Match #48 (17 Dec 11): We Ended The Season On A High

We looked to be ending the 2011 season on a dismal state. Another match at Nanyang JC, a big pitch which is not exactly our favoured spot, and with a leaner turnout of only 13 players including a guest player, Nick, and Teck Wah who could only make it for 2H, we braced ourselves for some tough time. Thank goodness, Opponent aren't exactly young speedsters, whom we dread. They had a smaller turnout of only 11 players to start and end the match.
 
First half was a balanced contest between both sides. Both sides laboured but made no breakthrough until Weng Khong put through a through ball for Teck Chye to scoop the ball over Opponent's onrushing keeper for 1-0 at the break.
 
We changed the froutline pair to Teck Wah and Chwee Leng and it paid handsome dividends. Nick's long punt was headed down beautifully by Chwee Leng onto the path of Teck Wah whose effort failed to beat the keeper but the elder Tang followed up to put the rebound into the empty net.
 
Opponent reduced the deficit when we were simply tardy at the back and failed to clear a simple corner. Surrounded by our players, we still allowed Opponent's striker to backheel the loose ball through a sea of legs into our goal. 2-1. We seemed shaky with a quarter of the match to go.
 
The re-introduction of Teck Chye in the last 8 minutes proved to be a tactical payoff. First he set up his younger sibling through for the latter to produce his trademark lob over the stranded keeper to make it 3-1 for us. Then he pulled 2 players with him to let Mike's cross from the right to reach Teck Wah unimpeded and Teck Wah finished it off with aplomb. 4-1 and we richly deserved that scoreline.
 
At the back, Weng Kwan filled in the sweeper role ably and commanded the line superbly to keep Opponent at bay. Nick showed steady feet and head. Evergreen Ng seemed to be the last virgin on earth with his tight defending and lasted almost the entire match until he made way for Teck Chye for the last 8 minutes. Woon, having found his boots, was glad to foot the bill for beer, especially after an assured performance at right back.
 
Great ending to the season!

Match #47 (10 Dec 11): Lawyers Charged Us On 3 Counts And We Were Clueless to Appeal

On a big pitch at Nanyang JC and faced with a bunch of youngsters, we had a tough match tailor made for us and true enough, Law Soc literally put us on the stand and grilled us into pieces. We shipped in 3 goals and had nothing to account for ourselves. Final score: 0 - 3.

Match #46 (27 Nov 11 ): No Match Against This All-Indians Team

Only 11 players, including a guest player, against a bunch of much younger, technically superior n fitter bunch of Indians, about 18 of them, any surprise that we lost 1-3? In fact, they were nice n respectful of us, playing only at half-pace in the 2nd half n let us score a late consolation goal. But that's not to take away the beauty of that goal and credit from Teck Wah. Indeed, I think they were merciful in the 2nd half and that still stretched us to our limits. Credit to our defenders who repelled what was thrown at them. A big thumb up!

Match #45 (19 Nov 11): Strong 5-2 win over Malay team

With the team shorn of its usual central defenders, Marinesunday improvised and rotated admirably to overcome a Malay team of mixed ages which on the whole is still way younger than the ageing marines. Leng is showing his versatility across the back and his usual reliability playing in the stopper's role. Gan also showed his strength and decisiveness at the back, contributing to the second half's clean sheet. Mel in goal showed that stiff joints and muscles could not hold back a willing spirit, diving in practically every direction to thwart our opponents as they could only watch those incredible saves in disbelief! Our team played well to come back from behind twice and score all 5 goals from well-constructed open play. Scorers: Chye, Wah, Gan, Khong and Mike. Final score 5-2.

Match #44 (5 Nov 11): We Just Had No Luck Against ACME!

A depleted squad of only 13 players, including Brandon who hardly plays outfield but had to for this match, a half-baked and half-blind stand-in goalkeeper, and simply unlucky again, we lost agonisingly in a highly entertaining match...6-7 against ACME which we seem to have no luck against them! ACME's striker was our main tormentor, scoring two and had a hand in the other 5 goals. Out of the 7 goals, 2 were simply durian presented on a silver plate for them. And to think that we were leading 2-0 before their striker-in-chief started shredding us apart made it even more painful for us to accept. But we did well to recover from 2-4 down to chase back 5-5 before attempting to chase from behind again when trailing 5-7. But we came up short, just short, eventually.

Teck Chye (2 goals), Teck Wah (2 goals), Mike and Simon found the net for us.

Match #43 (29 Oct 211): Marine Sunday Avenged for Singapore Over China Reds!

