RMM 3 Chinese Chelsea 0

RMMs chance for revenge in this grudge match against Chinese Chelsea (CC) came earlier than expected when the man pulling all the strings, Maniam, decided to pair the teams together again less than a month after the year ending altercation.

With the speedsters back, RMM had every chance of achieving the 6 nil victory that Guvnor demanded and things looked good at the start when the veterans ran the show, stroking the ball around confidently. This was also helped by the fact that CC started with only 10 players!

The early pressure by RMM resulted in a few corners and as seasoned RMM observers will note, RMM are quite adept with set pieces. This proved to be the case as tiny Titan rose high above everyone else to head home after some neat work off a short corner from Flash That and Iceman. This was no surprise the physically imposing defender had threatened in earlier set pieces leading up to his goal.

With the engine room of Guvnor and Iceman bossing the middle of the park, RMM controlled the game but were unable to turn possession into goals. The wide boys were finding the going tough as the flanks of the pitch were so overgrown that a prone Shark could easily disappear from sight!

RMM did however come close on a few occasions with Guvnor hitting the bar from 30 yards out and Mat Burit slamming over from a considerably nearer distance.

The second goal finally came for RMM when Flash That’s snapshot from just outside the box surprised the CC’s goalkeeper into weakly slapping the ball into his own net.

On the side of the pitch, the most exciting moment for RMMs backline was the attempted theft of Shark’s wallet by a supporter disguised a RMMs coach. An eagle eye linesman spotted the crime before the alert Zig Zack apprehended the criminal coach. One wonders however, what the linesman was doing looking at the crowd behind him during the game.

With a 2 goal lead, RMM was expected to build on it in the second half in order to achieve Guvnor’s 6 goal target. Unfortunately, the lack of match fitness, various substitution and positional changes all contributed to a less than cohesive display from the battle hardened veterans.

Flash That who was moved to the flanks to accommodate Shark’s switch to the striker role decided that he will only move when he felt like doing so. And he didn’t have that feeling much. Blindman Poon carried on where he left off in the first half, which was running down blind alleys before botching all attempts to cross.

Mat Burit then bettered his first half miss by producing a near miraculous double miss. Having gone clean through the CC defense, he slammed the ball directly into the CC keeper before poking the rebound over the bar right on the 6 yard line.

RMMs third goal came via Guvnor who controlled Flash That’s cut back before half volleying into the CC goal from just inside the box.

The game was more even this half as the CC players managed to get into some dangerous positions but rarely threatened the rock steady Speedy in goal. Bored by the relative inactivity, Zig Zack decided to add some spice into the game by throwing his weight around with some heavy body checks.

Shark, who had a quiet game upfront, almost scored with the last kick of the game when he took advantage of a misunderstanding between CCs keeper and last man to stretch and poke a speculative shot towards the CC goal. Unfortunately for the formerly deadly striker, the ball hit the CCs keeper’s leg before rolling out.

The game ended at 3-0 with RMM falling short of Guvnor’s 6-0 target. There was however no ranting or raving from Guvnor as RMM found out from their supporters that Criminal Coach had promised the team RM3,000 reward for a win.

Venue: Kampung Pandan Sports Complex

Starting line up: Shark, Aeroplane King Beng Koh, Titan, Snake, Siyeh, Guvnor, Iceman, Speedy, Blindman Poon, Flash That, Mat Burit

Subs: Zig Zack, Red Devil Meng

Scorers: Titan, Flash That, Guvnor