Match #18 (18 Apr 09): We Lacked the 4 Cs to Seize the Day

Shocking Pink proved to be our bogey opponent again. The last time we met at Bowen Sec Sch, we lost the match 3 – 4 despite leading 3 – 2 at one stage. Our second meeting last Saturday was pretty similar. We had more scoring opportunities but we ended up playing catch-up throughout the match. After coming back twice to level the score, we almost gifted them the match after needlessly committing a penalty at the dying moments of the match. Brandon kept his concentration and made a brilliant save to deny them a second win over us. Simply put, we came up short in Command, Communication, Composure and Class to win this match. If Brandon could be more Commanding in the box, at least one of the two goals conceded, if not both, could have been avoided. If Chor Guan and Weng Kwan could Communicate more with each other, there would not have been the sloppy play at the back resulting in a penalty. If Mike and Teck Chye were more Composed in front of goal, either one of them, if not both, could have been our match winner. Lastly, we simply lacked Class, also known as Chua, to play the beautiful game and beat them.

But a couple of other Cs saved us the day. Brandon’s Concentration at the crucial moment left Shocking Pink with a what-if feeling if they had converted the penalty. Before Brandon’s heroics, a little Collaboration among Hwa-Chye-Wah paid off when we conjured up the 2nd equalising goal from an indirect free-kick just outside the penalty box.
The match welcomed Chor Guan’s return from a rather long layoff due to his ankle injury. Expectedly, he could not shake off the rustiness but he put up an encouraging performance that would only augur well for us.

The opening encounter was evenly matched but Shocking Pink’s first goal exposed the lack of command and communication at the back. We let a ball into the box go unchecked but none of the 3 – Brandon, Chor Guan and Weng Kwan – stepped up to clear it. SP’s striker nipped in to flick the ball over Brandon for their lead. 0 – 1. SP gained the initiative after they found the net but then our defence tightened up to foil their moves. We prodded and prodded, and our effort paid off, courtesy to Teck Chye’s combination of fine reading of the game, ball control, skill and confidence in shooting. He intercepted a poor control by SP’s defender, advanced to dribble past 2 other players before unleashing a left-foot shot from outside the box. The flight of the ball was perfect as it dipped in time to land below the bar and into the net. 1 – 1!

We stepped up a notch in the 2nd half and regained the upper hand of the match. Mike, to everybody’s astonishment, fluffed a golden opportunity in the 6-yard box with the goal mouth at his mercy. Melvin then fed Kian Hwa a fine ball down the right flank and the latter put in his trademark low, square pass into the box but Teck Chye, unlike his younger sibling, screwed the ball wide. Immediately after the horrendous miss, Teck Chye, fearing the tirade from cross provider, ran for cover. The week before, he presented Kian Hwa with a similar scoring opportunity but the latter air-balled it and earned himself tons of sneering from the provider. Now, the hero-turned-villain Teck Chye realised it was not easy after all to convert an easy-looking chance. Against the run of play, SP regained the lead when a pass towards our penalty box could have been ably dealt with. If Brandon had called for the ball this time round, he perhaps did not do it in time for Chor Guan to withdraw his sliding clearance. Guan’s clearance cannoned off Chwee Leng’s shin and the ball rolled past the stranded Brandon into goal. 1 – 2.

SP’s custodian, in contrast, was authoritative in the box and commanded every ball within his grasp. A moment of over enthusiasm and exuberance, however, landed him outside the box with the ball fully in his arms. Kian Hwa, Teck Chye and Teck Wah held a 5-minute summit meeting to plot the move. Kian Hwa served as the decoy, teeing up for a left-foot shot but Teck Chye rolled the ball instead to his left for Teck Wah to chip it over the wall. By the time SP’s keeper realised it, the ball kissed the underside of the bar before bouncing over the line for our 2nd goal! Late into the match, just when we thought we would settle for a draw, a total lack of communication between Weng Kwan and Chor Guan resulted in the loss of ball possession to them, allowing their tall striker to advance into the box before he was checked by the small Ng in the box. The referee saw it as a manhandling and blew for a contentious penalty. Justice prevailed and Brandon spared our defenders the blushes.

