March #52 (21 Nov 09): Rocking back to 4231 winning ways

match report by st

It's a ragged end to the season. Seems so hard to cobble up a team the last few matches. Today's no different. Called more than a dozen guests and finally 4 agreed to come. 2 turned up and thankfully, what gems they are! Alex plays for NUSS whilst Eddy, the oldest today, plays for our young rivals Galacticos. With their efforts, we prevailed against a strong team , Gavan, only just.

With the Rock back, we reverted to our recent trademark 4231. Both teams tried to probe for weaknesses with Gavan using their dribblers to attack the flanks. Our full backs, especiallly Eddy on the left dealt with the threats well. The emergency pairing of Ng & Rock at the centre of defence repelled anything thrown at them. Alex & Khong in defensive mid roles held the shape of the team. The Attacking 3 with Chye as lone attacker chased down any mistakes Gavan defenders made. Gan as stand-in keeper didn't have much to do at the initial stages.

Noting Gavan's hesistancy with high balls, Simon took a ball at the centre line & swung a long cross-field ball to pick out Chye's unmistakable shout. The tantalising ball had the Gavan keeper dashing out to execute an air kick, leaving Chye to run on and slot the ball into an empty goal. We settled down comfortably and soon our greater cutting edge in attack paid dividends. Gavan was finding it hard to contain Gan, who had been promoted upfront after Brandon came in, & paid dearly for bringing him down. From the freekick, older tang make way for younger bro to send in an unstoppable screamer to the top corner, a Wah's special! Straight off the restart, Gavan launched a quick attack and a long ball into the top of the box caused confusion as 2 of our guys went for it. The ball fell nicely for their danger man No.7 who shifted the ball to his right before unleashing a cracker that gave Brandon no chance. Game on and soon it was half time, MS leading precariously 2-1.

Within minutes of the second half, Gavan was levelled. From a counter attack, their newly introduced right mid punted a long high cross into the box. Our defence was caught ball-watching and No.7 nipped into the six yard box, & with plenty of time, expertly guided the ball into the corner with his head. 2-2 and the match was poised on knife edge, anyone could win it. Gavan had introduced a left mid Malay youngster, equipped with the usual plenty of trickery and dribbling ability to complement their upfront threats, particularly No.7 & 8. We snuffed them out as best we could as they began to dominate. Our breakthrough came with a well-worked goal. Gan and Wah combined to pick out the onrushing Mike, whose first touch was good and the looping finish impeccable. Then as Gavan made a hash of clearing a corner, Eddie capped a fine performance with an exquisite goal which he curled over the stranded keeper and a sea of defenders.

Gavan tried forcefully to come back but found their final approach play a tad short. We held on comfortably for a 4-2 win.

MOTM: eddy wins it with a superb all round display from the left! Tie-break for second place goes to mike for his goal & celebration that broke the camel's back, over another typically stylish performance by chye (despite the fast-gaining weight). Wah and Alex received compliments too for their contributions!

Eddy (4 votes):

MOTM @ Regent: Alex and Eddy were like fuel to the MS fire which has been as low as our injury ridden attendance this month. We all appreciate the efforts of all guests but Alex and Eddy were very influential to the gameplay. They set the game tempo and work rate of the team. Post injury Weng Khong saw in Alex what he used to be - that livewire in the midfield and dared himself step up his game to make crunching 50-50 challenges. Eddy? He is a super fit Chwee Leng if you allow me to put it that way - did not let anybody past him and adding composure in attack to the left flank. I had to flip a coin for Alex or Eddy. Eddy has my vote.

One of the finest display at full back I've seen the whole year and that's saying a lot as we hv very good full backs. Eddie played with fearless conviction & is always well-positioned within reaching distance of the midfielders to support play & pick up loose balls. No one got past him today & no one got near his exquisite curler goal.

MOTM- Eddy- quick to harass and tackle.reminds me of Ashley cole during Arsenal days.

MOTM goes to Eddy for his superb performance.

Mike (2 votes):

MOTM - He did not do much for the day but his main contribution killed off the opponent. His run down the left was timed so perfectly. The cross from the right dropped just in front of him. His first touch was superb on the run, his second was even better with an exquisite lob over the goalkeeper and dipped just under the crossbar into goal for a 3-2 lead. This probably deflated the opponent as they were controlling the second half up till then. His celebration was equally good. Mike is the guy for this game. Well done.

