Match #50 (22 Dec 2013): We Weren't Perfect, Just Simply Effective

Perfect rued their missed scoring chances again. They crafted enough opportunities to turn this match into a badminton scoreline but instead, they had to settle for another agonising defeat against us. The 5-2 win looked flattering to us, compared to the first encounter of a narrow 2-1 win, but we deserved it, no less. We were simply effective, converted our chances well.

KH was lively in the opening encounter, putting in a few crosses into the box but posed no threat to Perfect. Then, a miscued cross had Perfect's keeper flapping to push the ball against the bar and Mike followed up to put the ball into the open goal. Mike then notched his 2nd goal after he turned well to meet a throw-in from the right and instantly produced a first-time volley. Our next 2 goals came from Teck Chye and as a result, he topped the goal-scoring chart for the 2013 season, breaking the stronghold of his younger brother who has been topping the chart for the past we-lost-count-how-many seasons. He first produced an exquisite free-kick that gave Perfect's keeper no chance. Then he intercepted a sloppy pass from Perfect's not-so-perfect last man and went on to beat the keeper with relative ease. 4-0 at the break and we seemed to be cruising. In between our goals, Perfect carved a few good scoring opportunities but their less-than-perfect conversion let themselves down.

Perfect came out livelier in the 2nd half, pinning us in our half but a quick breakaway resulted in our 5th goal. Chor Guan capped a fine season, having scored in the first match of the season, with our final goal of the season, our 209th. Gan picked Chor Guan out with a pinpoint pass after Chor Guan had galloped from the rear to beat Perfect's high defence line. Chor Guan recovered from his initial tumble to put the ball into the net.

We ran out of steam and Perfect's younger players took full advantage of our lack of pace and stamina, after all most of us just came back from vacation of feasting and putting on weight. They produced 2 consolation goals and were so unlucky to have missed a handful of cutting edge chances.

We proved to be effective and that won us the match, 5-2!

Match #48 (1 Dec 2013): Spirited display but we lost on just the odd key moments

For sake of reference, opponents wearing white top with red hoops shall be called QPR. Comprising a fine mix of old and young, they are a team very confident on the ball. Their early composure helped them to a two goal lead though we had created more chances. Then we had a lampardesque moment when our scorcher from way outside the box left the keeper completely rooted, crashed against the underside of the bar, crossed the line and spinned back towards the grateful arms of the keeper.

The cruel decision not to award the clear goal at that stage meant we had to summoned the renown MS spirit for the second half. Pressing like footballers possessed, we subdued QPR with pacey and breathtaking approach play. It looked like there was only to be one winner when we equalised through Mike and Chye (penalty earned by Gan). QPR was quaking pissing and rocking under the incessant pressure. Gan was to earned us another stone cold penalty as QPR's defenders couldn't cope with his excellent hold-up play. This time, our penalty was well saved by the keeper.

That was to haunt us as QPR earned a corner in one of their rare potent attacks. Their agile striker eluded the attentions of our unlucky fella whose goal was not recognised earlier, and planted a firm header to give them the winning goal.

Bottom line - one that got away, but the MS spirit was worth savouring.

Match #45 (10 Nov 2013): A Stylish 3-1 Win Over The Hair-Stylists

Salon One are a respectable team comprising veterans who sure know how to play football. They did come close on several occasions but luck must have deserted them. Notwithstanding, we were worthy 3-1 winners out of this duel as we just had as many, if not more, goal-scoring chances as them. Mike was both hero-villain for us, notching our first goal in the first half before a poor giveaway in the 2nd half led to their equalising goal. Then a couple of cool finishing from the Tang brothers beat their stylish keeper and settled the issue.

But the most memorable moment came from See Chiang's glaring miss after beating Salon One's keeper to the ball and with the goal wide open, he placed the ball wide. Now we know why he is never successful with the Xiao-Mei-Mei :)

match #44 (3 Nov 2013): Marine Sunday vs KOP - 2nd Leg: We Proved Our Worth

Coincidentally, we lined up against Kop for 2nd week in a row and we showed last match's 1-1 draw was a hiccup on our part as we ran out worthy 6-3 winner in this "2nd-leg" match. Yes, 4 of our 6 goals were gifted by their schoolboy defensive blunders but we didn't ask for those, did we? We capitalized on those blunders, shouldn't we?

But Kop were no pushovers. While we had Teck Wah at his predatory best today, notching a hat-trick by punishing them dearly on those defensive blunders, Kop had in their No 9 a sure-footed striker who scored a brace and had an assist in their other goal.

Chor Guan (penalty), Mike and Kama completed the repertoire for us in a match that wasn't pleasing to the football purists. There was hardly any passing from both sides. It was more like a primary school football match with both sides simply booting the ball forward and hoping for the best.

An ugly match but a beautiful win for us :)

Match #43 (27 Oct 2013): All The Misses Caused The 1-1 Draw

We should have buried Kop 12 feet under given the number of misses we had. Kian Hwa was the biggest culprit, with 4 open-goal opportunities at his mercy but fluffed them all. Both goals were of superb quality that were worth watching repeatedly. Simon intercepted a ball from midfield and, spotting the keeper out of position, produced a delicate chip over the stranded keeper to keep us at 1-0 lead at the break. But Kop's equalising goal wasn't any inferior compared to Daniel Sturridge's audacious chip in the match against WBA. Meeting a cross from the right, their No 1 danger man leaped high and cushioned the ball with his cultured left foot to lob it over Brandon.

The match degenerated into a physical encounter but both shared the spoils.

Match #42 (13 Oct 2013): Family United Lost But They Won Big-Time In Family Spirit. They Remain Family United!

I was told post-match that there were 7 brothers among the Opponent and those 4 women at the sideline were their sisters! Wow, 11 siblings and they still remain so close at their age. Very admirable. Sure, they lost the match big time to us. 10-nil....but they had won big, very big in terms of family tie.

Simon (3), Chor Guan (2), Kama, Mike, Teck Chye, Kian Hwa, Woon scored the 10 goals but no way did we dent the love among their 11 siblings :)

Match #41 (6 Oct 2013): Question Marks Had A Lot To Answer

When a team is named Question Marks, either they are casting doubt on their opponents or they have been searching for answers. Today, they might have been enlightened by a bunch of mid-life crisis folks who overran them 7-1.

Yes, the goal conceded was a sore point in an otherwise thoroughly perfect outing. If KH had not missed the sitter less than half-a-meter from the open goal, it would have been the lucky eight.

Mike put in a top-form display and notched 2 goals, Gan also notched a brace and a goal each from Teck Wah, Kama, Simon completed the misery for Question Marks. Question, anyone?

Match #40 (29 Sep 2013): KTGL!

Our performance and result today fell into Quadrant 2 of my Result Interpretation matrix (see attached pic).....KTGL - Kio Tio Gu Lan (Pick Up a Bull's Ball).

We narrowly beat Perfect 2-1 and of course we had who else but Teck Wah to put in the winning goal for us. But the match was really won by our rear guards. Gan, as stand-in keeper in 1st half, blocked a one-on-one when the match was not even 1 minute old. And then, he recovered brilliantly, after thoroughly wrong-footed by Chwee Leng's back header, to claw the ball away just 5 cm from goal! Brandon, arrived in time for 2nd half, produced 4 stupendous one-on-one saves to keep us alive. And Chor Guan blocked a certain goal on goal line and later when Perfect launched a quick counter-attack, he coolly organised Chwee Leng to cover him while he went to close down their playmaker and close down he did. Chwee Leng was at his tenacious best in the 2nd half, battling 4 players and even won a free-kick out of it. See Chiang, though rusty and frequently out of position, produced one vital block to prevent Perfect's striker from taking a shot at goal in the box. And not forgetting our two evergreens - Leo and Ng, who ran their hearts and lungs out trying to contain their wing play.

