By Ralph Martins
An unstable team, tough luck and questionable refereeing meant that the NU-Q Pirates search for their first win must continue over Eid after a bitter defeat to the Academic Bridge Program (ABP) football team Wednesday evening.
The Pirates were left shaking their heads after a lucky second-half goal proved enough to give ABP a narrow win.
The Pirates dominated possession in an eventless first half but didn’t create many clear-cut chances. ABP were reduced to shooting from distance after failing to find a way through the Pirates defense.
The second half saw the Pirates finally come out firing, and they were unlucky not to score after a penalty-area scramble saw the ball bobble over the crossbar with the keeper stranded.
Shortly afterward, the Pirates were denied an opener again after a side-footed shot hit the upright.
The Pirates seemed certain to score, until a speculative ABP effort from distance somehow found its way past the Pirates goalkeeper and into the net, sparking wild celebrations from the ABP players.
We conceded due to a lapse of concentration, said Mubashar Ali, the disappointed Pirate captain, also ruing his team’s near misses in a post-match interview.
The demoralized Pirates missed a final chance to pull level after a well-placed low cross went begging, and the game deteriorated into a scrappy affair with the referee’s whistle repeatedly stopping play. Pirate coach Paul Wood was escorted away from the technical area after protesting against foul play.
There was too much anger on the pitch, said Omar Al-Ansari, the elated ABP keeper, regarding the several fouls committed over the course of the game.
More controversy was in store after the full-time whistle was sounded early following a refereeing mix-up. Pirate Haitham Al-Haidari argued that the game was ended nearly five minutes short of full time, robbing the Pirates of five precious minutes to try to draw level.
The Pirate bench appeared shattered after the match, and the already fragile team spirit will be worse hit after this frustrating loss.
Both teams boasted large sets of enthusiastic supporters, in an encouraging improvement for the Pirates. But the dejected team will need to pull themselves together to come back strongly after the Eid break.