Match #43 (20 Sep 09): Durain-picking mentality backfires!

Match report by mel

Teacher say must file match report by Tuesday nows a day. This teacher also discipline master so cannot play play. So here goes:

At 9am, Marine Sunday was all decked out and ready to go. While we chomped down our breakfast - chwee kueh last time so Weng Khong brought prata and lor mee - the referee started his pre-match routine. But wait, the opponents were still missing. Apparently, they had spent some time at the Hari Raya bazaar negotiating with a fierce chap selling rugs. At 9.20 am, they were still putting on their boots and in the midst of waking up.

At 9.25 am, referee decided it was time to start. Marine Sunday shot off the blocks like Bolt. There were a few loose passes but nothing worrying because our opponents were still flicking eye sai at each other. But the warning signs were there. The much younger team did string a few passes together before their Ang Moh striker fired one narrowly wide with only Brandon to beat. That was all the warning Marine Sunday needed. Chiang, combining with Chye, did his usual forays down the left sending in wicked crosses that just eluded the strikers. Chiang decided he needed to show them how to finish. After beating their right back with a good run - off another Chye pass - Chiang cut into the box and lobbed the keeper. But the ball was still some distance from goal and Gan raced in to head it back to Chiang who pumped the ball into the back of the goal. 1-0. Our young opponents by now were up from their slumber. Number 8 and 3 were menacing with their jinking runs and off one such move, they laid the ball for Ang Moh who blasted from outside the box. It sailed pass Brandon only to hit the post. Lucky break for MS. While we seemed a little shaky in defence, we were better upfront with midfield holding strong. After Chiang's powerful run, Simon decided he would one-up Chiang with a powerful half-volley from outside the box. It sailed pass the keeper for our second goal. 2-0.

That really riled our opponents who were just beginning to take control of the game. MS had put two in within 15 minutes of the start and had taken control of the match but it looked like were were fast tiring towards half-time and our younger opponents cleverly took advantage. Another series of good passes in the middle left their other striker with all the time in the world to pick his spot. From outside the box he let fly with a powerful shot which just beat Brandon's outstretched arms. 2-1. That should have been a good warning to us but we again allowed their players to dance through the middle. This time their right back ran all the way from his half straight through the middle before rolling the ball pass Brandon. 2-2.

Inspired by Hock Leong's scolding, MS picked up the pace in the second half. We seized control from the start with midfileders peppering the penalty box with crosses from all angles but the final touch was missing. Chye was stopped by an alert keeper and when Leng dashed in with a powerful shot, their defender risked his sotong balls with a last gasp dive to block the goalward bound effort. Then Chiang had a header then wide just wide and Gan's shot zing passed the post. Off another move on the right, Chye's attempted shot hit their defender and the shin and it went just wide, hitting the side-netting. It was going to be one of those lousy days. At the other end, defence and Brandon held a picnic while waiting for action.

MS continued attacking right to the end but just couldn't do a Michael Owen. Final score 2-2.

Man of The Match: Teck Chye (6 out of 14 votes). Teck Chye edged ahead by 2 votes:

1. “We had the poorest discipline for this game. The defenders committed early and go all the way up to mid-field area, the midfielders went all up to the goal mouth area with “1 way no return tickets” and the strikers also missed so many of the easy goal chances. The early 2 goals probably gave the whole team the ‘durian’ mentality. The difference can be felt once Teck Chye took an early rest in the later part of 1st half. All the goals from opponent team came after that. It was back to Marine Sunday’s control in the 2nd half once we have Teck Chye back. He is my MOTM.”

2. “MOTM - Started off and finished brilliantly but suffered just before half-time. Amidst the tumoil I thought Chye stood out. His timely runs and tackles are essential watching for any young footballer. He put our forwards through several times with nicely weighted passes and should have scored with one brilliant run but was stopped by a good save.”