MOTM. vote to mike, defence so so, but he alway score goal when we need it...

Chye (2 votes):

MOTM was Teck Chye. Fantastic in attack in the first half and was good in defence in the second half.

motm:teck chye for good play in midifield and attack, plus one cool taken goal.

Wah:

MOTM goes to Teck Wah. Score a great free kick and support the midfield and attack well. Tearing down the opposition right flank at numerous occasions and produced many good crosses.

Alex:

Motm - I would like to vote for Alex, harrass the opponent well in midfield giving them a tough time. Fought for almost every ball. Maybe we should consider recruiting for MS since we got so many players going into semi-retirement.

Match #51 (08 Nov 09): No Rock, No Shape, Lost Again!

If Benitez is still complaining of his lengthening list of injured players, he should speak to me. Marine Sunday is simple injury-ravaged. In my years of being with the team, I had never been so hard pressed. Eventually, we could only come up with 8 players and out of 12 guest players invited, 4 agreed to lend their limbs to support our cause, though Austin brought his fellow country man without prior informing me, and that made 5 guest players. Except for Austin who played for us once last week, the rest were new to Marine Sunday and that was one of the reasons for the shambolic display in the 1^st half, not because of the quality of the guest players but we were adapting to each other. With a Spaniard in goal and a Nigerian leading the line upfront, we embraced diversity, didn’t we? The other reason being the sheer number of guest players prompted us to forsake the 4-2-3-1 line-up in favour of the conventional 4-4-2. On hindsight, we should not have as our midfield was simply overrun in the 1^st half. The absence of our regular defenders, especially our fullbacks, further worsened the situation and we capitulated to their flank assaults, similarly to last week’s encounter. The stand-in right fullbacks, Mike and Brandon, would rather forget the 1^st half outing, for sure. 

Last week, we were outplayed by Quality Veterans, this week we were soundly beaten by Quality Young Boys. And they are really boys, most of them just completed their A-level last year and are currently in national service. How about that, not even half of our age! They looked geeky and nerdy when they stepped onto the pitch and we thought we could offer them some experience or two. But we were kicked in our butts by them. They played simple passing football, always looking up for players to pass and putting the ball into space. They were confident but without being cocky. Our 1^st half was horrendous, the worst 45 minutes we have ever witnessed. They snatched a 3 – 0 lead by the 15^th minute and ended the half with a commanding 5 – 2 lead. We recovered to play much better in the 2^nd half and actually won this half, though it was not enough to reverse the deficit.

We played quite decent football in the opening 5 minutes but a Route One football opened the floodgate for QYB. A long punting ball from their keeper was back-headed by their striker, left totally unmarked in the final third, for his fellow strike partner who waltzed past our 2 flat-footed central defenders, Chor Guan and Jerome, playing together for the 1^st time, and lobbed the ball over our guest goalkeeper, Saul, whose split second of hesitation in coming off his line proved costly. 2 moments of ball-watching cost us further 2 goals. Sensing the lack of understanding in our defenders and the lack of swiftness in our feet, QYB played intelligent football by causing us confusion with their constant passing of the ball in between our defenders into space in the penalty box. 2 such attempts caught our defence line square and their forwards beat the offside line to tuck the ball past our keeper. Before the match could pass the quarter of an hour mark, we found ourselves 3 goals down. Each time, our left fullback, Chwee Leng, let out his outbursts at our other defending colleagues for not tracking their players in the box. And that prompted him to switch himself to the right back position to plug the gap. We reduced the deficit through an uncommon goal from the most unlikely source. Teck Chye rolled a short corner to Austin who then curled in a rather soft cross towards goal. Kian Hwa, standing in front of the keeper, missed connecting with the ball but surprisingly, he was the first to react to the rebound, off a clearance on the line, by out-jumping their defender and heading the ball past their stranded keeper. 3 – 1. We saw some light at the end of the tunnel but it was quickly diminished when Jerome, caught flat-footed by their striker’s sudden turn in the box, had to resort to manhandling this striker, stopping him in his track. The referee pointed to the spot and the subsequent conversion widened their lead to 4 – 1! The only piece of decent football in the half involved Kian Hwa and Chip, another of our guest players, on the left but Kian Hwa’s subsequent well-placed cross into the box was not given due justice as our Nigerian import was still strolling in from afar. But we capitalised on their weak spot, i.e. their keeper was a tad suspicious in dealing with crosses, again. Teck Chye floated in another corner for Chor Guan to head the ball emphatically past QYB’s keeper, who again looked like a forlorn pedestrian. 4 – 2! Any faint hope of further narrowing the deficit was once again dashed by the fluent football of QYB. Another diagonal pass into our penalty box once again caught our defenders flat and their striker had another easy time tucking the ball past our custodian. 5 – 2! Austin almost reduced the deficit again when he juggled the ball superbly past 2 defenders but facing the onrushing keeper, his final attempt was not strong enough and QYB’s defender rushed back in time to prevent the ball from trickling over the line. It looked like a high-scoring match at half-time.

