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.”

Match #15 (21 March 09): An Uninspiring 6 – 1 Win; Just Good For Goal Tally

For second successive week at this beautiful ground, opponents were tardy and short in numbers and we had to make emergency player loans to them in order to get the match going. Similar to last week, it was another high-scoring match but we thoroughly deserved to be on the right side of the score. Alas, the match ended 10-minutes prematurely when egos and words prevailed between players of both sides, and that resulted in nearly a free-for-all before the incompetent referee abandoned the match. Just as well, it was a poor quality match to begin with, and watching from the sideline was agonising. Perhaps it was destined that the match ended early.

When Liverpool mauled Aston Villa 5 – 0 at home on Sunday, it was surprising to find Torres not among the scorers. Similarly, with such a 6 – 1 score line we registered on Saturday, our hotshot Teck Wah was not among the durian pickers though he must be credited for a couple of assists.

Despite getting 2 players from us, NWKWSLSISL1 still came up a player short. That doused our enthusiasm somewhat. NWKWSLSISL is an all-Indians team until our 2 players joined them to dilute the colour. They turned out to be just half decent to what we usually expect an all-Indians team to be. We had plenty of possession but lacked the final conversion to make those penetrations count. On the contrary, NWKWSLSISL hardly made use of the 2 on-loan players, chose to shoot from distance but whenever they got near our box, they created close shaves for us. Brandon had to be superbly alert to get down fast to save a cross-shot from the right. At the other end, their makeshift keeper miraculously produced a triple saves to deny us the opening goal.

The cracks in the dam were obvious, it was a matter of time that the floodgate opened up. It took Gan to celebrate the birth of his twin daughters with an eventual hat-trick to crown a Man-of-The-Match performance. His 1st goal came just before the break when he was put through. Instead of moving into the box to beat the keeper, he moved the ball 2 steps to his right outside the box before unleashing a grounder that caught the keeper wrong-footed. It was only 1-nil at half-time but the opening 15 minutes of the 2nd half was a completely different story.
We took nearly 40 minutes to get our 1st goal but found the net 4 times when the match resumed for less than 15 minutes. And all these goals came from beating their high defence line and their lack of desire to chase back when we breached their defence. Gan was the first one to benefit when the watch hardly registered 2 minutes into the 2nd half. A through ball that beat the line, he raced it into the box before planting the ball at the far right-hand side of the goal beyond the reach of the keeper. Teck Wah provided the assists to the next 2 goals. Again, a through ball left him free and his left-footed shot from outside the box came off the right post. No one was in the box except Weng Khong who diligently followed through and tapped in the rebound for 3 – 0. Gan got his hat-trick with the easiest of goal when the keeper fumbled a cross from Teck Wah from the left. Gan thought he was blessed enough to have 2 healthy girls and he couldn’t believe his luck when he saw the durian dropping at his feet. He had nothing to do except packing the durian home. His hat-trick goal and 4 – 0 to us!

Simon then came up with a brace, sandwiching their consolation goal coming from our player loaned to them, Mike. Simon first benefitted from the static defence and had a clear home run to place the ball past the hapless keeper for our 5th goal. He then put up a terrible return 1-2 pass but luck was again on our side when NWKWSLSISL gifted the ball back to him. Simon atoned for that terrible pass with a curler from outside the box to beat their keeper. That was half-a-dozen to our good! Mike got in front of Hock Leong to meet a cross and plant a header past Brandon for their consolation goal.

Round 2 of verbal exchanges ensued, the first one being in the 1st half when 1 of NWKWSLSISL players claimed to be a former S-League player and that his late tackles were perfectly alright in S-League then. He switched to guarding goal in the 2nd half and another war of words with our Teck Wah resulted in fracas between both sets of players. Apart from the beautiful pitch, it was a forgettable match of the poorest quality – opponents were poor, referee was inept, our performance and passing were scrappy and to round it up, ill-discipline among our players, just as guilty as them.

