Match #29 (27 June 09): We Enjoyed Making Life Difficult For Ourselves With A Grandmother-of-All-Comeback Win!

Marine Sunday put in an unbelievable jaw-dropping performance in the last 30 minutes of the match to snatch an incredible 5 – 4 win against Daniel Old Boys (DOB) after it had seemed long gone for us when we were trailing at 1 – 4. The pendulum swing from one end to the other throughout the match, it started with a 1 – 0 lead for us before DOB surged to a commanding 4 – 1 margin, and then we forced the scale to tip in our favour by the time the final whistle went. DOB walked off the pitch applauding our spirit, wondering where our reserves of spirit and belief came from. Putting the indifferent first half performance aside, this had got to be one of our most satisfying wins.

DOB comprise a handful of veterans with a great sense of football, augmented by a handful of youngsters who have quite a bit to learn from their mature teammates. But we did fall prey to one of their experienced veterans, No 16, who orchestrated the midfield with such ease and grace that, I hate to admit it, it was quite a joy to watch him play. Among their handful of youngsters, the one operating on the left midfield was, despite his rotund size, lightning quick. No 16 called the shots and this youngster applied the finishing to deadly effect. We started confidently enough to control the pace. We threatened in less than a minute from the kick-off. Teck Wah nodded down Kian Hwa’s cross onto the path of Weng Khong but the latter thought he was a rugby player and ballooned his shot way over the bar. Kian Hwa continued to be lively on the left but his final crosses into the box were short of any quality to find his fellow striker partner, Teck Wah. Impatient with the poor service from KH, Teck Wah urged for bombarding from the rear and one such punting ball from Chung Wen allowed the former to race through. Our top striker did no wrong with a left-foot lob over the onrushing keeper for our opening goal. 1 – 0 and the match was not even 10 minutes old. Things seemed rosy for us but DOB had other ideas. They punished our sloppy possession of the ball and we almost committed a kamikaze.
See Chiang, filling in as stopper, took a second too long to clear the ball and was duly robbed by DOB’s forward. Though See Chiang did well to win back the ball, he chose to pass inward to Melvin instead of a simple clearance forward. Melvin’s touch was just as heavy as his bodyweight and that gave the away the ball the 2nd time in a space of less than 30 seconds. DOB’s forward surged into the box with the giveaway ball and he apparently tripped over a sea of legs. We were left fuming by the referee as he pointed to the spot. The decision appeared dubious as the offence, an alleged nudge from behind by Melvin on this forward, took place just outside the box. The referee further added fuel to the fire when he failed to spot DOB’s rotund youngster advancing into the box before the spot kick was taken and he duly scored from the rebound after Brandon brilliantly dived to his left to block the penalty. The ball spun to Brandon’s right and before our custodian could recover, this DOB youngster was already right in front of the open goal mouth to tap in the rebound, 1 – 1.

Like a bloodhound, DOB sensed that we were not as cool as our jerseys portray us to be. Their No 16 operated his midfield like a maestro that not even our 2 tenacious midfielders – Mark and Simon could seem to get near him. More misery ensued. A corner sent long beyond the far past appeared harmless but both See Chiang and Simon failed to spot another of their veteran players, No 20, lurking at the far end and he instinctively hit a hard first-time shot to give them a 2 – 1 lead. It was a brilliant goal, given the positioning of the player, his technique in hitting the ball and best of all, it was from a very tight angle despite having 2 of our players in front of him.
Ng then overlapped to support an attack and shot well from outside the box but DOB’s keeper was just as confident in gathering the shot. The referee further infuriated us with another contentious decision when he penalised us for a soft challenge by Mike on DOB’s player in the box. This was after Mike gave away the ball cheaply on the left and in his earnest effort to win back the ball, his challenge in the box was unfairly punished. Another penalty, and another brilliant block by Brandon who dived to his right this time round, another jump-the-gun run into the box by the DOB’s youngster to react to the rebound but the outcome was not to be same – his left-foot shot went wide off the right post. We were let off the hook but it was not for long.
A moment of defensive indiscipline presented DOB with the 3rd goal. Our defensive trio of Chor Guan, Chwee Leng and Ng advanced too far upfront to support the attack and consequently exposed a gulf at the back. The move broke down and DOB counter-attacked with pace, leaving our sole defender, Weng Kwan, with the unenviable task to face DOB’s 3 forwards. They beat Weng Kwan with ease but Brandon came off his line well to block the one-on-one shot. The ball fell at the feet of the rotund DOB youngster who, despite way offside, was allowed by the referee to tap the ball into our open goal to extend DOB’s lead to 1 - 3.