Refused to be cowed, we stepped up game with a much better 2^nd half performance. A few players deserved commendation. Simon stepped in to partner Jerome in central defence, allowing the over-worked Chor Guan to take a breather. Chwee Leng insisted on plugging the gap in our right defence position and Chip gamely filled in the left back position, playing in that position for the 1^st time but he was not short of quality in it. Weng Khong, always 2^nd best in receiving passes in the 1^st half, switched to central midfield and imposed himself with a robust and physical display, often disrupting their advances with his gallant challenges. Chor Guan later came into the game to take over from our Nigerian import, who flattered to deceive, and he injected a new-found sense of urgency in our attacks. We imposed far much better in this half and those young boys were often put off by our challenges on the ball, forcing them to shoot from outside the box. Our game plan was to score an early goal and take it from there, and we did. Their defender handled the ball outside the box and Teck Chye spotted the keeper was out of position and picked his spot to bury the ball in the net from the resultant free-kick. 5 – 3 and game on! Chor Guan replaced Austin, who drifted out of the game, and almost immediately announced his presence with a bang. From defending a corner, his galloping run propelled him to receive a through pass from Kian Hwa on a breakaway, but his shot went wide. Kian Hwa then put in another decent cross from the left but KC, another Nigerian, scooped the ball over the bar from less than 6 yards out. He was presented with another opportunity in the box by Teck Chye but in trying to be flamboyant, he took one touch too many in the box instead of hitting the ball at goal. His additional touch allowed QYB’s defenders to close him down. Another well-worked move from the left to the middle set Weng Khong up to shoot from far but QYB’s keeper managed to get his hand to the ball to prevent it from going into the top right-hand corner of the goal.  Brandon, standing in between the posts in this half, was hardly threatened but in the dying moments before the final whistle, he was alert to dive to his left to deny QYB their 6^th goal.

If there was any consolation, well, we won the 2^nd half though the final score 5 – 3 spoke for itself.

Man of The Team: Chwee Leng (5 out of 8 votes)

His desire to get back at the match stood out. His fitness has improved a lot, nowadays he has enough energy to expend, F players and shout instructions on the pitch J. And he finished the match without being substituted. Black Dragon was our Man:

1. MOTM Chwee Leng - Played with great energy despite the heat and the non-stop running opponents.
2. motm - Chwee Leng easily stand out from the rest, in a game that most did not played well.  He was always shouting instruction to players, doing well in the right back position.   I almost think he needs an oxygen tank at the end of the game.
3.  IT was not easy to play with almost some many first-time guests today. we were disjointed and so it's hard to pick an outstanding player. no doubt most had to over-extend today, but motm goes to leng for making the right side safe in the second half, after astutely identifying the problem that plaque us in the first. 
4. I think Chwee Leng and Chor Guan badly wanted to make a difference in the game. I think they held up the Marine Sunday invitational team. My tip for Chwee Leng.
5. Chwee Leng for stepping up to be counted. A very accomplished display in the 2^nd half as right fullback.

Teck Chye, not surprisingly, was the only one who could take these young lads on. But, not surprisingly again, fitness hampered him:

“Motm was T Chye. He played well when most of us were off form that day.”

“Motm is teck chye- did a lot of work in the center.”

One solo vote placed him 3^rd:

“MOTM to kian hwa for his endless running, unselfish play, made several crosses.”

Match #50 (01 Nov 09): No Rock, No Shape, Finally Beaten!

After two months of wins and draws, we finally tasted defeat but against such quality opponent, we had no quarrel with the loss, what with a respectable score line of 2 – 3. But we knew that with our full squad, we could offer them a stiffer opposition. Opponent, hereafter referred to as Quality Veterans, have a few players who used to represent Singapore Chinese and everyone has the basic technique to pass the ball around on the big pitch confidently, hold the ball and get into space. ITE Balestier being their weekly haunt, they are comfortable with the big-sized pitch, switching play from flank to flank effortlessly.

