match report by kh
St Wilfred remains a not-too-happy ground for us. Weng Kong was forced to retire from football on this ground, Kian Hwa suffered a near knock-out on this pitch (and not forgetting he pulled his left thigh muscle last week, first time he ever suffered such injury), and Gan was hospitalised after last Friday's match after coming worse off from a clash of heads with the opponent's keeper. In terms of results, there appear to be a reverse correlation. We beat arch rival, Italia Dons, when Weng Kong suffered the horrendous injury; we were leading another worthy rival, Techwood, with a few minutes left before they decided enough was enough, they finished KH off before finishing the match; and last Friday, the loss of Gan did not impede us from registering the most satisfying win of the season.
But hold on, lest I be misunderstood, we would rather lose the matches than our players.
Yes, Marine Sunday registered a shocking come-from-behind 4-3 win over Manchester United Singapore Branch (unofficial one lah, but they wanted to dress like one what). We were clearly inferior in so many aspects - vitality (as in they were packed with so many young players), fitness (naturally, given their young age), techniques and quantity. As for the last aspect, they had about 6 or 7 substitutes on the sideline and we had only 13 to start with. After losing Gan late in 1st half, and considering Weng Khong making his first appearance after a lengthy lay-off, KH had his pulled left thigh flared up again 1 min into the match and that rendered him becoming a one-dimensional player throughout, and Chwee Leng discounted by two-third as usual, we had effectively only 11 players. Yet, we came from 2 goals down, not once but twice.
Perhaps, the players had a point to prove after being written off as sparklers by the acid-tongue armchair critic (that's me!).
We did not have the most desired line-up to start off with Chor Guan turning up at the wrong venue. Teck Chye gamely filled in the sweeper's position. MUSB were firing on all cylinders the moment the whistle went off. Within 2 minutes, they opened the account when half of Marine Sunday had not even had the first touch of the ball. The limping KH failed to track back to close down their left winger and the latter's cross whizzed past everybody's head. Their right winger brought the ball down and unleashed a thunderbolt that Brandon could not hold on to the ball. 0-1 down.
Our passing went astray most of the times and MUSB would be forgiven even if they had thought it was a joke to play against us. Within minutes, they doubled the lead after we gave the ball cheaply on the left. Again, their right winger proved too hot to handle as he flashed past Hock Leong effortlessly, then outpaced Teck Chye to the ball before delivering a precise cross for his centre forward to head the ball past the exposed Brandon. 0-2 down.
But we were not without our chances, if only Gan had been sharper. First, when put through, his snap shot went wide. Then, he squandered another opportunity as he took 1 second too long to wait for the ball to settle onto his scoring foot, with the keeper way off his line. That 1 second proved to be sufficent for the keeper to clear the danger away.
Where Gan came up short, Teck Wah amply made up for it as he had a hand in all the goals we scored. He reduced the deficit when he broke free into the box and shot low past the keeper. 1-2.
MUSB extended the 2-goals lead again shortly after. Our overrun midfield exposed the fragile defence again and their midfielder had ample time to tee up a shot from outside the box that came off the left upright for their 3rd goal. 1-3.
Chor Guan arrived and came straight into action, and the subsequent reshuffling of line-up restored some semblance of order and stability in the team. Gan had his 3rd golden opportunity when he was put through on a one-on-one. Not only he failed to convert, that also signalled to be his last kick of the match when the clash of heads with the advancing keeper took him out. The keeper was first to reach the ball and cleared it for a corner but he could not avoid clashing onto Gan. After a lengthy period attending to Gan, we reduced the deficit again from the resultant corner. The Tang brothers conjured up another act of brotherly love as Teck Wah's corner found the older Tang in the 6-yards box. Teck Chye, unattended, powered a header past the keeper, who was probably still feeling the effect from the earlier knock. And we did not appear far off at the half-time whistle. 2-3.
Whilst we were clearly overrun in the 1st one-third of the match, Marine Sunday stepped up in the 2nd half, with many heroes deserving credit. Teck Wah was no doubt the livewire of the team but the supporting cast was superb. Chor Guan and Hock Leong tightened up the defence and fended off one offensive move after another from MUSB. Leo and Ng totally rendered their wingers useless with some robust defending, much to the complaints of MUSB. Teck Chye and Simon took over the control in midfield and hustled non-stop to win the first ball or at least destablise their control of the ball. Weng Khong, clearly short of match fitness, made up with his positional play.
Parity was restored early in the 2nd half. The Tang brothers played a big role in the equalising goal. Teck Wah threaded a ball onto the path of Teck Chye, who was easily cut out by the defender. Teck Chye refused to give up and continued to apply pressure on the defender, forcing the latter to pass the ball back to his keeper, whose complacency in clearing ball proved to be fatal. The custodian's weak left-footed clearance sent the ball to Simon lurking on the edge of the box and Simon's quick-thinking grounder sent the ball into the open net. 3-3. MUSB were visibly shaken.
Chwee Leng forced a corner on the left. Teck Wah's delicate delivery found See Chiang at the far post and MUSB were again sloppy in defending, allowing SC to head in for our 4th goal. 4-3.
