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.