THE LEGENDARY DRAW!

Final Score: Mavericks FC 0 Purple Monkeys FC 0

 
The Mavericks Arena, Sembawang - Mavericks FC battled right to the death to achieve a historic result against 5 time ESPZEN champions Purple Monkeys FC on a blistering Saturday afternoon in a brutal, gritty affair.

Many pundits had written the Outsiders off especially with the fact that they were missing their first-choice centre-backs, and a depleted substitutes bench (in fact, there was no bench at all!). A truly magnificent defensive performance that would forever be etched in the history of this great club.

With a makeshift defensive line of Jake Chia and Christiano at centre-back and Matthew at right-back, Clement was the only player in his natural position at left-back. Another simply sublime vintage performance from midfield maestro Kee Siang with Wei Jie covering in the centre of the park, the Outsiders parked the bus in front of goal like there was no tomorrow.

The Purple Monkeys were relentless in attack, with onslaughts after onslaughts on the Mavericks goal a constant occurrence throughout the match. But the Outsiders kept their illustrious opponents in check, with their barrage of attacks yielding no end product.

Purple Monkeys FC were a truly formidable opposition, carving countless of chances forcing the Outsiders to keep their ultra-defensive shape throughout the match, with the occasional breakaway counter-attacks from Jun Wen the main threat the Outsiders had to offer.

Despite a dominant display from the men in purple, Mavericks FC held strong and resolute right to the final whistle with outstanding performances from Kee Siang, Matthew, Jake, Wei Jie and Christiano, and coupled by a superb work ethic from the team as a whole. Keeper Alex was once again a safe pair of hands with the likes of Varian and Captain Chao Xing chasing down the flanks.

A half-time tactical switch with Jake moving into midfield and Wei Jie to centre-back proved a crucial intervention into achieving this momentous result. With several players playing out of position, this was an inspiring performance from Mavericks FC, one that will never be forgotten.

On a side note, Purple Monkeys are a team predominantly made up of European players with a couple of Japanese imports, and they have a trophy-laden cabinet after winning several titles such as the ESPZEN Div 3, 5, 6, 9, and 12 during 2010-2013 and they were also the Goal Arena Champions in 2011 and 2012. Therefore, this draw against these guys was a totally awesome result lor!

Mavericks captain Chao Xing in a post-match interview -

"The sweetness of victory comes sometimes in the form of a clean sheet. Despite playing out of position under the scorching hot sun, no one complained and did their job well. Up against a 5 times champions, a draw with a depleted squad with no subs will be a victory. A clean sheet will be a sweeter one. We dug in and pounced on the counter with Kee Siang and Matthew running relentlessly. Overall everyone did their best and I'm proud to be part of it. Let's continue to work hard for a brand new season ahead."

Well done, team. Let's continue this streak =)