MUSB pressed forward and forced a double-save from Brandon but that was the closest they could get in the 2nd half. Running short of ideas and certainly short in accuracy in delivering their passes, MUSB were found wanting. Marine Sunday came off with a shocking 4-3 score line to leave MUSB scratching their heads.
But hold on, lest I be misunderstood, we would rather lose the matches than our players.
Yes, Marine Sunday registered a shocking come-from-behind 4-3 win over Manchester United Singapore Branch (unofficial one lah, but they wanted to dress like one what). We were clearly inferior in so many aspects - vitality (as in they were packed with so many young players), fitness (naturally, given their young age), techniques and quantity. As for the last aspect, they had about 6 or 7 substitutes on the sideline and we had only 13 to start with. After losing Gan late in 1st half, and considering Weng Khong making his first appearance after a lengthy lay-off, KH had his pulled left thigh flared up again 1 min into the match and that rendered him becoming a one-dimensional player throughout, and Chwee Leng discounted by two-third as usual, we had effectively only 11 players. Yet, we came from 2 goals down, not once but twice.
Perhaps, the players had a point to prove after being written off as sparklers by the acid-tongue armchair critic (that's me!).
We did not have the most desired line-up to start off with Chor Guan turning up at the wrong venue. Teck Chye gamely filled in the sweeper's position. MUSB were firing on all cylinders the moment the whistle went off. Within 2 minutes, they opened the account when half of Marine Sunday had not even had the first touch of the ball. The limping KH failed to track back to close down their left winger and the latter's cross whizzed past everybody's head. Their right winger brought the ball down and unleashed a thunderbolt that Brandon could not hold on to the ball. 0-1 down.
Our passing went astray most of the times and MUSB would be forgiven even if they had thought it was a joke to play against us. Within minutes, they doubled the lead after we gave the ball cheaply on the left. Again, their right winger proved too hot to handle as he flashed past Hock Leong effortlessly, then outpaced Teck Chye to the ball before delivering a precise cross for his centre forward to head the ball past the exposed Brandon. 0-2 down.
But we were not without our chances, if only Gan had been sharper. First, when put through, his snap shot went wide. Then, he squandered another opportunity as he took 1 second too long to wait for the ball to settle onto his scoring foot, with the keeper way off his line. That 1 second proved to be sufficent for the keeper to clear the danger away.
Where Gan came up short, Teck Wah amply made up for it as he had a hand in all the goals we scored. He reduced the deficit when he broke free into the box and shot low past the keeper. 1-2.
MUSB extended the 2-goals lead again shortly after. Our overrun midfield exposed the fragile defence again and their midfielder had ample time to tee up a shot from outside the box that came off the left upright for their 3rd goal. 1-3.
Chor Guan arrived and came straight into action, and the subsequent reshuffling of line-up restored some semblance of order and stability in the team. Gan had his 3rd golden opportunity when he was put through on a one-on-one. Not only he failed to convert, that also signalled to be his last kick of the match when the clash of heads with the advancing keeper took him out. The keeper was first to reach the ball and cleared it for a corner but he could not avoid clashing onto Gan. After a lengthy period attending to Gan, we reduced the deficit again from the resultant corner. The Tang brothers conjured up another act of brotherly love as Teck Wah's corner found the older Tang in the 6-yards box. Teck Chye, unattended, powered a header past the keeper, who was probably still feeling the effect from the earlier knock. And we did not appear far off at the half-time whistle. 2-3.
Whilst we were clearly overrun in the 1st one-third of the match, Marine Sunday stepped up in the 2nd half, with many heroes deserving credit. Teck Wah was no doubt the livewire of the team but the supporting cast was superb. Chor Guan and Hock Leong tightened up the defence and fended off one offensive move after another from MUSB. Leo and Ng totally rendered their wingers useless with some robust defending, much to the complaints of MUSB. Teck Chye and Simon took over the control in midfield and hustled non-stop to win the first ball or at least destablise their control of the ball. Weng Khong, clearly short of match fitness, made up with his positional play.
Parity was restored early in the 2nd half. The Tang brothers played a big role in the equalising goal. Teck Wah threaded a ball onto the path of Teck Chye, who was easily cut out by the defender. Teck Chye refused to give up and continued to apply pressure on the defender, forcing the latter to pass the ball back to his keeper, whose complacency in clearing ball proved to be fatal. The custodian's weak left-footed clearance sent the ball to Simon lurking on the edge of the box and Simon's quick-thinking grounder sent the ball into the open net. 3-3. MUSB were visibly shaken.
Chwee Leng forced a corner on the left. Teck Wah's delicate delivery found See Chiang at the far post and MUSB were again sloppy in defending, allowing SC to head in for our 4th goal. 4-3.
MUSB pressed forward and forced a double-save from Brandon but that was the closest they could get in the 2nd half. Running short of ideas and certainly short in accuracy in delivering their passes, MUSB were found wanting. Marine Sunday came off with a shocking 4-3 score line to leave MUSB scratching their heads.
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