Final score 2 – 2.

Man of The Match: Ng (5 votes)
Though it sounded like our defence was tentative and sloppy, they actually put in a very credible performance to deny SP players who are faster and more mobile. 4 out of 5 nominees came from our rearguards and collectively they garnered 12 out of 16 votes. Those 2 facts spoke volumes of their efforts!

“Ng for his timely and amazing tackles. He was aggressive and always giving 100 percent.”
“Ng. He made at least two important tackles to deny opponents.”
“Many motm moments; Chye's stupendous solo goal, Wah's brilliant curler, Brandon's last-minute penalty save, Wen's superb defensive coverage, etc. I go for the unflinching, no nonsense man with a mission - Ng. Simply went out & gave it hard on their best player, never mind the penalty. Solid!”
“motm: toss up between Hock Leong and Ng. Both were putting in lots of hard tackles and breaking up play. Ng gets my vote cos it isn't easy for a fullback to shine, but he made a huge impact.”
“MOM: Ng - for his bone crushing tackles which helped to save us a few times from almost certain goals.”

Teck Chye was just a vote behind:
“Motm – chye, great goal and at a great time to score”
“Motm goes to teck chye. Scored a gem of a goal to put us back in the game. Was menacing and threatening when taking on players from midfield.”
“MOTM goes to Teck Chye for his tireless work in the midfield & scoring a beauty after winning a loose ball.”
“Motm: teck chye who do a solo, dribble past a few opponents, and lob in a goal.”

Our other fullback, Chung Wen, was a man on a mission that day!
“Motm: chung wen. Played simple football n hold the tall Chinese striker well”
“MOTM: Chung Wen. While T Chye and Simon were the pivots of the game, Chung Wen made more than a few timely tackles, much to opponents frustration as we saw. (T Wah - that was the best goal i've seen this year. How many goals are scored from free kick at our amateur level? - almost never)”
“MoTM to Chung Wen – The Master of Simplicity! The ball he cleared out of the field into the school compound showed his conviction. And how he later read the ball well in the box and got ahead of their striker to head it away so decisively. Simple, clean but supremely effective!”

The Rock and Brandon split the remaining 4 votes equally between them:
“hl for the hard & tenacious tackles”
“MOtM is Hock Leong. Just played brilliantly.”
“Brandon. Save the penalty cause by me so I vote him. Haha”
“MOM: Brandon for the penalty defying save - way to go”

Match #17 (12 April 08): Two Bouts of Flash Thunderstorms Flooded AA United!

Our performance against AA United (our last encounter with them was on 31 August 2008 and I named them AA United to mean Attitude Aplenty for their tardiness and taking their own sweet time to change up. For the record, a 10-men Marine Sunday beat them 4 – 1!) was reflective of the recent weather – bright and sunny followed by flash of strong thunderstorm and lightning, then back to fine weather again. We overrun AA with two periods of thunderstorm-like performance in the first 30 minutes and last 15 minutes of the match, enough to wreak devastating havoc to flood and drown them. AA United must have wondered what hit them as they felt the full brunt of the pent-up deprivation of Marine Sunday, after their last match was called off due to well, inclement weather!

The first wave of force majeure that hit them was in the scale of a cyclone named Hwa-Chye-Wah that whacked them 5 goals in the first 30 minutes before they came to their senses. Kian Hwa had a role in all the 5 goals, from providing key assists to mere cameo to even comical! Then, Hurricane Teck Wah swept through the terrain for the last 15 minutes to aggravate their misery. In between, they enjoyed a decent spell of bright and sunny weather to even score a consolation, albeit meaningless, goal. It was a scoring spree to rack up a resounding 7 – 1 win to make up for lack of football action the week before.

