Match #20 (29 April 2012): We Made All-Stars See Stars!

This was a match where we dug deep into our experience to carve out an impressive win against Dunman All Stars, a team whose average age is 14 years younger than us. And considering we had only 12 turnouts against their 17, the win was all the more admirable. Last minute pullouts of Melvin and Leo reduced the team to bare bones, the joy of YC's arrival was short-lived and dimmed by the back injury sustained by Kama during the match. Still, we battled on and the unwavering spirit prevailed! In such adversity, much to everyone's pleasant astonishment, Mike stood up to be counted as he chalked up 4 goals to his credit.

DAS had us in sixes and sevens in the opening 25 minutes of the match. They notched an early goal after a mix-up in our defence presented their swift striker with a ERP-less access to our goal. They then came close again when another build-up hit the post, followed by another certain goal denied by Brandon's broad chest. We struggled to find some semblance of fluency in our play. Mike, after his initial tentative play, then popped up to reverse the early deficit with 2 poacher goals, both from fine assists by Teck Wah, only for another defensive lapse to present DAS with a soft equalising goal. DAS thought they had regained the upper hand but Teck Wah completed his hat-trick of assists when he set up Chwee Leng for a clinical finish that was reminiscent of his old VJC self. 3-2 at the break.

We expected DAS to come back strongly in the 2nd half but by their own admission, the team spirit evaporated in the warm weather and they lost their shape. Teck Chye intercepted one of the many poor clearances from DAS' keeper and set his younger sibling up for his deserving goal. Mike then displayed his agility to the fullest - first rising highest like a salmon to meet Teck Wah's corner with a header that would have made Fandi Ahmad proud. Then, from another Teck Wah's corner, he stooped to the lowest point he could and headed another ball unchallenged into goal. 6-2 and we looked to be cruising, but DAS benefitted from the referee's dubious call for a soft penalty and reduced the deficit to a less embarrassing 6-3 scoreline.

Match #19 (22 April 2012): Durians Harvested But Gave Away A Few

For someone who didn't show us a wee bit of respect at all, turning up late, taking his own sweet time to change up, we punished him duly. With the clock hardly registering 5 minutes, this late-comer star keeper of A2 Orange embarrassingly allowed a tame low cross from Teck Wah to slip through his hands and legs for our opening goal. And we thought the floodgate should open wider but we toiled for some good 15 minutes without any further goals but instead allowed them to equalise. We hit top gear in the remaining 20 minutes of the first half, notching 4 goals through Kama, Teck Chye's brace, and Chor Guan to lead 5-1.

The Tang brothers completed the rout in the 2nd half with a goal apiece. The late morning heat then took a toll on our ageing bodies and limbs and we let them steal 2 durians from our harvest as the match was coming to an end. Final score: 7 - 3!

Match #18 (14 Apr 2012): Another comeback, a good win

We didn't do ourselves justice the last time we played CJC old boys, managing with a labored draw. Thunder in the distance aside, we ensured lighting doesn't strike twice. Yet we found ourselves going behind for the third match in succession when CJC old boys took three bites of the cherry to finally put the ball just over the line. Our equalizer came from unlikely circumstances. Gan, not normally our corner kick taker, swung one to the near post. With the keeper flapping, Khong reacted quickest to plunder the loose ball from the narrowest of angles.

KH gave his half-time team talk and made the substitutions. We could either fail him and lose this game or credit him with a good result. It wasn't long after he had turned his back to prepare for the Merseyside derby that we conjured the lead - lending credence to his Midas talk! From a throw-in in our half, four slick passes was all it took to free up Gan to apply an accurate finish. Continued pressure enabled us to camp in their half. Their defender dawdled on the ball and he was duly punished as YC unceremoniously robbed him of the ball and completed the humiliation with a cool finish. At the death, Teck Wah did all the hard work before laying the ball for Simon to toe-poke the ball past the keeper.

Another comeback win, but comfortable all the same!

Match #17 (8 Apr 2012): Double Comeback Win

Some things we couldn't achieve on good Fridays or every Sunday - this time we finally did it. A team bearing some semblance to MS, all Chinese saved for 1 outstanding Malay, but that's where the similarities end. Are there no above-40 teams out there? Another young team, another challenge for MS to overcome - and we have been doing a rather decent job of it, betraying the age of the team.

Unicef Yellows started brightly, keeping possession well, speedy wingers tearing down the flanks. A cross from the left created confusion and led to their first goal with a well-taken finish. On the other end, their failure to clear convincingly allowed Rock to score a rare and nonetheless beautiful goal - sweeping a looping shot over the entire defence as he was falling on account of a heavy b***! UY took the lead again just before half time when their winger again took the ball down the right. At full stretch, his fortuitous cross skidded on the surface and eluded everyone as it slipped in through the near post from an acute angle.

Good interplay epitomize our second half as all three goals were well-created. Starting the moves from our own half, we worked the ball out of it, wide to the flanks before superb finishing was applied to the crosses and knock-backs. Gan equalized with an assist from Wah. He then turned provider with a deep cross for Chye to slid in, making up lots of ground along the way. Chye then headed an assist for Wah to extend our lead. UY scored a late goal to make substitutions decisions harder but we prevailed 4-3.

Let's hope a new run is started!

Match #16 (6 Apr 2012): Double Comeback!

A third consecutive opponent which was young and full of energy (and reserves to boot), yet when we looked back, it was another match we could have won. Unfortunately, we will have to rediscover our winning groove on another day.

MOA started confidently and stroked the ball around the big pitch (by our standards these days), but without any real penetration. We had the more clear-cut chances but contrived to fluff them. We paid for those when MOA launched 2 counter-attack sucker punches. 2 down at half time.

KH made some tactical substitutions for his final contribution of the day. His breakfast was well-deserved as we started to click and take control of the game. Gan scored 2 goals to bring us back on par before MOA regained the initiative with another goal. We continued to play with confidence and drive as MOA struggled to cope. When Gan sent a beautiful cross for Wah to stroke home, we were all fired up to snatch a win. Unfortunately time ran out and we had to settle for a second successive 3-3 draw.

Match #15 (1 April 2012): We Only Had Ourselves to Kick!

Maybe Brandon was affected by the field warden who checked his NRIC before the match kick-off. Perhaps, he was too distracted by her charm - so SSC's new strategy to ensure genuine users of booked fields has some sort of side effects! That aside, to throw away a handsome 3-0 lead and in the end we were lucky not to lose the match, was simply uncharacteristic.

We raced to a comfortable 3-0 lead, courtesy of goals from Mike, Gan and Simon, by the 20th minute mark. Simon had his trademark goal cruelly denied by the referee's contentious decision to rule an infringement on AFC's keeper by Gan, when clearly, it was the keeper barging into Gan instead. AFC had their moments as well, hitting our upright in the early moment of the match and were all over us in the 2nd half. They reduced the deficit just before half-time. Their relentless pressure in the 2nd half paid off handsomely with 2 late goals.

Final score 3-3, as we reflected that a more savvy approach could have been more productive. We only had ourselves to kick!