*NWKWSLSISL stands for Now We Know Why S-League Standard Is So Low. Their player had the gall to claim to have been a S-League player. We could only shake our heads in disbelief. And our S-League will always remain a poor cousin of the regional leagues with such players plying the trade. What a waste of our talents not to have played for Singapore!

Man of The Match: Gan (7 votes)
1 MoTM award; 2 daughters; 3 goals – what a week for him!
“motm: Gan for his hat-trick which included 2 cool finishes.”
“Motm-gan for his 3 goals since no other stand out”
“MOTM – Gan – 2 well taken goals and 1 durian. Getting his scoring form back”
“Mom Gan, not for his goals but for his textbook link up play. More like the vintage gan I know. Congratulations and wish u many loving sleepless nites to come with your 2 newborns. Hope your wife still lets u play!”
“Not a satisfactory match except Gan who seems an inspired father. Great breakthrough goals and hard work being an outlet to ping our attacks. Deserving hattrick & motm.”
“It was a scrappy match with no clear mom for me. I would nominate gan for good hold up play and the goals he scored.”
“Gan for a measured 1st goal and an eventual hat-trick”

Simon weighed in with 4 votes:
“Today Motm goes to Simon for his dominating presence in the midfield but his passes could have been better in some instances.”
“Motm goes to simon. His influence in midfield is undeniable and once again did very well today with 2 great goals.”
“Vote goes to simon. He was the creative playmaker. Almost everything goes through him.”
“My choice is either Gan or Simon. But Simon stands out for his ability in holding the midfield well and creating various chances.”

And a consolatory vote for our man leading the attack, in whatever sense :)
“Teck Wah. He played the attacking role well with numerous assists and creations. He also perform a superb drive like those rugby tackle at a opponent during a scrumb.”

Match #14 (14 Mar 09): Strong finish (part 2) or Awful start

match report contributed by st

What the title should be is a matter of individual perception. To cut to the chase (which we didn't do for much of the first half hr, and were trying for much of the match), we had 13 against Terk's Law Society of 9-10 young turks. First half we loaned Wen (last to arrive before start of match), second, Mike (to reunite with his student).

We started with a high line with Kok Hock as last man and were beaten by LawSoc's power in the air, pace and movement. Despite starting 11 against 10, we were down 1-0 within minutes as we messed about in our last third, allowing their playmaker to intercept a loose ball, ran on to slot in a coolly taken goal. Huffing and puffing, we created a few good chances but our frontliners seemed to suffer from a confidence crisis (besides the F one). we were good for our equalizer when Leo turned in Leng's drilled ball from the right. After that it was practically all downhill. The rate of deterioration went by in a blink and soon we were 1-4 behind. I could only remember a 'Terk's special' when he got behind our defence and upon a small contact, went down smartly. The resultant penalty was well drilled low to the corner. We played one good move before the break that gave us a glimmer of hope. Gan received the ball back towards goal, laid it back to Chye and moved into space. Chye gave it back to him and with a moment's space, placed a defence splitting ball to find Chiang's well-timed run down the left. Chiang's emphatic toe-poked finish was reminiscent of Ronaldo's (the fat one) world cup winner in 2002. Half time 2-4 down, plenty of re-strategizing to do.

Chiang moved into center defence partnering Hock Leong in a bid to counter Terk's dominance. Kok Hock & Chye moved up one level each to midfield & attack respectively, adding bite in attack. We dominated aggressively at the restart and were taking the necessary risks. Unfortunately instead of reward, we were punished against the run of play when 2 of our defenders sandwiched their attacker when challenging for a counter-attack cross. Ref was quick to point to the spot, not for the first time or the last. Again, another spot on conversion and we were 2-5 down.

