League Play-Off

Tonkin Park
Spectators: 36 (Terracing: 28, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Marcel Burrell got the match started through his kick off. If Aimé Gousse had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 4th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. 10 minutes into the match, Baptiste Carney had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Sheldon Gaines. Tonkin AFC's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Baptiste Carney was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-1. In the 14th minute Walter McClellan shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Buddy Payton saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 15th minute, Lester Dickey made a precise shot to the right of Sheldon Gaines. Tonkin AFC's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 0-2. Buddy Payton took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Marcel Burrell, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After having played for 25 minutes, Marcel Burrell managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Tonkin AFC's supporters crossed their fingers, but Marcel Burrell was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. The audience was convinced that Roman Crowell's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Sheldon Gaines was relentless in the 27th minute of the game. Walter McClellan kicked well hit freekick during the 28th minute of the match. Baptiste Carney fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 29th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Sheldon Gaines having to interfere. Marcel Burrell fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 32nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Buddy Payton having to interfere. After having played for 34 minutes, Baptiste Carney managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. South China United's supporters crossed their fingers, but Baptiste Carney was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Buddy Payton was in exellent shape and made a fantastic save when he, in the 44th minute of the match, managed to get hold of the ball after a long shot from Aristide Tracy. In the 47th minute, Erin Hagan fired a really elegant long shot, but Buddy Payton threw himself and managed to get hold of the ball just in front of the right post. Luck had favoured the away team in the first, and they walked off with a 0-2 lead.

The wind increased when Lester Dickey made the kick off in the second half. After 55 minutes, Lyle Marrero mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the South China United and the Tonkin AFC players grew even worse after the yellow card. A collision led to South China United getting a freekick after 55 minutes play. Lyle Marrero hit a great ball. If Aimé Gousse had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 59th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Marcel Burrell sent away a hard shot on goal in the 63rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Tonkin AFC's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Erin Hagan in the 67th minute. After taking down the ball on Tonkin AFC's corner Erin Hagan fired away a hard shot, but the defenders efficiently covered the most dangerous angles and Buddy Payton quite easily take care of the ball. An unexpectedly hard shot by Marcel Burrell in the 69th minute of play forced South China United's goalkeeper Buddy Payton to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Marcel Burrell recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 70th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Lester Dickey fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 73rd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Sheldon Gaines having to interfere. When Marcel Burrell came up free with the goalie in the 81st minute, the Tonkin AFC fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Marcel Burrell couldn't finish the play. Erin Hagan lost his temper 83 minutes into the game and shoved another player to the ground. He was immediately shown a red card. The goalkeeper, Sheldon Gaines, was totally fooled by South China United's Rolando Courtois, who 85 minutes into the game made a penalty shot that went in on the goalkeeper's left side. Aimé Gousse fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 91st minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Buddy Payton having to interfere. If Geoffroi Martin had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 93rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After 95 minutes of play, South China United's Baptiste Carney made it 0-4 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Sheldon Gaines was left in no man's land by his defense there! The Tonkin AFC supporters were disappointed that their team didn't take anything from the match, despite matching South China United's performance. The match ended with a win for South China United.