3. “Motm to teck chye. Did a lot of running and harrasing in midfield. Also gave the opponenets a tough time when the ball was with him, controlled well and took on their players. A first time long range effort from 30 yards out nearly won us the game. Good overrall performance despite his injury.”

4. “MOM was Teck Chye as he was our creative player and when he was on the field , he was dangerous and created chances for the team.”

5. “MOtM is Teck Chye - was a constant attacking threat”

6. “MOTM - Teck Chye - He was very hardworking and close downopponent well. Intercepted many of their play to launch our attacks. Good play overall.”

See Chiang with 4 votes:

1. “MOTM goes to See Chiang for his relentless effort to tear down the flank & penetrate the defence with his speedy runs.”

2. “see chiang. running up and down on left wing, break down last 15mins, rewarded with 1 goal.”

3. “MOTM = See Chiang. Constant threat down the left flank with his dangerous running which give the opposition right back hell of a time. A good individual effect in the opening minutes when he spears down the left flank following a through ball, lobbing over the onrushing keeper and finishing off coolly.”

4. “Motm - See Chiang. Scored the 1st goal and make many good runs down the left....should have scored a few more....and make crosses earlier....nevertheless, 1 of the best perform player. Overall, we did well for this game but most of us leave our scoring boots at home, cause we thought we are going to have a picnic with bananas, oranges, chwee Kueh, kopi etc.....”

Simon came in 3rd with 2 votes:

1. “MOTM - Simon, a well-taken goal from the edge of the box. The keeper was caught off-guard and it’s a classy goal.”

2. “motm : no one stood out in the game, thus my vote goes to Simon for the scoring a well taken shot from the edge of the box.”

Remaining 2 votes went to Teck Wah and The Rock:

1. “Teck Wah has my vote. While he didn't score and had a few chances, I think he shouted his throat dry and was always looking for opportunity to run the flank to cross or pick up loose balls in their penalty box. I think he would have scored on his chances if he had another second or another 2 feet of room. I also thought Chye had a very good 1st 20 mins as he got very involved, even dropping back into our last third.”

2. “Motm to the rock, conspicuous by the havoc opponents wreaked in his absence. Opponents couldn't pose any threat during those minutes he played. They were lucky to get back on level terms when the rock gave more play time to others to focus on strategy.”

Match #42 (13 Sep 09): The Old Horses Reigned Supreme, And With A Clean Sheet to Boast!

Match report by mel

Man Utd has Alex Ferguson, Liverpool Benitez and Arsenal, the Wanker. We have Kian Hwa. Just as fierce, sometimes as wonky with strategy (like Bentize, he doesn't think so) and can kick a bottle from CCK to Toa Payoh. None of those teams had to play without their main man. We did on Sunday. Will we survive? Will we lose against men young enough to be our children? Will we think of KH as we take aim in the urinal? Difficult questions.

It was blazing hot that day. Didn't help that our opponents, Eusoffites, were young and fit players. Our stand in strategist, Hock Leong, pulled the team together and we discussed our game plans over several packets of chwee kueh and kopi kau siu tai. As he wolfed down the chwee kueh, HL spelt out the strategy. "Ok, we must score goals. Then we cannot let them score. Ok?" The team nodded in unison. We understood the tactics. Simon turned to Gan and Teck Wah. "You'll play upfront. Must score goals. Brandon, you cannot let in goals. Chor Guan and Hock Leong, you'll tackle. Leo and Ng, also tackle. See Chiang, Chye, Weng Khong and I will run. Mel, you mark the referee."