We seized an early lead through Simon’s well-placed shot, after a fine pass from Chwee Leng. That was nothing but a false dawn as Quality Veterans turned on their style. Our side midfielders just could not deal with their flank play and they rained cross after cross into our penalty box and eventually they got their well-deserved equaliser. One of their smaller players got behind Melvin to head past Brandon. 1 – 1 and it stayed that way at the break.

They snatched the lead through another cross-and-header. Brandon’s slackness was punished when he went for a cross without much conviction, allowing QV’s striker to outjump him and head the ball into the net. 1 – 2. Our last-minute signing, a burly Nigerian, restored parity for us when he slot the ball under QV’s keeper’s body. 2 – 2. Just when we thought we could hold on to a respectable draw, QV won the match through another cross-and-header. This time round, their striker was again left unmarked in the box and he headed the ball powerfully into goal, giving Brandon no chance. 2 – 3 but a hard fought match, no doubt.

Man of The Match: Simon (7 out of 10 votes)

Only 2 players were nominated and they deservedly so. Simon came in with a convincing win:

1. “Simon. Worked his lungs out today. His position was tough in this big field but he made sure he was always 1 tip of the triangle pass we were trying to form the whole match. Classy touch for that 1st goal.”

2. “simon. support the defend well, give one good pass to yan song in last minute of the game, but save by their defender.”

3. “MOTM - Among us stand one who contributed the most, even though we lost our first game in the new formation. My vote goes to Simon, for his cool finish for the first goal and his overall play.”

4. “My pick - Simon. Played a key role in linking forward with midfield and made several clever passes and knock-ons. Our forward had to quickly learn our style of play and adapted largely because of Simon. Scored a clever goal and was instrumental in the second. Ran non-stop.”

5. “MOtm - Simon. score a good 1st goal and works his work rate is superb throughout the match.”

6. “Motm is simon. nice link up play and passes in the middle"

7. “Simon for a well-taken goal and working his socks off!”

Chor Guan was the other providing a solid display of grit and work rate:

1. “MOTM - Chor Guan - another energetic display at the backline on a heavy pitch”

2. “MOM is Chor Guan - He covered the defence well and was key to us holding the opposition back in the 2nd half. He cut off a lot of the opponent's off the ball running to receive the ball He also pushed himself to help the attack whenever he had the opportunity.”

3. “Motm to guan a battling performance in the heart of defence. wasn't easy as opponents played with composure around the danger areas but guan didn't let up.”

Match #49 (25 Oct 09): Another Hard Fought Win With A Depleted Squad!

match report contributed by mel

Hot day, 12 players, small pitch, good opponents. All the ingredients of a good, hard match. The opening 15 minutes was a scrappy start for Marine Sunday. After playing as defender in the last two matches, Melvin sparked a series of problems with his non-positional play. Our opponents, Winchester United, were good at counter attacks and had speedy wingers on either side and a deceptively quick forward. Despite the slackness at the back, we held our own with two guest players - Song and Kwok Khuen - terrorising on the left. The pair were to contribute to our first two goals. Song seized the first with a delightful punt from outside the box, aiming for the top corner. The shortish keeper palmed the ball but his effort merely guided it into the same corner Song was aiming for. 1-0.

We still struggled with stringing passes together and at the other end, Guan and Leong had a tough time with the diagonal runs made by their forward line. The central midfielder displayed class and skill, often weaving his way around a sea of legs with the deftest of touches. But it was MS which grabbed a goal again. From the same left position, Khuen - he had already delivered a few pot shots at goal - whacked one that was low and hard. It rolled through the keeper's hands and past his legs for our second. 2-0. Winchester immediately shot into action. Their left winger - hacked repeatedly by Ng - outjumped our defender for the central striker to hit one past Brandon on the half-volley. 2-1 at half=time.

The second half was a different game. Leo continued his fine form, intercepting a series of passes and sparking counter attacks with his infamous "tonjols". At the other end, Chye, Wah and Mike were playing havoc on the left with Simon running through the middle in support. A series of passes in defence led to Wah laying it for his brother who stretched his hymen to slide the ball past the onrushing keeper. 3-1. Then came a series of misses - Song headed just wide, Wah beat the keeper but played the ball a little too deep for Chye, Chye's ambitious lob failed to beat the keeper and Simon's shot was comfortably covered by the keeper. But it was clear a fourth was coming. Another well-worked effort with Wah and Chye playing clever one-touch passes put Simon through. With the keeper rushing out, Simon put in a gentle lob which sailed over the keeper into the empty goal. 4-1.