The first goal came from a cleverly worked freekick just outside the box. Just when AA United were anticipating a ball into the box, Teck Chye chipped the ball over the wall for Kian Hwa lurking unmarked just behind it. The latter had plenty of time to look up and floated a measured left-foot cross into the six-yard box. Mike jumped the highest to thump in a header for our opening goal. Teck Chye then brilliantly intercepted a ball on the right, advanced unchecked into the box and picked out Kian Hwa with a low square pass. For the 2nd successive match, Kian Hwa failed to connect with the ball in front of the open goal and fluffed the ball totally. To his relief, the ball came off his left ankle onto the path of Teck Wah, who showed how a goal should be scored. 2 – 0 up! Despite the potentially disastrous miss, the rest nevertheless applauded Kian Hwa for his comical relief. The Kian Hwa-Teck Wah partnership then conjured up a pair of identical goals to double the lead, with the former more than adequately atoning for his earlier embarrassing miss. Even the runs down the left flank, the left-foot crosses from the left, the height and pace of the ball, and the eventual conversions were carbon copy of each other. The match was hardly 25% done but Teck Wah had already bagged his hattrick! 4 – 0!

Melvin, sporting a slimmer frame and more nimble feet, sent a corner from the right. Kian Hwa, a constant pest to AA United defence by now, jumped to challenge the keeper. His cameo role and brief encounter with the keeper in the air was enough to cause the keeper to spill the ball. Teck Chye followed up on the loose ball with a thunderous strike that burst the net. 5 – 0 and we were cruising. While the score line suggested a lop-sided affair, our comrades at the back kept things simple with timely clearances to frustrate AA United, with Hock Leong eventually earning his well deserved acclaim - “The Rock”. After the 5th goal, the “foul weather” died down a little, much to the relief of AA. No further goals resulted and the half-time score stood at 5 nil.

Much credit to the team, we did not take our feet off the pedal in the 2nd half. Chwee Leng and Teck Chye had efforts denied by the goal frame, after AA’s custodian was soundly beaten. We toiled but yielded nothing. We were further frustrated by the referee’s dubious offside decisions against us. AA gathered momentum and laid siege on our goal. A hesitant effort by Kok Hock failed to clear the ball away and to make matters worse, Brandon’s buttery fingers allowed the ball to slip through his grasp and AA’s striker was thankful for the unexpected gift dropping at his feet. Again, we failed to keep a clean sheet, 5 – 1! They could have narrowed the deficit when Brandon misjudged a low shot. Instead of attempting to save the shot, Brandon allowed the ball to travel unimpeded but to our relief, the ball came off the right post and Ng cleared the rebound away. Brandon then made up for his howlers with a fine effort to deny AA on a one-on-one attempt.

The re-introduction of Teck Wah in the final 15 minutes of the match rejuvenated Marine Sunday. Whereas Kian Hwa terrorised AA from the left flank in the 1st half, Teck Wah announced his presence with a hurricane-like display on the right, sweeping AA off their feet with his numerous crosses. He found See Chiang with a pinpoint cross but the latter saw his header cleared off the line. We were not to be denied for any longer. The goal of the match came from the person who started and finished it off – Leo. After stopping AA’s attack and winning back the ball, Leo sent the ball to Melvin, who superbly laid it down the right for Teck Wah. Leo continued his run forward and was hugely rewarded for his effort when he converted Teck Wah’s square pass, toe-poking the ball at the near post before the keeper could get to the ball. 6 – 1! Weng Khong then broke their offside line but his first touch was too strong, allowing their last man to recover and rob the ball away. Teck Wah got to the loose ball on time before it went over the byeline and sent in another cross but the keeper must have applied the same butter as Brandon on his gloves. He failed to hold on to the ball cleanly, spilled it over the line before desperately clawing the ball out. Though Weng Khong pushed the ball over the line just to ensure a valid goal, credit had to go to our goal machine. 7 – 1.

After suffering from the thundering goals and lightning strikes meted out by us, AA found the final whistle music to their ears.

Man of the Match: Kian Hwa (8 votes)
I am potentially in a conflict of interest position and may be perceived to “rig” the votes. But hey, you can always ask who these 8 nominators are!

