half of play to make it 2-1. Scoring at this juncture in a game always lifts spirits, so we entered the second half with some hope. A fine opening move, soon after the whistle got play underway, saw TEDA producing the best passing move of the game ending with Tony slotting the ball home to draw level 2-2. Both teams now had everything to play for. In the latter stages of the game home support drove TIS forward. TEDA kept them at bay for a long time, but, as so often happens in these circumstances a winning goal is created by a stroke of genius or by a mistake. Unfortunately we lost the game giving away a ‘soft goal’. On a positive note the guys must be commended for instigating a great fight back from being down 2-0. They could easily have given up! Well done guys!
TEDA 2 REGO 2 (21 October 2010)
There is always a little trepidation amongst the team when a game against Rego gets close. They traditionally play great attacking football and demonstrate good skill. TEDA had to be at their best for this game. We had to change tactics and plan a more defensive formation for REGO’s visit. This turned out to be the perhaps TEDA’s best performance of the season to date. They sought possession, controlled the ball well & played accurate passes. They chased hard and harried the opposition when they had the ball. The team worked well as a unit, moving forward and attacking together and supporting one another in defence. All the efforts paid off when TEDA took the lead when an interchange of passes between Tony and Eddie which led to Eddie sliding the ball home for a 1-0 lead at half time. At the start of the second half the REGO player who potentially was the most destructive with his accurate long range shooting was left unmarked to shoot and pull a goal back for REGO making it 1-1. To the great credit of the team TEDA remained very competitive, regained their composure and very soon took the lead again with a thunderous shot from an acute angle by Kyeong Chan, which almost took the roof of the net off. TEDA were looking good when a defensive lapse at a corner left an unmarked opponent to ghost in and score REGO’s leveler making it 2-2. But what a great game the guys played. The one lesson we could take from this encounter was the need to always be alert, particularly after the euphoria of scoring a goal. It is usually on these occasions when a team is more likely to go to sleep, lets its guard drop and concede a goal.
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