Despite trailing at this score, we held the belief we could turn the game around but this optimism was punctured early in the 2nd half. Again, we allowed them too much room to move in our half and and failed to track their forward surging unimpeded into our box to plant a shot past Brandon. 1 – 4, all seemed beyond salvage but little did they know, we had a different script in the drawer. Switching See Chiang to the right midfield in the 2nd half liberated his spirit and he terrorised down the right flank with his speed and tough challenges on the ball. Mike, coming in for the static Melvin on the left, justified his re-introduction into the match. Both wide players provided the pivotal moment from which, we hit the point of no return. Just as our front duo retreated to avoid an offside call, See Chiang surged from the blind to latch onto the through ball. His speed caught DOB defenders by surprise and before they could blink their eyes, See Chiang squared the ball into the box for Simon, whose effort was denied by DOB’s custodian’s outstretched leg. Mike’s follow-up header hit the left upright but he regained his composure to hit the rebound past the keeper to reduce the deficit to 2 – 4. Kian Hwa then beat their left fullback twice on the right but on each occasion, his intended square pass for Teck Wah failed miserably, leaving the latter pulling his little hair in disgust. Another moment of inspiration from See Chiang led to our 3rd goal. He showed Kian Hwa how to cross in a ball as he pin-pointedly picked out Teck Wah at the far post. Teck Wah’s first-time left-foot volley hit Chor Guan on the line instead, yet our last man regained his orientation to produce an acrobatic hook high in mid-air to divert the ball into the net. 3 – 4 and DOB appeared shaken. Their look of disbelief was further compounded by our relentless attacks. Teck Wah was left with too much space and time to tee up his shot. Though his initial effort came off the defender, Weng Khong coolly slotted the rebound past the diving keeper for our equaliser. 4 – 4. Weng Khong’s elation was amply demonstrated in his wild arm-swinging celebration.

In leading to the restored parity, our defensive trio of Weng Kwan, Chwee Leng and Chung Wen (and later, Ng), and our midfield lynchpin, Mark, kept the shop tight at the back to hold DOB off. Chwee Leng, in particular, shone brightly in his fullback role. Weng Kwan gamely stepped up to take over Chor Guan, freeing the latter to add bites to our attack. With 5 minutes left, DOB probably thought we would step off the pedal but we proved them otherwise. Simon was re-introduced into the match to further bolster our attack, switching Weng Khong to the flank to continue piling pressure from wide. DOB failed to clear another ball from the flank and Gan was at the right place to shoot the ball past the desperate dive of DOB’s keeper. We unbelievably reversed the score to our favour, 5 – 4.

We ran down the clock in the final couple of minutes. By then, even if DOB still possessed fuel in their system, their spirit had been completely emptied out from their bodies. The win was sensational, to say the least.

Man of The Team: See Chiang (4 votes, out of 15)
Altogether 9 players were nominated and the eventual winner only garnered 4 out of 15 votes. That showed the tremendous effort put in by the team and not just a few individuals. See Chiang was deservedly crowned the MoTM with his superlative 2nd half performance on the right flank.
“Motm to see chiang. His hard running on the flanks made the difference.”
“motm: see chiang. once again terrorising the opponents down the flanks as he has done so recently. Huge factor in our comeback was the balls coming from the flanks. I think we should make him permanently a winger to take advantage of his speed.”
“MOM: See Chiang-played his best game yet..was all over the pitch and gave their left back a horrible time.”
“MOTM = See Chiang. Constant threat down the flanks that provide an additioanl attack option for the team. Outrun the younger opposition fullback at numerous occassion and get behind the opposition defence line with relatively ease. Should be rewarded with a goal at least...”

Teck Wah also came to life in the 2nd half after a lethargic display in the 1st half. He had a hand, or rather a foot, in 4 of the 5 goals. Superb! 3 votes went to him!
“MOTM is Teck Wah. " was always a threat to their defence"
“MOTM - Everyone played their hearts out for this come from behind win. Many players deserved to be put up. My vote goes to Teck Wah. He was clearly dangerous whenever he goes forward. He increased the tempo after he was reintroduced in the 2nd half.”
“This match is one of the hardest to choose.....each made significant contributions but vote goes to Teck Wah for his contributions which lead directly to results, one goal and two assists(our third and fourth goal, I think).”

Mike came in 3rd with 2 votes for his commendable performance:
“mike. again, he score when we are under pressure, especially for this game when we are down by 1-4...”
“I was toying between See Chiang and Mike – both made the difference in the 2nd half on the flanks, albeit at different extent. See Chiang was a terror down the right flank, did what Kian Hwa couldn’t do in providing crosses, assisted in 2 goals. Mike’s goal proved to be tonic just when we needed it most. His first attempt was great but his 2nd attempt was even greater. What pipped him to win my vote was when he raced back to cover Chwee Leng, and, despite giving away a penalty in the first half, brilliantly robbed the ball from their No 20 in the box – cleanly and effectively. Without this interception, No 20 could have gone on to snatch another goal. But Mike denied him with a good piece of defending, bearing in mind he was covering our left back then. Mike is my MoTM!”

