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With only 12 players (including one with 2 left feet, one with 'handicapped' right foot and one 14-years old boy), we dug deep to score a fantastic 3-0 win over Orangee, who had 17 turnouts and half the team comprising young Malay players to augment the older Chinese (but still younger than us) folks, and in the process, we certainly stood heads and shoulders above them.
Mike broke the duck early in the match when he latched onto KH's knockdown and whipped a shot past Orangee's keeper. Teck Wah and Mike had further chances to threaten Orangee's goal but Mike was the greater culprit. With the keeper on the ground and an empty goal, Mike chose to pass instead of attempting a shot at goal. Our backline was rock solid, despite playing without any backup. Rock, Chwee Leng, Chung Wen and Ng marshalled the line superbly and dealt with Orangee's forays comfortably. We ended the half with a slender 1-0 lead.
Expecting an onslaught from them and mindful of our limited and depleted resources, we opted for a defensive lineup in the 2nd half, depending on the 14-years old boy, Alex's energy to trouble whatever he could. Our 2nd goal came from a typical counter-attack with just 3 players up front. Teck Wah, on the right, reacted to KH's call and sent the ball across the pitch to the opposite flank, with KH galloping down to meet the ball but his cross was handled by Orangee's clumsy defender and referee had no hesitation to point to the spot. Weng Khong coolly made it count, despite having to retake it after his first attempt was disallowed by the referee.
We sat back to absorb and relied on counter-attack to trouble them. Teck Wah got our 3rd goal, his first attempt at point-blank was blocked by their keeper but he followed up on the rebound for our 3rd goal. Alex had a glorious chance to score our 4th but, in order not to out-score and embarrass his father, he chose to fluff the golden opportunity and so he remains 1-goal behind his father on our scoring chart.
Final score: Marine Sunday 3 : Orangee 0
A re-match of the Sunday derby: Marine Sunday (hereafter referred to as Uncles) vs Sunday FC (hereafter referred to as Young Fellas) and Uncles have put to rest which Sunday is a better day :)The re-match was certainly a closer and tighter affair and Young Fellas doubled their tally against us this time round, finding our net twice whereas we remained stagnant at six.
Uncle Teck Wah pounced on the dreadful back pass by a Young Fella to his keeper and Uncle Teck Wah lobbed over the latter for our opening goal. Uncle Gan, with his trickery, released Uncle Chwee Leng on the right, whose cross sailed over the stranded Young Fella's keeper and Encik Kama nodded the ball into the empty net for a 2-0 lead. Young Fellas then came back strongly and were much quicker to every ball. Their striker, No 2, turned Uncle Weng Kwan sharply before unleashing a superb left-footer that left Uncle Brandon rooted. 2-1 at the break.
Young Fellas continued with their high tempo in the 2nd half and Uncle Melvin's reckless challenge in the box earned Young Fellas a penalty but Uncle Brandon pulled off another fine save to deny Young Fellas their equaliser. But they didn't need to wait long for it. Their No 2's turn-and-volley again caught our keeper napping and at 2-2, things seemed to go their way. But Marine Sunday are not a bunch of Uncles for nothing. Uncle Chor Guan showed how things should be done with his trademark lung-bursting charge into the box and whacked in our 3rd goal. Uncle Gan was then hacked down in the box and Uncle Teck Chye, who completed his 10-km run earlier before the match, converted the resultant spot kick. 4-2 up. Young Fellas' tentative defending allowed Uncle Gan to weave his way through to score our 5th goal and Uncle Teck Chye's shot from outside the box took a deflection off Young Fellas' defender's back to sail over the keeper for our half-dozen. The Uncles tried valiantly but we failed to improve on our last outing.
Final score: Marine Sunday 6 : Sunday FC 2
It was a rare sight that a younger opponent turned up earlier than us but still, when it comes to getting ready on the pitch for the match, nobody could square up to our discipline. Blaze certainly took ages for their pre-match lineup talk but whatever plans they might have laid out for us, we dug deep to punish them for making us wait for them. We didn't take long to open the account and Mike was the final beneficiary of a fine build-up resulting in a cross from the right. Mike broke free from his marker to tap-in a first-timer beyond the despairing dive of Blaze's keeper. A couple of our players got into their complacency and were dreaming of a durian harvest but it wasn't to be. Blaze's youthful dynamism and vitality soon gained the advantage for them as they laid seige on our goal. They just lacked the cutting edge to seriously threaten Brandon and we finished the half with a slender one-goal lead.
As in the 1st half, we scored our 2nd goal soon after the match resumed. Again, a series of simple passes disrupted their concentration and KH pressured their right-back to concede possession before whipping in a cross for Mike, again getting in front of the defender, to nod home. Blaze's inexperience conceded a penalty. Teck Chye mustered his charm to invite Blaze's defender to his bum and the Blaze's defender duly fell for his trick and in a moment of eagerness to hump Teck Chye, pushed him down in the attempt to pin him on the ground. Before Teck Chye could cry he "was forced to take it in", the referee pointed to the spot. Teck Chye lustfully picked himself up to convert the penalty for our 3rd goal, before wiping that drop of fluid from his mouth and flicking it onto that defender's face.
3-0 and a rare clean sheet for us :)
In a tightly contested match, Marine Sunday oldies displayed tremendous tenacity and skill to outplay their younger opponents. The match will be remembered for the superb finishing of the three goals as well as the two missed penalties, one from each side.
MS started brightly and had a better share of the early proceedings. It took a while but the breakthrough came when off a partially cleared corner, Weng Khong responded quickest with a smart shot that gave the keeper no chance. Law Soc's striker then showed his perseverance as he held off the challenges of a couple of defenders before turning sharply to fire a superb grounder for their equalizer. One a piece at the break.
The second half was end to end stuff as both sides were determined to outdo each other. The winner was thoroughly deserving. Playing a one-two and ghosting into space for the return, Teck Chye completed his smooth as silk momentum to caress an exquisite curler over their keeper's despairing leap. 2-1 final score!
A familiar opponent, thanks to Kian Hwa's blood connection as his 2 cousins are playing for E MIK Utd. We have had several past encounters and every one of those was close and evenly matched. Today was no exception. They literally ran over us in the first 15 minutes. Our stand-in keeper, Gan, brilliantly denied them twice on one-on-one. We slowly got to the grip of the match and from them on, we exerted our influence. Still, we needed a stroke of luck from their keeper to spill the ball and Teck Wah tapped in the loose ball for our opening goal. See Chiang then missed a glaring sitter before Teck Wah set Gan up for the latter to lob over the onrushing but slow keeper for a 2-0 lead at the break.
Things were balanced out when the match resumed. E MIK Utd reduced the deficit when Mike gave the ball away unnecessarily, allowing a counter-attack. The out-swerving cross from the left eluded the defence and it was none other than KH's cousin who ghosted in from the blind side to head past Brandon. The 2-goal lead was restored after Woon had done a hell of hard work to retrieve the ball on the right and square it to Simon who let fly a stiff grounder for our 3rd goal. Teck Chye and Kian Hwa came close but were denied by their keeper. No further goals ensued. A solid 3-1 win!
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