What Singapore Lions failed to do against China in the World Cup qualifying match, we made it up for them with an entertaining, nail-biting 3-2 win over China Reds. The star of the match was undoubtedly Teck Chye who not only put us in the lead with a thumping header but, when he stood in as keeper in the 2nd half, prevented China Reds from equalising with a penalty save. Kama, making his comeback after resting for a few matches, notched a brace. Ng came close to scoring a rare goal for us when his shot just dipped over the bar but he did find the net later when his clearance resulted in a wicked spin that had KH flapping for the air. Yes, that was an own goal in case you didn't get it.

Match #42 (22 Oct 11): 4-1 Win Over Forex Team

A bare turnout of 11, including Brandon forced to play outfield due to his injured finger, supported by 2 guest players put up a spirited performance to run out worthy 4-1 winner over Forex. But that was not without various moments of scare provided by the comical goalkeeping of KH. The Tang brothers settled the issue with a brace apiece. We could have had more but the Spiderman of Forex, their keeper has super long arms to catch the ball from the air, saved Forex from further embarassment.

Match #41 (16 Oct 11): Fantastic Fightback Win 4-3!

It was a fightback of an epic nature, the kind of heroics that could etch onto concrete slabs as folklore for future generations to saviour. No regular sweeper n stopper to start with, 0-3 down at half-time, lost our No 1 keeper just before the break....all looked doom and gloom. We took a gamble in the line-up for 2nd half and unbelievably, and to much astonishment of opponent Carmichael, we carved out a gigantic 4-3 win, which even Liverpool's turnaround in Istanbul in 2005 Champions League Final paled in comparison.

Gan, as the stand-in sweeper in 1H, atoned for his disappointment in 1H with an accompished performance in 2H when he partnered Teck Wah upfront. He posed a constant threat to Carmichael's backline. Melvin and Chwee Leng stood in as the central defensive pair in 2H and it was a flawless performance from both of them. Melvin marshalled the line superbly and Chwee Leng shackled their African striker like a bloodhound without giving the latter an inch to move. Watch out, Chor Guan, Weng Kwan, Rock and Kok Hock, you have competition! The fact that KH, as stand-in keeper, was hardly threatened in 2H said a lot of the big performance from our defensive quartet.

We knew if we could get a goal early in the 2H, we might have a chance and Mark provided the perfect tonic. He stood up to the challenge in midfield and scored an Alonso-like goal from just after the midfield line. Yong Chua was at his most effective self as the attacking midfielder, winning us the penalty which Gan, who deserved a goal for leading the line, converted. 2-3 and we were in for a shout. Mike, given a dressing-down by KH during the break, has that habit of embarassing KH with a well-taken poacher goal. But it was due to great effort of Yong Chua and then Gan to bring the ball back into the box for Mike to sneak in with a header. Then, a rare cross from Woon from the left brought out the best from Teck Wah with his spectacular left-foot mid-air volley to score the winning goal. We could have our 5th goal but Simon's glorious effort from distance was acrobatically tipped over by Carmichael's keeper.

4-3! What a win! Everyone deserved that pat on the shoulder!

Match #40 (8 Oct 11): 2-2 Draw against Eagles

This is one team we've not beaten before and despite a depleted team, we had seem like breaking that record throughout the match. Falling behind to a goal for which an offside decision was not given in our favor, we continue to make the better play. Deservingly, we equalized early in the second half with Wah's superb volley from a quickly-taken free kick. Then we went on to take the initiative when Eagles put the ball into their own net after some concerted pressure from us. They managed to maintain their unbeaten record over us with a rather dubious goal, which was scored after an infringement on our keeper. Final score 2-2.

Match #39 (2 Oct 11): Unbeaten Streak Ended by Incompetent Referee

The incompetent referee robbed us of a win against SJI Old Boys. Instead we had to settle for a 1-2 loss, a result which we did not deserve. And SJI Old Boys knew they had gotten away with the match. Their opening goal came from a blatantly offside position which the myopic referee overlooked.   Then, for no reason, he denied Kian Hwa of a perfectly legitimate goal, which he nodded in from the corner delivered by Teck Wah. Even SJI Old Boys were bemused why the goal was disallowed. Another contentious moment came when their keeper managed to claw out the ball that appeared to have just crossed the line but again, referee turned a deaf ear to our appeal.

SJI Old Boys, boosted by more than a handful of young players who are hardly in their early 20s, made use of their young lungs to full advantage and their 2nd goal came in the 2nd half from their speedy (relative to us) winger down the right who squared in a low ball for their striker to turn See Chiang before planting the ball beyond Brandon.

We battled hard to win a penalty which Simon duly converted but counting the number of chances we created and our disallowed goal, we simply had a day that nothing went for us.

Match #38 (25 Sep 11): Held 2-2 again!