And so we trooped onto the pitch. Immediately Teck Wah flew into action, exchanging passes with Gan like Messi and Henry. Chye was also in top form, not making a bad back pass within the first five minutes. Wah, impressive. Team stroked the ball around comfortably like KH when he checks for groin injuries. Grope, grope. ahhhhhhhh. Within the first ten minutes, Gan and Wah went close. Chye and Simon were playing cheeky balls down the middle that beat the last man but was always just a tad too fast for our guys. But you just knew a goal was coming. See Chiang was also his usual marauding self, flying down the left and sending in deep crosses. Off one such move, Wah came in late at the far post and looked like he had lost control with his first touch but faster than you can say, Kopi Kau Siu Tai, he stabed the ball home for our opener. 0-1. By then, the opposing keeper had to make several saves with Chye and Simon letting fly from the middle of the park. The team had skillful players in the middle but they were let down by a forward line that looked like they had spent all night drinking. The hot weather however got to both sides and the game slowed down. Despite many near misses, both teams trooped off without any more goals.

The second half continued at the same slow pace but Marine Sunday began to seize control of the game. At the back, defence held firm, flying in with the usual ball busting tackles. Upfront, Leo came in for Wah and ran his lungs out. After one brilliant and persistant run, he was seen clutching his chest as if they were Amy Yip's bak paus. It was Gan's turn to step up. After a few near misses, he confidently ran past their last man and toe-poked the ball past the onrushing keeper who made several good saves earlier. 0-2. Chye then turned on the style with an audacious run down the middle. His attempted chip was stopped by the keeper's outstretched arms. Simon then went close with a a fierce drive. Marine Sunday was really in the driver's seat. The third goal was a magical moment of inter-passing from the middle to the right before a low pass to the left of the penalty box. I forget how it all started. I believe it was Guan and then Wah who pulled it back for Gan who then passed it to See Chiang. I believe I saw KH running down the flank too. I may be wrong. The keeper was bouncing around the goal line but he knew he was truly beaten by the time See Chiang side-stepped the ball past him. 0-3.

 

The match continued with Marine Sunday's domination before the referee blew the final whistle. Final score 3-0.

 

Man of The Match: Chor Guan (7 out of 13 votes) - A clear winner by some margin:

1. “MOTM- Chor Guan, like all of us, he closed down our younger opponents quickly but with an extra bite. Without CG, opponent could have scored and match result would be different”

2. “chor guan. few good challenge at last line of defend, for our 1st clean sheet since don't know when.....”

3. “Motm - Chor Guan. Chor Guan seems to provide the confidence to the team when he plays. The team seems to be playing better with him around probably because he reads the game well and stablises the defence. Another solid game from him, always cool and calm....even when he appears that he is going to explode, he did not....”

4. “MOTM - Team played well and passes returned. See Chiang was a constant pain down the left, flying pass their right back. Gan and Wah grabbed neat goals and were a constant threat. Chye and Simon were exemplary in the middle. But my vote goes to a defender. Defence played well and kept it tight. Their challenges were full and timely. GUan gets my vote. Good reading and never say die attitude.”

5. “MOTM goes to Chor Guan for his outstanding & leak-proof performance in defence. Almost as good as the last-man-standing when all else fails... guess the clean sheet speaks for his performance. He is The Wall!”

6. “MOM is Chor Guan - On a hot day Chor Guan was all over the pitch and was able to clear many dangerous situations. Most of all , he made some great goal line clearances that helped us to maintain our lead.”

7. “Today was special. I never see Marine Sunday so cheerful and so motivated even when we were facing a good young NUS hall team. We will like a bunch of liberated North Korea Team just qualified for world cup. We fight with courage, we fight with spirit, we are united as a team. MOTM will be extremely hard to identify. But I will like to pinpoint to a particular moment when one of the opponent who had broken through all our defenders and goal-keeper with nothing more to beat except to tap in for a goal at a angle. Chor Guan suddenly was able to chase that opponent down and given a fantastic slide to back that ‘sure-goal’ from the opponent. Definitely a MOTM for that moment!”

Simon weighed in with 2 votes:

1. “Motm is Simon - nice passes”

2. “MOTM 13 Sep: With our keeper making a few wrong decisions, the scoreline suggests one of the defenders should take the MOTM honours today. Our defense did "hold the shape" well but I felt the opponents didn't create any chances for themselves either. I vote for Simon who lasted the whole game and practically a stop sign in midfield to our opponents. Mel again proved his legs can be forced to work magic and Leo displayed his versatility in defence and offense.”