Taking a calculated gamble, Chiang was asked to maraud down the left again as Terk had taken over the keeper's jerseys. We now have a lighter weight stopper in Leo to partner Hock Leong but good readers of the game to repel attacks. Soon we began our strong finish. This time LawSoc messed about in the same area we conceded our first. Chiang pressed, Chye retrieved and Gan hit a curler from outside the box to beat the stranded keeper. 3-5, game on. Next Chye was shoved in the box and Ref did his favorite point, whistle and break into his only runs of the day routine. Chye deciding to give everyone a handicap in the goalscoring stakes, declined. St stepped up and smashed the penalty high and right away from the keeper's reach. More possession in their half continued. St then curled a corner to Chiang at the near post whose scream for the ball surprised all. Missing the ball altogether, the rest followed him as if he was the Hamelin pipe-piper, leaving Gan with the simplest of diving header goal. 5-5 and despite our urgency, the winner just wouldn't be conjured.

A strange strange match, where at times we looked destined to lose, and at others, good for cooking up an unlikely win. Strong finish, just not strong enough.

MOTM

Simon (4)
MOTM goes to simon. Dominant in the midfield and stringing passess effectively between defend & attack.
Motm to Simon. Good link up play for defenders and strikers. Commanding in midfield, especially in 2nd half, went in for some full blooded tackles and was the main playmaker for marine Sunday.
MOM is simon for all round play in controlling the game from midfield . hardworking and broke up a lot of attack from opponents and also supported the defence well.
Simon is voted for his hard work in using his brain for tactical deployment. He knows when to strengthen the defense and when to strengthen the attack at appropriate timing.

Teck Chye (3)

Teck Chye for a good ands composed game.
hard to think of one who did really well - MOTM to chye

[one without comments, aiyah y u so like tat!]

Wen (2)

MOM choice goes to Chung Wen for his steady display playing for and against us. Looks like he is injury free and fit again.

Chung Wen - good defensive work and simple, effective distribution from the back.

Chiang (2)
I rate Chiang as MOTM for his high workrate both in defence and during wing play. He scored the important 2nd goal before half time.
See Chiang, wonderful goal and as usual running non-stop throughout the game supporting defence and attack.

Gan (2)

Motm was Gan. Superb finishing to grab two goals.

Gan - for scoring the 2 goals...seems like his confidence is coming back.

Match #13 (8 March 09): Strong Finish - Ode to KH

match reporting by mel the pal!

Even in his absence, KH's omnipresence was to cast a long shadow on Marine Sunday's come-from-behind win on Sunday against Bishan Tigers. It is fortunate that we are blessed with a Venerable Leader like Kim Jong Il. Sorry I meant KH. Our dear leader's foreskin, sorry, foresight helped us carve a good victory on a massively hot day.

It was his awareness that if we are understrength, we will be motivated to perform. I had the good fortune of playing for Iraq under Uday Hussein, Saddam Hussein's son. Oh how he motivated us with beatings and electric shock treatment. And so it was that we had 12 on a blistering hot day. Make it 11 since Melvin's souffe ankle is prone to collapsing.

The match started with MS proving to be more energetic. But passes in the last third were lacking. It was clear we miss KH's energetic runs and his pinpoint crosses. So we had to make do with Teck Wah and gang. Crosses flew in from right and left but the last touch was sadly lacking. As always, this is how we get punished.

First, a tackle on Melvin had him go down faster than a trannie at Changi Village (I don't know from experience. Ng told me). His painful scream could be heard in Malaysia. Weng Khong came in and it looked like Melvin's game. The disruption proved painful as a BT attack had their forward facing Brandon in a one on one challenge. The chap was so happy to see the ball roll in he screamed in delight, and it woke Malaysia again.

Oh how we miss KH's put down. Clear the ball, he would scream. Instead we chose to pass around and paid the price for playing simple passing football. Thankfully half-time came but not before Melvin was dragged back into the game.

The second half proved to be just as painful. Without KH running all over the pitch like a dog in heat looking for a bitch, See Chiang and Ng had little choice but to step up. They huffed and puffed. Ng deserves praise for playing in just about every position. He was left, then right back. He was the defensive midfielder and also played on the left side. He finished the game as centre forward. Once again, we have to thank our dear leader for having the foresight to leave us short so Ng could show us that he knows all the positions in the karma sutra. See Chiang formed a forminable partnership with the ever cool Mark and is proving to be as good a header of ball as Yong Chua. Up front, Teck Wah ran for every loose ball hoping to catch one that would leave him with a shot.