We can recycle following reasons as valid excuses as we age - young opponents, hot weather, we are mid-40s...But today we did not let our young opponent, Lime Green, overrun us. In fact, we had enough chances to bury them if we were a wee bit sharper and faster upfront. Lime Green took the lead and then fought hard to equalise. In between their goals, Simon and Mike reversed the deficit from the early goal conceded and put us at 2-1 up at the break. We knew we would be vulnerable in the 2nd half and true enough, we let them have too much space in front of our box and they found the equaliser from a well-taken goal outside the box.

We succumbed to the weather, no doubt, and the last minute pullouts of Weng Khong, Melvin and Yong Chua did not help the matter. Among the positive takeaways were See Chiang, making his comeback, having his runout for 2nd week in a row after a prolonged period of absence and even setting up Lime Green's first goal :), and Chwee Leng filling in admirably as a stopper for a good 45 minutes.

Match #37 (17 Sep 11): We Kicked Ourselves For Not Winning This Match!

Opponent AI1C (All Indians 1 Chinese) appeared to be a menacing bunch before the match when they challenged the referee for more time to get ready and we were bracing ourselves for some rough treatment, especially given our shortage in numbers and absence of a few regular players. But we put up an admirable performance and created a host of chances that we found it embarassing for not converting those into goals. They must have found us a bunch of AC1I (All Chinese 1 Indian, whom they didn't know is actually a Sikh) and mid-40s too hot to handle. Yet we found ourselves having to come back to equalise twice, courtesy of Gan's brace of goals. We let them off the hook, we knew it...and they sure knew it as well. 2-2 draw was the final score.

Match #36 (10 Sep 11): We Kept The Momentum Going

We notched up another convincing win over CJC Old Boys with a 4-0 margin. Goals from Weng Khong, Kian Hwa (direct from a corner-kick) and Teck Wah set the tone at the break. KH then got his brace and our 4th goal in the 2nd half from a well-worked passing move involving Yong Chua and Simon. Brandon's determination to keep a clean sheet was evident when going full-stretched to make 2 big saves as the match was coming to an end. Before that, our well-marshalled defence kept CJC Old Boys largely at bay.

Match #35 (4 Sep 11): Sweet Victory Over Venom

No doubt, Venom were without a few, all active Commandos, of their first team regulars for the match, but we shouldn't be denied of the credit for the convincing 4-1 win over them. And it could have been more!

The Tang brothers put us 2-0 up at the break, both capitalising on Venom's tentative defending. Our 2 goals in 2nd half came from simple work from both flanks. Weng Khong, on the right mid, won the ball deep in our half and sent the ball down the right highway to Teck Wah, who then wriggled across the pitch and set up Simon on a through-ball. Simon obliged by putting the ball past Venom's hapless keeper. Ng, in his favoured left fullback role, then intercepted Venom's play and sent KH clear on the left, whose only touch was to square the ball across into the box for Gan. Gan couldn't miss. In between our 2nd half goals, Venom had their consolation goal through a well-worked free-kick that caught us napping.

Our goals aside, it was encouraging to see Chor Guan, Kok Hock and Ng back into action after being out of sight, due to various reasons, for a while.

Match #33 (28 Aug 11): A Loss But Nothing To Be Ashamed Of!

Against Pseudo Katong FC (according to intelligence, their young players play for Katong FC in NFL and we recognised a couple of their senior players used to play in NFL as well), the 1-2 loss against them was nothing to be ashamed of. If we had converted any one of the three one-on-one chances in the 1st half, the outcome might have been different. The match was effectively settled at 1st half. We conceded a wildly spun goal and a fast breakaway goal. In between, KH scored through a well-worked move that started from the middle of the park to the right flank to a cross into the middle of the box.

Match #34 (30 Aug 11): Swatted

Playing a second match in under 2 days is a tall order these days. The aging process is slowly but surely taking its toll - the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak! We were three nil down in easy fashion though credit to SWAT for their youthful energy and hard pressing. Is it going to be another eusoffianos debacle or a ManU - Ars remake? With Guan volunteering to shore up the defence and some strategic maneuvers from the presiding arsene cheow, we clawed back the game steadily. A second half goal gave some cause to be optimistic but in chasing for another goal, the shakened up opposition managed to have the final say with a goal from the last kick of the game.

Kok Hock had a good outing to mark his comeback and now let's recover for Sunday!

Match #29 (6 Aug 11): Ought to kick ourselves for this 3-3 draw

Again, we let a certain victory slip through our grip. Tampines Blues had their keeper to largely thank for and our suicidal play at the back further helped their cause. We laid seige on their goal from the first 1st minute and we should have been 3-0 up at half time but instead we had to settle for a 1-1 tie then. Durian Harvester Mike got our opening goal.

