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.”

Match #39 (23 Aug 09): Another Abysmal Performance = Another Loss

It has become a familiar sight of late. That was the opening statement in last report and it is just as applicable for this week. Our performance of late is anything but decent. All the pre-match warm-up and thunderous shots at goal were at best flattering to deceive. Perhaps, we are just that, the pre-match team. During the match, the team is standing on foundation made of sand, anything but solid.

We could not complain of playing against a younger team as some of Selangor Lookalikes players were more senior than us and to be fair, our average age seemed to be lower than theirs. They are not a skilful team but they are superior in movement into space, passing and most important of all, teamwork. In the opening 10 minutes when they were playing with 1 man short, it did not seem that way as they controlled the game with ease and seized the lead. We might blame it on the small pitch but we should not have given their midfielder the world of his time to shoot from just after the centre line. All along, we thought only Kian Hwa, if as keeper, could not deal with high ball but Gan, our stand-in keeper, assured KH that it was normal to concede such a goal. Gan failed to deal with the long shot and the ball dipped just below the bar for their opening goal. 1 – 0. Mike, back from his paternity break, put in an encouraging performance down the left. He anticipated well to run onto Simon’s high through ball but his recent baby must have been keeping him up at nights and thus deprived him of that ounce of energy to get to the ball in time. Sloppy passing by Ng gave the ball away to their skilful striker, who then wriggled his way down their right flank like a slippery eel, with Ng already soundly beaten and Mike hugging the side line instead of challenging him. His movement into the box continued unimpeded and seeing Gan not advancing to narrow the angle, this striker beat Gan with a low blistering shot. 2 – 0!

Chor Guan, ever so eager to lend his lungs and limbs in attack, first tested SL’s keeper with a long range shot from a free-kick and then came close with a header at the far post to meet a corner from KH. He was later left unmarked again to head another corner, this time from Teck Wah, just wide off the post. We reduced the deficit, courtesy of Teck Chye’s persistence. His first header to meet a free kick went upwards but he regained his positional sense to have a 2nd bite of the cherry by heading the ball towards goal. That resulted in a goal mouth scramble and Chwee Leng had the final say to hook the ball into the net to make it 2 – 1 at half-time.

We resumed the match with a higher sense of purpose. See Chiang was put through down the left but his touches continued to desert him and instead of his famous toe-poke, he blasted the through ball over the bar. He atoned for his lacklustre display with finally a decent square pass across the box. Mike popped up at the far post to celebrate his 3rd-time fatherhood with our equalising goal, 2 – 2!  For a period we were enjoying the upperhand. Kian Hwa, replacing Chwee Leng, produced a well-timed run to meet Teck Wah’s through pass but his shot on the run was a bit hasty though it was not far off the mark. For this miss, Teck Chye continued to haunt Kian Hwa for failing to put us in the lead, which might have produced a different outcome. SL punished our lax marking in the box to get their 3rd goal when their striker rose unchallenged to meet a corner to head past Gan. 3 – 2. We almost produced an instant reply after Chor Guan brushed off his marker to cushion Teck Chye’s beautiful cross-field pass. Seeing the keeper way off his line, Chor Guan’s attempt to lob the keeper lacked the finesse of the lob-expert, Teck Chye and the effort went wide. Teck Chye had another attempt when he was first to meet a corner at the near post but he failed to direct the ball on target. We should be familiar with the pitch but our crosses from the flanks were simply over hit - once from Weng Khong in the 1st half from the right, Kian Hwa did likewise from the opposite flank in the 2nd half, or lacking accuracy as Simon twice failed to pick out his target in the box after breaking free on the right.

Our defence, anchored by Weng Kwan, worked overtime to repel SL’s incessant attacks. Their long-range shooter had a few tries at goal, each shot was packed with power but not the direction. On one occasion when the shot looked destined for goal, Gan produced a breathtaking tipping save to deny this midfielder of further glory. Nothing was to deny their 4th goal. SL striker’s sudden change of pace enable him to waltz past Weng Kwan and Hock Leong before placing the ball past Gan for their goal No 4. 4 – 2! Our final effort came off the left foot of Chor Guan, who ran from box to box throughout the match, and after seeing his final attempt go wide, the final whistle was blown. Another disappointing ending to the match and our dismal run continued.

Man of The Team: (5 out of 14 votes)

His earnest effort to get us back into the game was admirable. Chor Guan just nipped Gan by 1 vote:

1. “motm - chor guan....stamp his authority in both defence and midfield.........”