Game in the bag right? Nope. Winchester, demonstrating the same tenacity as MS, were relentless in their pursuit for goals. If their first was good, their second was even better. Brandon, who had to make a series of saves, could do nothing as a shot from just outside the box sailed past the crowded box into the far corner. 4-3. Then their left midfielder danced his way past the defenders before placing the ball just wide of our keeper. 4-3. It was becoming hectic and we were panicking. Wah came back to defend and he did so stoutly, throwing his frame infront of their striker's attempt at goal. Right at the end, a pinball session almost led to their equaliser until Brandon grabbed the ball and hung on to it for dear life.

Final score 4-3.

Man of The Match: Teck Wah (3 out of 10 votes)

A very keenly-contested encounter and Teck Wah edged ahead of the pack by just 1 vote:

1. “MOtm- Teck Wah. Created some nice chances. Supported both attack and defence well.

2. “MOTM: Teck Wah - he was everywhere and everything. Tracking back to defend, running after long passes, fighting for headers, saved a possible last gasp equalizer in front of keeper. What did he not do?
3. “Motm is Teck Wah - was involved in most of our attacking play”

3 players, one of whom a guest player, tied at 2 votes each. Preference goes to our own players, so that eliminated Yang Song. Between Simon and Leo: since one of Simon’s two votes came from the MoTM himself, that carried a bit more weight to nudge Leo to 3rd position. Simon at 2nd:

1. “motm: simon for closing down the dangerman in midfield and scoring a wonderful goal which turned out to be the winning goal”

2. “Motm was Simon. Played well in the center of the park. Won key battles with the opponent's best player, their playermaker.”

Leo at 3rd:

1. “MOTM goes to Leo. Hard running and tackles all day. His timely tackles were a joy to watch. Worked super hard and with no reserves to save his delicate lungs, our MLM towkay had to push himself for 90 minutes.
2. “leo good defend in intercepting few passes and created few counter attacks.”

Yang Song and The Rock mopped up the remaining 3 votes:

1. “MOTM goes to Yang Song who came on & played like a 18-year old with zest & drive running all over the pitch(lack of understanding of our 4-2-3-1 formation & tactical play) & challenging every ball with passion. It really made a difference to our game play after our first 15 mins of organised chaos.”

2. “Motm today is last minute guest player yan song. An energetic display of solid pressing & tackling in the role of def mid. Scored an exquisite first timer. Our defenders put their bodies on the line against the onslaught as well!”

3. “MOM is to Hock leong for inspiring performance in covering the defensive gaps and repelling the continuous wave of attacks that rained on us. He was a "rock" in the middle of a organized chaos (his own words).”

Match #48 (18 Oct 09): The Most Undeserving Win Ever!

We had two previous encounters with Oxford United FC, which I referred them as AA United then. Our first encounter was in August 2008 and then, a 10-men Marine Sunday steamrolled over them 4 – 1. Then, in April this year, we whitewashed them 7 – 1! So, the inevitable durian-picking mentality seeped into our minds when we saw them, as usual, slowly trooping into the pitch on last Sunday ultra-hot afternoon.

Their infamous tardiness made them start the match with 2 men short and within 5 minutes, we were a goal up, courtesy of a well-worked move down the right and then Teck Wah sent in a measured cross for Gan to head past the static keeper. That further fuelled the durian-harvesting thoughts but from then, we lost our shape.

Oxford players consistently display these attributes in all the 3 matches we played – tardiness, players take their own sweet time to change up even though they are late, start off slowly but surely regain the momentum of the match and come back strongly at us. The difference for this time round was that they should have won this match convincingly but luck simply deserted them. 2 efforts came off the underside of the horizontal, one spot kick brilliantly saved by Brandon, another one-on-one effort denied by Brandon and then cleared off the line by Seah. These were enough to bury us alive. Sure, we created enough threats as well but nothing as threatening as them. Kian Hwa’s numerous crosses from the left always came up short in reaching the intended targets in the box. On the contrary, Teck Wah’s and Seah’s deliveries from the right tended to over hit. Teck Wah and Kian Hwa did deliver just one successful cross each, and each was converted into goal. Teck Wah did it early in the game and Kian Hwa left it in the dying moments of the match.

