Rajinoh – sounds (a bit) like vagina, but for too much of this match it was the BC that played like ….s. A tough, often niggly game that never quite boiled over, saw five yellow cards, but also ended with a genuinely sporting gesture that restores one’s faith in the goodness of mankind.
The BC started the livelier of the two sides, with MB finding space on the left and new boy KM, assured in midfield, first to trouble the press box with a smart shot from the edge of the box that was saved.
AP escaped with a warning for an early tackle from behind, and IB rescued a stretched defence with a smart interception. MJ struck a fierce drive just over the bar. AW was then nutmegged near the touchline and was shown a yellow card for hauling down his tricky winger, who clearly raised his fist in retaliation but was let off by the referee. MJ soon followed into the referee’s notebook for clattering into his midfield marker as the game heated up in the haze from a thousand Indonesian fires.
Shortly after the first substitutions, Rajinoh took the lead with their first attack of real intent, as their centre forward broke through a deep-lying defence to beat CB with a low shot. At the other end, the BC had more of the possession but too often were caught offside. AP won his customary caution for a “challenge” from behind.
The BC were playing nervously -- static and lacking coherence between defence, midfield and attack. The visitors, in contrast, grew in confidence, had pace and used the width of the park well. Their goalscorer almost doubled the lead after turning two BC defenders only to see his shot rebound off the crossbar. A header flashed just wide of CB’ upright as the game looked to be running away from a sluggish home side lacking movement and passion.
AL then escaped his marker to set up MB, but his control let him down just as he was about to shoot. Too often in promising positions, the BC’s final ball was left wanting. Crosses were overhit or misdirected, through balls missed their intended targets. Rajinoh – who had previously shipped 16 goals in three matches --were now shooting on sight, with one effort from 30 metres just fizzing wide of the goal and another audacious attempt from near the half-way line well handled by CB.
PR, another new arrival, entered the fray in midfield and acquitted himself well. MN, a towering presence at the back, shot inches over from a corner. AW put through a delicious ball to MB in front of goal, but again the chance came to nothing. KM curled a left foot shot on to the bar and over and AW was just wide from a 25-metre free-kick. The visitors again struck the woodwork with a shot against the post and AS was on hand to divert another attack.
Finally, BC got the breakthrough their possession merited, with the sprightly BM whipping in a cross from the right, AL and MJ harried the keeper and KM capped a fine Man of the Match debut by tucking in the loose ball for 1-1. Going for a win, probably undeserved on this performance, MJ and AW saw late efforts go just wide, while Rajinoh had a lob that just cleared CB’s bar.
With the clock ticking down, IB tried to let a long ball run out for a goal kick, but a Rajinoh player looked to have nicked in and put in a cross that was smartly converted. An incandescent IB argued loudly with the referee and demanded the visiting player admit to the ball having run out of play. Either astonishingly honest or petrified by a salivating IB he came clean and the referee overturned his decision – a remarkable feel-good moment in a game that had threatened an uglier side. With the last kick of the game, a Rajinoh attacker put in a speculative long-range shot that CB parried and pushed on to the bar.
All in all, a disappointingly disjointed and dispirited performance – and a point ultimately rescued rather than two dropped. This EFL league is proving more challenging than some had thought. Four points from 4 games shows just how tough a competitive league can be – and the top four teams have yet to lose a game.
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