We took the lead in the 2nd half, courtesy of KH's effort to run through 3 static defenders to poke the ball past their keeper. Then our backline gifted them 2 goals for them to reverse the lead 2-3. KH gambled with the last throw of the dice by re-introducing Teck Wah in the last 5 minutes of the match and he duly repaid KH's faith with a well-taken equalising goal, after Weng Khong's fine through ball set Teck Wah free to face Tampines Blues' custodian alone.

Match #32 (21 Aug11): Heartbreaking 2-3 loss to Kowloon Club Juniors

From 0-2 down in the first 25 minutes to clawing back to 2-2, referee allowed overtime that enabled Kowloon Club - Junior to snatch a late win on the 47th minute, courtesy of an own goal ironically from our impressive guest player, Erik. We only came up short in pace and mobility but otherwise, we were certainly up to the challenge. Lady Luck just didn't fancy us, I suppose.

Match #31 (13 Aug 11): 13 for 3-1 win over Dell

Without effervescent Captain Muscle, we have to toil with 13. Unlucky number but not unlucky outcome. To start with, we decided to "freshen" things up - simple, logical strategy: those with more white hair than YC, played behind him. Those less, upfront or beside. So in came an "experienced" back four. Mel, Rock, Wen & Leng (4 X 44 years old! & plenty of white hair put together). Gan was pushed up to release some pent up $&@#*. Kamar moved to the left (our usual stronghold position! U know what I mean la :-p). And he more than lived up to it & played as if he wasn't fasting.

Off one of those persistent chases down the left, Kamar won the ball and found Gan, whose glorious dummy left Wah with the simplest of tasks to stroke the ball into an empty net. 1-0 & we were in control. Our experienced defence, in the meantime, held up pretty well with only one moment of worry - then again the ever alert Leng came from out of the blue to prevent a certain goal with his superb intervention. At the other end, Dell couldn't cope with our concerted pressure and their failure to clear gave Woon a moment to unleash a magnificent toe poke flyer that dipped over the keeper. 2-0 half time. We were enjoying it, including the half time break.

2H starts off pretty much the same. But the ref gave one of the most dubious penalty decisions ever on this planet, enabling Dell to pull one back. 2-1 and the pressure is on. Our defence, reinforced by Kwan, stood firm. Brandon had one of his most confident days, catching the ball firmly & even launching some quick counter-attacking moves. Khong showed some dragon pull moves to confuse the opponents. But it was left to who else, but Simon to finish off a string of neat passing moves (Kamar to Khong to Wah to Simon) and killing all hopes of any comeback by Dell. 3-1 the final score. After the series of draws & defeats,..... "We undoubtedly did it" indeed!

btw, just look at the numbers for the day!

Match #30 (9 Aug 11): We Deserved This 2-3 Loss

Don't know what else to write. Trying to find some positives but let's call a spade a spade, we were simply careless on all fronts and deserved to lose this match. Teck Wah had a goal and an assist in setting up Yong Chua's goal.

Match #28 (31 July 11): A Hard Fought 1-1 Draw With Modello

A match that we could have won 1-0, courtesy of goal from Mike who did mostly wrong throughout the match but made it right when it mattered! A needless giveaway late in the match allowed Modello to counter-attack and equalise. 1-1 looked fair but we had the gilt-edged chances to win the match, just ask Teck Chye :)

Match #27 (24 July 11): A Fair 2-2 Draw Against KS Blues

Previously, I named them Shades of Blue. But they turned up with a brand new kit, I had to refer them as Kok Seng's Blues. It was an evenly contested match, and I suppose nobody will complain of the 2-all draw. Teck Chye opened the scoring, KS Blues reversed to take 2-1 lead before Simon equalised with his trademark volley from the edge of the penalty box just before the final whistle went off.

Match #26 (16 July 11): Lost 2 - 4

The match started off promising with good youth and energy in midfield, allowing Leo to stray from left back, into the opponents penalty box in what seemed to me from afar, like a delicate short lob over their goalkeeper. Opponents then injected youth in their midfield and to level the score before the break. Guest Adrian scored our second goal with alot of hard work on the left.  I think our opponents were playing their best soccer and I don't think it's arrogant to say we could have beaten their best on our average day. They managed to fuel themselves with confidence after taking the lead though and that carried them through. 2-4.

Match #25 (10 July 11): Plucky 2-1 Win

Marine Sunday had their self-proclaimed Manager, KH, to thank for masterminding a plucky come-from-behind 2-1 win over Everton MIK Utd. Not for his great tactics or line-up, he brought our favoured Mikasa ball, which the referee put to use in the 2nd half. Our players claimed to have better control of the ball compared to the beach ball used during the first period. Trailing a goal at the break, a more assured performance in the 2nd half created enough chances to win the match comfortably but we left it late to secure the win. Teck Wah was the architect behind both our goals, setting up Mike and Weng Khong to find the net for us. Incidentally, it was Weng Khong's maiden goal of this season! And a winning one, fantastic!

