Match #46 (10 Oct 09): Marine Sunday and Modello Battled For a 1 – 1 Draw

The Rock’s instructions were not entirely adhered to. Simon did step in to call the line-up but his order for Melvin to handle the referee with Chwee Leng purportedly to hold him back was somehow not executed. Melvin and Kian Hwa kissed and made up and the referee-handling was handed to the latter, who tried his best throughout the match and a short while after the match ended but truth be told, he lacked the finesse of the Grand Master Mel in working up the referee.

 

By and large, the 4-2-3-1 tactic survived the big field except for the last 10 minutes where we somewhat lost the compactness due primarily to fatigue seeping into some of our players. We assembled a rather thin squad of only 13 players, among us were Mike and Ng who both returned from a rather lengthy spell of absence due to illness and injury respectively, and Brandon who had to fill in an unfamiliar left-back position. The absence of several regular players forced a rather significant reshuffling to the line-up. Apart from Chung Wen, Weng Khong, Kian Hwa and Gan who started in their usual positions, Melvin again had to man the defence line and he put all his weighty experience in his sparkling performance. Chor Guan filled in the void left by The Rock and he might have just earned a name for himself – Rolling Stone. Just as astute as the The Rock in shielding the defence, Chor Guan showed mobility and anticipation by nipping in front of Modello’s forwards time and again to cut off the danger. Chung Wen, running a fever, slotted into his usual position and was supposedly able to last only one half but he ran the entire match boosted by the couple of Panadol taken before the match. We couldn’t help but suspected that he popped in some performance-enhancing substance, perhaps Viagra? Leng, by now, had no issue to start anywhere on the pitch and left-back was just as fine. And did you notice his fitness recently? Also enhanced by V? Simon had to vacate his usual advanced position to drop back and partner Weng Khong in the lower midfield. Both worked their socks off to contain Modello’s advances. Teck Wah played behind Gan and was a livewire throughout the match, dropping back to help out in defending, stringing the passes and supporting Gan. Mike, though short of match fitness and sharpness, launched a couple of encouraging runs down the right side into space to receive passes but his final delivery could do better, and he promised to step up on this. Gan, as usual, led the line well on his own and was again just so unlucky to break his barren spell. He played a huge part in our goal but was cruelly denied a potential goal by the incompetent referee’s wrong call. Ng later came in as one of the defensive midfield duo and Brandon slotted into the left fullback position and both put in an assured performance to more than just making up the number. And finally, Seah in goal, he may be dusty but certainly not rusty.

 

Modello, though not as formidable as our last opponent, Redhill Old Boyz, were certainly no pushovers. Their players were mostly confident of calling for and receiving the ball. While their passing was assured, they were just short of the final cutting edge to break us down. We played our usual compact game but our advances were simply hampered by the referee’s incessant calls for offside, half of which were dubious and the other half ridiculous. The proceedings were tight and fairly even with neither of both sides having a dominant share of the ball. Gan was in the thick of action whenever we surged forward. First, he had our first opportunity to open the account but Teck Wah’s delicate delivery from the freekick just at the edge of the box skimmed off his head at the far post. The freekick came after Modello’s right back hacked down Kian Hwa to stop the latter’s cut-in into the box. A step further, Kian Hwa would have earned a penalty but his left ankle gave in a step early. Gan then had a superb long-range effort that sailed just centimetres above the bar. He was then unbelievably flashed a yellow card after he was seemingly manhandled by Modello’s defender outside the box. And the reason for the yellow card? Gan shouted for attention! Could you beat that?

 

The closest we came to scoring was when Teck Wah slammed the ball onto the bar. Kian Hwa capitalised on Modello’s last man’s uncharacteristic sloppy pass, not unlike Rio Ferdinand against Manchester City, and launched a solo run, bypassing their last man and evading another challenge from their right fullback, into the box. With their keeper refusing to commit, Kian Hwa cut across the face of the goal and Teck Wah took over from him and had a go at goal. We only heard the goal post rattling from Teck Wah’s fierce left-foot effort but no eventual joy prevailed for us. Then the moment of injustice came when Modello’s attempted back pass reached Gan instead. Gan must be thinking it was his day to pick durian but the referee hated durian and our gel-infused man-in-the-middle blew for an offside, though he subsequently apologised for his error, claiming his line of vision was blocked. But by whom? Nobody is as tall as him!

 

Seah was hardly stretched in goal. This was partly due to his timely calls to gather the ball but a large part was due to the well-marshalled defence. Mr Now-I-Know-Why-It’s-Good-To-Turn-Up-Early played simply but at times indulged himself with a few body feints to fool their forwards. Thank goodness we weren’t playing against Babylon United, who wouldn’t have allowed anyone of us the luxury of time and space to take another step. Half-time came and it was a scoreless stalemate.

 

Modello refused to take heed that Kian Hwa can run and continued to push their line high up and for once, we managed to breach their high line, thanks to Gan’s quick-thinking and vision. Picking up the ball just after the half-line, he swerved and sent a diagonal pass to the left into the empty space, unleashing Kian Hwa like a bloodhound chasing after the hare. Well, this bloodhound is an ageing dog, he was still slow compared to Modello’s keeper who reached the ball first but Kian Hwa must be wearing red panty that day, he had the better dosage of luck. Modello’s keeper’s clearance came off the charging Kian Hwa’s artificially-endowed chest but the latter still managed to keep his sense of direction to tap the rebound into the empty net. 1 – 0! Gan must be cursing his luck, or the lack of it, when he fluffed another header at the far post, after leaping well above the rest to receive the cross from the left.

 

Modello continued to press hard at us but mostly to no avail. Lack of adequate backup stretched our limbs and Modello equalised through a fortuitous goal late in the game. Their scorer was in a clear offside position in the box when he received the pass but strangely, the referee allowed play to carry on and Modello benefitted from this advantage. 1 – 1 and it stood right to the end, which was less than 10 minutes to go.

Man of The Match: Melvin (4 out of 13 votes)

The “warring” duo – Melvin and Kian Hwa – came in at 4 votes each. Since, for once, Melvin turned up early and he lasted the entire match, these broke the tie. Now, Mr I-know-KH-Is-Right-But-I-Don’t-Want-To-Say-It, take a bow:

1. “Melvin - Communicating with the guys and also Control well in the defence line.”

2. “MOTM: Melvin for a reasonably assured game as last man. Held the line well though a little unlucky that the opponent manage to steal in from a lucky rebound for the equaliser.”

3. “Melvin for MOTM - was commanding at the back”

4. “MOTM: Melvin, marshalled the back line and good coordination with the keeper.”