4 players tied at 1 vote each. Nobody will quarrel that with his debut captaincy pip him to the 3rd position. The Rock!

1. “MOTM - My vote goes to the Rock. Good pre-game pep talk, control the game well and a winning start.”

Chwee Leng, Teck Chye and Weng Khong completed the nominations:
1. “motm: Chwee Leng. Counted a least 3 last ditch tackles on the opponents' forwards who were closing in on goal. Kept the opponents from scoring resulting in the first clean sheet in a long time”

2. “MOTM for 13/9 game = Teck Chye.... Dominant the midlfield with his composure, silky touches and excellent vision. Good work rate and involved in the build up for most of the attacking plays.”

3. “Motm to Khong. Followed Rock's instructions to the letter, held position well in tandem with other midfielders to enable the team to retain control of the match throughout.”

Match#41 (6 Sep 09):X’mas Came Early, We Exchanged Durians And Settled For A Draw

KH simply has to stop conducting the pre-match and half-time team talk. No, it’s not because of his outburst. Neither is it due to lack of motivational content, though intent is not questionable. It’s whatever he cautions, it happens! On 3 Sep at Safra Tampines, he urged the team to maintain focus and keep it tight at the back in the first 15 minutes of 2nd half, as this period has been our weakest part of the match. Then what happened? Within 3 minutes from restart, we conceded a goal due to sloppy defending. As for this match at Kovan, he warned the team to adapt to the natural pitch fast and beware of the bounce of the ball. His worst fear was confirmed in an even shorter time. Team BBG must have heard our fear and within 2 minutes, whilst we were still trying to come to term with the pitch and ball control, they swiftly moved down the right flank and scored from a cross, albeit with a helping hand from Brandon.

If KH should stop talking, The Rock should take over. Just before the kick-off, he lamented that some MoTM nominations were too cursory and apparently lacked sincerity. And what is the outcome of his grouses? Well, you will find out later.

Back to the match, Kovan pitch is the home ground of Team BBG. They are familiar with every blade of the grass and this familiarity did make a big difference. Having not played on natural pitch for a long while, we were clearly struggling in the opening 15 minutes of the match, with the first 2 minutes simply comical during which half the team was experiencing difficulty in controlling the ball, the other half had not even touched the ball and we let in the goal. Ng produced one of his, now trademark, wayward passes that gifted the ball back to Team BBG. They swiftly moved down the right flank and put in a cross that Brandon’s one-hand attempt to tip the ball away was too weak. The ball dropped into the net instead, much to the surprise of Team BBG as well.

Team BBG possessed 2 skilful midfielders who were the heartbeats of the team. Their No 17 is exceptionally gifted – tall and powerfully built, adept with both feet, packs a punch in his shot, reads the game intelligently and distributes the ball well. What irked us was that, given his build and talent, he fell to the ground too easily and at every opportunity, not unlike pussy willow.

Whilst we were not fluent in our movement and passing, we did carve out enough opportunities to reverse the early setback but our forwards were again a letdown. KH, after chastising Gan for his low conversion rate, fluffed 2 chances. The 1st one came from a good combination between Gan and Weng Khong at the byeline, then Weng Khong quickly laid the ball onto the path of KH but the latter’s right-foot shot went wide. KH then timed his run into the box to receive a pass from Simon and again, his shooting lacked purpose, this time too weak to trouble the keeper. Gan, revitalised and out to prove a point, was back to his lively self and created our best chance of the match. A pin-point cross from him on the right found See Chiang at the far post. See Chiang, totally unmarked, continued with his barren durian harvesting season as he headed the point-blank ball over the bar instead.