Oxford slowly seized the upperhand of the match. A long shot from their playmaker came off the underside of the bar and Brandon had to be alert later to tip over his another long-range effort from a free-kick. Their equaliser eventually came. We failed to clear their corner cleanly and the heat must have numbed our reflex and reaction as we were guilty of ball-watching the 2nd cross into the box. Their striker put the ball convincingly past Brandon with a left-foot volley. 1 – 1 stood at the much awaited half-time break.

Oxford missed 3 more gilt-edged chances in the 2nd half. Their forward swept past Chwee Leng and Seah down the left and his cross into the box came off Weng Kwan’s left arm. The referee pointed to the spot without hesitation but their playmaker again failed to put the ball past Brandon, who produced his trademark penalty save. Is Brandon better than Pepe Reina now? Brandon came to our rescue again when he came off his line to block Oxford’s striker’s advance into a one-on-one attempt. The rebound ball was trickling into the open goal but Seah was at the right place to clear the ball for a corner. Oxford’s playmaker was left cursing at his luck later when another of his left-foot shots failed to get past the goal frame again.

With energy sapped by the searing heat, we managed to garner the last ounce of energy in the last 5 minutes to get at them. Kian Hwa sped down the left flank to retrieve a long pass from Simon. He managed to return a pass to Simon but the latter failed to pick out the exact spot to beat the out-of-position keeper. Our last attacking effort involving our front trio of Kian Hwa-Gan-Teck Wah finally came to the good. Kian Hwa exchanged a one-two with Gan and broke free into the box to receive the return pass. KH finally produced a decent cross to reach Teck Wah, who stretched his hamstring to the limit to tuck the ball into the net. Unbelievably, Oxford found themselves 2 – 1 down and eventually an agonising defeat.

Man of The Match: Brandon (7 out of 11 votes)

We owed the win to this man – the one in goal!

1. “MOM: got to be Brandon. world class penalty save.”

2. “brandon. did few good save during the game, the main reason we go home with a WIN.”

3. “MOTM on 181009 - Brandon, he got a few good save today and especially he save the penalty shot out.”

4. “motm: brandon gets my vote for the pk save n couple of other saves keeping us in the game. seah did well filling in on the lower right and din give them much space.”

5. “What a penalty save! And a solid performance throughout - tip overs, blocks, dives & assured handling. Motm to brandon!”

6. “Run out of superlatives to describe his performance. Breathtaking goalkeeping but the bar also saved 2 certain goals for us. So, between Brandon and the goalpost, I go for Brandon since he is a man and we are voting for Man of the Match. I can’t be certain whether the goalpost is male or female….So, Brandon lor!”

7. “MOTM is Brandon for a great performance between the post in keeping us in the game with some great saves , especially the penalty. His command and control of the penalty box is also getting better.”

Old Man Leo was a cool dude in such a hot day. He stuck out his leg at the right time on a few occasions to break up Oxford United’s attacks. 2 votes placed him in 2nd position:

1. “3pm sun battered all but Leo found hidden reserves to battle on. Very consistent the whole game and even stamped his authority on the right when they needed help. MOTM Leo.”

2. “On a hot day that made most of us underperformed, MOTM goes to Leo for subduing opponent’s offensive effort on numerous occasions.”

Recently, both Wah and Hwa kept locking horns with each other in MoTM nominations. This time round, both had 1 vote each. For a goal and an assist, these are more than enough to break the tie. 3rd spot goes to Teck Wah:

1. “MOTM for 18th oct game goes to teck wah. Ran his lungs out. Made many threatening run down the flank and was involve in both goals. 1st, he set up gan for the opening goal with a beautiful cross and scored the decisive winner in the dying minutes.”

Consolation vote for Kian Hwa:

1. “MOTM for 18 Oct game. It has to be KH for this game. Although it was a very hot afternoon when everyone almost got a heatstroke, KH burst of speed resulted in our equalising goal.”

Match #47 (14 Oct 09): Marine Sunday and Brickwork Boyz Settled For a Thrilling 5 – 5 Draw!