Our first goal came from their defender as he deflected Teck Wah's cross and wrong-footed his keeper. Perfect equalised in the 2nd half after putting us under tremendous pressure in the opening 20 minutes of 2nd half. Though Teck Wah settled the match for us, I am sure everyone would pay tribute to our guys at the back! :)

Match #39 (22 Sep 2013): Sep clean sheet shattered despite win

6-0 up and with 5 minutes left to play, complacency set in and allowed opponent to score 2 quick consolation goals. It was frustrating to see a clean sheet being unnecessarily denied by our own sloppiness. Up to those last 5 minutes, we were in control throughout although our passing could have been better.

3-0 up at the break, courtesy of Teck Wah's cool finishing, Weng Khong finishing off Teck Wah's cut-back and Woon latching onto Gan's backheel pass to side-step Opponent's keeper. Gan then added a brace in the 2nd half, with the his first coming from distance after spotting Opponent's keeper way off his line and his second was a credit of his doggedness in the box to finally put the ball in the net after being hauled down before that. Teck Chye thumped in a header from a corner by Teck Wah. We looked to further increase the margin but instead the final 5 minutes denied us the icing on the cake.

Match #38 (15 Sep 2013): The Young Ferocious Ones Ganned Down

Young wasn't enough, we have to contend with ferocity as well, and how we ganned them down. Opponents, perhaps with their affinity for speed and power and thus named themselves Carrera (a model of Porsche, you know?) clearly knew how young they are compared to us. In an altercation with Ng, the rude opponent indicated as much declaring that we are old enough to be their father! Where's the respect for the elderly? Ferocious they were, as straight from the kick off, their battle cry bordered on the maniacal as they came charging at us like a pack of wolves. But they could not contend with our fine blend of composure, wisdom, resilience and a man who goes by the name of Gan.

Just as Arsenal acquired the king of assists, the match today was in large part significant for Gan's triple assists. First, he took a difficult ball and advanced into the box causing the panicky defender to pull him down. Weng Khong took responsibility and promptly put us one up. Then he dealt with a high bouncing ball, nonchalantly chesting it into the path of Simon who powered a stiff grounder which the keeper could only deflect it to spin into goal. Two goals up at half time.

Carrera came into the second half with renewed energy and pulled one back quickly. Suddenly, the tide seemed to start turning as they attacked in waves. Nevertheless, two incisive counter-attack from inside our own half did them in. The first defence-splitting pass found Teck Wah sprinting down the left to square for Gan who was too strong for their defenders and they had to drag him down again. Up stepped Teck Chye to restore our two-goal cushion. Then a replica of that pass found Teck Chye whose cross caused havoc in the defence. With the keeper stranded, Rashpal recovered the ball and passed to Alex whose delightful chip was heading for goal until a defender pawed at it. That was the cue for Alex to step up and score from the spot.

Final result - a well deserved 4 - 1 win.

Match #37 (8 Sep 2013): Boon Lay Old Boys Slaughtered By Old Men

Marine Sunday refused to get intimidated by the impressive looking Boon Lay Old Boys who were decked out in pristine all-white. We started confidently and ended the match impressively. Their keeper seemed to have a split personality - a bundle of nerves and spilled every ball in the air in the first half; but was so full of confidence and plucked every ball in the air like harvesting mango with ease in the second half. But his dismal first-half performance allowed us to surge to a commanding 4-0 lead at the break, and could have been more if Alex had been alert to react to an open goal and Gan would have been credited with a goal after his long clearance bounced over the keeper into the net but the goal was disallowed for a dubious offside call on Teck Chye.

Still Mike, Teck Wah, Alex and Teck Chye, in that order, got us the goals. Our fluidity stretched their defence with ease and they must be relieved to hear the whistle for the break.

Boon Lay Old Boys came back with a heightened sense of purpose when the match resumed and began to impose themselves but without real threat to us. We were pinned back for the first 15 minutes and it took a poor clearance from their keeper and the brilliance of Teck Chye to put the ball beyond the stranded keeper for our 5th. Then Alex set up Teck Wah nicely for the latter to place the ball beyond the despairing dive of their keeper for our 6th. And that was the last touch of the match and the referee's final whistle ended the slaughter.

You could say that we reduced Boon Lay Old Boys to literally a....BLOB.

Match #36 (1 Sep 2013): Enciks Spank The Young Guns 3 - 0

What could be more satisfying for a bunch of mostly mid-40s uncles when facing a crew of young guns in some fearsome-looking outfit? Just stand up to them and dish out some disciplined and effective football without all the fanciful footwork. Result? A handsome 3 - 0 win, which the young guys, Lutador FC also could not quite figure it out.

We did labour in the early stage before Teck Wah opened the account after receiving a brilliant cross-field pass from Kama. Teck Wah finished it, just another day in the office. Woon then added to our scoreline after he reacted quickest to a loose ball that cannoned off the post and put in the rebound. Second half did not produce much cutting edge but a quick movement involving KH, Weng Khong set up Gan to score from just outside the box. 3 - 0

Match #35 (25 Aug 2013): Refugees sneaked one in at the death to salvage a 2-2 draw

Opponent, oddly named Refugees, certainly didn’t look famished or malnourished. They were perhaps a tad too fast and too fit for us to handle. We wilted in the 2nd half whereas they were highly spirited and motivated to come from 0-2 down at the break to equalize in injury time for a draw.

Chwee Leng got his first goal of the season when Refugees' keeper spilled his speculative high lob into the net. While the first goal was courtesy of a huge dosage of luck, our 2nd goal was a textbook routine meeting the corner in the box and Woon did just that with a thumping header to put us 2-0 up at half-time. But 2nd half was a completely different story with their playmaker, No 8, spearheading the attack and he wreaked havoc with his determined run at our rearguards. An assist and a fine goal, and he could have more if Gan had not produced some fine saves to deny him, stamped his class. His equalizing goal deep in injury time was avoidable but it resulted from KH's crucial defensive lapse, allowing the long punt from Refugees' keeper to reach the No 8, who then sidestepped Kok Hock before walloping a low ball from a tight angle to beat Gan at near post.

Match #34 (18 Aug 2013): Raven Ravaged 6-2

Experience overcame youth and exuberance once again as Marine Sunday emerged victorious with a convincing 6-2 win over Raven. But the match was not as easy as the score-line suggested. It was 2-2 up to the 60th minute when Raven fought back from 2-0 down to level the score. They were obviously uplifted but a defensive lapse allowed us to claw back a 3-2 lead and from then on, it was a point of no return as we rampaged home further 3 goals to register an easy-looking 6-2 win.

Kama, Chor Guan (2 goals), Kian Hwa, Leo (penalty to open his account for the season) and Teck Chye (after missing 3 golden one-on-one chances) made us look good :)

Match #33 (11 Aug 2013): Vitality Won The Day....Narrowly

It was a day where we were no match against the vitality and vibrancy of Orange Young Men, most of whom are still undergraduates in the universities. That means one can guess the age gap. If we had not been a bit robust, read experienced, in our approach, we might have let them overrun us. While we came up short in getting to the ball, we were ample in spirit but that was a tad insufficient for today's narrow 2-3 loss against them.

