Match #5 (10 Jan 09): Marine Sunday Fell to its Own Undoing

A couple of tactical changes proved to be suicidal to Marine Sunday against SOFA-Affiliates. Coupled with a lack of leadership on the pitch (which the self-proclaimed skipper must be hung high and dry for that) and the perennial problem of inferior fitness (lame excuse it may sound but indeed, most of us are above 40), it was a forgettable debut in our new 2009 kit.

Putting an attacking-minded Weng Khong into the right-back position is akin to fitting a square peg to a round hole. His over-zealous foray into the opponent box was calamitous move as a breakdown in our attack resulted in a quick breakaway by SOFA-A down the left flank and their eventual opening goal. We aren’t spring chickens anymore to recover that kind of distance, we forgot to remind ourselves that.

We are supposed to be wise with our age, especially relative to SOFA-A but we are foolish risk-takers at heart. Not contending to settle for a draw with 5 minutes to go, another tactical change involving advancing Chor Guan from his sweeper position to upfront and deploying Kok Hock to take over Chor Guan not only didn’t pay off but it devastatingly backfired. Chor Guan was effective in repelling their waves after waves of attacks. Don’t get me wrong, Kok Hock is a proven quality but has a different style of play in commanding the defence. Before the line could settle down to the new regime, SOFA-A punished us with a breakthrough in the dying moments of the match.

We were jaded and sluggish throughout the match. Perhaps, it was our first morning match after a long while and we just couldn’t get beyond the 1st gear in the morning sun. On the contrary, SOFA-A were lively and fluid in their movements. If there was any bright spark in our performance, it was the ever-improving Brandon who once again bailed us out of a possible landslide margin loss. Brandon, showing his willingness to play for the cause of the team, stepped up when most of us failed miserably with his numerous quick off-the-line shutdowns that thwarted several certain goals.

SOFA-A, with their majority in play possession and a few close opportunities, got their opening goal they richly deserved late in the 1st half. Ironically, it came from a nice build-up of our rare offensive move. Gan threaded in a through ball down the right, which Kian Hwa did well to run behind the full back to cut the ball back to Weng Khong, then as our right full-back, in the box. Weng Khong air-balled his shot and SOFA-A retrieved the loose ball and launched a quick counter-attack that exposed the big gap we left behind. A few quick moves allowed their forward to chip the ball from outside the box. Brandon barely got his fingers on the ball as it sailed over him into the net. 0 – 1.

Despite trailing at half-time, we were confident that we were able to get back into the game. Shortly after the match resumed, Gan was fouled in the box after Melvin sent in a cross that caused a goalmouth melee. Gan picked himself up to convert the spot-kick. 1 – 1.
But our tail wind didn’t last long to propel us further and SOFA-A took over the command. We managed to keep them at bay with our stout defending from Chor Guan, Hock Leong, Weng Kwan and Chung Wen , later replaced by Mike. Where our defensive line was breached, we had our Brandon to call upon. The dam eventually caved in to the non-stop onslaught by SOFA-A.

Their forward cleverly drew Hock Leong and Kok Hock to him before releasing the ball to their playmaker No 8, who raced clear with the ball. With Brandon out to narrow the angle and Kian Hwa chasing after him, No 8 demonstrated the coolest of footballing brain by slotting the ball through Brandon’s legs to seal the game at 2 – 1. By then, we were thoroughly sapped, both physically and mentally, with hardly any ounce of energy to recover lost ground. An unhappy ending for us but SOFA-A didn’t deserve anything other than a win.

Man of the Match (for Marine Sunday): Brandon
Any surprise? By miles again, similar to his first MoTM on New Year’s Eve, Brandon came out top with 8 votes out of 14. With his new found confidence, we definitely hope he could continue to command and impose in the box. However, one thing is of concern to the us. There is an inverse relationship between him winning MoTM and us winning the match. We do hope that the next time he gets MoTM, we are the winning side J

Brandon (8 votes)
- “I actually heard him shouting out at the players to cover positions. Fantastic! Showed marked improvements in positioning but really need to be more confident in handling and distributing balls.”
- “My MoM is Brandon. We didn’t play particularly well. But he made important saves and was steady throughout.”
- “Vote goes to Brandon. Great saves and a much improved performance.”
- “Brandon. Thanks to a few 1-to-1 saves.”
- “Brandon. Solid display”
- “Brandon. Did very well in goal.”
- “MotM: Brandon for keeping the score respectable with a few saves.”
- “MOTM Brandon for a few fine saves”

Kok Hock, Hock Leong and Weng Kwan had 2 votes each”
- “MotM = kok hock. Show his versatility. Play well as a central mid, left wing, last man”
- “MotM goes to kok hock. Most lively among group of jaded marine sunday players. Controlled ball well and also broke up some of opponents attack.”
- “My vote to hock leong for some timely interceptions and good overall defensive work.”
- “MotM is hock leong for holding the defence”
- “Weng Kwan MoM – slightly slow but makes up with determination. Gave opponents very little room today”
- “MotT: kwan – sound defending & oh what solid spot on crunching tackles to make a statement!”