Match #21 (12 June 11): Tricked and Tripped!

Two well-taken goals by Gan couldn't stop us losing against this young yellow team, aided by Chye's favorite Chinese referee :).  As the title suggests, he was tricked and we were tripped! A dubious penalty was awarded against YC for blowing into opponent's ear who fall theatrically in the box. Mel did enough to ensure we won on gentlemanly conduct as we allowed them to replace their loud-mouthed youngster who was sent off for trying to 'legerdemain' Mel's oversized wontons. In the end, we went down 2-4 gallantly (yeah, Mel's still der man, ok! ;)

Match #24 (3 July 11): Late Recovery Saved Us The Blushes!

We have developed a habit of making things difficult for ourselves. No disrespect to Samsung Whites but we should have done better to bury them but instead we allowed them to come back each time to equalise at 1-1, 2-2, even let them take a lead 2-3 before our late onslaught secured a 5-3 win over them. Opening goal by Kian Hwa, a hat-trick by Teck Wah and a scorcher from Simon got us the goals. Their keeper kept us at bay with a string of reflex saves, most notably denying Teck Chye at point blank.

Match #23 (26 June 11): Durains Harvested!

MS is now the name of a new breed of durian. With the match barely hitting the 20th minute mark, Eusoffianos were already 5-0 up before going for the break at 7-1! Yes, we won the 2nd half 2-0 to reduce the eventual scoreline to 7-3 but somehow, that was no comfort to our most awful performance. We were wondering what hit us in the opening 20 minutes, everyone must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. For the record, Mark (the best goal of the 10 goals scored), Simon (penalty) and Woon stole 3 durians from their plantation :)

Match #22 (18 June 11): 2nd Class MS Overcame Elite 3 - 1!

A bunch of mostly mid-40s vs a bunch of mid-20s; we had 12 and they had 16; what did we do? Use our experience, in more than the tactical sense.

Simon capitalised on their fumbling keeper with a long-range free-kick just after the mid-line for our opening goal. They equalised early in 2nd half. With the tie at 1-1 and most of us running out of steam, we frustrated them with niggling fouls that drove most of them up the wall. They lost their concentration in the last 10 minutes and Teck Wah set up 2 goals for guest player KK and then his brother.

Post match, their player asked me of our team name, and I explained. 1985 - the founding members of Marine Sunday finished our junior college education, that was the year Elite players were born!

Match #20 (4 June 11): Marinesunday went sleeping

Not sure if we had indeed played badly. Not winning this match against ACME was bad enough, given the number of chances we had. But to concede 5 goals?? That was a different story altogether. Goals from Teck Wah, Chor Guan and Teck Chye offered little consolation but nevertheless their effort should be commended. 3 - 5... how did it happen?

Match #19 (28 May 11): 2-1 win over Law Soc

An evenly contested match in sweltering heat and we emerged worthy winner though Law Soc had themselves to kick for not converting the penalty, our 3rd concession of penalty in 3 successive matches, early in the 2nd half. Mike and Teck Wah kept up their fine form of scoring - the former on whenever his rare appearance; the latter in 3 successive matches.

Match #18 (22 May 11): Close-shave 4-3 Win over Old Foes

It was a match we should have wrestled with ease but we made life difficult for ourselves, allowing them to come back each time. Our 1st goal was brilliantly worked out with Yong Chua beating the offside trap to latch onto Simon's through ball to lob over the keeper. 2nd goal was through sheer persistence of Teck Chye to force their sweeper to score an own goal. Our last 2 goals came from fast breakaways, Teck Wah benefitted from guest player KK's dummy to slot the ball under the keeper and he then set up a shoulder-height ball for KH to nod in the winning goal. Old Foes filled in the gap in between our goals.

Match #17 (14 May 11): Agonising 2-3 loss to Gaza

We last met on 13 February and fought out an even 2-2 draw at St Wilfrid. It could have been the same as well for this match but for a moment of brilliance by their right-winger who weaved past Ng and Chor Guan like a slimey snake to score the winning goal from a tight angle, we ended up as undeserving losers :(.

For the record, Teck Wah got a brace, including a well-worked goal from our guest right fullback who intercepted the ball in our half and sped down the flank to send in a delightful cross for Teck Wah to nod it in.

Match #16 (23 Apr 11): Equal Sundays

An equal match in some ways. Similar team names on the apt day. One goal and red card apiece. Not much in btw.

Match #15 (16 Apr 11); Stalemate

....