We conceded the 3 goals through free-kicks and in each occasion, the goal was avoidable if we were defensively alert and disciplined. First goal, why was there a need for Weng Khong and Gan to swap positions in the wall, they themselves knew better, and the goal came via deflection off Gan's head and wrong-footed Brandon along the way. Second goal, the entire defence was expecting a referee whistle and had gone sleeping, and they took the free-kick quickly for their winger to slot the ball past Brandon. Third goal, Brandon was busy organising the defenders and had his eyes off the incoming ball from the free-kick. Three silly goals conceded. In between each of their goals, Mike and Teck Wah made the scoreline respectable.

Match #32 (8 Aug 2013): Friendly win over KS Whites

In the early morning hours, on the large expanse of St Wilfrid's ground, two ageing teams lacking subs competed not on brute strength nor pace, but a measure of footballing intelligence and clinical finishing. A casual observer would have commended both teams for their discipline to keep good shape, and more so to play an arsenaleques style of football, albeit with much less zip. For once, the notion that our matches were supposed to be friendly held true.

In the end, experience was vital. The older team played more compactly as a unit, dominated possession and produced the cutting edge on the two critical moments that determined the outcome of the match. Alex smashed a loose ball low and true, from the edge of the box after good build up play had caused havoc. In the second half, Elder Tang thumped an unstoppable header off younger Tang's corner. In between, KS Whites scored a good goal with a well-worked move. 2-1 to MarineSunday.

Match #31 (4 Aug 2013): A Disjointed Performance But Worthy 2-0 Winner

It seems like we are gearing ourselves up for the annual lunar 7th Month syndrome where, for whatever reason, our results tend to go haywire during this lunar month :D

Our recent performance, especially against seemingly easy opponents and teams who started the match with 1-man short, has been patchy. Against Team Orange, we were disjointed in the first half - misplaced passes, hasty lay-offs, heavy touches, miscommunication in the backline and to sum up in Chwee Leng's words, we were simply slow to every ball and not robust enough. We presented them with two howlers but fortunately, they failed to capitalize and thankfully, on each occasion, the sleeping Brandon woke up in time to smother their goal-scoring opportunities. We suspect it was his desire for showmanship :) At the other hand, Teck Wah had a close-range effort blocked by the defender on the line and their keeper brilliantly denied KH and Chor Guan on two one-on-one situations. Teck Chye had another clean break-through to face only the keeper but uncharacteristically, the ball did not find the intended net despite wrong-footing the keeper. Match ended in stalemate at the break.

Despite their younger age, Team Orange appeared tired and jaded in the 2nd half. We cranked up our machinery to good effect. Our opening goal came from a textbook-style defence-to-attack-in-1-second. Weng Khong cleared the ball down the right strip to set off Chor Guan a lung-bursting run down the right. After a swift cut-in, he set up KH flying down from the opposite flank for a decisive finish past their rooted keeper, who was perhaps mesmerized by how swiftly we moved the ball from our half to their half. Weng Khong again had a hand, or rather a head, in our 2nd goal goal. His powerful header from our half found Chor Guan in the opposite box (geez...that was quite a header!). CG brushed off their defender's marking like sweeping dandruff off his shoulder before planting a left-footed shot past their keeper. 2-0 and we were cruising. They were struggling and this was further compounded by their lack of reserves. When they saw we made another wave of 4 substitutions on the 75th-minute mark, they must be wondering if we had a life apart from football :)

Match #30 (28 Jul 2013): Convincing 8-3 Win, But Not Good Enough

It was a match of two halves. We were sixes and sevens in the first half against Tebing FC, which, no disrespect to them, we should have done better in this half than to concede two soft goals. We were not even containing them, let alone controlling the match. Second half saw us in our menacing self, reversing a 1-2 deficit at the break to eventually carve out a rather flattering 8-3 win.

Short of all the recognised central defenders, except for Rock, it was a case of wrong deployment of players in the two central defending positions by fielding Rock and Teck Chye (and then later replaced by Kama) as sweeper and stopper respectively. It was not a question of their capabilities but a matter of regularity and familiarity of them in these roles. Neither plays regularly in the assigned role, as simple as that. Generally, were were disjointed and appalling in the first half, with hurried play and misplaced passes. A tactical switch made at the break paid off. Instead of making two players not totally comfortable in their roles, we switched Rock, a specialist stopper, to his usual role and dropped Simon to sweep the line. Now, at least we had one player totally comfortable in his central defending role and that seemed to work in the second half as we imposed ourselves right from when the match resumed after the break.

Tebing FC were a big suspect in their backline that appeared vulnerable to crosses and defending against dead ball. They were just as static to cut off through balls. Four of our goals came from corners, the other four resulted from through-balls which they failed to read the running of our front players.

Teck Wah (3), Mike (2), Kian Hwa (2) and Woon completed the rout. We conceded a late goal in the second half, a scant consolation to Tebing.

Match #29 (21 Jul 2013): Humbled by Veterans 2-4

Last week, we were awesome against Eusoffianos, a team of players ranging 14-18 years younger than us. But we were awful against Essex Lasallians, a team of players ranging 8-10 years older than us, today. We came up short in every department, we were lethargic and lost the first ball about 80%-90% of the time. We had our chances though but their keeper was simply brilliant to deny us 4 certain goals. We were simply bossed around in the opening 30 minutes of the match and conceded our first goal during then. We came alive in the last 15 minutes of the first half. Chor Guan's effort produced a stupendous reflex save from their keeper and the resultant corner beat their keeper but Chor Guan missed it by a whisker. 1-0 at the break.

We were rampant in the opening 10 minutes of the 2nd half. Mike's close range effort from a square ball by KH was brilliantly blocked by their keeper at the far post and then the latter snuffed out KH's feeble attempt from a one-on-one situation. In between, Gan equalised for us from his solo effort into the box before producing a left-footed shot to beat their custodian. We then allowed them too much space and time in our half and their patient build up paid off with another goal. 2-1. A fantastic double-act from the Tang brothers down the left had Mike benefitted from Teck Chye's cross to put the ball into the net. 2-2. Teck Chye was then unbelievably denied by their keeper at the edge of the penalty box when he was put through. At this juncture, the ploy to push Chor Guan upfront to try seizing a win backfired as they found space at our rear to notch further 2 goals to finish us off at 4-2.

Match #28 (14 Jul 2013): Marine Sunday Tamed Eusoffianos 5 - 1

In the past four encounters with Eusoffianos since we first met in 2010, we won thrice and each was a close win. The only loss against them was a 3-7 whitewash on 26 Jun 2011. And today, we let them have a taste of the medicine as we exacted a handsome 5-1 scoreline over them, although our first 3 goals were rather fortuitous. But nobody could fault us with our robustness, commitment and top-class work rate to close them fast and deny them space. Considering that they are 14-18 years younger than us, and with a few of them fresh from uni 2 years ago, we have every reason to be proud of and immensely satisfied with this unexpected result.

We almost opened the account early in the match when Teck Chye's delightful chip caught Eusoffianos' keeper hopelessly stranded but the ball came off the horizontal. Then Teck Wah forced a one-handed save from him, with the ball again coming off the upright. Then their generosity presented two durians to us - first, their defender totally fluffed a very tame square ball from Gan and even Teck Wah, just standing behind the defender, was shocked to see the ball coming to him. Just a slight touch from him converted it into our opening goal. Then, a horrendous clearance of a harmless looking through ball by their keeper gifted Alex to do another simple tap-in for his first goal of the season for us! Eusoffianos' only notable efforts in the 1st half were two long-range efforts from their two playmakers but Brandon dealt with them easily. Apart from those efforts, our well-marshalled defence comprising the steady Chor Guan, brilliant Chwee Leng, enterprising Woon on the right and the tenacious Chung Wen on the left were stingy on the space and time for them. Melvin, coming in late in the 1st half to relieve the midfield of increasing pressure from Eusoffianos, produced a delicate chip just outside the box. The ball again came off the bar but it hit the keeper for a rebound into goal. The Dubious Goal Committee would have judged this an own goal by Eusoffianos' keeper but on repeated appeals and threats by Melvin, we overruled the DG Committee to credit the goal to him...also his 1st goal of the season. 3-0 at the break.