Team BBG exuded confidence in their play and they almost benefitted from a moment of hesitant clearance by Weng Kwan, who first allowed a high ball to bounce instead of killing it first time and then headed the ball back weakly to Brandon. Team BBG’s striker, being much faster, pounced onto the weak back pass and shot first-time. To his teammates’ dismay, the ball went wide and we were let off the hook. Though Weng Kwan appeared tentative at times, his spirit was in abundance as he gamely soldiered on in the thankless sweeper position throughout the match. Chung Wen and Leo, at times stretched by the pacy wingers, did well to contain the supply from the flanks. The Rock, as usual, provided the effective shield, just like the MediShield plans he is marketing.

Our equalising goal came from 2 unlikely sources. KH, who had not taken a freekick for ages, stepped up to attempt a direct freekick with his preferred left foot. The ball swerved but lacked punch. The 2nd unlikely source came from Team BBG’s keeper who clearly had the ball covered but his gloves were apparently laced with butter as he allowed the ball to slip off his fingers. We exchanged gifts and picked our durian, 1 – 1.

Team BBG restarted the 2nd half the same way they ended the 1st, dominating the match. The Rock had to throw his entire weight to stop No 17 in the box, who continued to call for referee’s attention at the slightest contact by our players. There were testy moments as we let our frustration got the better of us. A handful of half-chances beckoned but none posed a threat to Team BBG. To our surprise, given their fluency and mobility, Team BBG did not resort to short 1-2 passes, as expected, to breach our defence. Instead, they chose to pound at our goal with long shots. Brandon played a more assured game in this half as he dealt with the shots without much of a problem.

We almost snatched an unlikely win when the referee, after spotting the keeper handling the ball outside the box, awarded a freekick to us. KH stepped up, zeroed his left foot, chipped the ball over the wall and what looked like a certain goal didn’t materialise. The ball didn’t dip in time and agonisingly, it was just millimetres over the bar.

The whistle went and both sides settled for a goodwill 1 – 1, but certainly not drab, draw.

Man of The Match: The Rock (7 out of 15 votes)

His grouses were heard and the team responded with a flurry of nominations for him :) So, do we agree to have him conduct the team talk for us?

1. “MOTM - MOTM to HL the Rock. He sweep the floor so well that he can always control a broom after he hangs up his boots in another decade or so. Hardly let any high ball pass him, always challenging for the ball. Very consistent play throughout.”

2. “motm - Hock Leong. as usual solid as rock.”

3. “motm: hock leong. marshalled the defense well and won lots of headers. kept the scores level in a game we should have lost.”

4. “Motm 6 Sep: My vote for Hock Leong. He knows he can't outrun so he makes up with positioning and reading of the game. How many headers did he send back into midfield? Good stuff.”

5. “hock leong. very simple and effective way of play. high ball, he can jump higher than other players, grounded ball, his 2 powerful legs do the talking....”

6. “My MOTM is Hock Leong, for a solid performance in the stopper's role , He was mopping up everything that came aerially as well as covering the opposition strikers well to render them ineffective”

7. “MoTM = The Rock. Simply rock!” [The Rock, do you want to know who submitted this nomination?]

The equalising goal attracted 3 nominations to put him in 2nd position:

1. “MOTM - Hard one. We seem to have lost our confidence in stroking the ball around. We very contented to pump it up and chiong. Having said that I thought you tried hard to get the team to keep the shape and to also make room for passes. Unfortunately the passes were just going astray. So vote goes to you for tenacity and leadership on a day when we appeared to have forgotten our soccer boots (well, I forgot my shorts and socks too).”

2. “Motm to Kian Hwa, scored the solitary goal that helped us drew the game. The second free kick went agonizing close, thought we had the game. His running, tough tackles and harassment was a thorn to our opponents defence, gave them a torrid time.”

3. “MOTM goes to KH for his conversion of a freekick that got MS an important equalizer.”

Simon and Gan tied at 2 votes each but Simon’s work rate from box to box breaks the deadlock:

1. “Motm: Simon has done well enough to contain the opponents and also play well in distribute well to the strikers.”