2. “motm: Chor Guan. Did overtime having to swat away numerous balls past our defense line. subsequently made his presence felt when pushed to midfield.”

3. “We are kind of leaky at the back but also due to the fact that the midfielders also didnt provide the first line of defend adequately. My MOTM will be the one who fight well in his role and he is Chor Guan.”

4. “Chor Guan for MoTM – our most attacking defender. Just count the number of scoring chances he had!
5. “MOTM is Chor Guan. CG harassed their midfield when placed there. Good all round display and nearly scored a last minute goal”

4 votes for Gan. 1 for each goal conceded? :)

1. “motm to gan - some assured takes and good judgement. little he could do about the well-taken goals by opponents.”

2. “MOTM is Gan - "made some good saves"

3. “MOM-Gan: what a wonderful world class save in the 2nd half.”

4. “MOTM - Despite letting in 4 goals, I still give my vote to Gan. Basically, I think all the outfield players did not featured significantly to win my vote. Gan volunteered to continue as keeper despite his itch to play outfield. Secondly, he did made a few saves, otherwise the scoreline will be even bigger. Lastly, Gan cannot be blamed for most of the goals.”

 

Teck Chye came in 3rd with 3 nominations:

1. “teck chye. hold the ball well, enjoy watching him dribble pass 2 to 3 defender quite a few time...”

2. “MOTM = Chye. Despite the lost, Chye showed his class and skills a more skillfull opposition. Create good chances out of nothing in numerous occassion but was unlucky not to have scored. Admired his ability in controlling the ball and picking up teamates with good passes.”

3. “Motm to teck chye, made a difference when he was playing, especially in midfield. Held on to ball well and disrupted their play and passing.”

1 each for Chwee Leng and Weng Kwan:

1. “Vote goes to Chwee Leng. On a day that most of us were off, he was playing at his top form.”

2. “MOTM goes to Weng Kuan for holding his defence line well & defending industriously”

Match #38 (16 Aug 09): 15 Minutes of Loss of Concentration Undid 45 Minutes of Good Work

It has become a familiar sight of late. We are a team of 2 halves – a decent team in one half, usually the 1st half; a team in self-destruction in the other half. The match against VS Staff, last match against Simply Red and now against AKFC – all the same, we threw away the lead and did injustice to ourselves. At the regularity we are failing to make good our lead and at the rate we are conceding goals, it is certainly an area of concern. We only had ourselves to kick for throwing this match away, not unlike how we fared against VS Staff after similarly securing a healthy 2-goals lead. 15 minutes were all what AKFC needed in the 2nd half to reverse the fortunes and turn the table around, from 2-nil down to a 3 – 2 lead. We had to dig deep to find the net the 3rd time to settle for a 3 – 3 draw. If there was any consolation, besides the fact that the opponent was a much younger team, it was the rare fact that our 3 forwards all scored. If there was anything alarming that we needed some soul-searching, it was our failure to maintain concentration and focus throughout the match. It didn’t help that we conceded the 3 goals when The Rock was sitting out. We certainly cannot afford to be over reliant on 1 or 2 players.

In fact, the way we ran rings round AKFC in the 1st half might leave everyone wondering which side supposedly had the oldies. Early in the match, we were denied a penalty when Teck Chye’s attempted cross from the left hit AKFC’s defender’s hand in the box but the referee ruled it unintentional. See Chiang, donning his lost-and-found beloved pair of boots, was anything but assured in his footing but he did set up Teck Wah nicely to tap in our opening goal, after the former was set up to embark on his run down the left flank. The left side of the pitch proved to be our rich harvest as Kian Hwa time and again stretched the right back, who twice brilliantly denied KH from putting the ball into the box with timely last-ditch tackles. One of the runs eventually yielded a long overdue goal for KH when he timed his run to perfection to receive Teck Wah’s through pass. Leaving the AKFC’s defenders in their wake and seeing their keeper rooting to his line, KH placed the ball to the far right side of the goal for a 2 – 0 lead. It was a long overdue striker-looking goal. Before our 2nd goal, KH broke through twice on the right but each time failed to set See Chiang up, who was lurking at the far post ready to pounce. Gan then headed the ball just above the bar. We kept up the tempo right till the half-time whistle when Melvin, left unmarked just outside the penalty box, received a long throw-in from the left and let fly a first-timer that screamed just wide off the post. We were not without our moments of scare at the back, despite Weng Kwan putting his best 45-minutes we have seen. Twice, Brandon was a step slower to meet a bouncing through ball, twice he was beaten to the ball but each time he was spared the embarrassment by our recovering defenders. A solo run by their forward beat Ng and Hock Leong along the way but from a tight angle, his shot came off the post. Apart from those, Weng Kwan and Hock Leong, aided superbly by our full-backs in Leo, Ng, Chung Wen and Chwee Leng, largely kept AKFC at bay.