Eusoffianos almost broke the duck early in the 2nd half but a brilliant reflex save by Brandon denied their close-range effort resulted from a free-kick just outside the box, which came from KH's robust tackle on their winger. Things were then evenly matched and then another avalanche of goals came in the last 15 minutes of the match. They earned another free-kick just outside the box which their defender gave Brandon no chance. Deficit was reduced but the gap was shortly widened. Teck Chye profited from another miscued clearance in their box and dispatched a left-footed effort to beat the keeper at near post. 4-1. Another forgettable clearance by their custodian allowed us to seize the initiative again and Simon's grounder squirmed under the keeper's body for our 5th goal. We had another handful of efforts on targets and our numerous forays into their box proved threatening but no further goals ensued. Final score: 5-1!

Match #27 (7 Jul 2013): Comfortable win over a rare 'older' team

It's not often that we get referred to as the younger team, us with the grey strands and dodgy knees. But our opponents bestowed upon us that honour by the end of a tortured match that was played under the hot sun.
Like young men on a Friday night at Downtown East looking for a fight, or Teck Wah on his honeymoon, we were rampaging bulls in the first half. Before the match, defence showed attack how to score and so it was with our first goal. Off a corner, our opponents cleared the ball to the edge of the box. Rock did well to control it, made a shimmy to the right and then sent in a rocket which zoomed past their keeper. 1-0.

The game continued in the same vein. Our opponents were skilled and fit but no match for the crisp passing orchestrated by our midfielders. A move down the right sent Teck Wah through. He stretched - loads of practice on the wedding night - and stopped the ball before steering it past the keeper. 2-0. Then Chye sent a delightful ball into the box which Mike did well to get to and shoot past their keeper. 3-0. we were coasting.

Our opponents clawed one back when a diagonal ball was met by their striker who headed it past Brandon. Gan who stood in as a keeper had little to do before that. 3-1. We were not done.

Mark came in, pulled to the right and sent in a cross to far post which Wah did well to head past the keeper. 4-1.

Our finishing rate however abandoned us in the second half. Shots went agonisingly wide or were saved by the keeper. Until Simon picked up yet another poor clearance off a corner to do a Rock by steering the ball past everyone. 5-1. But our opponents fought back valiantly. One hopeful punt on the left had Brandon back pedalling but he couldn't stop the ball from hitting the net. 5-2.

Then a free kick took a wicked deflection and the ball sailed over Brandon's despairing dive. 5-3. Smelling blood, our opponents threw everything into attack but MS held on until the final whistle. 5-3.

Match #26 (30 Jun 2013): Draw that's more like a win

The median age for Marine Sunday dropped sharply with the introduction of three subs of which two were employed. Raj, 17, Nigel, 13, and Reef, 12, were roped in as MS struggled to field a decent 11 for the match. Fortunately we had 12 able bodied seniors and the juniors who did play put up a gritty display.

Against the much fancied ex-HCJC team, Rock devised or contain and counter approach to the game which worked well. Our opponents charged from the word go as if it was a condo launch at Jurong East. They stretched MS with their clever inter-passing and step-overs. But on a quick counter, a Kamar diagonal pass found Chye lurking. Our maestro ran unchallenged to stroke the ball home. 1-0.

Ex-HCJC came back strongly and peppered Brandon's goal with pot shots from outside the box. But they squeezed into the box once and their speedy winger sent a hopeful cross which curled towards goal. Brandon got a hand to it but it crossed the line. 1-1. Upfront Raj held play with confidence while Nigel marshalled the defence like his father, steady as a Rock.

Second half mirrored the first and again it was a move on the right which resulted in MS scoring a second. Woon sent in a defence splitting pass which Mike controlled with his first touch. Mike then stroked the ball home showing Chye he too could finish with confidence.

Again ex-HCJC attacked in numbers. They threw everything at our half but Rock stood firm and thwarted everything and when he was flat out, Nigel took over. Raj had a glorious chance to score but their keeper pushed the ball out for a corner.

Then at the very last minute, a free kick on the right was floated in. Their striker was first to react and he nudged the ball over the line. 2-2.

A hard fought draw with a rag-tag team but it sure felt like a win.

Match #25 (23 Jun 2013): Marine Sunday Scraped The Pot For A Hard-Fought 4-3 Win

We could have put up another durian harvest score if our forwards were sharper against Malay Young Boys, especially in the first 20 minutes of the match. Instead, we allowed them to come back at us after each time we took the lead. We managed to hold on to the slender lead after surviving a spirited fightback from them but their lack of reserves wore them down considerably in the sweltering heat.

Kama's sheer industry earned him the opening goal for us but a tentative clearance at the back allowed their forward to steal the ball and put it past Brandon. We scored right from the kick-off after a simple passing game involving Kama and KH set up Gan to sneak in just in front of MYB's keeper to restore the lead. Another poor clearance allowed them to put ball back into our box and their nippy 17-years old winger produced a delightful chip over Brandon to level the score 2-2 at the break.

Gan then notched 2 goals to complete his hat-trick in the first 15 minutes of the 2nd half, both came from assists from KH. He rose unchallenged to nod in KH's corner and then literally walked the ball into the net after he was the first to react to MYB's keeper's poor handling of KH's freekick. With the keeper still on the ground and nobody to harass him, Gan had the easiest of tasks. We missed more chances thereafter before their playmaker singlehandedly brought our defence down with his individual brilliance and scored their 3rd to reduce the gap. Play then became feisty with hard challenges coming from both sides but the match ended with plentiful of handshakes.

Match #24 (16 Jun 2013): Marine Sunday Stonewalled the Men from the Land of Great Wall

Welcome back, Seah! And if there were anybody we could pay tribute to in today's match, there were two - the 41-years-old Seah, for his assured display after almost 2 years of layoff through serious knee injury, and the 14-year-old Alex for putting in three great crosses from the right and two of which should have been converted into goals.

Yes, we whitewashed our opponent, O Boys, today but to be fair to them, they only had 10 players throughout the match. Still, they have 3 brilliant individuals who gave us problems throughout the match. Despite the numerical advantage, we only managed a slender 1-0 lead at the break, courtesy of Gan's opener. Such was the great play of their 3 individuals that they did deserve a goal in 1st half. Weng Khong got our 2nd goal after the break after a brilliant turn in the box but O Boys reduced the deficit when KH's poor giveaway in midfield resulted in their goal. Their euphoria was quickly deflated as we scored our 3rd right from the kick-off. Teck Chye chipped a through ball over their defence for Gan to bury it. And O Boys just went deflated resulting in the wide opening of the floodgate opened. Gan completed his hat-trick, Mike's brace, Teck Chye's double and Simon's goal completed the rout.