Match #14 (10 Apr 11): Given the Blues

A most winnable match but we succumbed to a lack of ideas in breaking down a stubborn Blues team. We were undone by a first half free kick which exploited our miscommunication. Pressed hard in second half but to no avail. Narrow 0-1 loss.

Match #13 (3 Apr 11): Escaped from EastWest

EastWest United could have buried us by half time but left us off the hook when they could have gone 4 goals up. We delivered 2 sucker punches within the first 10 minutes of restart, courtesy of Teck Chye's determination and tenacity in scoring the first goal and setting up the 2nd goal for Teck Wah. It looked like one of those days for EastWest United but they recovered to restore parity with moves that exposed our tentative goalkeeping. Surprisingly, we also had a couple of clear-cut opportunities to steal a win but we couldn't really complain with the scoreline.

Match #12 (26 Mar 11): Poor MS Trounced Rich MS 8 - 0!

Exactly a year ago at Yio Chu Kang Sec Sch, where we first and last played against Morgan Stanley, it was a bruising come-from-behind narrow 4 - 3 win. We expected some stiff opposition but we managed to secure the first clean sheet of the season instead. 6 different scorers - Gan (2), Kian Hwa (2), Simon, Chwee Leng, Yong Chua and Leo got into the scoring act. They found our backline - Chor Guan, Weng Kwan, Rock, Leo and Ng - a bit too miserly to their liking.

Simon opened the scoring by with an adroit steal off the keeper's spill, followed by Leng notching one with his lefty on a rare (nowadays) promotion to frontline.  Gan tapped in a sitter off a wonderfully-executed layoff from the unselfish Kama and KH outsped everyone to score from a tight angle.  The scoring continued in the second half with Gan benefitting from Simon's challenge of the last man to score one on one with keeper, KH notching his second with another lung-bursting dash, YC slotting with typical composure off a route one kick from brandon and leo scuttling all the way up from right back to score a scientifically-measured and executed shot which ricocheted off the post and keeper.

Poor (relatively) but rich (figuratively) all the same :)

Match # 11 (19 Mar 11): Great Hearts, Fantastic Win!

Nobody would disagree with me that Teck Wah played a big part in this close encounter with Hearts, setting up the 1st goal for Simon and scoring a brace himself. Neither would anyone dispute with me the impressive contribution of Teck Chye in his out-of-the-world burst that beat Hearts' full-back flat and set up his younger sibling for the winning goal. But this win was actually made possible by the men of steel at the back - Chor Guan cutting out all the high balls, Rock throwing his body and limbs to block all shots, the trademark crunching tackles of Ng, the cool head of Leo and how Chwee Leng, as a right-back in the 2nd half, sprinted across the box to the left to nullify a breakaway counter-attack by Hearts.

The match was settled at half-time but we were literally on the backfoot throughout the 2nd half so great credit to our rearguard! Chung Wen, another man of valour, unfortunately pulled his hamstring in the 1st half and had to retire early. Fantastic 3-2 win!

Match #10 (13 Mar 11): A case of old wine is ......

The scorching 3pm sun would have melted everyone on the plastic pitch but our cohesiveness ruled the day after a difficult 1st half trying to get adjusted to the heat and contain Feca.FC, another bunch of young and energetic players. Feca registered their intent right from the start. Their playmaker, No 33, unleashed a scorching shot that Brandon managed to tip it onto the bar. Both sides made use of the narrow pitch to benefit from the throw-in to score their the 1st goal. Gan knocked down a throw-in onto the path of Simon, whose miscued shot travelled nicely to KH for him to head the ball past Feca's keeper. 1-0. Feca then produced a copycat when their throw-in put Brandon under tremendous pressure and he lost out in the tussle with Feca's striker who headed the ball into the net. Feca then won everything in the midfleld that had our resolute defence stretching to their limit. We also produced a handful of chances but apart from producing some scares for their keeper, nothing was on target. We managed to hold out 1-1 at half-time.
2nd half was a sheer case of our grit vs their guille. Whilst they have a few players comfortable to move with ball, we moved the ball around better. Strangely, they opted to play a high defence line when we proved in the 1st half we could breach it. They paid dearly for it. Teck Wah did everything right except finding the target - hitting the post, effort just over the bar, goal-bound effort cleared off the line. But he set up both Gan's goals. He first aimed his free-kick at the post for Gan to be perfectly positioned to receive the rebound. 2-1 up. He then beat their high defence line to receive a high ball and spray a cross-field pass that had Gan sliding the ball past the off-positioned keeper. In between Gan's goals, Simon breached their static high line to receive another through ball to register his goal. 4 - 1!

Match #9 (6 Mar 11): Marine Sunday in a non-event or is it?

