League Play-Off

King Edward VII
Spectators: 36 (Terracing: 28, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Lee Lee started the match with the kick off. In the 3rd minute of the match Prime Dhanabalan shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Albert Lim showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball. In the 4th match minute, Merlion FC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by John Chandran to maneuver through the defense. After 5 played minutes Luton AFC got a freekick which was hit by Afiq Gopala Pillai. Afiz Leng made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Joel Mathews in the 8th minute of play. In the 21st minute the ball was on its way in behind Merlion FC's goalkeeper Albert Lim, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. When Afiz Leng came up free with the goalie in the 22nd minute, the Merlion FC 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 Afiz Leng couldn't finish the play. Afiz Leng succeeded to score despite a near miss that spronge from right pole into the goal to 2-0 in the 24th playminute. Lee Lee received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 27th minute. Albert Lim tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Lee Lee sent away a hard shot on goal in the 29th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After a rather tough play, Luton AFC's Zack Gopala Pillai got a free kick in the 33rd minute. After a defensive mix-up in Luton AFC's zone, Joel Mathews stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Afiz Leng came out of the goal and Joel Mathews tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. When Joel Mathews came up free with the goalie in the 38th minute, the Merlion FC 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 Joel Mathews couldn't finish the play. Afiz Leng received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 45th minute. Afiz Leng tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Khairil Seng hit a great freekick 46 minutes into the match. The home fans were very happy to see their team leading 2-0 at half-time.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Joel Mathews to make the kick off. Arif Chong charged in rather forcefully in the 52nd minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Arif Chong the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. In the 52nd minute, one of Merlion FC:s players had the ball in front of the goal but got pushed and fell. The referee felt it was an obvious case and blew a penalty for Merlion FC. The goalkeeper, Albert Lim, was totally fooled by Luton AFC's SK Seng, who 53 minutes into the game made a penalty shot that went in on the goalkeeper's left side. 59 minutes into the match, Lee Lee dribbled the ball past the defender and swiftly kicked the ball to the left of Albert Lim, 2-2. Afiz Leng took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Joel Mathews, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Afiz Leng recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 72nd minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. The supporters of Luton AFC booed when Merlion FC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 74 match minutes in a wonderful position. Afiz Leng didn't get a good kick on the ball. With a little luck, Merlion FC's Albert Lim got control of the ball when Afiq Gopala Pillai tried to sneak it across the goal line. Afiz Leng took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Joel Mathews, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Albert Lim made an important save on a dangerous shot by Afiq Gopala Pillai in the 81st minute. In the 81st minute, Luton AFC's Afiq Gopala Pillai dribbled the ball into the box and hit a shot with the outside of his foot, sending the keeper the wrong way. 2-3. When Joel Mathews came up free with the goalie in the 95th minute, the Merlion FC 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 Joel Mathews couldn't finish the play. After 97 minutes, Fariz Chien-Kwan mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Merlion FC and the Luton AFC players grew even worse after the yellow card. After a rather tough play, Merlion FC's Fariz Chien-Kwan got a free kick in the 97th minute.