Final score: 9 - 1. Not a durian harvest season but sweet peach - shui mi tao :)

Match #23 (9 Jun 2013): Marine Sunday 6 : Orange Mixes 2

Orange Mixes are a more veteran team than us, with a couple of players who are very assured and at ease with stroking the ball. And these 2 players did quite some damage on us, with both their goals coming from their No 9, a super cool uncle who could have snatched a hat-trick if his 2nd-half shot had not cannoned off the bar. But then, we gifted them their 2 goals, thanks to a moment of miscommunication and then a miscued clearance, both presented their No 9 to take advantage of.

And we thought we could barely scrap the bottom of the pot to get 13 players, including Chwee Leng's barely-into-puberty son, they could only start the match with 9 players. Yet, as usual, we couldn't capitalize on our numerical advantage until the numbers were even.

We raced to a commanding 5-1 lead at the break. We could have had a handful more in the 2nd half but somehow the final application deserted us.

Our goals came from Woon (2), Chor Guan (2), Kama and Gan. No durian harvesting resulted but Gan did have 1 durian drop nicely onto his path for his goal.

Match #22 (2 Jun 2013): Marine Sunday 3 : Mizuno Reds 0

Just to illustrate how good Mizuno Reds, a team well blended with a handful of veterans but plentiful of early-20s youngsters, are. It is very rare for KH to beef up the defence as the match, especially when it is still a draw or when we are trailing, wears on. As we all know, he will usually go for broke to get the match. But such was the menace that Mizuno Reds' young, nippy forwards posed to us that Chor Guan, deployed as a striker in 1st half, had to replace Melvin as sweeper 15 minutes into the 2nd half in order to contain them.

1st half was fairly even with both sides carving out a handful of half chances but nothing really threatening. But 2nd half was pulsating, to say the least. Mizuno Reds could have opened the account right from the restart when they capitalized on our messy play at the back but their effort came off the upright and the couple of subsequent rebounds were blocked by our bodies in the line of fire. After brushing off that close shave, we started imposing, with Mark beginning to find his footing and Simon illustrious down our right flank. Still, their speedy forwards stretched our backline to the extent that Melvin had his right hamstring flared up. Cued in Chor Guan to replace him to keep those young boys at bay.

Gan brought out a superb reflex save from their keeper but the resultant corner settled the issue. Simon whipped in a wicked corner and Gan forced the ball through to break the duck for us. Gan then sent in a delicious looking cross, only for their right fullback, with Ng breathing down his neck, to handle the ball in mid-air. Referee was spot on to point to the spot and Chor Guan coolly converted it. 2-0. Kama's header from Mark's corner kissed the horizontal but a sweet 1-2 play between KH and Weng Khong saw KH crudely brought down in the box. Another clear-cut penalty and Weng Khong beat Mizuno Reds' custodian without any fuss. Both Weng Khong and KH could have further added to the tally but their keeper brilliantly denied Weng Khong at point blank and KH hit the side-netting after another wonderful 1-2 with Weng Khong.

Whatever Mizuno Reds threw at us with their individual flair, we neutralised them with bodies. On so many occasions we threw in the first man to disrupt their play and our back end colleagues were ever ready to deal with the 2nd or 3rd ball, much to the frustration of MR's youngsters. That's what experience is all about...no need to look pretty, just be effective, the end result counts :)

Match #21 (26 May 2013): First Draw of The Season!

Nothing to shout of with regards to our first draw of the season. We shouldn't have let Temasek Royal get anywhere near our goal area in the first place. 2 goal attempts and 1 foray into the box resulted in 2 goals for them. We had lion share of possession throughout but all opportunities created counted for nothing and we had to rely on 1 penalty (converted by Simon, albeit just) and a free-kick (despatched expertly by Teck Chye) to find the net. TR's keeper was in excellent form to keep us at bay, denying us all our goal attempts at him.

2-2 was the final score. No disrespect to TR but anything less than a win was injustice to us.

Match #20 (18 May 2013): Marine Sunday On A Mission

We put aside last week's fractious discord and went on a rampage against NEFC, an All-Malay team comprising youngsters and a few in early 20s. Despite the typical gelek-gelek and individual flair, the lack of experience in their ranks was telling. We had the upper hand in possession in the early stages but against the run of play, NEFC drew 1st blood with an innocuous shot from outside the box that the napping Brandon allowed it to go past him. KH's brace overturned the deficit and could have notched a hat-trick but NEFC's keeper's brilliant double saves denied him. The slender 2-1 lead stood at the break.

What was fairly even in the first half became lopsided after the break when NEFC apparently lost their shape and spirit to play as a team - Woon, Mike's double, Chor Guan, Gan and Kama in that sequence found the net for us. Despite the comfortable-looking scoreline, our rearguard colleagues kept thing very tight, denying NEFC space and putting in the challenges to win back the ball whenever any of the defenders was overrun by their relatively skilful midfielders.

Final score: 8 - 1.

Match #19 (12 May 2013): We Caused Our Loss. As Simple As That

Disharmony within the ranks in 1st half cost us this match. Yes, Sons of St Patrick's had 2 ex-internationals - Steven Tan and Amos Boon - and a few other technically better players but we were not overrun by them. Perhaps, the scorching heat in 1st half made us lose our cool and our shape resulting in our concession of 2 soft goals. We came back strongly and we showed in 2nd half that we meant business - Kama was tenacious in midfield, Chor Guan was ferocious in his harassment of their defenders, Rock put his body in the line of duty, Teck Chye showed what he could do for the team if he could focus on what he does best - football, Mike worked his socks off and won us the penalty.

Final score was a narrow 1-2 loss but we knew we could have done better.

Match #18 (5 May 2013): Oranjino Crushed

Full of energy and running, the youngsters of Oranjino kept us at bay for a while. Simon opened accounts with another long range effort, spilled by the keeper. Oranjino equalized with an equally powerful shot from outside the box.

One all at half time, MS weathered the pressures in the early second half to post a comfortable win at the end. Mike scored one that landed in the top corner followed by Chye's exquisite beating of the keeper at the near post and Khong's header ala Chicharito. Oranjino scored a consolation at the death to bring the score to 4-2.

Match #17 (28 Apr 2013): A Woeful Performance To Match The Woeful Weather

Chung Wen made his long awaited comeback from injury. That coincided with the first time we failed to score. Ok, not meaning to put one and one together but the inescapable fact was that we were woeful in the entire 1st half and we let Hwa Chong Alumni boss us around. Mike missed a sitter, our only real threatening chance in the 1st half, and a poor giveaway by our ever reliable Teck Chye that resulted in their only goal summed up our dismal performance before the break.

The match lasted for only 10 minutes in the 2nd half before it was aborted due to the inclement weather but we showed a much higher tempo in that 10 minutes that could have restored parity. KH screwed a wonderful opportunity after a splendid one-two with Chor Guan. The match stood at 1-0 in favour of Hwa Chong Alumni before it was called off.

Match #16 (21 Apr 2013): Another Close Call With Trinity

Trinity and Marine Sunday have proven to be worthy opponents to each other. Our 2nd encounter in this year ended with another narrow win over them, although we could have walked away a much convincing winner than what the 2-1 score line suggested.

Woon put his recent personal ordeal behind him and chose a holy occasion to notch his first goals of the season, with his 2 goals in 1st half proving to be enough, albeit just enough, to win the match. Chor Guan almost opened the account for us but his freekick rocketed off the bar and bounced off the line. Woon's brace put us in comfortable lead before Teck Wah's effort shaved off the bar. Just before the break, Brandon was superbly alert to pull off a brilliant save to deny Trinity's quickly taken free-kick outside the box.

2nd half was quite evenly matched. Their livewire striker shrugged off the close attention of Mark and pulled the trigger. A wicked deflection off Melvin's shoulder caught Brandon wrong-footed and the goal reduced the deficit. Gan side-stepped the ball towards the open goal, only for Trinity's defender to recover in time to clear the ball before it became our goal #3.