"Motm to kian hwa. Solid first half performance, lively runs down the flanks and added width to our attacks. Three assists and benitez would have been impressed with the pinpoint crosses. was a constant menance to their defence and goalie. Special mention to hock leong who was a rock in defence."
"Mom-kian hwa. Great assists...deliberate or otherwise."

"MOTM goes to Kian Hwa for his numerous assists that resulted in an early 5 goals ahead advantage in the first half...."
"Motm kian hwa. had a hand in at least 4 goals. lots of penetrating runs down the left."

"Vote goes to kian hwa. Had more than a hand in all five goals in first half."

"Motm to lkh for his numerous assists"

"Motm today is the one who made plenty of forceful running, terrorize the defenders & creating at least a hattrick of assists, intentional or comical. No need for names ;)"
“Although Teck Wah scored a hat-trick [Ed: 4 goals, not 3], my MOTM goes to Kian Wah [Ed: Hwa, not Wah] for his effective wing play and crosses which have created 3-4 of all goals scored. He is certainly back to his best [Ed: his best is yet to be!] after the dengue infection.”

Teck Wah scored 4 goals and earned 4 votes:
"Teck wah for the double brace"

"Motm goes to teck wah..constant threat up front, took his opportunities well."

"Teck wah. Made big difference when playing. 3 well taken goals and made at least two more"
“My vote for Teck Wah. Complete performance, brilliant crossing, strikes and mopping up of loose balls.”

A couple of votes went to our Rock:
"U[i.e. kh] or tw or hl? U for the number of assists, tw for the no of gd goals, hl for no of aerial n ground challenges win, hmmm. I think i will go for HL, cause not easy to play defence in the field condition n also against some of their players"
"Hock Leong aka The Rock! How he repelled off their offensive moves in the 1st half was football made simple. In the first 15 min of 2nd half, we were shaky at the back without him, and that was when we conceded the goal needlessly. A tactical change saw him back into the fray and he restored stability just like that, rather effortlessly."

1 each for Teck Chye, Leo and Brandon:
"Mom is teck chye for his ball winning and also the creation of chances for others. He was unlucky and could hv scored more."
"Mom: Leo: good connection from cross. It's excellent goal."

"Motm: Brandon. Everyone play very well, brandon play little better than others."

Match #16 (28 March 2009): An Action-Filled 3 – 3 Draw!

Marine Sunday and Top Ten (formerly Terrapinn) dished out a pulsating match, exchanging lead throughout the match and eventually producing a heart-stopping 3 – 3 draw at the dying moment of the match.

With one effort cannoning off the upright, Top Ten also brought out 4 top drawer saves from Brandon. Any one of the 4 attempts would have hit the net if anybody else was in goal. At our end, Kian Hwa, certainly rusty and short of pace after a 3-match layoff, screwed up 2 gilt-edged one-on-one chances, Teck Wah had 2 attempts cleared off the line and another hitting the post, See Chiang saw his goal-bound header tipped over the bar by Top Ten’s custodian. With such number of goal-scoring opportunities each side failed to convert, either side could have snatched the match but on the other hand, neither side also deserved to lose.

Despite the far-from-satisfactory passing and movements, we captured the lead. Top Ten's right back, under harassment from Mike, attempted a back pass to his stopper but the weak pass was well read and intercepted by Kian Hwa, who was a step quicker to rob the ball before the stopper could get to it. Seeing his fellow strike partner, Teck Wah, lurking unmarked in the box, Kian Hwa quickly squared a grounder across the box for Teck Wah to do what he knows best - scoring, amid weak offside calls from Top Ten defenders. Despite the dengue-enforced layoff, Kian Hwa seemed energetic enough to again beat the stopper to the ball on the left and had another perfect opportunity to set Teck Wah up at the far post. But much as he was spiritually willing, he failed to deliver the cross and he promptly attributed it to the lack of strength and conditioning in his limbs.