6 players – Chwee Leng, Weng Khong, Mark, Chor Guan, Brandon and Kian Hwa – were nominated once each:
“MOTM: A big thump on my chest for the midfield and offense. Respect. You guys really kept the ball in the opponents side in the 2nd half. Probably alot of "worthy mentions" to come for the midfield and strikers but it was all a big blur for me. Offense and midfield performed like one. My credit this week goes to Chwee Leng for his complete performance, mopping all the balls that got through and sending them back into the pinball machine upfront.”
“MOTM. WengKhong. I saw the most involved, most committed and most supported play from Weng Khong after his comeback from injury. His equalizer is great morale booster for the whole team to carry on fighting for the win. Great work from him even other team members also contribute significantly”
“Tough decision for MoTM, whole team played well and so many individuals shined. Many of our games are usually won by outstanding play from 2 to 3 key players. The match yesterday was won by every team member. Mike started the revival and played his heart out. Chwee leng was solid at the back in the second half and his foray down the left flank was a constant threat to the opponents. Simon and mark neutralised their no. 16 in the second half, which we totally dominated unlike in the first. teck wah and gan gave hell and exploited their gaps in defence. Weng khong is back to his usual menance in midfield, harassing, dribbling, twisting and turning Brandon saved a penalty and could have been two if their overweight left winger had not run in before penalty was taken. 5 goals and 5 scorers, and this was one of the mothers of all come back. Mark wins the MoTM for his superb reading of game, positioning and running his heart out at their players.
“What a fantastics and a spectacular comeback! Great team spirits and efforts from all who played last Saturday! If let be, I'll vote everyone for MOTM but for the sake of the rules, I'll choose Chor Guan as the MOTM - for his second half performance was excellent, doubling the role of a stopper and as an additional defensive midfielder, closing down their playmaker and supporting our attack. Well Done Chor Guan!”
“MOTM is Brandon for saving both penalties though their mama player (no insult to Melvin) ran into penalty box even before the taker to slot in 1 rebound”
“It is surely a tremendous team effort to recover from 1-4 down to win 5-4 so this nomination will unfortunately be inadequate to honor many who gave their all in loud or silent ways. In a match like this, things behind the scenes can be a major difference between capitulation & glorious triumph. KH did the necessary today in organising the troops calmly & then let us do the business in pounding out the unimaginable comeback. Motm to him.”

Match #28 (21 June 09): Marine Sunday Resumed Winning Way With A Scrappy Win

For what Lady Luck had shortchanged us in the match against VS Staff, she had adequately made up for it in our last Sunday's match against Queensland. We benefitted from an own goal and a miscued shot that luckily ended up where it mattered most - the net. It was a closely-matched encounter in terms of the number of scoring opportunities both sides had and the 3 – 2 scoreline could not be more reflective. But Queensland enjoyed a much better share of the possession, they were fitter and hungrier and like us, had enough chances to kill off the game. Perhaps they came up a wee bit short in the luck department. Notwithstanding, that should not take away the gloss from our win. Apart from considering the number of chances we squandered, including a missed penalty, we were up against younger and fitter players, and played under the 3pm sun.

Queensland had the upperhand in the opening proceeding and played direct Route One football to get the ball to their strikers. Their No 18 was a constant thorn in our flesh throughout the match. He intercepted a mishit clearance by Kian Hwa and raced towards our goal, leaving Leo and the guilty Kian Hwa in his trail. Brandon spared the blushes of Kian Hwa with a good right-foot block to deny No 18’s stiff shot. Brandon then produced a stupendous tip-over save to divert a dipping shot over the bar. Nothing could deny No 18 much longer as he got in between Weng Kwan and Leo, and ahead of the covering Brandon to hit the first goal of the match. Weng Kwan allowed a cross to bounce in front of him and that extra second was a luxury for No 18 to pounce and punish us. 0 – 1. He threatened to extend his goal tally later when his left winger, with his trickery to twist and turn in the box, put in a nice cross for him but his header could have done better. We produced a handful of half chances but nothing really threatened their keeper, whose positioning and calls provided much assurance to Queensland’s backline. We had Lady Luck to thank for against such disciplined defence and capable keeper. Teck Chye turned his marker well in the box and his left-foot cross was unfortunately diverted into goal by Queensland’s last man. 1 – 1. Given the narrow pitch, the game plan was to avoid conceding throw-ins in our one-third and we turned our tactical aversion into our advantage in our next 2 goals. Mark’s throw-in aimed at Teck Chye at the near post and the latter’s back-header came off a defender’s body on the line. Kian Hwa followed up on the loose ball inside the six-yard box. His miscued shot almost caused everyone to miss two heartbeats but the ball ended up in the lower left-hand corner of the goal. 2- 1. Whilst Queensland’s defence was effective in clearing our balls, they were guilty of lax marking. Teck Wah’s quick throw-in caught their entire defence napping and Teck Chye was left totally unmarked to turn and lob the ball over Queensland’s hapless keeper. 3 – 1 and that was how it stood at half-time!

We almost extended the gap early in 2^nd half when Kian Hwa followed through to capitalise on a miscommunication between their keeper and defender outside the box. KH nipped in between them to steal the ball but his square ball into the box for Teck Wah was cleared by Queensland’s fullback for a corner. The resultant corner almost resulted in a goal, had it not been for their keeper’s fingers that managed to tip the ball away. Kian Hwa hardly dribbles with the ball but his rare attempt in the box earned a late tackle from Queensland’ stopper. For all the well intention to present Chung Wen with his first goal and a rare one for that, he squandered the resultant penalty. Teck Chye then released Kian Hwa on the right and the latter’s cross into the box gave rise to a goalmouth melee from a series of goal attempts by Leo, Weng Khong, Teck Chye and Kian Hwa but each failed to find the net.

At the other end, Queensland peppered at our goal from both flanks, leaving both Chung Wen and Ng severely stretched. But our stand-in central pairing of Weng Kwan and See Chiang repelled almost everything thrown at them. Our defence admirably stood up to the challenge and See Chiang, in particular, gave a steely performance that was not inferior to any regular stoppers. Queensland did come close on 3 attempts and they eventually found the net. A cross from the left took a bounce in the box that fooled Brandon. No 18 ghosted in and headed past Brandon to narrow the deficit. 3 – 2. Queensland were inspired by the late goal and continued to threaten but we managed to hold them out till the final whistle for a hard-earned win.