No further goal ensued and we came off worthy of the 2-1 win.

Match #15 (14 Apr 2013): Kicked In The Teeth By Last Kick of The Match

Our stop-start performance resumed and we only had ourselves to blame for the agonising 4-5 loss against Venom, with their winning goal came on the last touch of the match. We started brightly and were running them ragged in the opening 25-30 minutes before slackness crept into our play and allowed them to take control. And what a difference 1 player can make, and we are referring to Venom's newly recruited striker, No 23, who tormented us with his guile, power, technique and scoring prowess. He proved to be too hot for us to handle and was the most venomous player, accounting for 3 of their 5 goals.

We started off well with an early goal from Teck Wah, who chipped the ball over Venom's advancing keeper. Things looked promising as we continued to pile more pressure on their goal but no further damage ensued. Then sluggishness in defence allowed their No 23 to overturn the deficit with 2 quick goals - 1st by shaking off our defender effortlessly to score with the outside of his left foot; and then a horrendous piece of our defending allowed him to sneak in with a goal. Gan equalised for us after combining well with Teck Wah before we fell asleep again at the back, allowing their midfielder to steal in a header at the near post from a needlessly conceded corner. 2-3 at the break.

Kama won a penalty for us early in 2nd half, which Teck Chye duly converted. 3-3. Another ball-watching, this time by KH, let their playmaker No 10 to sneak in from behind to tap the ball into the open goal. 3-4. KH then had a golden opportunity to equalise after a mazy run by Teck Chye saw his effort come off the upright but KH fluffed the rebound, with the open goal at his mercy. Teck Wah then saw his goal-bound effort denied by their recovering defender. Teck Chye then launched another solo effort from midfield, leading to shot from outside the box that beat the keeper for our equalising goal. 4-4. Things were even thereafter with both sides having chances to advance further. Their No 23 again popped up as their talisman. His initial looping effort was clawed away by Brandon but the clearance didn't go far and the ball was sent back into our box and there he was at the far post, No 23 headed the ball past the scrambling Brandon. 4-5. With that, the referee blew for the final whistle and that was really a big kick in the teeth.

Match #14 (7 Apr 2013): An Emphatic 5-1 Win Over Pinkies

We put the dismal month of March behind us and romped home an emphatic 5-1 win over Pinkies. They aren't a bunch of rollovers but our better teamwork, a fact acknowledged by their players, ruled the day. If not for their goalkeeper who put up a stupendous performance in between the sticks, we could have notched up another double-digit score.

Teck Chye opened the account early in the match when he converted the spot-kick, which he earned it after being brought down in the box. But for all the possession we continued to have in the next 30 minutes, we just couldn't produce the next goal until a rare mistake by their goalkeeper who spilled Teck Wah's low cross onto the path of Gan and Gan couldn't do otherwise but tap the loose ball into the open goal. Both Gan and Teck Wah then combined well to set the latter up for a placement at the far post to put us 3-0 up at the break.

Teck Chye notched his 2nd goal in the early 2nd half. A late run into the box, ala Frank Lampard's style, and he met KH's low square-in with such accuracy and power that he made scoring look so simple! Sloppiness then set into our play and a poor giveaway in the midfield by our 'new' player allowed them to counter-attack and score their consolation goal. A lung-bursting run by Kama saw him bulldoze his way through Pinkies' defence and score a fine goal that he richly deserved. 5-1 win, a satisfying one no doubt.

Match #13 (24 Mar 2013): We Weren't Cool Against Uncool Cool Joes

The match summed up our fortune in March after we lost 1-2 against Cool Joes, a bunch of CJC alumni. That meant 3 losses out of the 4 matches.

Cool Joes were young and speedy. Heavy rain stopped play for about half hour after 30 min of 1st half with score at 0-0. Played 2nd half after more than 50 minutes of suspension. They scored with 2 over-the-top ball and their speedy wingers went through to finish up the job. Our goal came from penalty won by Gan and converted by Teck Chye.

Match #12 (24 Mar 2013): Fantastic Against FC Fantansista

For the first 3 matches in March before today's match, we scored 6 goals. In today's match, we tripled it. Yes, you didn't read wrongly. We whacked in 18 goals and in the process, overwhelmed FC Fantansista 18 - 1. Not that Fantansista were a walkover team. Comprising young fellas from 19 to mid-20s, they are fairly organised and kitted out in some fearsome combination of colours. Being young men they are, not surprising that they are full of energy but they must be wondering what they were up to after the match.

Teck Chye (4), hat-tricks from Teck Wah and Gan, braces from Kama, Mike and Kian Hwa, and Chor Guan and Kok Hock contributed 1 each - these completed the rout of Fantansista.

At the break, we were already 10-0 up but we didn't let our foot off the pedal in the 2nd half. Fantansista, to their credit and enthusiasm, came back stronger at us. They played with a bit more urgency and had a couple of goal-scoring opportunities thwarted by Brandon before a needless penalty conceded by us gifted them a consolation goal.

Highlight of the match? Their playmaker kept urging his players on with gusto "C'mon, guys! Run faster and chase....they are OLDER than us, you know?" Yes, another situation of at least half their team being not even half our age :)

Match #11 (17 Mar 2013): 1-3 setback against Messy Blues

We played poorly today to deserve a 1-3 loss to Messy* Blues. Gan scored for us.

*Not Messi. They were indeed messy but we outdo them.

Match #10 (10 Mar 2013): Stung by Vipers

Marine Sunday suffered the 2nd loss of the season but nobody had any complaints. Vipers FC's players are not only young and fit but they are very organised and disciplined on the pitch. They play good football and honestly, anything less than a win would have been injustice to them. But that doesn't mean we are a bunch of dead woods. Sure, we were overrun in 1st half but we bucked up in the 2nd half and we prevented further damage, although our football wasn't pretty and we had Brandon to thank for.

Vipers did all the damage in the first 25 minutes of the match, notching an early lead and then a piece of quick-thinking by Simon pulled off our equalising goal with another of his trademark long-range shot. But we allowed them the world of time, enough for them to use T-square and compass to chart where to place the ball, for them to score 2 more goals and that was how it ended at the break, 1 - 3.

We tightened up in the 2nd half although we struggled to break in their half. Vipers could have gone further but they fluffed their penalty, shooting straight at Brandon, who put in a steady performance for us.

We lost 1 - 3 but seriously, no shame.

Match #9 (2 Mar 2013): Marine Sunday Still Good As Gold With 4-2 Win Over Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs were certainly a different team from the last encounter, where we whitewashed them 8-1 in June 2012. They played a more pressing game and with more confidence on the ball, with their midfield duo setting the rhythm for the team. They could have gotten a very early lead but their striker blasted the ball over at close range. We struggled to play to our usual fluidity and things were made worse by the water-logged pitch after a torrential downpour that held up play for 45 minutes. Still, our enthusiasm and spirit more than made up for our shortcomings in other departments and our goals came from an unlikely source, See Chiang, and newly converted striker, Chor Guan, each netting a brace.

See Chiang's 1st goal was a gem, worth replaying many times to watch. A cut-back in the box and then a right-footed curler planted the ball into the top right-hand corner of the goal, leaving GS' keeper no chance. Chor Guan then had an effort that came off the post, Simon had a couple of tries in the box but he aimed for the rugby post behind the goal. GS equalised shortly after after a surging run down the left caught us napping. The heavy downpour came as we approached half-time, 1-1 at the break.