Marine Sunday and Brickwork Boyz dished out a thrilling end-to-end match that produced an eye-popping 5 – 5 score line. BB had the first say of the match from the very 1st minute but we had the final sign-off in the dying seconds. The match was like a pendulum in the 1st half with the lead swinging from one side to the other but it was Marine Sunday chasing the match throughout the 2nd half. And chase, we did. It was no boast that both sides stepped off the pitch with perhaps mutual respect and admiration for each other. BB’s fluency and passing were pleasing to the eyes, Marine Sunday’s grit and spirit were heartening.

The 4-2-3-1 line-up might have survived the big pitch in last Saturday’s match at Safra but our opponent then, Modello, and us were fairly even teams. Wednesday’s match posed a bigger test to us with both the big pitch and a very strong opponent in BB. The last time we squared up, it was on New Year’s eve and then, BB possessed, among their ranks, a few ex-internationals e.g. Tan Sio Beng, Tan Kim Leng, Lim Soon Seng. With a lop-sided 80%:20% possession in their favour, how we managed to restrict ourselves to a mere 2 – 0 loss was a miracle. Perhaps, they have seen the light that there is no fun in overrunning their opponents in such social matches. Thus, we were glad that the above trio were nowhere in sight when their players streamed in on Wednesday but BB still packed enough quality to overwhelm us. And they did just that right from the 1st minute of the match. A through pass down their left caught Chung Wen and Weng Khong cold and this had their left winger surged into the box and hit a ferocious shot that cannoned off the left upright. Before we could react, their right winger followed up on the rebound but his shot was smothered. That was a fierce intent they made and it certainly instilled some chill into us.

The Rock was a calming force and kept urging us to keep our shape but nobody was exactly surprised when BB seized the lead early in the match. Leo missed clearing a piercing pass by an inch and this allowed the ball to reach their central striker who, just outside the box and with his back facing the goal, knew exactly where the target was. A quick turn and he put the ball past the advancing Brandon into the unguarded goal. 0 – 1!

Both Kian Hwa and Simon came close with their free-kicks but it was the hardworking Gan who finally broke his barren spell to restore parity. Kian Hwa managed to intercept a pass just outside BB’s penalty box and laid the ball to Gan. One look at where BB’s keeper was standing, the next move for Gan was to shoot from outside the box. The keeper looked a bit suspicious in high balls and it proved to be right. He couldn’t deal with the dipping shot and we were all square, 1 – 1! BB’s keeper’s uncertainty in handling high balls was a kink in their armour. He failed again to deal cleanly with Teck Chye’s corner and the ball dropped kindly in front of Kok Hock, making his first appearance in months due to knee injury. Ironically, it was his injured left knee that knocked the loose ball over the line, a surprising 2 – 1 lead for us!

BB’s fluency in passing and superior fitness started to stretch us apart and a few of us started losing our positional plays. Kian Hwa was one of the guilty ones as he lost sight of their right wide man, who cushioned a high ball nicely down for their Malay striker to hit a rocket from outside the box. Brandon had no answer to the shot and the ball went through this grip for BB’s equaliser. 2 – 2! We could have gone into the break a goal down but BB fluffed their penalty, which was awarded against Melvin for tripping their nippy right winger in the box. To our relief, their last man sent the ball from the spot to kiss the left post again. 1st half ended at 2 apiece.

The gulf in quality prevailed even more starkly in the 2nd half. We were left chasing after their players and the score line in the 2nd half. We failed to clear a corner cleanly and their burly defender walloped a first-timer that had everyone in the box flat-footed, 2 – 3! We refused to lie down and be run over and our 3rd goal was a combination of determined harassment and good anticipation. Ng surged down the left flank to harass their right back, forcing the latter to pass a square ball towards his keeper. Gan anticipated the back pass and managed to nip in front of the static keeper to rob the ball from him. With the open goal at his mercy, Gan did no wrong. 3 – 3!

The match was certainly not for the faint-hearted with how one side kept snatching the lead and the other side kept battling back for survival. BB were awarded another penalty when Weng Kwan was adjudged to have brought down their player. Their midfield playmaker made no mistake with the conversion, despite Brandon diving the right way. 3 – 4! Our Tang brothers had other ideas and together, they conjured up a goal of class and quality. The elder Tang did just so well to hold the ball and turned his markers. He coolly chipped the ball onto the path of the younger Tang, who produced a van Basten’s volley into the far post, leaving BB’s 2nd half keeper no chance. 4 – 4!