Top Ten then took over the possession and their No 7, a tall and lanky striker with nimble feet, No 37, another tall but powerfully built midfielder who is comfortable to take on players, and their last-minute import, a Chinese left winger full of tricks, began to wreak havoc for us. First, No 7 made full use of his height and helped himself to a thundering header that hit the ground before coming off the right post. Brandon was alert enough to collect the rebound. That was the first of the many close shaves we suffered and the writing was ominously on the wall for their equaliser. We then conceded a free kick outside the box. Top Ten's first attempt hit the wall but their No 37 followed up on the rebound with a bullet that pierced through a sea of bodies towards goal. Just when it was destined to break the net, Brandon miraculously pulled off a one-handed block to divert the ball over the bar despite seeing the ball late. It was a blinding save, to say the least, and his right palm must have felt the full sting of the shot. We were relieved that none of us was in the way of the flight of the ball. Top Ten then peppered at our goal with a couple of powerful shots from distance. It was not surprising that their equalizer eventually came, courtesy of their No 7's quick feet. He showed that he was just as good as Crouch with the ball at his feet by beating our defenders in the box before slotting the ball past Brandon. 1 - 1. No 7 then powered another header from a corner and again, Brandon’s outstretched arm bailed us out again.

The equaliser provided much impetus to Top Ten and their goal No 2 soon came after. In an over zealous effort to recapture the lead, we committed too many bodies, including our stopper See Chiang, in an attack. Our offensive move broke down and they launched a quick counter attack that exposed our frailties at the rear. A quick one-two between their tricky Chinese winger and No 37 caught Hock Leong flat-footed and No 37 went on to beat Brandon with a stiff grounder. Top Ten now seized the initiative. Brandon then pulled off another stupendous save to keep us in the game. Another free kick just outside the box was conceded and again, No 37 proved to be a nightmare for us as he let fly another rocket at goal. Brandon somehow managed to tip the ball onto the bar before it went over for a corner.

A series of tactical changes managed to calm things down for us. Teck Chye, who came in for the depleted Kian Hwa, dropped back into midfield to beef up the control. See Chiang was moved to the left midfield slot to take on their weak spot - the right fullback. Kok Hock retreated to take over See Chiang's stopper role. Those tactical changes paid off as Teck Chye, with his superb control of the ball and tenacity to win 50-50 balls, began to call the shots and dictate play for us. Teck Wah had a left footed effort from the edge of the box cleared on the line. Kian Hwa, who came back into the game, then wasted another couple of good attacking moves. He first responded well to Teck Chye's pass in the box but his weak legs let him down again as his eventual cross into the box was too feeble to reach Teck Wah in the 6-yards box. Then a string of quick passes set him through in the box but his left-footed attempt was executed in haste without any precision. Half-time ended with Top Ten holding a 2 - 1 lead.

The game plan to capitalise on their right fullback paid off in the 2nd half. Simple football yielded our equaliser. Brandon distributed the ball out to Kian Hwa on the right, who then laid it off to Teck Wah in the middle of the park. Top Ten was guilty of allowing Teck Wah too much time and space on the ball as they were retreating with every step Teck Wah advanced. Teck Wah then threaded a ball in between 2 defenders to pick out See Chiang coming in from the left into the box. See Chiang beat the advancing keeper to the ball and laid off a square pass across the box for Kian Hwa. The latter's first attempt at the open goal failed miserably but he was blessed enough to have a 2nd bite of the cherry as he mustered enough strength to blast home the loose ball. 2 - 2 and we upped the tempo to introduce Yong Chua into the game.