When match resumed after a 45-minutes suspension, GS adapted to the water-logged pitch better and got an early lead. Their powerful winger simply flew down the right flank with ease before sending an inch-perfect cross for his striker to head past Brandon. We were staring at a defeat but our trademark spirit prevailed. The partnership between Teck Wah and Chor Guan was slowly blossoming and it was the former's long pass that had the ball skidded through the slippery surface for the latter to run through and hit the ball past GS' advancing keeper. Parity restored. Kok Hock, rightfully establishing the left-midfield position as his, put in another superlative performance when he cut back with his left-foot and his subsequent cross found See Chiang at the opposite far post. See Chiang's header finished up the move. 3-2. We were not done. See Chiang held the ball well before setting up Weng Khong for a cross into the box which GS' keeper spilled the ball and Chor Guan was spot on to benefit from this blunder. 4-2. GS continued to surge forward but our backline, well marshalled by Melvin and also welcoming back Rock into the fold, refused to be generous with the space and tightened up the play.

Still as solid as gold with this hard-fought 4-2 win.

Match #8 (24 Feb 2013): Old School Rock n Roll Reigns Supreme

With a name like Santana, we were bracing ourselves for some Latin American samba from opponent but the old school rock-n-roll in us emerged triumph in this rather feisty encounter. Nowadays, opponents do not surprise us anymore if they are quicker to the ball, closes us down in a second, are more fleet-footed and twinkle-toed...and of course, are more inclined to show-boat. Veteran teams like us are rare to come by.

We carved out a few half chances and Simon had an effort kissing the horizontal in the first half. All came to nothing at the break, 0-0.

Santana then gifted us with three moments of horrendous defending and we ruthlessly punished them and richly reaped rewards out of them. While defending against a free-kick from Teck Chye, Santana's defender in the wall raised his arm to block Teck Chye's effort but the penalty decision was rather dubious as the wall was outside the box. Nevertheless, Teck Chye benefitted from the defender's moment of indiscretion and the referee's moment of ill-judgment and converted the spot kick. 1-0.

Kian Hwa, in his 3rd comeback match, came close on two efforts - a snap shot from outside the box that whisked past the left post and a lob over the keeper that went just over the bar. Then, the moment of god-send arrived when Santana's keeper poorly sent his goal-kick straight to KH, who composed himself to coolly despatch the ball into the open goal for a 2-0 lead before calling for an early retirement from the match. Chor Guan and See Chiang had further chances to put the issue beyond doubt but fluffed their opportunities. The moment of glory came from the other KH - Kok Hock, when he intercepted Santana's play from just after the mid-line and, spotting the keeper out of position, whacked in a ferocious left-footed long-range shot that went beyond the back-pedalling keeper. 3-0.

At our rear end, the defending was stout and made life difficult for Santana. Gan, standing in goal, made a couple of fine blocks with his feet when facing one-on-one with Santana's strikers. In the dying moment, Santana could have scored a consolation goal but when their striker rounded Gan and could have shot at the open goal, but instead indulged in some one-man-ship and showing off his twinkle-toes. Our defenders closed him down to deny him that wee bit of a consolation.

3-0 was the final score.

Match #7 (17 Feb 2013): We Spanked The Willy Dilly Dally Billy

We simply detest teams that are tardy and have no basic courtesy to respect their opponents. So, Billy, comprising a bunch of willies except for their No 4 who is a wise man, dilly-dally strolled in despite already 15 minutes late. We were imposing in the opening 20 minutes with Simon's long-range effort from a free-kick hitting the goal frame and Woon unable to capitalise on an open opportunity at the far post before Teck Wah opened the account with a quickly taken free kick. 1-0.

But 20 minutes of horrific play by our custodian gifted them 2 goals, both from free-kicks. 1-2. He almost made it a hat-trick of comical errors by dashing off his line but misjudged the ball. If not for a fine block by our defender, Billy would have extended the score-line. A fortuitous penalty awarded to us enabled Teck Wah to notch his 2nd goal and put things all-squared before the break.

Billy scored their 3rd goal early in 2nd half but Gan equalised soon after when he powered in a header from Teck Chye's calibrated corner. From then on, we surged ahead. Kok Hock put us in the lead after Chor guan found him with a pin-point long pass from our half and Kok Hock lobbed the ball over the keeper. 4-3. Incessant pressure from our frontline forced them to play the ball in their backline and Gan pounded on their defender's poor control of the ball to place it past their keeper. 5-3.

Kian Hwa, slowly making his comeback, scored his 2nd goal in two successive matches after Gan intelligently shielded the ball from Billy's defender and allowed KH to have a shot at goal. 6-3. Another Simon's trademark long-range effort from a free-kick skidded off Gan's head and found the net, 7-3.

It could have been more as Gan had an effort that hit the bar and Woon's headed goal was disallowed for an infringement.

Match #6 (8 Feb 2013): Winning streak ended

Pit a bunch of mostly mid-40s against a bunch of mid-20s, what do u expect? But we weren't steamrolled over. We demonstrated our tenacity against SMU Alumni, although we couldn't square up against their energy, stamina and vitality. We just couldn't play our usual game due to their hard running and pressing. And the heavy pitch did us further disservice. All 5 goals conceded were soft and could have been avoidable if we had played a simpler game. We amply displayed our fight-back from 0-3 down to level the match at 3-3 but in the last 10 minutes, we lost our concentration and conceded 2 needless goals.

KH, forced into action to address some on-the-pitch negativity, scored on his long awaited comeback but it wasn't an eventual happy ending. Tang brothers scored to level the score but it was all in vain eventually.

Our spirited comeback did scare them. 3-5 loss but no shame.

Match #5 (3 Feb 2013): Really Hard-Fought Narrow 2-1 Win

DFC, despite having essentially only 11 players, made us sweat and toll for this narrow win. They demonstrated again how nice it was to be young and full of energy. They were 2 steps faster to everything. We could have been punished in 1st half but they were short of luck in converting their 3 golden opportunities in our box. At the other end, Teck Chye's individual brilliance weaved through a couple of DFC's defenders before netting our opening goal. DFC equalised early in 2nd half. Our backline had no answer to their pacy and strong forward and he toe-poked his way to slip the ball through Brandon's grasps. But we restored our lead a minute later. Our front pair of Chor Guan and Teck Wah combining well for the latter to whip in a half-volley. Things were evenly matched thereafter and we held on to preserve our winning streak.

Match #4 (27 Jan 2013): We Ain't Holy But We Redeemed Ourselves

Somehow, whenever we play against a church team, we fare badly. Perhaps, we are being too harsh with ourselves by treating ourselves as sinners, thereby deferring to those holy souls. And we tend to fare credibly against young team but not so against a veteran team. So, Trinity, a church team comprising players of our age or slightly older, have those double factors over us, a kind of unexplainable aura over us that we were playing like lost sheep without the guiding shepherd and within the first 15 minutes, we conceded 2 soft goals.

That required a call for drastic action to address the non-existent play and a couple of substitutions were made at the 15th minute mark, which doesn't happen by KH's practice. But he just had to do it to plug the hole-y display by our players. We started to create chances. Woon and Teck Wah came closest but luck seemed to have deserted them on those occasions. 0-2 down at the break and the half-time pep talk focused on seizing the initiative in the 2nd half rather than brooding over the spilled milk in the 1st half.