Man of The Team: Brandon (5 votes, out of 14)

Both Brandon and See Chiang came in with 5 votes each. Whereas his previous week’s errors put him under the microscope, his saves in this match placed him in favourable spotlight. This edged him marginally ahead of See Chiang to win the MoTM.

1. “Brandon: Brandon had indeed made some remarkable saves to bill us out from the game especially when he has to deal with a one on one situation which he did a gallant close up cum a fantastic block with the opponent.”
2. “MOM: Brandon-what a performance..he could hardly be blamed for the goals but full credit for stopping at least 4 clear chances.”
3. “My MOM is Brandon for the few great saves he made to keep the game in our favour. He did well in a couple of one on one situations as well.”
4. “motm to brandon getting us back on winning ways. there isn't anyone who could have done better between the sticks today. it must also be said that everyone work their socks off….
5. “Team played well. Chung Wen played his heart out. But brandon really made the difference. My vote goes to him. What a return!”

See Chiang could have won the MoTM. Noticed the other 2 nominators who did not vote for him but did a special mention of him:

1. “MOTM -See chiang- hardwork, constantly marking opponent strikers/good job”
2. “MOTM: It gets boring voting Mark all the time but he played with that sense of calm like Chye, YC's GPS pitch positioning and Simon's endurance. Sian lah don't vote for Mark since he only played 1 half. See Chiang similarly delivered on all fronts the entire game so See Chiang has my vote this week.”
3. “Motm - See Chiang......steady, dependable, defends well and support attack well. He played like a 20 year old.”
4. “MOTM - See Chiang. Stepped in well as a solid stopper and was everywhere in defence. While our attacks at times were futile, stopper See Chiang did manage to run at their defence and was impressive with one such run that almost bear result. Praise must also go to Teck Chye for his third goal and well created header for Kian Hwa's equaliser.” [Teck Chye himself scored the equaliser, not Kian Hwa]
5. “See Chiang’s versatility put in an all-action performance as stopper – defended well, broke up attacks, robbed balls off their feet, advanced to attack.”

The other 4 votes went to Ng, Mark, Kian Hwa and Teck Chye. 3^rd position goes to Ng:

1. “motm: old man Ng for risking his limps and head going up for several headers against the much taller number 18 and pretty much containing the much speedy winger and most dangerous player. Special mention that See Chaing also had a good game. He seem to have improved in leaps and bounds on his ball control and distribution. how many times he ran with the ball past the opponents and the ball seemed to stick to his feet...maybe he have a new pair of boots we don't know about?”

Mark and Teck Chye keep getting nominated week in week out, enough already.

Kian Hwa? Since he does not get nominated week in week out, another “loss” makes no difference J

1. “Motm was Mark. Even for just one half, he was absolutely superb in midfield. We won 3-1 first half but lost 0-1 in the second. He was one of the main reason.”
2. “kh. both see chiang and kh play like 18 years old, vote go to kh cos he score a goal and a penalty” [KH won the penalty but he didn’t take it. Who missed it, remember? J]
3. “MoTM to teck Chye. Scored one and had a hand in the other two. Besides taking on defenders with some nice touches and skillful turns was robust in midfield and broke up many of their attacks even before they can use their speed to run down at us.”

Lastly, a special tribute to all....almost.

........it must also be said that everyone work their socks off, and special mention to:

wen - who anticipated every ball and got onto them.kwan - for keeping a cool head and an even calmer voice.

chiang - for a typical energetic display of power defending.

ng - for chasing down their best players time and again.

mark - who gave his all in his only half; battling through everything that falls in the middle of the park.

mel - for giving up only after his damaged groin threatens to ruin his other more (i had to assume for political correctness) important pastime for good, and then coming back in for more!

mike - who found lots of joy getting stuck in with the challenges and making great efforts to challenge opponents.

chye - being involved in all 3 goals, without those magical touches, can't imagine what might have been.

wah - always lurking, picking up balls and advance our moves.

and to all the rest who had put on such a fabulous performance i have nothing specific to add. also, for putting u through such a torturous read, there's a need to maintain anonymity :)

Match #27 (13 june 09): Embarrassing End to 5-Months’ Unbeaten Run

This ground remains our jinx battlefield and VS Staff remain our bogey opponent, one that always leave us perplexed and this time round, thoroughly embarrassed. We were held in high regards, supposedly to be high-flying, but the extent of their 5 – 1 win over us must have also left them perplexed what was so high-flying about us. Perhaps, as the saying goes, we were nothing more than paper tigers. On the other hand, we were not as pathetic as the wide margin suggested. The score line might have suggested an embarrassing rout and an emphatic crushing but it was far from it. In fact, we just could not find any semblance of justice out of this match. VS Staff edged us in possession but we certainly carved out more goal scoring chances. The big difference between us was that they had their keepers to thank for saving their day and our keeper to thank for giving away the soft goals. Understandably, some of us would have pointed our fingers at Brandon. One goalkeeping error is enough to wipe out a goalkeeper’s career but four in a match that led to four goals conceded? In this regard, most would also have felt sorry for Brandon. A forgettable outing for him – basic goalkeeping errors, blunders and wayward kicking - that he probably thought he turned up with two left feet. But he is a strong lad, he will recover and become better.