Compared to the exciting vibes of Liverpool's 3-1 win over Man U, Marine Sunday's Sunday afternoon out was totally uneventful, more akin to Arsenal's goalless draw with Sunderland - hold it, that's not quite exactly the score!

Other than the referee sending off the opposition's niggling little CEO in the first half, we magnanimously allowing a replacement and the said CEO having the cheek to reappear on the pitch prior to the start of the second half (he had subsequently to eat humble pie and trotted back to have an early shower), there was hardly any action of note.... except that the ref magnanimously awarded a non-existent penalty to allow opponents to open the scoring, and then we magnanimously gifting 3 more goals before the ref again magnanimously awarding another penalty (soft) for opponents to complete the coup de grace.  The said ref then awarded us a penalty, not magnanimously but deservedly, which we magnanimously though not deservedly, failed to convert.  All in all, a sequence of unfortunate events in a strange strange weekend!

Let's look forward to the next match!

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Match #8 (27 Feb 11): We Hit The Blues.

The small pitch and the younger, hungrier opponent took the rhythm away from our play. Despite the scrappy performance, we still carved out enough chances to win the match but we just lacked the clinical finishing. Whereas the Blues had only 3 chances at goal, including 1 from the spot, and they converted 2 into goals to win the match 2-1. Their keeper produced a couple of reflex saves to keep us at bay. Teck Wah's equalising goal restored the hope in us to turn the tide but we then gave away a cheap penalty to gift the match to them.

Match #7 (20 Feb 11): A Composed 4-2 Win Over Eusoffianos

The last time we met Eusoffianos, comprising ex-Eusoff Hall hostelites who are in their late 20s, was in June 2010. Then it was a hard-earned 2-1 win, now it was just as tough, though we doubled both the goals scored and conceded. It was another entertaining match with both sides seizing their first goal through some classy first-time volleys. Eusoffianos' chief striker No 25 opened the account with a venomous volley but Simon restored parity with a sublime one from outside the box. The introduction of Kama added dynamism to our play and he exchanged a couple of one-two with Teck Wah before breaking free into the box to put us in the lead, 2-1. A moment of misjudgement at our backline allowed them to sneak in with an equalising goal but Teck Wah punished their rearguard for not playing to the whistle by walloping the loose ball in a goalmouth melee to put us 3-2 at the break.

There is some cause for apprehension in the opening 15 mins of the 2nd half, as we had conceded goals and surrendered leads before. Not this time as we reversed the trend. A well-worked breakaway found Gan free on the right but his shot came off the bar and Simon followed up with a delicate chip from outside the box to settle the issue.

4-2 final score. At the sideline, a few of their players were surprised that they had just played against a bunch of mostly 40-something, beer-guzzling uncles :)

Match #6 (13 Feb 11): A Frustrating Draw With Gaza

Just like Liverpool was frustratingly held to a 1-1 draw by Wigan, we had to agonisingly settle for a 2-2 draw with Gaza. To Gaza's credit, they led twice but we had enough chances to wipe them off. It was an entertaining match with both keepers pulling off stunning saves. Yong Chua stamped his class with 2 well-taken goals - first through awareness of positioning and 2nd through sheer determination, at the expense of his knees.

Match #5 (5 Feb 11): Comeback win over Rosso

CNY's feasting had gotten the better of us. Within the 1st minute, a poor giveaway presented Rosso FC with the 1st crack at our goal that had Brandon fully stretched to divert the ball away for corner. It wasn't surprising that the match was only barely 5-minutes old that Rosso snatched the lead, again courtesy of our tentative defending that must have resulted from the CNY feasting.

Mike had the finest opportunity to equalise for us but he thought he was playing golf, taking the world of his time to tee up a shot in the box before he allowed UK to send the naval troops across the Atlantic to reach Falklands Island to nullify him, if ever a threat. We were not to be denied of our well-deserved equaliser. Teck Wah had his half-volley well blocked but Yong Chua followed up to make sure the ball landed in the net.

1-1 at half time but Rosso seized the lead again within the opening minutes of the 2nd half. A graceful ballet-like clearance by Chwee Leng set up their right-winger nicely and he cut in with his pace to place a low shot beating Brandon at the near post. 1-2.

YC robbed the ball off their stopper and set up Teck Chye for our equalising goal and moments later, the scorer himself turned his marker smartly and let fly a sweet left-footer shot 30 meters out that beat the keeper flat. 3-2. Before that, Rosso's custodian had to be alert to palm away another long-range shot from Teck Chye.

The last 5-minutes' pairing of Teck Wah-Chwee Leng upfront yielded positive returns when Chwee Leng sent in a diagonal pass that evaded Rosso's entire defence. Teck Wah took the ball down nicely and hit a stiffer that ricocheted off Rosso's last man for an own goal, leaving their keeper scrambling for thin air.