KH’s nominations were quite “heavy weights”, given the number of words used:

1. “Thought KH played a super game on the left. Many telling runs and good passes. We were let down by our final touch. Lone striker has a tough job of holding play to wait for support. KH was there in support each time Gan got the ball. One super run had him go from left to right and if not for his stretch, he would have walked the ball into the goal. The goal was brave and screams of his persistence. Super game.”

2. “In this cat & mouse match today, we need someone to make a lot of running. KH did it so well til he suffered cramps, not before scoring our goal. A deserving motm, edging out the composed mel, imposing guan, hardworking wah & persevering gan. Brandon gave a solid statement of intent on his intro as left back & covered well.”

3. “kian hwa all players play very well, vote go to kh for scoring the 1st goal.”

4. “Ok motm for 10 oct game goes to lkh for your endless, tireless running”

The lively Teck Wah pulled in 3 votes to come in 3rd:

1. “MOTM was Teck Wah. He was perfect playing in the middle of the three players in our 4-2-3-1 system. He ran back and defended, won and broke up so many attacks from the opponents and launch so many of our own attacks. Was unlucky not to score after Kian Hwa's run acoss the goalmouth.”

2. “A number of excellent perfomers for MOTM at Safra. Kian Hwa that did the tough running and harassed their players all night, and most importantly, scored the only goal, Melvin that did a fantastic job in defence with them hardly testing Seah, but given there's only one MOTM, Tech Wah gets my vote. Besides covering the whole length of the field, did an excellent job covering midfield in the new formation. Intercepted, controlled and distributed with ease, confidence and style.”

3. “MOTM Teck Wah. While the 4-2-3-1 formation survived the big field test, Wah took some the initiative to roam up front left and right side, making himself available for passes, always looking ahead to string the passes towards their penalty box. I like the way Kian Hwa tracked back to cover the left back and yet found the energy to push forward, rewarding himself with a tap in. I also like the way Seah comfortably slots into the keeper duties, not looking rusty at all.”

Remaining 2 votes went to Brandon and Simon:

1. “MoTM goes to Brandon for a very encouraging performance in his first outing as a left fullback. He didn’t give their right wide man much of space to manoeuvre.”

2. “MOTM = Simon. Tireless battle at the middle of the park. Support the attack well and gave extra cover to the defend.”

Match #45 (03 Oct 09): A Moment of Lapse in Concentration Cost Us The Match!

Chwee Leng's words "We did enough to win the match!" and Simon's remarks "It felt like a loss." summed it all up why we weren't too glad to settle for the 2 - 2 outcome with Redhill Old Boyz last Saturday. Their experienced veterans, luxuriously supplemented with 4 youngsters, had no doubt had the lion's share of the possession but we created enough goal-scoring opportunities to produce a tennis set score. Their 1st-half stand-in keeper, in particular, played like a man possessed and he must have my gloves to thank for. He might have looked clumsy in the pre-match warm-up but he was not short of bravery to put his small frame at close distance to deny point-blank efforts from See Chiang and Kian Hwa. All our corners in the 1st half were placed into tricky areas in the penalty box but this botak man was just so willing to stick out a palm or a fist to divert the ball away from one of our players. Another direct free-kick from Kian Hwa was destined for the top left-hand corner of the goal but again we were denied by this charmed man in between their posts.

The non-availability of all the established sweepers enabled The Rock to deploy Melvin for the last man position but our Mr Perpetual Latecomer strode in only after we had kicked off the match, thus another last minute change of plan. Seah, returned from his highly successful stint with an Afghanistan Premier division club, gamely stepped in to sweep. We thought the referee was late enough but nobody can beat Mr I-need-to-wait-my-wife-I-need-to-handle-my-kids-I-have-my-job in tardiness. That explained why both latecomers decided to make up for their lateness with their own sparring later.

ROB started with their usual fluent repertoire orchestrated by their No 17 playmaker, who, apart from his balding pate, resembles the Glenn Hoddle of old - so graceful and at ease with the ball. ROB now also possess a young Malay boy in their ranks, complementing their veteran playmaker perfectly and they proved to be a very effective central midfield duo in controlling the game. The other 3 youngsters roamed along the flanks and upfront, and their mobility frequently caused us anxious moments and at times, stretched our fragile tendon to the limit. Despite their early domination, it was us who came close to scoring first. Our 2 wide men almost came to the good with a couple of tag-team efforts. Firstly, KH's low cross aiming at See Chiang at the far side was intercepted by ROB's defender at the critical moment before See Chiang could pounce on it. Next, KH sent

in a looping cross and this time, See Chiang rose magnificently at the far post to thunder down a header but to our disbelief, ROB's keeper managed to keep the ball out at point-blank. We were guilty of allowing ROB to sing their tune for too long and their Malay midfielder put through a defence-splitting pass in between The Rock and Weng Khong. ROB's young forward sped past Seah and Chung Wen, who both are relatively speedier than most of us, with relative ease. Brandon advanced to block the forward's initial attempt but the latter collected the rebound and literally walked the ball to the empty net. 1 - 0.

Not to be disheartened, we continued to probe. KH was next to be denied by the brave ROB’s keeper, who kept putting himself in the firing line. See Chiang's cross from the right eluded Gan's head but KH was in the right position in the 6-yard box to send in a left-foot half-volley. ROB's keeper produced another blinding save to palm away the ball. KH retrieved the loose ball and sent it across the face of the goal but Weng Khong's diving attempt missed the ball by a whisker. They were let off the hook again, we cursed. ROB were menacing whenever they advanced into our half. But for all the openings they pried, the accuracy was missing, with several good attempts failing to find the target, be it the goal or their forward in the box. Terk appeared to have been tripped from behind by the keeper in another goal-mouth scramble, which resulted from another cross that came in from our left. The referee was not too convinced by the infringement and waved away our calls for penalty, infuriating Mr I-have-the-right-to-question-your-decision in particular. KH was then brought down by a last-ditch tackle just outside the box. From the resultant freekick, KH’s in-swinging chip was bound for the top left-hand corner of the goal but he was denied again by the fingers of ROB’s keeper. Despite carving out numerous clear-cut chances, we trooped off at the break trailing by a goal.

2nd half was more of the same – ROB controlling the ball; Marine Sunday threatening to score, with Gan toiling ceaselessly upfront to hold the line for support. Simon, with his overworked knees closing ROB down in midfield, softened at the crucial moment when he was put through. For 2nd week in a row, he failed to capitalise on a one-on-one situation. Where all our initial efforts failed, Chwee Leng, from his right fullback position, produced a moment of inspiration by launching an age-defying run, exchanging a one-two with Seah in midfield before laying a pass to Gan. Gan’s first effort was blocked by the keeper and his follow-up came off the post but the process took up the required extra seconds for Chwee Leng to get in front of goal to benefit from the ball coming off the post. Leng’s simple tap-in produced our equalising goal, 1 – 1!