2. “MOTM. = Simon. The engine of midfield. ...although the game end in a low scoring 1-1 draw, he outshine most of us with his tireless running, timely interception and quality passes that lead to many attacking opportunities..”

The remaining votes went to Gan and Chung Wen:

1. “Motm to Gan for vastly improving after the initial moments. Won the battles to the ball & help involve midfielders in the game.”

2. “MOTM for 6 Sept - Gan gets the vote, created some chaos for opponents backline. Made a great cross in first half but SC did not make clean contact.”

3. “MOM: Wen - despite being twice the winger's age, he kept in step with him and closed him down thru out his play time.”

Match #40 (3 Sep 09): Another Laboured Performance, A Hard Fought Win

It was a keenly contested encounter between Marine Sunday and Yellow, with plenty of goal-mouth action and breathtaking goalkeeping saves to keep everyone at the gallery on the edge. Both sides had enough chances to turn the result into a badminton scoreline but the final outcome bore semblance of a football match, a narrow 3 – 2 win in our favour. Yellow claimed in the post-match handshakes that they had no reason to lose. Then again, we did enough not to lose although in the last quarter of the match when we, as they claimed, had to dig deep to defend stoutly.

To be fair, it was not a pleasing performance to the eyes of the football purists. The defence worked hard, no doubt, but at times we were living on knife’s edge with half-measured clearances, understandably so due to our lack of fitness. On the other end, we squandered chance after chance that Yellow found it sufficient to just leave their short, but supremely agile and confident, goalkeeper to face our forwards. Our usual crappy passing was aplenty from everyone though the performances of a few individuals stood out, in whatever sense. Chor Guan, as lion-hearted as usual, ran himself to the ground to keep their playmaker at bay. The Rock threw his limbs and body in the firing line and that explained the bruises he sustained on his thigh and shin. Teck Chye was literally screaming at everything and everyone that even Kian Hwa paled in comparison. Teck Chye claimed he was down with a flu, we thought he was starved of sex for months. See Chiang, lacking confidence and conviction, was not as marauding down the flank as he once was. We suspect both Gan and Brandon might have the same ancestral roots – both can make you wanting to pull your hair off with their insipid performance for 90% of the time but when it comes to the crunch, they deliver with the crucial goals or the vital saves to save us the day. If Gan was Stan Collymore, erratic with fleeting moments of brilliance, Brandon is David James in his younger days, hesitant and lacking focus but a brilliant ball stopper. We are left with only 1 engine and that’s Simon. Credit to him for keeping himself in good shape to last every match, his enthusiasm and willingness to fight for the cause of the team is second to none (errrh…..well, maybe, just second to one person). But there’s a limit to how much he can pull the team together on the pitch if we don’t throw in our weight.

It pains this self-declared journalist to write how we conceded the 2 goals but for the 3 goals we scored, it was worth the ink. Simon, one way or another, directly or indirectly, had a hand, or a leg, in all of them. Our equalising goal came from, as Simon described it, “the best moves of the match” where a rare series of non-wayward passing led to Kian Hwa free on the right to receive a pass from Simon. KH advanced into the box and Teck Chye called for the ball and the latter duly received the square pass and confidently shot past the keeper without breaking his strides. Gan must have been presented with 5 chances, of which he managed to convert one. The low conversion rate worried us. What bothered us even more is that despite he and Teck Wah being much younger than most of us, their fitness and work rate are nowhere near their best. But both did score when it mattered. Again, Simon battled hard to win back the ball in the middle of the pitch and instantaneously found Gan unmarked just outside the box. The only moment Yellow’s keeper did not come off his line, he was punished by Gan’s placement and that put us in a 2 – 1 lead before the break. Teck Wah delivered the eventual winning goal and he also benefitted from Simon’s hard work. Simon switched to shooting from distance in the 2nd half and he was not far off the target on those occasions. One effort caught their short keeper stranded, the ball came off the horizontal and Teck Wah had the luxury of time to execute a sepak-takraw kick to put the ball in the net.