2nd half was an entirely different story. AKFC seemed to have found a new source of vigour and they went on a rampage in the first 15 minutes of the 2nd half, during which they put 3 goals past us and left the stand-in stopper, See Chiang bewildered. We allowed their forward the luxury of time and space to twist and turn in the box before he shot past Brandon. 1 – 3. Their 2nd goal came from a sweet left-foot strike from outside the box, again courtesy of time and space accorded by us to their midfielder. 2 – 3! Beat the iron when it is hot, as the saying goes and AKFC did just that. AKFC’s left midfielder beat a totally-committed See Chiang just after the centre line and raced towards goal unimpeded. Brandon’s moment of hesitation to come off his line presented the quick-minded midfielder to shoot past the stranded Brandon to reverse the deficit into a 3 – 2 lead for them. As in recent matches, our passing went astray in the 2nd half and we only managed to threaten from dead-ball pieces. We won a series of free-kicks outside the box – Simon’s effort was not far off the goal frame and AKFC’s keeper produced fine saves to deny Melvin’s and Teck Wah’s attempts. On a rare occasion of successful passing leading to a penetration into the box, Teck Chye shot in haste instead of squaring the ball to Gan in the box. Showing disgust with himself, Teck Chye opted for a rest immediately after ruing his wasteful effort.

AKFC was enjoying the upperhand until Kian Hwa, who was largely subdued in the 2nd half, produced a moment of inspiration to deny AKFC a certain victory. Chwee Leng won the ball on the left midfield and laid the ball to KH down the left. On full throttle, KH swept past 2 defenders before, from the outside of his right foot, laying the ball across the box and Gan threw his entire weight forward to meet the ball, which bulged the net. 3 – 3 and Gan’s joyous expression echoed the jubilation of Marine Sunday!

Both sides continued to search for the winning goal. See Chiang’s famous toe-poke, which brought him goals in last 2 matches, failed this time round. Teck Chye had another chance to atone for his earlier miss from a similar position but his shot was a foot wide off the left post. AKFC almost had the final say of the match when their right midfielder was left unmarked in the box but Brandon brilliantly denied his low shot with a crisp dive to divert a certain goal away.

The final whistle came and both sides settled for a well-fought 3 – 3 draw!

Man of The Match: Kian Hwa (12 out of 15 votes)
For this season, a performance worthy of such overwhelming nominations is few and far in between. Hopefully, KH could be more consistent.
“kh. only thing i can remember the only one still running during the last 10 mins of the game is KH...”
“MOTM =Kian Hwa. Apart from the excellent solo run that result in beautiful cross for our equalizer, he did admirely well upfront in the first half and grabbed a well deserve goal. .”
“There's one man running tirelessly & ceaselessly to ensure we don't end on a losing note. A coolly taken goal & an even better assist makes KH my Motm!”
“motm - KH. never say die spirit that make him create the equaliser.”
“Motm: Kian Hwa. While everybody melted, he dug deep for that 50m solo run down the left beating 2 players and 1 important and precise assist for the 3rd goal.”
“MOM : My MOM is KH for his lung bursting runs on a hot day to create chances as well as to act as a extra defender sometimes. Notable contribution was the run to give us our equalising goal.”
“MOTM: At the last quarter of 2nd half, most of us were already kind of give it up mentally and physically when we were down by 1 goal. Suddenly, I saw a “never give up” figure chasing down a flank and make a remarkable cross which resulted in a goal. This is the kind of spirit I wanted to give my MOTM to. He is KH.”
“MoTM goes to kian Hwa. One goal and one assist. Scored the second goal from a tight angle after bursting down the left flank and the assist for goal number was a pinpoint cross after a even more determined and tenacious sprint down the same flank.”
“MOM: KH-made at least 4 runs down the left, giving the defender hell and making one goal assist.”
“KH - Speedy runs that led to great solo goal and last ditch equaliser for Gan. Plus he kept the energy level up on a day when most of us just couldn't string passes together.”
“I agree with Brandon though I'm not sure it's a 50m run but it is indeed a commendable, Usain Bolt-type of dash down the flank embarrasing our younger opponents in the process. As for the cross whipped in, it's just simply pinpoint, out-of-reach for the keeper & eluded their defence placed nicely in front of Gan. A much needed 3rd goal for Marine Sunday & credit should go to Gan as well for converting the cross. In case you are still confused, MOTM is KH.”
“MOTM - Everyone remembered his jingling run, down the flank and his cross for Gan to score. But how come nobody mentioned about the killer pass to him. Anyway, my nomination still goes to LKH for his never say die attitude.”