The astute pairing of Hock Leong and Kok Hock at the heart of our defence settled down well and, despite a pace slower, they were comfortable in dealing with their attacks. Unfortunately, our midfield dynamo, Teck Chye, had to retire early from the match but this absence was largely compensated by the classy Yong Chua's presence. Though clearly affected by his nearly washed out knee, Yong Chua still proved a handful for Top Ten to deal with and he punished them dearly with our 3rd goal, which could only be delivered by someone with that kind of eagled eye for a goal. From outside the box, Yong Chua appeared harmless with the ball and Top Ten defence looked well covered but the former chipped a delightful ball to land it at the top left hand corner, giving their keeper no chance at all. We regained the lead, 3 - 2! See Chiang really tormented their right fullback. He slipped off the latter's attention easily and got into the 6-yards box to meet a dipping cross from Leo on the right. See Chiang's header packed enough strength to break the net but it was tipped over for a corner by the last minute intervention from their keeper's fingers. Teck Wah then wriggled his way through and beat the keeper but his effort came off the right post. His follow-up effort was blocked by the keeper just when the ball was bound for goal.

The early departure of Yong Chua reversed the territorial superiority to them and they regained to impose themselves again. Brandon proved to be a major obstacle to them and pulled off a save that brought back memories of the legendary Gordon Bank’s save against Pele’s header. No 7 spun ran rings around Chwee Leng before floating a ball into the box, which their Indian winger connected the ball with perfection. By then, Brandon had moved to his left to cover the angle but against all odds, produced a reflex save by diving to his right in time to palm away the certain goal. Their Indian winger buried his head in his hands in disbelief and we shook our heads in relief. Nevertheless, we still looked good for a well-fought win but our fatigue, tactical naivety and lack of concentration in the last five minutes conceded a last minute equaliser to them. We should have just run down the clock and kept possession but with both Yong Chua and Teck Chye out of the game then, the only way to keep the ball to our feet was to glue it to our boots. We committed unnecessary players upfront for corners when we should have known better that they were better in dealing with high balls and we kept gifting possession back to them. One such giveaway proved suicidal. Chung Wen’s clearance was weak and their talisman, No 37 robbed the ball and blasted past Chung Wen with ease. From a tight angle near the byeline, he walloped a fierce shot that Brandon was just glad his face was not in the way. He stood motionless as the ball just flew past him in a flash. Top Ten were naturally ecstatic with their equaliser and we could only kick ourselves for our shortcomings.

The whistle went off timely for us to settle for a 3 – 3 draw!

Man of The Match: Brandon (14 votes)
14 out of 15 votes, you can tell who did not vote for Brandon. Himself!
“Mom Brandon for his reflex saves that gave us the draw n he got us out of jail with 4 great saves, most memorable was one of which was a reflex save which he palmed away the ball as he dived down to his right.”
“Motm to Brandon. At least 4 brilliant saves that kept us in the game. The first reflex save was EPL standard, and the final save, diving to his right to tip the goal bound shot wide was sheer class, most goalie would not have even reacted. Special mention to teck chye, he made a difference when he came on, taking on players, harassing them and holding on to the ball for teammates to get into position.”
“Brandon. Of course him, who else?”
“Motm: Brandon. Has superbly saved numerous goals from opponent to keep us in the game.”
“MOM to Brandon for the 3 or 4 high class saves. A safe pair of hands that kept us in the game.”
“Motm: Brandon, obviously. Fantastic saves at critical times!”
“MOTM - Brandon for his superb & spectacular performance!”
“Brandon. Numerous 'Gordan Banks' type saves. Enough Said.”
“MOTM was Brandon. Top class saves that kept us in the game.”
“MOTM - Brandon - thought this was already decided post match. He has given the backline a lot of confidence.”
“MoTM: Brandon is the man. He managed to keep us in the game as he managed to foil many of the opponent's number 7 shots who is looks like a better player than Peter Crouch as he can dribble past many of our players and shoot equally well with power.”
“Brandon for some reflex saves including a tip over save from a header destined for goal. a la Gordon Banks”
“Brandon - no doubt about it, make very good saves else we would have been 3-4 golas down in 1st half alone. But still think he has to be more commanding on the field, shout and give instruction to the defenders......too quiet..(on the field).......”
“Brandon for MoTM? That’s a given! I’m debating which save was the best – the first one or the last one?”

No prize for guessing who made his nomination for our No 7:
“MOM Weng Khong made his livewire presence felt especially in the 2nd half, keeping the attention in the opponents half with his confident runs.”