VS Staff seized the initiative and forced a series of corners in the opening ten minutes of the game but each was comfortably dealt with by our defence. Their No 7 forward, whose play bordered on being irritating than anything else, proved a handful for Chung Wen but our reliable right back showed he was just as capable to contain the generously proportioned striker. Most of the action was on VS Staff’s left flank as they were clearly getting their left winger to exploit us with his beautiful ball control and nimble feet. He did send in a few dangerous-looking crosses from the left flank but our defence held out well. At the other hand, we failed to capitalise on the front pairing of the Tang brothers. Neither did we make use of Weng Khong and Kian Hwa on the flanks. We had a handful of half chances but nothing really threatened VS Staff’s custodian.
Proceedings were evenly balanced for the first 30 minutes until Weng Khong, who switched to the left to take over Kian Hwa, put in a reckless and needless challenge on their player at left middle of the pitch. The ball from the resultant freekick was floating in the air and their left winger No 5 read the flight of the ball well to outjump Chung Wen and nod the ball down towards the lower right-hand corner of goal, which the way-out-of-position, the first of the four goalkeeping errors, Brandon could not recover in time to prevent a goal. Chung Wen burst his lungs to sprint back and stretched his hamstring to the limit but for all his gallant effort, it was futile. 0 – 1 down. VS Staff found the net second time shortly after and it was through another piece of horrendous goalkeeping that gifted them the goal. VS Staff earlier introduced their much-touted flying right winger and he proved that his thoughts are just as flashing quick as his feet. VS Staff put the ball into our penalty box which Brandon did enough to come off his line to meet the situation. Instead of picking up the ball, which he should have, he chose to kick it away but the clearance went as far as the flying winger No 25 lurking outside the box. Sensing he had been caught out of position, Brandon hurriedly retreated to goal but it was too late as No 25 lobbed the ball into the open goal. 0 – 2.

In typical Marine Sunday fashion, we held on to our belief and sprang back to life. The last 10 minutes of the first half were all Marine Sunday. Not to be let down by the 2-goals deficit, we stepped up a notch to pile pressure onto VS Staff goal. Mark put in a fine cross from the right and Teck Wah met it at the far post with a first-time left-foot volley to reduce the deficit. 1 – 2. We could sense the recovery was not too far away. Chwee Leng was put through but VS Staff’s replacement keeper was quick to come off his line and bravely block Chwee Leng’s effort. More heartache for Chwee Leng a couple of minutes later as his rocket from outside the box rattled the bar with such venom that VS Staff’s keeper must have felt thankful he had not put his hands in the path of the ball. We continued to prod but the half ended with VS Staff holding a narrow 2 – 1 lead.

Again, it was all Marine Sunday in the first 15 minutes of the 2nd half as we continued where we left off in the first half but thereafter, things fell apart for us like a building giving way to landslide. Mark’s direct free kick from just outside the box looked a certain equaliser for us but it was tipped over the bar by VS Staff’s 3rd keeper of the match. We were to be denied by this burly keeper again as he miraculously palmed away a point-blank header from Teck Wah, who met Mark’s precise cross from the right with such purpose. We were enjoying the upper hand but the air of superiority was punctured by another defensive mistake. The usually cool Hock Leong, who had been having a solid game, over hit a back pass that caught both Chor Guan and Mark flatfooted. That presented VS Staff’s No 5 a free way to heaven as he galloped away with the ball to face Brandon. Brandon brilliantly denied his first effort but VS Staff’s support striker tucked in the loose ball into the empty net. This third goal somehow deflated our spirit and disrupted our momentum as we found ourselves staring at a 2-goals deficit again despite having a period of the Indian summer. We poured bodies forward to rescue the game and risked exposing the backline and we were duly punished by VS Staff. Our attack involving Chor Guan was broken up and VS Staff counter-attacked with their flying right winger No 25 causing us havoc. He whizzed past Leo and Hock Leong effortlessly and squared the ball for the unmarked No 5 in the box. Brandon diverted the No 5’s attempt for a corner but all his good effort in denying the goal came to waste when his poor handling of the resultant corner let the ball slip off his hand. VS Staff just could not believe their luck as they notched their 4th goal. 1 – 4.

It was fighting a lost cause for us but we kept going. Teck Chye broke through twice but he was hasty in shooting the ball wide. Teck Wah picked out Kian Hwa in the box, whose left-foot attempt was easily gathered by VS Staff keeper. Our reward for our effort was more misery bestowed upon us. Another attempt to clear the ball by Brandon turned out to be another disaster in the making as he somehow diverted the ball across the six-yard box. Leo was caught wrong-footed by the diversion of the ball and VS Staff could do no wrong with another open goal at their mercy. 1 – 5! Our final attempt at goal showed that it was simply not meant to be our day. It was Teck Wah’s turn to provide the cross from the right for Mark but again, VS Staff keeper proved hard to beat as he was at the right place to hold on to Mark’s first-time volley. Even a wee bit of consolation was denied. We dropped hard onto the ground and landed flatly on our faces. We knew we didn’t deserve to be at the receiving end of such a score line but VS Staff always take their chances well against us. This is another key difference…..apart from the goalkeeping factor.