4-2 and Rosso asked for re-match....if we are up for it. Are we?

Match #4 (30 Jan 11): High-Scoring 3-3 Draw With Mat Gaya Banyak

The heavy downpour deprived us of playing the Beautiful Game the beautiful way, especially in the 2nd half when the pitch was severely water-logged. Credit to both sides for the endeavour to finish the match without any incident. In the true spirit of Lunar New Year, both sides exchanged "a pair of mandarin oranges" as greeting. Mat Gaya Banyak couldn't cope with our 2 corners and scored own goals instead of clearing them. In return, our backline gifted them 2 soft goals, with both goals almost identical to each other. That was the cordial mood in the 1st half, 2-2. Both sides stepped up 2 gears to cope with the water-logged pitch in the 2nd half. Teck Wah restored the lead for us with a crisp grounder that slipped under Mat Gaya Banyak's keeper's body. In the dying seconds of the match, literally the last kick of the match, MGB ensured parity with also a crisp grounder from outside the box after we failed to clear the ball cleanly.

Nobody deserved to lose in this kind of condition. A fair result.

Match #3 (22 Jan 11): Draw against Blue Chinese team

The St Wilfrid ground offers BC team a good opportunity to avenge a 2009 defeat at the smaller Bedok Green pitch. Good understanding amongst the BC players was evident and we worked hard to contain them with first half ending goalless.

We had more possession in the second half and took the lead with a swift attack from the right and YC laying the ball across the edge of the penalty box for Simon to sweep a curler into the net. BC picked up the tempo and pressed hard and they equalized with an astute ball into the danger area which their striker took a chance to slip a low grounder into the net.

Probably a fair result for both combative teams.

Match #2 (15 Jan 11): Reversal of Fortune

We threw the opening match away after leading 2-0 at the break. Today, we reversed the fortune by overturning a 0-2 deficit to win the match 4-2 against a worthy opponent, SOFA. We showed the mettle and the kind of spirit that Marine Sunday possess. After a disappointing 1st half where we were a goal down, we went firing at the restart only to be caught out by a fast SOFA's counter-attack that led to their 2-0 lead.

All things looked gloomy but we dug in. Chor Guan's perseverance reduced the deficit and YC equalised with a typical poacher goal after a knock-down by a revitalised Teck Chye. Teck Wah established the lead for us with a stiff grounder and Leo back-heeled the ball into the net in a goal-mouth melee. Not forgetting the other occasions where we came so close to scoring - Teck Chye was mere millimetres away from tucking the ball in, Simon's effort kissed the horizontal, KH failed to connect cleanly with his first-time effort - we richly deserved the win. Well done, lads!

Match #1 (9 Jan 11): Bright Start - One Half

Just like the 1st encounter with them, we took the sting out of Venom in the 1st half, going into the break with a 2 - 0 lead, with Gan notching both goals. But Chor Guan committed the cardinal sin by remarking before 2H that the 2-0 lead should be safe. That was it, we went toothless in the 2nd half. Sloppy defending allowed them to equalise within 7 minutes of restart. With renewed confidence, it wasn't surprising that they went on to snatch the 3rd and the winning goal. We came close but fell short. Final score: a 2 - 3 loss

Match 47 (25 Dec 10): Ended 2010 with a Bang!

KH set the KPI before the match - to score minumum 2 goals in order not to end up having the worst goal-scoring season. And you guys responded marvellously - you doubled the tally to register an emphatic 4-0 win over Singapore Lions Lookalikes, an All-Malay team whom we first played against them on 2 May 2005. Then it was a nail-biting and awe-inspiring comeback-from-behind 5-5 draw. Both sides have aged and we will always remain older than them, but we have maintained our shape (in all sense) better than them. Our past encounters with them had always been close but today, we stamped our mark. Credit to our disciplined play. We didn't park any bus in front of our goal but our compactness at the back nullified their forays and stopped them in the final one-third. The fact that they had only 1 shot at goal spoke volume of our solid backline. And that only shot? Brandon showed why he's been our No 1 this season.

YC imposed so much pressure on their defender to cause the latter to turn an innocuous cross from KH into an own goal. That was how it stood at the break - 1-0! Then in 2H, our defenders showed our strikers how goals are scored. Kok Hock broke the offside line to half-volley in our 2nd goal. Then in the last 10 minutes, Chor Guan was pushed upfront and duly converted 2 through-balls. Before that, our left-back Chwee Leng had a brilliant one-on-one opportunity, only to be denied by the toes of their keeper.

4 goals, clean sheet. Perfect greetings for Merry Christmas.

Hope you guys enjoyed the 2010 season and had derived much fun and satisfaction from playing with Marine Sunday. See you in 2011 :)