ROB’s young forward then almost restored the lead but after cutting in sharply, his left-foot shot just whizzed past the right post. His subsequent foray into the box was expertly guided out of the way by our imposing Mr-I-have-experience-to-show-though-you-have-speed. We overturned the deficit into a lead, and Gan had a huge part to play as well. He not only shook off the close attention of his marker, he also robbed the ball from him and from a tight angle, Gan shot at goal, which cannoned off ROB’s keeper’s legs but KH was at the right place to produce another simple tap-in for a 2 – 1 lead. KH then nearly extended the lead when he ran onto Simon’s through pass but the former’s left-foot shot from a tight angle hit the right post, much to the relief of ROB’s keeper. The keeper was further relieved of embarrassment when his defender managed to deny Gan from following up on the rebound. It was clearly a tackle from behind at Gan’s ankle, denying him to reach the ball cleanly but again, the referee turned a blind eye. With the clock ticking away, the match was played in near darkness condition. At the dying moments of the match, the referee again incensed us by contentiously awarding a freekick to ROB. We chose to play a high line to catch them offside but that only benefitted ROB’s younger players. True enough, their young forward was quicker than us to receive the ball in the box and he exquisitely lobbed the ball over Brandon at a very close range for their equalising goal, 2 – 2. That was as good as the final kick of the match as the referee blew for the final whistle as soon as we resumed play. All of us headed for the shelter but Mr-Am-I-not-entitled-to-question-you continued with his injury-time act with the referee to insist on his last say. Coincidentally or otherwise, both were the last 2 to arrive and both were also the last 2 to leave the pitch. Aptly reflected in the final score: 2 – 2 as well!

Man of The Match: Gan (5 out of 12 votes)

Gan, despite not being among the scorers in the last 2 matches, his work rate as a lone forward helped the team to achieve the results:

1. Not sure if Wordsmith was trying to test my intelligence. I read it twice, just who was his MoTM? Apart from mentioning himself, he also mentioned Simon and Gan. But since he mentioned Gan twice, I deduced Gan was his MoTM…

“What worked: our extra midfielders shut out their wide men and also prevented Botak from stringing passes.

What didn't work: Their stopper pushed up and took over the mantle. He sprayed passes to their speedy forwards.

What might work: defensive midfielders to push up less and move towards the middle to shut out fast players. Leave Simon and attacking midfielders to create the attacks.

Who worked: Team played well but a few lapses let us down. Gan was tremendous up front. He did all the hard running, made space and took on several players to create opportunities for our midfilders. In fact both goals came off his forays. Thought Gan is adapting very well to his lone striker role. All in all, he played a wonderful game.

Who didn't work: My decision to push them up with the last free kick backfired. One delicate chip and I was left stranded.”

2. “MOTM goes to Gan for his brave battle alone in the lone-striker position getting hacked all over the places whilst trying to shield balls passed to him but still managed create numerous chances and feeding balls back to midfielders. In the process, create a lot of problems for our opponents. Tough role to perform but he did fine.”

3. “MOTM : My MOM is Gan for good play in holding up the ball in the opponent's half and creating chances for himself and others . He put himself on the line physically for the team and suffered a few knocks himself as a result.”

4. “Motm today to Gan - hard work to play the role but he ran his socks off & gave opponents plenty to worry. A welcoming return for Seah playing a few positions other than keeper. Rock stayed rock solid as usual.”

5. “Gan. A very difficult role to play as a lone striker upfront. Plus the wingers were a tad disappointing in not supporting him fast enough. So unlucky not to score in 2 matches but his hard work has not gone unnoticed

He could have won a few more votes if it was for ability to give referee a dressing down. But we are talking about football here, so we go….

1. “MOTM = Melvin. Lead the defence line well and made many well-time interceptions that break-up the opposition attacks.”

2. “MOTM: Melvin. Against 2 speedy forwards, Melvin organized the back line with authority and shut down attacks with conviction. He used his short burst nitrous oxide injections perfectly to snuff the forwards who were 1 or 2 steps away from taking a shot at goal. Perhaps we should use Mel more in the central spine of the pitch where speed counts less than on the flanks and his cheekiness serves to unsettle dribblers? I also thought Hock Leong had his usual rock steady performance so a bit boring to state.”

5 players tied at 1 vote each. Breaking the tie is relatively easy. 3rd spot to Chwee Leng – did anyone miss his inspiring run leading to his goal? Surprised only 1 nomination for him:

1. “MOTM: Chwee Leng has made a great breakaway in one of the moment and score a goal. Good work there.”

The other votes went to the following:

1. “MOTM : KH -made some good crosses and scored the 2nd goal.”

2. “MOTM goes to Weng Khong. One of the most lively player, made numerous challenges and contantly harrassed the young wingers and strikers.”

3. “MOTM to Leo - Held his position well to break out many attacks and always cover the last man position whenever it is empty.”

4. “MOTM for 3 Oct, Hock Leong.... he's controlling the defence very well and also cover my post (last man) when i'm loss during the game...hehe”

Match #44 (26 Sep 09): Bowl Tactics, Bold Tactics!

The Rock continued to wield his considerable influence and stretch the unbeaten run under his charge to 3 matches. To ensure the troops fully understand his tactical requirement, he came prepared with a printed plan and illustrated the positioning he required of us with this vital piece of ordinary looking paper. KH only used his trusted 555-branded pocket-sized notebook, The Rock had an A4-size printout. Now, he does take his responsibility seriously, doesn't he?

The small pitch aided the trial 4-2-3-1 line-up, resulting in extra compactness of our 5-men midfield. The opponent, Fluid United, comprising veterans and thus of the same speed and fitness as us, further provided the space and time for us to settle down on this tactical deployment. The initial jittery soon dissipated under the calming words of The Rock, who appeared to be conducting an orchestra.

Without the services of 3 of our 4 regular fullbacks and both our sweepers, See Chiang and the recalled Mark filled in the right fullback and sweeper positions with relative ease. Leo and The Rock completed the defensive quartet in their usual roles. The lower midfield duo of Melvin and Weng Khong complemented the upper midfield trio of Simon supporting the attacks with Teck Wah and Kian Hwa on both flanks. Gan led the offensive on his own and he led the line superbly well.

Our defenders stamped their authority very early in the match and that caused their striker-in-chief, a tall, burly Caucasian, Tony (who bears a certain resemblance to Tony Cascarino) to drop deep and try picking up the ball from midfield. That eased the pressure on our defenders a bit and enabled us to turn our attention to cause a few anxious moments at the other end of the pitch for FU.