Man of The Team: Mark (7 votes, out of 14)
The one who could have been on the victorious side chose to play for us. The only consolation for him is this Man of The Team award, quite a resounding one in fact:
“MOTM: If only Chwee Leng could last longer.... my vote for Mark for his wide perspective of game flow and acute positioning during the game which has become one of his star features.”
“mott: Mark...more for his presence and play in midfield in the first half. 2nd half was not getting into the game though until the last 10 minutes or so.”
“mott - Mark. Control the pace of the game well. provided good crosses, throwings. support attack and defends well...too bad we lost. we just need to have a few more of Marks and a keeper that really knows how to use the hands and I think we can win most games.”
“Motm: Mark for his good control of the midfield.”
“MOTM - we huff and puff and still loss 5-1. MOTM to Mark who soldier on till his last ounce of energy"
“MOtM is Mark - worked tirelessly for the team”
“MOTM = Mark, A dominant force in midlfield despite facing faster and more skillful opponents. Great link up play with the attackers and make effort to fall back to provide additional cover for the back four.”

Chung Wen and Chwee Leng had 2 votes each and both worked on the right, containing their left winger well:
“MOTM to Chung Wen for tenacious tackling, restricting their attacks. The goals we conceded were mainly from unfortunate errors.”
“No doubt Mark put up another sparkling performance, especially how he nullified their Indian left winger on a few times. But, Chung Wen narrowly won my vote. He contained their No 7 very well in first half. And the way he recovered and tried to prevent the first goal from going in….that epitomised Marine Sunday spirit!”

“MOM is Chwee Leng for good play on the right wing as well as tracking back to help defence and also the stupendous volley which if it had gone in would have possibly be the goal of the season.”
“Motm: Chwee Leng. Everyone work very hard this game, vote go to chwee leng cos he provide a most power shot in this game but too bad, the field is a bit smaller by 10cm…”

The other 3 votes went to Leo, Hock Leong and Teck Wah:
“Motm to 'leo last man'. Everytime he shouts that, the team can feel some assurance that someone is holding defence as we try desperately to get back into the game. There's always a need for a cool head as such.”
“MoTM goes to teck wah. Most threatening of all, and his speed was a handful for their defenders. Also scored our only goal.”
“MOTM - Hock Leong is my pick for the MOTM. His close markings on their 'shortie' striker and malay play maker were superb. Unfortunately, few concentration lapses caused us dearly but credit to the back four for doing their utmost best in the match.”

Match #26 (07 June 09): Marine Sunday Showed Strategy Can Win Over Skills

report contributed by mel

It was so hot on Sunday, Ng's green Honda turned brown from over cooking. But the sweltering heat was no match for Gan's super hot performance. He turned, sprinted, danced and shouldered his way to a wonderful hat-trick in a match in which Marine Sunday showed strategy can win over skills. Sure, player for player our opponents were more skillful with wonderful touches, great dribbling skills and speedy wingers. We had 12, 7 short of what we really needed on Sunday. It was that hot. So hot KH wouldn't have had to take his shirt off for his moobs (aka man boobs) to be covered with salty perspiration. Ng told me it was salty.

The game started with both sides trying to come from wide positions but our opponents' speedy right winger proved a handful for in-form Ng. He twisted and turned Ng each time and when that failed, he toe-poked his way past our defence. But he had a striker who failed to understand the offside rule and was standing so close to Brandon, our keeper was tempted to file a report against him as a stalker. At the other end, Mike and Weng Khong stretched their full-backs like dirty old men let loose in a room full of virgins, before playing low passes in the middle for Gan. But they had a last man who was confident and speedy too. It looked like it was going to be a close contest until one clever ball from the left saw Gan in a shoulder to shoulder barge against the last man. Gan showed he was all muscle and speed and shoved his way through before meeting the keeper in a one-to-one situation. Our striker coolly slotted the ball under the onrushing keeper for an early lead. 0-1. Until then MS was holding defence well except for Ng who had a torrid time. Our left back brought down the winger several times but on his final tackle, Ng introduced the young boy to his hairy chest. Down he went and up came the Hokkien vulgarities from their second striker. However the run from left wing to right wing to help his friend took too long and by then he had calmed down. The free kick was played wide before our defence headed it back out of the penalty box. Their central midfielder brought it down with one touch and volleyed the ball home past Brandon. It was a well-taken goal. 1-1.

MS controlled the pace of the game. Instead of pumping needlessly (think KH in Shanghai), MS played from defence with simple passes wide. It took just five touches for Gan to be set free again and our speedy striker once again rolled the ball pass the keeper for another well-taken goal. 1-2. By now Melvin was playing as the walking wounded having stretched his flabby thighs again. Oh how we needed KH to shout out instructions if only to hear his voice. But Kim Jong Ill needed to choose his successor and our beloved leader had to travel to North Korea for the short-listing. KH fulfilled the two criteria. He is short and he lists to his right. So MS had little choice but to soldier on for fear of severe punishment should KH become the next North Korean madman, another two criteria KH fulfills. Teck Wah came in for Mike and soon our triathlete was causing havoc playing neat passes with Gan. Both could have grabbed more goals but the final touch eluded them. Off one pass from Wah on the left, Gan came sliding in only to see his shot sail over the bar. Chye, obviously feeling threatened by his brother, robbed the defence of the ball after a poor kick by the keeper and stroll towards the box before putting it wide of the keeper. 3 - 1 up at half-time.