Weng Kwan came in 2nd with 2 votes:
“MOTM: Weng Kwan for a terrific 1st half performance covering and mopping up at the back. best 45 minutes I've seen him play. nothing was getting past him.”
“Whilst our defence missed Hock Leong for the first 15 minutes of the 2nd half, one man toiled silently throughout the match to repel their attacks. This silent workhorse is Weng Kwan and the MoTM.”

The Rock had just 1 nomination and it was enough to place him 3rd:
“MOTM to Hock Leong - Another solid display in central defence. Provided the extra punch in defence when our opponents were running non-stop”

Match #37 (11Aug 09): Another Agonising & Narrow Loss

Match report contributed by Leo

Simply Red started the game with 2 players short and that gave us an easy first 10 minutes. Chor Guan was red carded at this ground before, Ng had a fistfight here before and Teck Chye almost joined the ranks as well. He had to be calmed down but he refused to be taken off . True enough he managed to get his adversary to give him a body check right in front of the referee and got him sent off for a 2nd yellow card offence. Around the 30 minutes mark, against the run of play See Chiang scored the first goal of the game. I missed seeing the goal and when I asked See Chiang for a description, all he said was, just report that I scored with a “tonjoe”. See Chiang has for the 2nd time and 2nd week in a row hit the post again with his now famous “tonjoe”. Simply Red equalized before half time. The 2nd half was tough for us as all of us made a lot of uncharacteristic errors and did not have many scoring chances as our midfield and defence did not mange to move up into the opponent’s half to support the strikers. Simply Red scored the second goal and the game ended with a 2-1 defeat for us.

Some comments that I heard during and after the game :
We were beaten psychologically
The last time I played against this team, they took the corner flags out and fought with it.
5 of the opponents don’t wear shin guards, must be confident .
I had so much space and time to pass, don’t know why I underhit this time and over hit the next time.
Immediately after we scored the first goal, one of the opponent players on the touchline was talking to the “photographer who took our team photo: “This team is quite strong, they have a short passing game and then suddenly launch into attack.”

Man of The Team: (4 out of 13 votes)
Mr Rock returned with another solid performance:
“motm = hock leong. Make numerous good clearance that spoil opposition from scoring. Tough in the air and tackle well.”
“Hock leong the man. Defended stoutly. Super tackles and brilliant headers”
“Hock leong. He always gives his all whenever he plays, injured or not. I like his positioning and proved to be a major impediment to our opponent's movement in our half.”
“MOTM to hock leong for his all round and no nonsense play”

Chwee Leng is certainly revelling in his full-back role! Just 1 vote behind Hock Leong.
“chwee leng. consider see chiang and chwee leng, vote to chwee leng, saw him counter attack few times from our half all the way to their penalty box, do it more often next time....”
“Chwee Leng - stick to the striker as if they are glued together, never give him space to turn. Make a few good runs down the flank.”
“Another strong opponent with lots of stamina. My MOTM will be Chwee Leng who did well in defending as well as providing good attacks by bringing balls to the bye line of the other end for the strikers.”

See Chiang and Teck Chye had 2 votes each. Since SC scored for the 2nd successive match, he deserved to win the tie and a 3rd position:
“MOTM - See chiang, another good toe-poked goal, straight to the top of the net.”
“MOTM goes to See Chiang for scoring the spectacular & well-placed, top-left-hand-corner goal. By the way, he was having fever, cough & runny nose.”

The remaining 4 votes went to the Tang brothers and Leo:
“motm teck chye. showed lots of ball skills and running in the 1st half when the team was playing better.”
“MOM : Teck Chye for his tenacity in leading the line and adding an attacking thrust to our game.”
“MOM for 11 Aug-Teck Wah - never gave up running despite all the loose high balls and poor passes. Full marks for dedication”
“Motm to Leo for staying focused in a half when we were basically chasing shadows.”