RMM 0 Gatsby 0

With the mauling from Gatsby fresh in the mind of his players and a paper thin squad to contend with, the fixture man – Maniam - did Guvnor no favours by organising the rematch just 2 weeks after the initial thrashing.

With RMMs resident scousers taking a break to follow their heroes on their Asian tour, Guvnor pulled out all the stops to put together a starting 11. The life time president managed to convince Mat Burit to coax his long time sidekick and ex RMMer Zack, out of retirement.

This meant that RMM started the game without star striker Batigol and the ever reliable Speedy who doubles up as a wing wizard with Usain Bolt’s pace and a goalkeeper with Spiderman’s agility. In their place, RMM had an out of shape Zack who handn’t played in months filling in at right back. Big boots to fill indeed. So big in fact, that the returning RMMer actually bought a new pair of boots on the way to the game.

The inclusion of Zack and absence of Batigol also meant that Iceman was paired upfront with Mat Burit. Strongman Joe was partner with Guvnor in the middle of the park ensuring that RMM had a combative engine room.

As expected, RMM were under the kosh right from the start and within the opening 15 minutes, Shark playing in goal was already called into action on several occasions. Arriving late, the giant keeper never had time to warm up and this showed as his nervy handling of the ball was a constant menace to his own team.

This was not helped by the pressured applied by Gatsby who were winning many freekicks and throw ins in dangerous positions. Shark was first called into action when a direct freekick from Gatsby on the right swung over the wall directly into the goal. Luckily for the keeper, it was not far away from his body and he managed to palm it unconvincingly out for a corner. After a series of corners, the RMM defence were caught flat footed by a speculative Gatsby cross from the left. The ever alert Shark managed to rush of his line to push the ball away from an onrushing Gatsby striker for another corner.

Minutes later, the busy keeper was again called into action, this time by another freekick from the right. Still fumbling around, Shark managed to ‘volleyball’ the ball out for yet another corner.

All thru the half, the RMM midfield battled hard to keep the marauding Gatsby at bay. The frontline also did their part by holding on to whatever balls that were getting thru to them as much as possible. Chances were far and few between and the only one that fell to RMM was fluffed by Mat Burit who tried shooting on the run. Having run a half marathon in the morning, the returning striker was never going to have the energy to outrun a Gatsby player and produce a powerful shot all at one go.

At the back, Siyeh and OK Danny had a stirling game, never letting the concentration go down for a single minute. They managed to stay cool when needed and were putting their bodies on the line when it was required. On the right and left backs however, RMM were conceding possession. Giant Jason had a nervy 1st half on the left and was constantly giving the ball away, be it from wild clearances to silly throw ins. On the right, Zack discovered that he was definitely not 18 again and was completely knackered within the first 15 mins. To his credit, he soldiered on and was as solid as a knackered rightback can be. Zack also came closest to breaking the deadlock when he volleyed an inswinging cross from the Gatsby winger just over his own goal.

Keeper Shark had his busiest game in months and had to be on his toes throughout the half. Having to take goalkicking responsibilities himself, the keeper had an inconsistent afternoon with his feet as some of his kicks were better than his normal weak assed punts but some were even worse.When the halftime whistle came, one can hear the sigh of relief from the embattled RMMers from as far as PJ.

The second half carried the same pattern from the first with RMM defending stupendously. With Zack at the verge of collapse, the rightback was moved further up to help Mat Burit lead the line and to finish of his last legs. Red Devil Meng was then moved back to rightback to add some solidity in the backline. Iceman was also moved back to a familiar role in the middle of the park as well.

Guvnor then had a great opportunity to give RMM a shock lead when we was spotted by a quick thinking Iceman who floated an inch perfect freekick. The midfield hardman produced a powerful header directly into the Gatsby keeper. It surely would have hit the back of the net if the ball had gone a feet either way of the keeper.

Having had 1 half to warm up, Shark’s ball handling was much improved in the second adding even more confidence to RMMs defensive display. His goalkicks however, were still erratic to say the least.Wilting under the scorching sun, RMM defended deeper and deeper into their own half. However, unlike most other RMM games, the boys in defence kept their concentration.

Even Giant Jason who had a nightmarish 1st half improved on his player. This was by no means a flawless display though. Iceman wasn’t having his best game in the middle and gave away possession on several occasions.

Shark then almost embarrassed himself when he scuffed a clearance back to Guvnor who had just managed to battle his way thru a host of Gatsby players to play the ball to the keeper.

When Gatsby finally managed the breakthru the RMM backline, they were denied by the post. That attempt rebounded off the post safely into the feet of Red Devil Meng who was standing on the 6 yard line facing his own goal. The confused fullback to a full 30 secs to digest the situation and clear the ball. That stroke of luck gave RMM a boost in their confidence and they defended ever more manfully after that, confining Gatsby to speculative attempts from outside the box that were easily fielded by Shark.

RMM then almost grab a shock lead after some good work from best mates Mat Burit and Zack on the right resulting in Poon being clean thru for an on e on one with the Gatsby keeper. For unfortunately for RMM, the legally blind speedster found himself in unfamiliar territory and couldn't finish off the move.

When the final whistle came, one could not tell who was more relieved, the RMMers who had defended so stoutly or Gatsby who were frustrated throughout the whole afternoon. Given the squad and result from their previous meeting, the boys from RMM can rightly feel pleased with themselves.