The second half saw the re-introduction of their speedy winger now to face Leo. Leo knew he couldn't match the boy for speed. Instead he refused to give up space forcing the winger wide with no one to aim for. While our opponents, who had more than 16 players to choose from, picked up the pace, MS slowed down the game every time we were in possession. Chye and Simon were brilliant in simply knocking the ball around and waiting for opportunities. With See Chiang and Weng Khong flying down the flanks to create openings, their defence had a harrowing time containing the attacks. Wah was in fine form as usual running all over the pitch to create space for Gan. Off one flowing move down the ride, a Chwee Leng through pass had their left back panicking. He knocked the ball back to his keeper but it sailed over the custodian before rolling in for a 4-1 lead. The attacks continued with Wah sending a wonderful volley just over the bar and a few other close calls. No we can't blame KH for those misses although he was there in spirit. Then Gan stepped up again, this time turning a half-volley goalwards for a 1-5 lead. With 20 minutes still to play, MS slowed the game down, content to knock it around. Chye dropped deep in support of the central defenders while Simon shouldered duties in the middle of the park. The strategy worked with our opponents being forced to shoot from way outside the box. Brandon had all of one real save to make and that too was rolling out for a goal-kick. He was that bored.

The game then ended for a satisfying MS victory.

Man of The Match: Gan (5 votes, out of 12)
Another match-winning performance to walk away with MoTM:
“Motm has to be gan. Well taken goals. Well deserved hat trick. His confidence is back though on a few occasions he should have passed to wah.”
“gan. hold the ball well and never miss the chances to score 3 goals.”
“Vote goes to Gan. Good finishing to grab a hat-trick.”
“Gan. Superb hat-trick and all are individual solo attempt.”
“MOTM: Gan for a swivel and shoot goal in the 2nd half to complete the hattrick”

Melvin’s gallant effort in filling in the last man’s position came close with a vote less. But based on pure number of words in the nominations, he won by a big margin :)
“MOM is Melvin. He played the entire game with a muscle pull which restricted him to only using his left leg. He was able to still keep the opponents at bay with his quick thinking and positional play , and showed us how to play football with the speed of thought.”
“MOTM: See Chiang proved again he can play anywhere on the pitch but I vote for Melvin today for the way he soldiered on in the gunfight armed with only his penknife.”
“motm: Melvin. Performed remarkably well at last man with one good leg. Good composure as well as a calming influence throughout.”
“MOTM to Mel. Stood firm (not literally, of course) as last man throughout the match despite groin pain from early on. Great improvisations to clear dangers despite the handicap.”

The workhorse See Chiang garnered 2 votes for his workhorse-like high-energy display:
“MOTM - With only 12 players, 5-1 win against a Malay team, and a hatrick, many votes may go to the striker. However, as mentioned post match, opponent has only one shot on target. My MOTM goes to See Chiang who break up many of their moves. Towards the end of the first half, his excellent overlapping and cut back for Gan almost resulted in a goal. One of his better game in recent weeks. Maybe he should cycle more to the games in future.”
“See Chiang. most hardworking player of the team. You can find in anywhere, defence, midfield, striker, left, right, centre. Endless running and play well as a stopper.”

Very rare that our top scorer did not score, but he still scored with a consolation vote:
"MOTM = Teck Wah. Despite not scoring for this game, his off the ball running is a constant threat to the opposition defence. Provide two great assists for gan to scores his 2 of 3 goals."

Match #25 (30 May 09): Marine Sunday Just Barely Maintained Unbeaten Run

Marine Sunday’s pure grit and resilience ensured that history was not to repeat itself when we squared up against SOFA. We avenged our embarrassing whitewash suffered at their hands when we last met but only just. We were at the receiving end for the last 30 minutes of the match but our keeper, defenders and the central pair of midfielders worked their socks off to prevent another loss to them. The incessant pounding at us during the last one-third of the match yielded nothing for SOFA and they walked off the pitch with a narrow 3 – 2 loss of to us. They must have felt hard done that had their key players, No 10 & No 14, been fielded right from the whistle, they might have snatched a win instead. Their introduction into the match proved pivotal to turn the match in their favour but it was too late.

We had ourselves to blame for making life difficult for ourselves. We were lively in the opening period and were literally camping in their half. Despite that, we failed to make it count. Mike was left unmarked at the far post but was not alert to meet a fine cross from Kian Hwa on the left. That almost proved costly to us. We continue to threaten but the final touch was just lacking. Against the run of play, we were dealt with a sucker punch to concede a penalty, which Brandon was so unlucky not to have saved it. Chung Wen misjudged a high ball and that allowed their nippy winger to cut inside the box and tripped over the latter’s sticking leg. Referee pointed to the spot. The penalty was converted weakly which Brandon had it covered but somehow, he spilled the ball to allow it go over his body. Unbelievably, we found ourselves 1 – nil down.

