BruLeeds VS Bradford
8th November 2008
On paper, it was a match between rivals, promising two halves of blood, thunder and goals. Even though it was just a friendly. Thankfully, only an atom of it was true. GOALS. Yes. A whopping 16 goals!
But the goals weren’t well distributed. It was a dire 1-1 affair at halftime. We were dominated in the first half though with shots after shots by the Bradford forwards. But thankfully, the ball seemed inclined to land on goalkeeper, Zaaim Jumahat’s safe hands. Wayward shooting also certainly helped our case. Close to halftime though, Fakhri Ishak opened the scoring with a sweet right-footed finish following a blitzkrieg counterattack. Not long after that though, Bradford equalized with a thunderous shot from range. That was the whole gist of the first half though.
The second half, however, was a flurry of open ended football, with net-bursting goals and well placed strikes by both sides. Flair was a given though. Bradford’s Erman had plenty of it. Though he was well matched by our own Afi Hasifi who combined industry and skills to brilliant effects. Fakhri Ishak was an example of strength, finesse and composure during the second half, bagging himself a quick hattrick. Fakhri Kasranuddin came on, providing a burst of energy with his direct full frontal approach. Our ever entertaining Matiin scored a delightful double whereas Afi Hasifi finished the rout with a free-kick drilled in after he was brought down. Though the goals were scored in between clusters of Bradford equalizers and one of our goals in which I don’t remember who scored and when! 14 goals in 20 minutes!
But kudos to the defenders though. Aizzuddin Mirasin was as always, impeccable at the back, almost single handedly, blocking shots after shots and fluffing would-be-Bradford shot attempts. His only blotch though was almost scoring an own goal *chuckle*. Saiful Musa was also brilliant at the backs, willing to join in the attack whenever possible, with his brisque, tenacious style. Our IT director, Arif Juaini Junaidi also made an appearance in defence, showcasing his clever defensive positioning and awareness. The match, a friendly in both name and nature, ended with cheers by the ever-awesome cheerleading squad, chanting names and screaming like crazy with every pass, every shot and every tackle made by our team. Yes. I doubt that it was a coincidence that the game lit up during the second half, when the crowds had fully gathered.
We should also give credit to Arif Bahar, timekeeper and generous BruLeeds caretaker during the game. We should also thank Bradford for coming over to Leeds University Sports Centre and giving us a game. It was a brilliant opportunity to flex our footballing muscles after a summer in the sun.
We will be meeting them again in two weeks time, hopefully, with an away win at Bradford. Keep it up team!
Final Score:
BruLeeds – 9
Bradford – 7
BruLeeds goalscorers:
Fakhri Ishak (3)
Matiin Kassim (2)
Fakhri Kasranuddin (2)
Afi Hasifi (1)
A team goal ??? (1)
Yours as always,
Amirul Othman
Assistant Sports Director
B R U L E E D S S O C I E T Y