The small pitch was not only a boon to our trial line-up but it was no understatement that the narrow width contributed to 3 of our 4 goals. Our 1st 2 goals were almost carbon copy of each other, both resulted from Kian Hwa's throw-in directly into the penalty box from the left. The 1st one reached Leo, sandwiched in between 2 defenders, who managed to turn and shoot at goal. His effort was blocked but Teck Wah made no mistake with the follow-up half-volley. 1 - 0. FU found Gan too tough to handle in the box as our lone striker brushed their defender off when challenging for another throw-in from the left flank. The ball dropped onto the right foot of the grateful Simon, who made no mistake with the lob over a sea of heads, a carbon copy of the one scored last week. 2 – 0. Gan worked extremely hard to harass their keeper to fluff another clearance. Kian Hwa intercepted the poor clearance and with the goal mouth unguarded, he almost did a Gareth Barry. Though KH managed to keep the ball on the ground, the low shoot evaded everybody but went just wide off the left post. Simply put, KH lacks the finesse of GB.

It was a relatively poor first half for FU, by their usual standards. They only managed to carve out a few opportunities but apart from one that went just wide, Brandon was not really stretched. 2 - 0 at half-time.

FU breathed new life into their game in the 2nd half. After a few dubious offside calls against us, Simon finally breached their defence line cleanly but his tame shot was just too close to their keeper. The keeper gathered the ball on the 2nd attempt and from there he launched a quick counter-attack that resulted in FU reducing the deficit. With our midfielders still brooding over Simon's miss, FU had already moved the ball way into our half. See Chiang failed to clear the cross into the box and FU's forward hit a stiff grounder that was blocked by Mark. But the forward's 2nd attempt was swift and it packed such power that Brandon was soundly beaten. 2 - 1. Marine Sunday restored the 2-goals lead not long after FU's seemingly glimmer of hope. By now, FU must have hated the narrow width of the pitch. FU 's custodian managed to tip a corner, coming from their right, away for another corner, now at the opposite flag. Kian Hwa's left-foot in-swinger packed enough swerve to cause the FU’s keeper to let the ball slip off his grip and into the net. 3 – 1.

From then on, the 4-2-3-1went into full gear. Mark and Hock Leong, shielded by Weng Khong and Teck Chye in front, dealt ably with whatever was thrown at us. Increasingly, we used both wide men to good effect and this further stretched the fast tiring FU midfield and fullbacks. A couple of quick switches from right to left proved threatening but the final crosses from the left lacked accuracy to pick out Gan and the supporting Teck Wah in the box. The effort eventually paid off. Another cross-pitch pass from Teck Wah found Kian Hwa on the opposite flank. The latter exchanged a 1-2 with Gan before running onto the return ball to square in for Teck Wah in the 6-yards box. FU’s defender failed to clear the ball cleanly and Teck Wah punished him dearly with another left-foot half volley to notch his brace. 4 - 1! We were in cruise control and played out the final 15 minutes of the match to record a satisfying win.

Man of The Match: The Rock (3 out of 12 votes)

Read this: 2 players got 3 votes each and 3 players had 2 votes each. Tough call indeed.

You may argue the eventual choice was biased but seriously, both were worthy MoTM. For that extra edge to lead the call and galvanise the team, The Rock hit the tape by merely a nose:

1. “OK, MOTM goes to Hock Leong. Close one. KH was in the running but I felt the clincher was HL's formation which worked wonders for us. Of course this is an older team and therefore, may not have been in the best position to exploit our weaknesses. HL's positonal play just behind Simon plugged the gaps in the middle and he was instrumental in starting moves from deep within defence.”

2. “Everybody played well and sticked to the game plan or rather the new formula. The formula works very well but need some ajustments from all members as well. Shall see whether it works once the regular defenders tried them out. Motm will be the one who invented the 4231, garner the team to try it and make it works.”

3. “MOTM - The Rock lives up to his name again with a superb and gutsy display. At times, he had to double up the role of a defensive midfielder and despite lacking in pace, he was everywhere to nip the opponents.”

Where The Rock sparkled at the back, Gan excelled upfront. Mind you, he held on to wait for support. Easily, he had a foot in 2 of the 4 goals:

1. “MOTM goes to Gan- Got in front of defenders to receive ball on many situations, drawing defenders, creating gaps for MS to attack. The unsung hero.”

2. “MOTM 26 Sep: Gan has my vote. He did a very good job in his holding role. While I started off sceptical about Hock Leong's tactical positioning, it proved effective and I think most importantly, it got everyone speaking to each other as we made extra efforts to pull everyone back into formation so much”

3. “Motm = Gan. Led the line on his own very well. He didn’t score any goal but he made space, he came forward to receive the ball. He came close on a couple of occasions. Quite a typical English striker, I must say.”

Now, 3 players – Simon, Teck Wah, Kian Hwa, tied on 2 votes each. To eradicate any perception of conflict of interest, I’m out of the running. So, between Simon and Teck Wah for the 3rd position….Teck Wah had it. Why? One of his nominations came from one of the other two, that broke the impasse. Very objective, isn’t it?

1. “motm - Teck Wah, score a good 1st goal that lay the foundation and punctured the opponents slightly. Another well taken 4th goal also. Good cross field passes to the left mid that created attacking opportunities for us.... Special mention to Simon, play his heart out and a brilliant second goal identical to the one he score the previous game......almost everyone played well......”

2. “good compact play today. defence held assuredly against a resurgent opponent in the second half. midfield provided attacking menance and sound organisation; will surely improved with greater understanding as we adapt further to the new formation. kh was a live-wire as usual, took the knocks, and gave back in return pain for opponents in the form of a goal and an assist. gan as a lone striker performed superbly and was an outlet to play out of defence as well as a launch pad for attacks, clearly involved in the build up for our goals. only one motm unfortunately and it goes to teck wah as he revelled in his station on the right; helped to pick up balls from defence, played some very teasing (no pun intended) cross-field balls and demonstrated opportunistic poaching, sneaking in to score 2 goals.”

The 2 old warhorses had 2 votes each to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival:

1. “MOTM goes to Simon who is extremely hardworking in this new formation, acting as a pivot both defensively & offensively.”

2. “MOM is Simon for running himself to the ground to link up the attack and midfield. It was a new role and Simon did well for it by playing some good intelligent link up play and creating good oportunities for the team.”

3. “MOTM = Kian Hwa. Tireless running & excellent interchange plays down the left flanks leading to many attacking opportunties. Great assist in the 2nd half for Teck Wah goal.”

4. “motm: KH for providing the width on the left and putting in some good crosses, plus the trademark direct goal from a corner.”

Match #43 (20 Sep 09): Durain-picking mentality backfires!