The goals aside, both sides rued their luck after seeing so many other near-misses gone to nothing. Brandon, for all the anguish he inflicted onto us, brilliantly denied Yellow with one point-blank block in the 1st half and another timely off-the-line body block to stop a one-on-one effort. Their keeper showed a safe pair of hands and astute reading of the game, often bravely getting down to cut out our low crosses from the flanks. Teck Wah hit the bar in the 1st half, Yellow hit the same spot of the goal frame in the 2nd half. We squandered about 5 through balls, they failed to make just as many chances count, including one glaring miss in front of the open goal early in the match, after Ng’s sloppy pass gave the ball back to their left winger, who then crossed in for their unmarked striker in the 6-yards area. With Brandon hopelessly out of position and the open goal invitingly in front of him, the striker skewed the ball way past the right upright! No wonder they said they had no reason to lose. But then, they had!

Man of The Match: Simon (10 out of 15 votes)

The only one, besides our goalkeeper, to last the whole match but by miles, a deserving MoTM:

1. “When one STamps his authority, with what? With his feet lah! Simon did just that. Our firST 2 goals came from his battling to win the ball back and SubsequenTly laying the pass to SeT up the goals. Our 3rd goal came from his confident long ShoT that cannoned off the bar, though the ultimate beneficiary was Teck Wah. MoTM = ST!”

2. “motm. simon. saw him power few shot from about 20 meter but all go no where, at last one hit bar and let teck wah pick durian.”

3. “MOTM goes to Simon for controlling the midfield very well & playing a part in the build-up of the goals we scored & most notably & importantly one, is the one he whipped a beautiful volley towards goal only to be denied by the post but enough to throw the keeper off guard for Teck Hua to convert it.”

4. “MOTM for 3 Sep – SIMON. very good performance by him since a long long time. Pass well, support well and have a 'leg' in all 3 goals I think. Finally his shooting training prior to start of game paid off......3rd goal came from a long shot from him that came back off the bar. Have a few long shots on target but to bad can't beat the keeper.”

5. “MOTM = Simon. Oustanding play in midfield. Good distribution of passes, support well in attack. Created two excellent chances for the strikers to score.”

6. “MOTM for last nite's match was Simon. He was instrumental in controlling the midfield, helped the defence out substantially and most importantly for zeroing his long range shots until it finally hit the bar for TW to do a vertical scissors kick for the 3rd goal.”

7. “motm 3rd Sept: Simon. Led the central midfield well and maintained a good line between defence and attack. direct and indirectly assisted two of the goals.”

8. “Motm is simon - Some of the passes were brilliant”

9. “MOTM - Simon. All 3 goals flow through him. Need I say more!!”

10. “MOTM to Simon. Only saw him in the second half but man he was all over the place. Won so many in the middle, supported defence and three really good shots at goal, one of which resulted in our winner. Solid game again.”

He had to shoulder part of the blame for the 2 goals conceded but his 2 brilliant saves garnered him 2 nominations and put him in 2nd place:

1. “MOTM is Brandon. Match saving saves from one on one situations. Directing and encouraging defenders during dead ball situations.”

2. “Finally a win, & Brandon kept us safe on 2 critical occasions when match was poised on knife edge with last ditch saves. Recovered well from a shaky start to play assuredly thereafter.”

Remaining 3 votes went to Teck Chye, Hock Leong and Chwee Leng. 3rd position to Hock Leong for the bruises sustained in his usual stout defending:

1. “MOM for 3 Sep: Hock Leong-the rock remains rock solid”

2. “Teck Chye is playing well despite his sickness. Cover the defend well by stopping their midfielder and also distribute the balls well to the frank and strikers.”

3. “Chwee Leng has my vote for his consistent play in both halfs. Timing, stamina, closing in on their wingers and positioning were spot on. Some key interceptions to boot.”