Yishun Wanderers hammered

Yishun Wanderers 0
Unknowns United 4

Relegation battlers Yishun Wanderers provided futile resistance against league frontrunners Unknowns United, who were looking to bounce back from a surprise defeat last week.

Unknowns came out firing on all cylinders as they knew they had to win this game to keep their title challengers at bay. And as early as the fifth minute, Unknowns took a well-deserved lead.

Prodigious forward Sherman, back in the squad after several weeks of absence due to National Service, showed no signs of rustiness by pouncing on a through ball and stabbing it past the keeper for an early lead.

Long serving veteran winger Botak, hampered by injuries and, some say, extra kilos recently, turned back the years with a lively performance. He also capped it off by scoring the second goal. Raiding down the right flank, he twisted and turned and sidestepped his way through a bewildered defence to score his first goal of 2008.

A freekick was won late in the first half and up stepped Jais. A goalkeeper by trade, he curled the ball expertly past the opposition wall and into the goal, hitting the far post before it went in. Screams of "Chilavert" were distinctly heard from the neighbouring flats around the pitch.

After half time, Unknowns continued to dominate and were rewarded with a fourth goal when midfielder Becky hit his sixth goal of the season with his trademark Frank Lampah long range shot. It was almost an exact replica of the ones he scored before: Outside the box, twenty five-thirty metres away from goal, hammer, top corner, there you have it. 4-0.

On the defensive end, the unknowns backline rarely gave away anything and earned their fifth clean sheet of the season. While Unknowns are well-known for their lethal offense and goalscoring exploits, the unsung heroes from the defensive end usually don't get alot of the mention and praise that they probably deserve. Goalie Yingjie provided a pair of safe hands in between the posts, and was superbly aided by the likes of defensive lynchpin Andy, rock solid stopper Roy, towering defender Vincent and lightning quick fullback Alvin. The tireless midfielders were also consistently hardworking in tracking back to help out the defence once the ball was lost.

All in all, tlthough the opponents were not exactly top-notch quality, it was nevertheless a morale boosting performance.

Meanwhile, Unknowns will miss at least three players for this week's game. This could prove be a stern test of their title credentials. Stay tuned

*Controversial event: Becky was cautioned during the match for spewing vulgarities... at his own team mate!*

Meanwhile, while basking in the glory of being on the winning team, unknowns do have a column titled:

*Spare a thought for the opposing goalie*

Having let in four goals, the poor chap was roundly critisized by his own team mates and had to suffer the ignomity of being replaced by his unappreciative teammates.