Match report by mel

Teacher say must file match report by Tuesday nows a day. This teacher also discipline master so cannot play play. So here goes:

At 9am, Marine Sunday was all decked out and ready to go. While we chomped down our breakfast - chwee kueh last time so Weng Khong brought prata and lor mee - the referee started his pre-match routine. But wait, the opponents were still missing. Apparently, they had spent some time at the Hari Raya bazaar negotiating with a fierce chap selling rugs. At 9.20 am, they were still putting on their boots and in the midst of waking up.

At 9.25 am, referee decided it was time to start. Marine Sunday shot off the blocks like Bolt. There were a few loose passes but nothing worrying because our opponents were still flicking eye sai at each other. But the warning signs were there. The much younger team did string a few passes together before their Ang Moh striker fired one narrowly wide with only Brandon to beat. That was all the warning Marine Sunday needed. Chiang, combining with Chye, did his usual forays down the left sending in wicked crosses that just eluded the strikers. Chiang decided he needed to show them how to finish. After beating their right back with a good run - off another Chye pass - Chiang cut into the box and lobbed the keeper. But the ball was still some distance from goal and Gan raced in to head it back to Chiang who pumped the ball into the back of the goal. 1-0. Our young opponents by now were up from their slumber. Number 8 and 3 were menacing with their jinking runs and off one such move, they laid the ball for Ang Moh who blasted from outside the box. It sailed pass Brandon only to hit the post. Lucky break for MS. While we seemed a little shaky in defence, we were better upfront with midfield holding strong. After Chiang's powerful run, Simon decided he would one-up Chiang with a powerful half-volley from outside the box. It sailed pass the keeper for our second goal. 2-0.

That really riled our opponents who were just beginning to take control of the game. MS had put two in within 15 minutes of the start and had taken control of the match but it looked like were were fast tiring towards half-time and our younger opponents cleverly took advantage. Another series of good passes in the middle left their other striker with all the time in the world to pick his spot. From outside the box he let fly with a powerful shot which just beat Brandon's outstretched arms. 2-1. That should have been a good warning to us but we again allowed their players to dance through the middle. This time their right back ran all the way from his half straight through the middle before rolling the ball pass Brandon. 2-2.

Inspired by Hock Leong's scolding, MS picked up the pace in the second half. We seized control from the start with midfileders peppering the penalty box with crosses from all angles but the final touch was missing. Chye was stopped by an alert keeper and when Leng dashed in with a powerful shot, their defender risked his sotong balls with a last gasp dive to block the goalward bound effort. Then Chiang had a header then wide just wide and Gan's shot zing passed the post. Off another move on the right, Chye's attempted shot hit their defender and the shin and it went just wide, hitting the side-netting. It was going to be one of those lousy days. At the other end, defence and Brandon held a picnic while waiting for action.

MS continued attacking right to the end but just couldn't do a Michael Owen. Final score 2-2.

Man of The Match: Teck Chye (6 out of 14 votes). Teck Chye edged ahead by 2 votes:

1. “We had the poorest discipline for this game. The defenders committed early and go all the way up to mid-field area, the midfielders went all up to the goal mouth area with “1 way no return tickets” and the strikers also missed so many of the easy goal chances. The early 2 goals probably gave the whole team the ‘durian’ mentality. The difference can be felt once Teck Chye took an early rest in the later part of 1st half. All the goals from opponent team came after that. It was back to Marine Sunday’s control in the 2nd half once we have Teck Chye back. He is my MOTM.”

2. “MOTM - Started off and finished brilliantly but suffered just before half-time. Amidst the tumoil I thought Chye stood out. His timely runs and tackles are essential watching for any young footballer. He put our forwards through several times with nicely weighted passes and should have scored with one brilliant run but was stopped by a good save.”

3. “Motm to teck chye. Did a lot of running and harrasing in midfield. Also gave the opponenets a tough time when the ball was with him, controlled well and took on their players. A first time long range effort from 30 yards out nearly won us the game. Good overrall performance despite his injury.”

4. “MOM was Teck Chye as he was our creative player and when he was on the field , he was dangerous and created chances for the team.”

5. “MOtM is Teck Chye - was a constant attacking threat”

6. “MOTM - Teck Chye - He was very hardworking and close downopponent well. Intercepted many of their play to launch our attacks. Good play overall.”

See Chiang with 4 votes:

1. “MOTM goes to See Chiang for his relentless effort to tear down the flank & penetrate the defence with his speedy runs.”

2. “see chiang. running up and down on left wing, break down last 15mins, rewarded with 1 goal.”

3. “MOTM = See Chiang. Constant threat down the left flank with his dangerous running which give the opposition right back hell of a time. A good individual effect in the opening minutes when he spears down the left flank following a through ball, lobbing over the onrushing keeper and finishing off coolly.”

4. “Motm - See Chiang. Scored the 1st goal and make many good runs down the left....should have scored a few more....and make crosses earlier....nevertheless, 1 of the best perform player. Overall, we did well for this game but most of us leave our scoring boots at home, cause we thought we are going to have a picnic with bananas, oranges, chwee Kueh, kopi etc.....”

Simon came in 3rd with 2 votes:

1. “MOTM - Simon, a well-taken goal from the edge of the box. The keeper was caught off-guard and it’s a classy goal.”

2. “motm : no one stood out in the game, thus my vote goes to Simon for the scoring a well taken shot from the edge of the box.”

Remaining 2 votes went to Teck Wah and The Rock:

1. “Teck Wah has my vote. While he didn't score and had a few chances, I think he shouted his throat dry and was always looking for opportunity to run the flank to cross or pick up loose balls in their penalty box. I think he would have scored on his chances if he had another second or another 2 feet of room. I also thought Chye had a very good 1st 20 mins as he got very involved, even dropping back into our last third.”

2. “Motm to the rock, conspicuous by the havoc opponents wreaked in his absence. Opponents couldn't pose any threat during those minutes he played. They were lucky to get back on level terms when the rock gave more play time to others to focus on strategy.”

Match #42 (13 Sep 09): The Old Horses Reigned Supreme, And With A Clean Sheet to Boast!

Match report by mel

Man Utd has Alex Ferguson, Liverpool Benitez and Arsenal, the Wanker. We have Kian Hwa. Just as fierce, sometimes as wonky with strategy (like Bentize, he doesn't think so) and can kick a bottle from CCK to Toa Payoh. None of those teams had to play without their main man. We did on Sunday. Will we survive? Will we lose against men young enough to be our children? Will we think of KH as we take aim in the urinal? Difficult questions.

It was blazing hot that day. Didn't help that our opponents, Eusoffites, were young and fit players. Our stand in strategist, Hock Leong, pulled the team together and we discussed our game plans over several packets of chwee kueh and kopi kau siu tai. As he wolfed down the chwee kueh, HL spelt out the strategy. "Ok, we must score goals. Then we cannot let them score. Ok?" The team nodded in unison. We understood the tactics. Simon turned to Gan and Teck Wah. "You'll play upfront. Must score goals. Brandon, you cannot let in goals. Chor Guan and Hock Leong, you'll tackle. Leo and Ng, also tackle. See Chiang, Chye, Weng Khong and I will run. Mel, you mark the referee."

