Hilderinc Football Club

Just a week after what was their best display yet since pre-pandemic competitive football, Hilderinc FC were stymied in any progress forward as they suffered a revert of quandary in numbers, resulting, in part, to another grim day out in the Equatorial Football League.

Missing five out of the fourteen who formed the matchday squad last Saturday, the Blacks, with plethora of goalkeepers on their books, astonishingly, had none to call upon leaving Nabil Zahrif, a midfielder in trait, to volunteer for the post less than 24hours before kickoff, and adding to the lack, what was finally becoming a settled back four, delivering highly positive response, had to be disrupted, leaving yet another makeshift defensive quartet in front of a rough-and-ready keeper.

And when it does not go your way, it really does not, but when the Hilderincs are concerned, the footballing gods make sure that it goes wrong with vengeance.

The Blacks already patchworked, had to alter their hodgepodge lineup, with Fahmy Barker filling in leftback, and most awkward of all, Danzal Han, another midfielder, volunteered to stand in for the already volunteering stopgap goalkeeper, who was caught up in traffic jam.

With a game to play, the Blacks had to carry on with the task at hand, and notwithstanding the highly inconvenienced situation at the defensive third, it was a optimistic demonstration of intent by the Hilderincs, with the midfield trio of Al Shafiq Bakhitar, Melvin Sim and Lauren Reese, countering the early attention from Hibs well, while acting as a considerable pivot for the offensive aims.

However, despite finding all the answers to Hibernians’ questions up to the midway point, the Hilderincs’ exasperating “50mins of bad habit”, an infuriating recent trend where they go through a 25min spell before the half time break, and 25mins after the restart of the second period, when all the inattention, mistakes and blunders leading to avoidable goals would happen, and this resurfaced after being restrained in the last two league fixtures.

Like on cue, the Blacks found themselves five goals adrift, though the first two, especially a first half freekick, could be excusable considering the improvisation and the quality of the strike, but the rest would need a thorough and painful examination.

Like an easing of a viral symptom, the Hilderincs were finally out of their sluggishness in the final quarter, and started to make some inroads, especially with some impassioned football, and though they pulled a goal back through a well-taken finish from Danzal Han, now at the right end of his game, the penalty against them at the dead, the last kick of the game, made a hard day, harder to take in.

By and large, it was not their worst, but neither was it their least proficient, but the Blacks were repeatedly found out due to, sometimes, over indulgence and making the simple complicated, and while results continue not to favour them in any way, with a good 6 months left on the league calendar, the optimist will no doubt look forward to better days.

Equatorial Football League QD 1

Hilderinc FC 1 : Hibernian Athletic 6

Goal: Danzal Han 72’

[Assist: Fahmy Barker 72'’]

POM: Al Shafiq Bakhitar

Yellow Card: Ian Morris

Starting Line-up

1. Danzal Han

2. Sean Rajah

3. Nicholas Ledenmark

4. Sergey Darovskikh

5. Fahmy “Ollie” Barker

6. Al Shafiq Bakhitar

7. Melvin Sim

8. Lauren Reese

9. Anthony Ferraccu

10. Ian Morris

11. Tan Euren

Substitutes

12. Nabil Zahrif (GK)

13. Basil Al Barr

14. Craigton Gan

15. Truong Chi Duc

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