We found that divine spirit in us when play resumed. Teck Wah beat the offside line to set up Weng Khong for a tap-in to reduce the deficit. From then on, we piled relentless pressure on Trinity's goal. Melvin found See Chiang on the right with a long ball and See Chiang's first-timer appeared to be a cross but it fooled everyone, including Trinity's holy angel in goal, as it sailed into goal. Parity restored with 15 minutes left and we opted to go for broke by opting to play 3 at the back with Simon anchoring the midfield and push both Weng Khong and Kama to support attacks. But it was Kok Hock who produced that moment of magic, to the dismay of Trinity. A delightful cut-back with his left foot to switch the ball to his right, he then let fly a curler to leave Trinity's custodian flat-footed. We reversed the deficit into a slender lead and held on to win this cracker! 3-2!

Match #3 (20 Jan 2013): Of Desserts and Desserters (sic)

This weekend' match has sufficient twist and turns starting from the moment KH announced the line-up. Here's the drama as it happened!

16/1, 2259h: Line-up for 20 Jan - Yes = 13 = ng, leo, simon, chwee leng, teck wah (2H), mike, melvin, chor guan, gan, brandon, kama, rock, woon.
16/1, 2345h: Marathoner came to the rescue, added 2H to the strength. Now 12 plus 2 second halfers.

Matchday - 20 Jan 2013: A lovely cloudy cloudy day since yesterday ....
0601h: Manager dropped a bombshell - he wouldn't be coming, guys on their own. No Benitez today .... argh sorry, got mixed up, B is now miserable at C, I mean no Rodgers today.
0805h: On-fire Mike SMSed - pulled out due to illness. (Still owes the team half a carton of beer, or one dozen, or two six packs to be clear). Strength down to 11 plus 2 second halfers.
0824h: Leng texted that youngster Leng Jr might be coming. Strength update - 11.5 plus 2 second halfers.
1404h: Rock thought it was going to be a shagged game, assuming we were having 12 plus 2. He would be proven right in 7 minutes.
1411h: Leng confirmed Jr was coming! Heng ah!
1417h: Wah texted that lunch only started at 1400h, hoped to make second half as planned.
1435h: Khong helpfully commanded the Tangs to 'eat faster!'.
1440h: Oeste FC showed up, they had more than our complement at that time. All-Malay team, young and raring to go - eye of the tiger stuff. Plus a manager wearing red Liverpool jersey, prowling on the touch lines looking super intelligent. Jeez, didn't Liverpool just hammered Norwich 5-0 last night? Where's our Rodgers? Bad omen...
1458h: Stand-in captain for the day named the line-up. Unfamiliar midfield with Jr on the right and fixedly right-footed Woon on the left. An interesting, ambitious pairing of Gan and Guan up front. Gonna be a long day, nevertheless.
1459h: Back at the restaurant, Tang bros had consumed cold dish, shark fins, and a whole abalone each.
1500h: Ref blew the whistle for KO. Oeste started super confidently, knocking the ball around on the ground and mixing it up with some probing high balls to test our defence. No 17, tall big and strong was a constant menace with his physical prowess and stocky 19, no slouch either, was very mobile in linking defence and attack.
1518h: Goal! It was only a matter of time, No 19 fed No 17 a precise through-ball who outmuscled the challenge and strode forward to score confidently.
1525h: Goal! That same combination again sprung the defence and nailed it. It was looking a stroll in the park!
1537h: Goal! Pressure from attackers forced keeper to clear but it found No 11 way out who first-timed the return with his instep as if he had been doing it all his life. The Exocet stayed true to the intended trajectory and left the keeper on the deck as he fumbled trying to get back to his line. The shot was teasing to say the least (tease what is up to your imagination!).
1545h: Half time. MS players trudged back to the stands, hoping that reinforcements would arrive soon.
1547h: MS players remained positive through the team talk. Still looking towards the gate.
1552h: Bombshell #2 - Text received: "Guys we are still here. Doubt we will be going down. Sorry cant play. We just finished (the Orh Née)".
1553h: Ok then, we just had to continue concocting our brand of Durain pudding, having played so damn well to go three up. One more and we could consider this a Durain-picking match (by our long-adopted definition).
1555h: Some reshuffling to spread energy consumption. Leng swapped with Guan, Woon took a break, Alex returned to right mid. Second half kicked off.
1615h: Good disciplined football from MS, kept things simple and safe. Limited resources called for breakthrough solutions. Woon came back in to give Gan a tactical rest, paving the way for the first ever father-son strike force in the history of MS!
1625h: Alex fought and won the ball in the penalty area, lays off for Leng who smashed it low and hard! Goal! Alas that was all in my imagination :)
1640h: Game petered out to a goalless second half. Peep! Peep! Peep!

Post game thoughts: What might have been? First ever father-son combination goal? Another 6 goals scored if only....Perhaps, Orh Née will always triumph over Durain pudding!

Match Brief #2 (13 Jan 2013): The OBE [Almost] Shredded Old United Apart

We admire the humility of our opponent today. They are generally at least 10 years younger than us but they name themselves Old United. We decided to let them understand the meaning of old with OBE - not the Order of British Empire but Older But Exhilarating. By 75th minutes, we went 6-0 up and we thought we could do better than our opening match but the real meaning of old crept into us. The late morning heat and lack of standby limbs took a toll on us and allowed OU to come back strongly at us. They managed to salvage some pride with 2 late consolation goals. 6- 2 was the final score.

Mike opened the scoring with a cool and well-taken shot before providing an assist for Teck Wah to notch his opening goal of the season. Kok Hock floated in a delightful left-footed curler from a free-kick just on the edge of the penalty box for our 3rd goal. Mike's persistence forced a goalmouth melee and Gan pounced on the loose ball to establish a 4-0 lead at the break. Mike, in rich vein of form, latched onto Teck Wah's pass to beat the keeper at near post. Teck Wah was then on the receiving end of Gan's cross to put the issue beyond doubt with his 2nd and our 6th goal. We thought we were home and dry before the late onslaught from OU took away some shine of the win.

Still, a 6-2 scoreline against a bunch of not-so-old was impressive! :)

Match #1 (6 Jan 2013): So Much Joy For Our Opening Match!

Against another team of young players, an organised one at that, at 3pm type of miserable heat, hit half a dozen, conceded nothing...couldn't ask for any better start to the new season. But wait, there is better news, our next carton of beer is sponsored, thanks to our No 15 who left his jersey behind :)

The match was barely 5-minutes old when Court FC's keeper was caught woefully napping. Mark, playing in unfamiliar right-back position, took what looked like a harmless shot from just outside the box but to the horror of Court FC players, their keeper remained solidly rooted to the ground without even battling his eyelids and Mark grabbed our opening goal of the season! The ploy of fielding our newly wed sweeper, Chor Guan, as a striker to let him continue enjoying his 'goal-scoring' exploits paid off handsomely. Leo brilliantly intercepted Court's play in our half and sent a high through ball for Chor Guan to lob over Court's keeper, who was at fault again for our 3rd goal. Under pressure from See Chiang, their right back sent a back pass to his keeper who only made a mess of his clearance and the ball went into his own goal instead. 3-0 at the break but we continued to be alert at resumption of play.

The same thing happened again in the 2nd half, which was only in its 3rd minutes when Weng Khong turned and shot at goal from outside the box. Again, the keeper allowed the ball to squirm through his palms for our 4th goal. Teck Wah then brilliantly set up Kama, who raced half the pitch to meet Teck Wah's cross-field pass and coolly slot the ball home for goal No 5. We were not done yet. Simon, for all his miscued shots in the 1st half, finally zeroed his right foot and despatched his trademark long range shot for half-a-dozen.

We couldn't ask for a better start. Happy New Year!