And so we trooped onto the pitch. Immediately Teck Wah flew into action, exchanging passes with Gan like Messi and Henry. Chye was also in top form, not making a bad back pass within the first five minutes. Wah, impressive. Team stroked the ball around comfortably like KH when he checks for groin injuries. Grope, grope. ahhhhhhhh. Within the first ten minutes, Gan and Wah went close. Chye and Simon were playing cheeky balls down the middle that beat the last man but was always just a tad too fast for our guys. But you just knew a goal was coming. See Chiang was also his usual marauding self, flying down the left and sending in deep crosses. Off one such move, Wah came in late at the far post and looked like he had lost control with his first touch but faster than you can say, Kopi Kau Siu Tai, he stabed the ball home for our opener. 0-1. By then, the opposing keeper had to make several saves with Chye and Simon letting fly from the middle of the park. The team had skillful players in the middle but they were let down by a forward line that looked like they had spent all night drinking. The hot weather however got to both sides and the game slowed down. Despite many near misses, both teams trooped off without any more goals.

The second half continued at the same slow pace but Marine Sunday began to seize control of the game. At the back, defence held firm, flying in with the usual ball busting tackles. Upfront, Leo came in for Wah and ran his lungs out. After one brilliant and persistant run, he was seen clutching his chest as if they were Amy Yip's bak paus. It was Gan's turn to step up. After a few near misses, he confidently ran past their last man and toe-poked the ball past the onrushing keeper who made several good saves earlier. 0-2. Chye then turned on the style with an audacious run down the middle. His attempted chip was stopped by the keeper's outstretched arms. Simon then went close with a a fierce drive. Marine Sunday was really in the driver's seat. The third goal was a magical moment of inter-passing from the middle to the right before a low pass to the left of the penalty box. I forget how it all started. I believe it was Guan and then Wah who pulled it back for Gan who then passed it to See Chiang. I believe I saw KH running down the flank too. I may be wrong. The keeper was bouncing around the goal line but he knew he was truly beaten by the time See Chiang side-stepped the ball past him. 0-3.

 

The match continued with Marine Sunday's domination before the referee blew the final whistle. Final score 3-0.

 

Man of The Match: Chor Guan (7 out of 13 votes) - A clear winner by some margin:

1. “MOTM- Chor Guan, like all of us, he closed down our younger opponents quickly but with an extra bite. Without CG, opponent could have scored and match result would be different”

2. “chor guan. few good challenge at last line of defend, for our 1st clean sheet since don't know when.....”

3. “Motm - Chor Guan. Chor Guan seems to provide the confidence to the team when he plays. The team seems to be playing better with him around probably because he reads the game well and stablises the defence. Another solid game from him, always cool and calm....even when he appears that he is going to explode, he did not....”

4. “MOTM - Team played well and passes returned. See Chiang was a constant pain down the left, flying pass their right back. Gan and Wah grabbed neat goals and were a constant threat. Chye and Simon were exemplary in the middle. But my vote goes to a defender. Defence played well and kept it tight. Their challenges were full and timely. GUan gets my vote. Good reading and never say die attitude.”

5. “MOTM goes to Chor Guan for his outstanding & leak-proof performance in defence. Almost as good as the last-man-standing when all else fails... guess the clean sheet speaks for his performance. He is The Wall!”

6. “MOM is Chor Guan - On a hot day Chor Guan was all over the pitch and was able to clear many dangerous situations. Most of all , he made some great goal line clearances that helped us to maintain our lead.”

7. “Today was special. I never see Marine Sunday so cheerful and so motivated even when we were facing a good young NUS hall team. We will like a bunch of liberated North Korea Team just qualified for world cup. We fight with courage, we fight with spirit, we are united as a team. MOTM will be extremely hard to identify. But I will like to pinpoint to a particular moment when one of the opponent who had broken through all our defenders and goal-keeper with nothing more to beat except to tap in for a goal at a angle. Chor Guan suddenly was able to chase that opponent down and given a fantastic slide to back that ‘sure-goal’ from the opponent. Definitely a MOTM for that moment!”

Simon weighed in with 2 votes:

1. “Motm is Simon - nice passes”

2. “MOTM 13 Sep: With our keeper making a few wrong decisions, the scoreline suggests one of the defenders should take the MOTM honours today. Our defense did "hold the shape" well but I felt the opponents didn't create any chances for themselves either. I vote for Simon who lasted the whole game and practically a stop sign in midfield to our opponents. Mel again proved his legs can be forced to work magic and Leo displayed his versatility in defence and offense.”

4 players tied at 1 vote each. Nobody will quarrel that with his debut captaincy pip him to the 3rd position. The Rock!

1. “MOTM - My vote goes to the Rock. Good pre-game pep talk, control the game well and a winning start.”

Chwee Leng, Teck Chye and Weng Khong completed the nominations:
1. “motm: Chwee Leng. Counted a least 3 last ditch tackles on the opponents' forwards who were closing in on goal. Kept the opponents from scoring resulting in the first clean sheet in a long time”

2. “MOTM for 13/9 game = Teck Chye.... Dominant the midlfield with his composure, silky touches and excellent vision. Good work rate and involved in the build up for most of the attacking plays.”

3. “Motm to Khong. Followed Rock's instructions to the letter, held position well in tandem with other midfielders to enable the team to retain control of the match throughout.”

Match#41 (6 Sep 09):X’mas Came Early, We Exchanged Durians And Settled For A Draw

KH simply has to stop conducting the pre-match and half-time team talk. No, it’s not because of his outburst. Neither is it due to lack of motivational content, though intent is not questionable. It’s whatever he cautions, it happens! On 3 Sep at Safra Tampines, he urged the team to maintain focus and keep it tight at the back in the first 15 minutes of 2nd half, as this period has been our weakest part of the match. Then what happened? Within 3 minutes from restart, we conceded a goal due to sloppy defending. As for this match at Kovan, he warned the team to adapt to the natural pitch fast and beware of the bounce of the ball. His worst fear was confirmed in an even shorter time. Team BBG must have heard our fear and within 2 minutes, whilst we were still trying to come to term with the pitch and ball control, they swiftly moved down the right flank and scored from a cross, albeit with a helping hand from Brandon.

If KH should stop talking, The Rock should take over. Just before the kick-off, he lamented that some MoTM nominations were too cursory and apparently lacked sincerity. And what is the outcome of his grouses? Well, you will find out later.