Kian Hwa restored parity and in the process, ended his 2-months goal drought when he latched onto Mike’s interception. KH was quicker to the ball than SOFA’s keeper and lobbed over him. With the ball just bouncing rather weakly towards goal, Kian Hwa was determined that it ended up in the net and SOFA’s sweeper was equally determined to clear it that both went fully stretched to get to the ball. SOFA’s sweeper’s brave diving header got ahead of Kian Hwa’s outstretched leg but much to the relief and ecstasy of KH, the ball came off the inside of the left post to land into goal. And Kian Hwa’s momentum carried him through to almost tear down the net, 1 – 1!

SOFA stepped up two notches and gave Chung Wen a hard time down the left flank. Their left winger’s speed and close ball control was causing mayhem for our usually reliable right back. Crosses were coming in from both flanks and on one occasion, Brandon had to produce a point blank save to deny their striker’s thumping header. Just when they were enjoying the upperhand, we punctured their possession with our 2nd goal. Mark’s throw-in from the left was met by Gan’s back-header and the ball came off the bar to land at Teck Chye’s feet. No problem from less than a metre out and the simple tap-in brought us the 2 – 1 lead just before the half-time whistle went.

Teck Chye continued where he left off in the 1st half. Barely over a minute old in the 2nd half, he pounced onto a long punt from Brandon. SOFA’s 2 defenders appeared to have broken down in communication and Teck Chye punished them dearly when he slotted the ball into net after robbing the keeper. 3 – 1. Five minutes later, SOFA reduced the deficit after they broke up our attack and launched a swift counter-attack down their left flank. A couple of quick passes and a through ball allowed their striker to flip the ball past the advancing Brandon. Chung Wen’s gallant attempt to prevent the ball from going into the empty net came to no avail. 3 – 2. From then on, SOFA laid siege on our goal but our defence line, aided by the midfielders, worked overtime to keep the shape and maintain the composure to repel SOFA off. The heroics were best summed by Ng’s single act of full-blooded tackle to deny their tall striker, who was galloping past Ng towards goal, from causing damage to us. Ng’s tackle-from-behind was duly reprimanded with a yellow card but he ensured that we kept our unbeaten run going, albeit just by a hair’s skin.

Final result was a hard fought but hugely deserved 3 – 2 win for Marine Sunday.

Man of The Match: Ng (4 votes)

Both Ng and Kian Hwa tied at 4 votes each. Nobody will object if the MoTm goes to Ng…he seems to be getting better with age!
1. “Motm - The entire defence deserve a pat on their back. Played all their hearts out and contained the opponents well. To vote one of them, I will vote Ng who almost at the end of the game sacrifice his manhood just to block a shot rocketing towards the goal.”
2. “Mom: fantastic hardworking defense work from the defense during the last 20 min. In the last 5min of the game, we were caught off guard by a counter breakoff and Ng execute a critical professional tackle to the opponent to prevent a potential one on one faceoff with our goalie. NG deserved to be our man of the match!”
3. “MOTM is Ng. his defending is simply magnificent.”
4. “Spring Chicken Ng is the one….his full-balled tackle in the dying moments against someone with a pair of legs 2 feet longer than his but not necessary with a dick half a inch longer than his summed it up what we know of Ng – he has balls of iron and cock of steel to put in that kind of tackle – the Cock of the Match!”

Maybe barely just good but not enough….
1. “MOM - KH defintely his best game in a while”
2. “MOTM for 30May = Kian Hwa. Tireless performance upfront. Set a good example by defending from front and constantly hassle the opposition defence to prevent them for building up their play. Ending his months long goal drought with a well taken goal (Almost tear down the goal posts when he charge into the net).”
3. “Motm to kh. Good brave (we don’t expect anything less, do we?) goal & plenty of pressure to squeeze sofa’s balls (in every sense).”
4. “MOTM goes to Kian Hwa. Scored a important goal to get us back into the game and his constant running at the opponents gave them little time to build up their attack. This is especially so in the second half when their last man just pumped the ball into our half without much passing and ideas. One of the worst nightmare for a defender is to be constantly harassed by fast strikers.”


Weng Kwan, for his versatility in playing various positions, came in 3rd with 2 votes:
1. “MOTM - i'll choose between Hock Leong and Weng Kuan. Both were simply fantastics, their determinations and hard works earned us a well deserved victory.Opponents have some young and skillfull players but they certainly lacked the determinations and hard works that we have ....Weng Kuan is my MOTM. I am impressed with the way he handled the tall malay striker. Well done Weng Kuan and Hock Leong! Last but not least, thank you to all who played today - i think we all did very well, we may not be skillful or fast but we make up for our teamwork and determinations!”
2. “MOTM: Weng Kwan. Offensively we delivered.. good job! I have to give my vote to defense and Weng Kwan. Weng Kwan worked his socks off. His determination and grit inspired the defensive line.”

Brandon, Mark & Teck Chye mopped up the remaining 3 votes:
1. “MOTM: It's a close call between Brandon and Kian Hwa but Brandon has my vote. He made a few point blank save, was steady in collecting the high balls and read the game well to pick up the lose ball when the defence was beaten. A very good performance.”
2. “Vote goes to Mark. Controlled the midfield, controlled the game.”
3. “MOTM. TECK CHYE. we have very good game this saturday, evrybody play very well,fight for every ball till the end of the game, vote go to teck chye mainly he score 2 goals and he did very well in harassing their defenders.”