Just when we seemed to look assured, another piece of poor marking in the box allowed their sweeper to meet a corner unchallenged at the far post. His downward header escaped both Ng and Brandon and they restored their lead again, 4 – 5! All seemed over with the clock ticking away. Teck Wah recovered a lost ball and sent it down the right to Gan. Gan pushed the ball forward as ST went over to collect, held it long enough before crossing it to Chwee Leng, whose initial attempt actually hit the side netting and came back into play. Thinking the ball was already out of play, BB’s defender handled the ball and to their disbelief, the referee pointed to the spot. Gan required no further invitation to go for his hat-trick, maintained his composure and beat the keeper from the spot. 5 – 5 and the final whistle went off, otherwise we might have gone on to produce a badminton score!

If football is not adrenalin pumping, what is?

Man of The Match: Gan (11 out of 15 votes)

The hardworking Gan broke his barren spell with not only a goal but a hat-trick! Facing off with Brickwork Boyz’ imposing defenders was no easy task but Gan was certainly up to it. A thoroughly deserving MoTM!

1. “MOTM goes to Gan for his tireless work as a lone striker & his cool conversion of the penalty which earned determined MARINE SUNDAY a hard-fought draw. What a game against a very strong opponent!”

2. “My motm goes to gan. As a lone ranger upfront, he worked hard to hold the ball so that the rest of the guys can join in the attack.”

3. “Motm goes to gan. Excellent control, held on to ball superbly, shielded ball well and it allowed our midfielders time to move up when we attack. Created havoc for their defenders with both flair and brute strength.”

4. “motm: lone striker...hattrick...need not elaborate...Gan lah!”

5. “His industry brought him a deserving hattrick & a draw for us. Held his nerve well to equalise fr penalty spot with the last kick of the match. Motm to Gan!”

6. “Motm 14 oct: Gan. Difficult job he made look easy. Was everywhere, got involved, confident. I won't dilute this by mentioning other worthy teammates.”

7. “My MOM is a toss up between Teck Chye and Gan , Teck Chye was always instrumental in creating opportunities including the defence splitting sublime pass to Teck Wah for his almost Van Basten look alike goal, where as Gan again played his heart out holding , shielding and scoring as well. This time around , I will go for Gan.”

8. “gan. cool finishing on the last minute penalty of the game.”

9. “We really struggled to string passes together on a big pitch. But we made the shots at goal count. Gan did well as a lone striker. His passes could have been better, and faster, but there is doubting his finishing and his tenacity. That he picked up the ball for the last gasp penalty equaliser speaks volumes of his confidence. A hat-trick against a good team is an achievement. Gan gets my vote.”

10. “MOtm- 14 OCt - Who else but Gan. Beautiful 1st goal, confidently taken penalty....and a hattrick.....good performance playing as a lone striker. However, still think sometimes he got to release the ball earlier or do one touch passing.”

11. “Motm-gan, scored hattrick against organised opponents in wide pitch”

 

While Gan stole the limelight, Teck Chye’s performance was a big plus for us in the matches to come. 2 votes placed him in 2nd position:

1. “MOM: Chye-he was the most consistent on the pitch and made at least 2 goals”

2. “No doubt Gan starred for us with his 3 well taken goals. But the only one who could match them and was able to take them on was Teck Chye. How he created the goal for Teck Wah spelt coolness and class and vision! Teck Chye is my choice!”

 

Both Ng and Teck Wah had 1 vote each. Teck Wah scored a beauty and was hardworking throughout. That has become our expectation of him, sort of. How our 3rd goal came about was due to, in no small measure, Ng’s harassment of their right fullback. Marginally, 3rd position goes to Ng:

1. “MOTM for 14th Oct = Ng. Despite facing opposition trickery and fast winger, he managed to contain him well and kept his crosses to minimum. Few critical tackles that break out their attacks. Some excellent throw-in too that create attacking opportunities for the the midfield and striker.”

Teck Wah, please do not be disheartened! Keep up that work rate!

1. “MOTM for 14 Oct Match - it was a satisfying game for a new era (4231, or 4321 or whatever combination). Amongst us stand some who had contributed the most to the game. My vote goes to Teck Wah. He seems to be playing with more purpose recently, defending as well as supporting the attack, asking for ball in the middle and above all, scored a wonder of a goal yesterday. I must also mention Teck Chye for a good display when he was playing in the centre of the 3. He is able to hold on to the ball until more supports arrive and launch the attack.”

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.”