Back to the match, Kovan pitch is the home ground of Team BBG. They are familiar with every blade of the grass and this familiarity did make a big difference. Having not played on natural pitch for a long while, we were clearly struggling in the opening 15 minutes of the match, with the first 2 minutes simply comical during which half the team was experiencing difficulty in controlling the ball, the other half had not even touched the ball and we let in the goal. Ng produced one of his, now trademark, wayward passes that gifted the ball back to Team BBG. They swiftly moved down the right flank and put in a cross that Brandon’s one-hand attempt to tip the ball away was too weak. The ball dropped into the net instead, much to the surprise of Team BBG as well.

Team BBG possessed 2 skilful midfielders who were the heartbeats of the team. Their No 17 is exceptionally gifted – tall and powerfully built, adept with both feet, packs a punch in his shot, reads the game intelligently and distributes the ball well. What irked us was that, given his build and talent, he fell to the ground too easily and at every opportunity, not unlike pussy willow.

Whilst we were not fluent in our movement and passing, we did carve out enough opportunities to reverse the early setback but our forwards were again a letdown. KH, after chastising Gan for his low conversion rate, fluffed 2 chances. The 1st one came from a good combination between Gan and Weng Khong at the byeline, then Weng Khong quickly laid the ball onto the path of KH but the latter’s right-foot shot went wide. KH then timed his run into the box to receive a pass from Simon and again, his shooting lacked purpose, this time too weak to trouble the keeper. Gan, revitalised and out to prove a point, was back to his lively self and created our best chance of the match. A pin-point cross from him on the right found See Chiang at the far post. See Chiang, totally unmarked, continued with his barren durian harvesting season as he headed the point-blank ball over the bar instead.

Team BBG exuded confidence in their play and they almost benefitted from a moment of hesitant clearance by Weng Kwan, who first allowed a high ball to bounce instead of killing it first time and then headed the ball back weakly to Brandon. Team BBG’s striker, being much faster, pounced onto the weak back pass and shot first-time. To his teammates’ dismay, the ball went wide and we were let off the hook. Though Weng Kwan appeared tentative at times, his spirit was in abundance as he gamely soldiered on in the thankless sweeper position throughout the match. Chung Wen and Leo, at times stretched by the pacy wingers, did well to contain the supply from the flanks. The Rock, as usual, provided the effective shield, just like the MediShield plans he is marketing.

Our equalising goal came from 2 unlikely sources. KH, who had not taken a freekick for ages, stepped up to attempt a direct freekick with his preferred left foot. The ball swerved but lacked punch. The 2nd unlikely source came from Team BBG’s keeper who clearly had the ball covered but his gloves were apparently laced with butter as he allowed the ball to slip off his fingers. We exchanged gifts and picked our durian, 1 – 1.

Team BBG restarted the 2nd half the same way they ended the 1st, dominating the match. The Rock had to throw his entire weight to stop No 17 in the box, who continued to call for referee’s attention at the slightest contact by our players. There were testy moments as we let our frustration got the better of us. A handful of half-chances beckoned but none posed a threat to Team BBG. To our surprise, given their fluency and mobility, Team BBG did not resort to short 1-2 passes, as expected, to breach our defence. Instead, they chose to pound at our goal with long shots. Brandon played a more assured game in this half as he dealt with the shots without much of a problem.

We almost snatched an unlikely win when the referee, after spotting the keeper handling the ball outside the box, awarded a freekick to us. KH stepped up, zeroed his left foot, chipped the ball over the wall and what looked like a certain goal didn’t materialise. The ball didn’t dip in time and agonisingly, it was just millimetres over the bar.

The whistle went and both sides settled for a goodwill 1 – 1, but certainly not drab, draw.

Man of The Match: The Rock (7 out of 15 votes)

His grouses were heard and the team responded with a flurry of nominations for him :) So, do we agree to have him conduct the team talk for us?

1. “MOTM - MOTM to HL the Rock. He sweep the floor so well that he can always control a broom after he hangs up his boots in another decade or so. Hardly let any high ball pass him, always challenging for the ball. Very consistent play throughout.”

2. “motm - Hock Leong. as usual solid as rock.”

3. “motm: hock leong. marshalled the defense well and won lots of headers. kept the scores level in a game we should have lost.”

4. “Motm 6 Sep: My vote for Hock Leong. He knows he can't outrun so he makes up with positioning and reading of the game. How many headers did he send back into midfield? Good stuff.”

5. “hock leong. very simple and effective way of play. high ball, he can jump higher than other players, grounded ball, his 2 powerful legs do the talking....”

6. “My MOTM is Hock Leong, for a solid performance in the stopper's role , He was mopping up everything that came aerially as well as covering the opposition strikers well to render them ineffective”

7. “MoTM = The Rock. Simply rock!” [The Rock, do you want to know who submitted this nomination?]

The equalising goal attracted 3 nominations to put him in 2nd position:

1. “MOTM - Hard one. We seem to have lost our confidence in stroking the ball around. We very contented to pump it up and chiong. Having said that I thought you tried hard to get the team to keep the shape and to also make room for passes. Unfortunately the passes were just going astray. So vote goes to you for tenacity and leadership on a day when we appeared to have forgotten our soccer boots (well, I forgot my shorts and socks too).”

2. “Motm to Kian Hwa, scored the solitary goal that helped us drew the game. The second free kick went agonizing close, thought we had the game. His running, tough tackles and harassment was a thorn to our opponents defence, gave them a torrid time.”

3. “MOTM goes to KH for his conversion of a freekick that got MS an important equalizer.”

Simon and Gan tied at 2 votes each but Simon’s work rate from box to box breaks the deadlock:

1. “Motm: Simon has done well enough to contain the opponents and also play well in distribute well to the strikers.”

2. “MOTM. = Simon. The engine of midfield. ...although the game end in a low scoring 1-1 draw, he outshine most of us with his tireless running, timely interception and quality passes that lead to many attacking opportunities..”

The remaining votes went to Gan and Chung Wen:

1. “Motm to Gan for vastly improving after the initial moments. Won the battles to the ball & help involve midfielders in the game.”

2. “MOTM for 6 Sept - Gan gets the vote, created some chaos for opponents backline. Made a great cross in first half but SC did not make clean contact.”

3. “MOM: Wen - despite being twice the winger's age, he kept in step with him and closed him down thru out his play time.”

Match #40 (3 Sep 09): Another Laboured Performance, A Hard Fought Win

It was a keenly contested encounter between Marine Sunday and Yellow, with plenty of goal-mouth action and breathtaking goalkeeping saves to keep everyone at the gallery on the edge. Both sides had enough chances to turn the result into a badminton scoreline but the final outcome bore semblance of a football match, a narrow 3 – 2 win in our favour. Yellow claimed in the post-match handshakes that they had no reason to lose. Then again, we did enough not to lose although in the last quarter of the match when we, as they claimed, had to dig deep to defend stoutly.

To be fair, it was not a pleasing performance to the eyes of the football purists. The defence worked hard, no doubt, but at times we were living on knife’s edge with half-measured clearances, understandably so due to our lack of fitness. On the other end, we squandered chance after chance that Yellow found it sufficient to just leave their short, but supremely agile and confident, goalkeeper to face our forwards. Our usual crappy passing was aplenty from everyone though the performances of a few individuals stood out, in whatever sense. Chor Guan, as lion-hearted as usual, ran himself to the ground to keep their playmaker at bay. The Rock threw his limbs and body in the firing line and that explained the bruises he sustained on his thigh and shin. Teck Chye was literally screaming at everything and everyone that even Kian Hwa paled in comparison. Teck Chye claimed he was down with a flu, we thought he was starved of sex for months. See Chiang, lacking confidence and conviction, was not as marauding down the flank as he once was. We suspect both Gan and Brandon might have the same ancestral roots – both can make you wanting to pull your hair off with their insipid performance for 90% of the time but when it comes to the crunch, they deliver with the crucial goals or the vital saves to save us the day. If Gan was Stan Collymore, erratic with fleeting moments of brilliance, Brandon is David James in his younger days, hesitant and lacking focus but a brilliant ball stopper. We are left with only 1 engine and that’s Simon. Credit to him for keeping himself in good shape to last every match, his enthusiasm and willingness to fight for the cause of the team is second to none (errrh…..well, maybe, just second to one person). But there’s a limit to how much he can pull the team together on the pitch if we don’t throw in our weight.

It pains this self-declared journalist to write how we conceded the 2 goals but for the 3 goals we scored, it was worth the ink. Simon, one way or another, directly or indirectly, had a hand, or a leg, in all of them. Our equalising goal came from, as Simon described it, “the best moves of the match” where a rare series of non-wayward passing led to Kian Hwa free on the right to receive a pass from Simon. KH advanced into the box and Teck Chye called for the ball and the latter duly received the square pass and confidently shot past the keeper without breaking his strides. Gan must have been presented with 5 chances, of which he managed to convert one. The low conversion rate worried us. What bothered us even more is that despite he and Teck Wah being much younger than most of us, their fitness and work rate are nowhere near their best. But both did score when it mattered. Again, Simon battled hard to win back the ball in the middle of the pitch and instantaneously found Gan unmarked just outside the box. The only moment Yellow’s keeper did not come off his line, he was punished by Gan’s placement and that put us in a 2 – 1 lead before the break. Teck Wah delivered the eventual winning goal and he also benefitted from Simon’s hard work. Simon switched to shooting from distance in the 2nd half and he was not far off the target on those occasions. One effort caught their short keeper stranded, the ball came off the horizontal and Teck Wah had the luxury of time to execute a sepak-takraw kick to put the ball in the net.

The goals aside, both sides rued their luck after seeing so many other near-misses gone to nothing. Brandon, for all the anguish he inflicted onto us, brilliantly denied Yellow with one point-blank block in the 1st half and another timely off-the-line body block to stop a one-on-one effort. Their keeper showed a safe pair of hands and astute reading of the game, often bravely getting down to cut out our low crosses from the flanks. Teck Wah hit the bar in the 1st half, Yellow hit the same spot of the goal frame in the 2nd half. We squandered about 5 through balls, they failed to make just as many chances count, including one glaring miss in front of the open goal early in the match, after Ng’s sloppy pass gave the ball back to their left winger, who then crossed in for their unmarked striker in the 6-yards area. With Brandon hopelessly out of position and the open goal invitingly in front of him, the striker skewed the ball way past the right upright! No wonder they said they had no reason to lose. But then, they had!

Man of The Match: Simon (10 out of 15 votes)

The only one, besides our goalkeeper, to last the whole match but by miles, a deserving MoTM:

1. “When one STamps his authority, with what? With his feet lah! Simon did just that. Our firST 2 goals came from his battling to win the ball back and SubsequenTly laying the pass to SeT up the goals. Our 3rd goal came from his confident long ShoT that cannoned off the bar, though the ultimate beneficiary was Teck Wah. MoTM = ST!”

2. “motm. simon. saw him power few shot from about 20 meter but all go no where, at last one hit bar and let teck wah pick durian.”

3. “MOTM goes to Simon for controlling the midfield very well & playing a part in the build-up of the goals we scored & most notably & importantly one, is the one he whipped a beautiful volley towards goal only to be denied by the post but enough to throw the keeper off guard for Teck Hua to convert it.”

4. “MOTM for 3 Sep – SIMON. very good performance by him since a long long time. Pass well, support well and have a 'leg' in all 3 goals I think. Finally his shooting training prior to start of game paid off......3rd goal came from a long shot from him that came back off the bar. Have a few long shots on target but to bad can't beat the keeper.”

5. “MOTM = Simon. Oustanding play in midfield. Good distribution of passes, support well in attack. Created two excellent chances for the strikers to score.”

6. “MOTM for last nite's match was Simon. He was instrumental in controlling the midfield, helped the defence out substantially and most importantly for zeroing his long range shots until it finally hit the bar for TW to do a vertical scissors kick for the 3rd goal.”

7. “motm 3rd Sept: Simon. Led the central midfield well and maintained a good line between defence and attack. direct and indirectly assisted two of the goals.”

8. “Motm is simon - Some of the passes were brilliant”

9. “MOTM - Simon. All 3 goals flow through him. Need I say more!!”

10. “MOTM to Simon. Only saw him in the second half but man he was all over the place. Won so many in the middle, supported defence and three really good shots at goal, one of which resulted in our winner. Solid game again.”

He had to shoulder part of the blame for the 2 goals conceded but his 2 brilliant saves garnered him 2 nominations and put him in 2nd place:

1. “MOTM is Brandon. Match saving saves from one on one situations. Directing and encouraging defenders during dead ball situations.”

2. “Finally a win, & Brandon kept us safe on 2 critical occasions when match was poised on knife edge with last ditch saves. Recovered well from a shaky start to play assuredly thereafter.”

Remaining 3 votes went to Teck Chye, Hock Leong and Chwee Leng. 3rd position to Hock Leong for the bruises sustained in his usual stout defending:

1. “MOM for 3 Sep: Hock Leong-the rock remains rock solid”

2. “Teck Chye is playing well despite his sickness. Cover the defend well by stopping their midfielder and also distribute the balls well to the frank and strikers.”

3. “Chwee Leng has my vote for his consistent play in both halfs. Timing, stamina, closing in on their wingers and positioning were spot on. Some key interceptions to boot.”