Just when it looked like we would suffer a loss, the effervescent Chye pulled left and sent in a pin-point cross for Wah who was surrounded by two defenders and the keeper. Wah headed it into the open goal for our equaliser. 1-1.

With Weng Khong and Simon's energetic running, BT's resolve looked to be fast fading. Weng Khong then sent a Hoddle like diagonal pass to Wah who pulled the ball down with one touch and then coolly rolled the ball past the onrushing keeper. 1-2.

BT sent in their reserves and pushed hard for the equaliser. Oh how we needed KH to keep us on our toes. Instead we had Melvin whose passes were pinpoint in picking out the opponents. The weather was taking its toll on MS with regular changes, so regular that each player had about a two minute break before being dragged into the fray.

That was when Ng picked up the baton and showed he is evergreen. Wah played a clever ball wide on the right for Ng who took it in one touch, turned and send in a low cross which fooled the defenders and keeper. It rolled perfectly for Wah to finish his hat-trick. Absolutely brilliant! 1-3

More changes were made and BT had one shot which came off the post. When the ref blew the whistle, MS players fell to their knees and looked to the heavens, crying: "Dear leader, thank you! Thank you for making us suffer dear leader"

Man of The Match: See Chiang (8 votes)
A seriously depleted team of 12 managed to conjure a come-from-behind win – the most hard fought so far! But unusual circumstances produced the unlikely hero!
“Many played above themselves but Chiang climbed heads & shoulders above all (literal & figurative) to the extend that tabulating MOTM would be easy.”
“My MOTM goes to See Chiang: Fantastic work rate from See Chiang for his tremendous effort in doubling the roles as stopper and midfielder at times, winning a lot of possessions and covering a lot of ground...”
“Unanimous decision. MOTM to See Chiang – when everyone wilted in the hot sun he was still chasing all the balls”
“See Chiang. Provide solid defence in stopper position and also help cover midfield area well.”
“See Chiang, dominated the midfield in his stopper role. Broke up most of the opponents attacks with his tackles and tireless running. His link up play with our midfield was also instrumental in initiating most of our attacks.”
“See Chiang. Though he didn’t score nor make the killer pass, he was all over the pitch and never stopped running. It was his grit which inspired the team”
“Motm: See Chiang. 2nd half play in the stopper/defensive mid position was exceptional.Cut out all the play in the middle n good relaying of passes n runs upfield.”
“Motm - See Chiang. No words can describe his performance”

Btw, have you seen Ng playing attacking midfield??? Bet you never.... because of his one shrewd pass across the penalty box, Teck Wah had the easiest job to tap in our 3rd goal which effectively killed off the game.....Our Mr Hairy Chest got 3 votes for his evergreen performance:
“MOM to Ng for showing that pure determination = frozen margherita. At what seemed like a very hot day at the construction site for Marine Sunday, it transformed into an inspiring beach outing with Ng upping the tempo when most of our tanks were dry. The vodka we needed that led up to everything else.” “Ng for one assist and some timely interception in the hot sun”
“Mom is ng for his never say die attitude, most importantly for his crucial role on the set up of the last 2 goals.”

Chung Wen had 1 nomination:
“Chung Wen. He practically headed every floated balls in the air and this made our defense a solid rock”

Match #12 (28 Feb 09): Marine Sunday Diluted Orange Fluid!

Anyone remembering the likes of John Fashanu, Tony Cascarino, Brian Deane and Mick Harford would recall how football was tailored made by their respective clubs for them – long ball to them. So, when our opponent, ironically named Fluid in bright orange kit, paraded a tall ang mo who packs some dynamite in his shots, we braced ourselves up for some hard time. They sure did deploy what are now aptly referred to as Wimbledon tactics with a lot of long and direct balls targeting at their ang mo front man. Surprisingly, despite our lack of height in all our defenders, our rearguards’ fine reading of the game nullified all the high balls with relative ease. Notwithstanding the convincing 4 – 1 score line, it was the solid defending at the back that laid the foundation for the win.

And we could possibly have hit a double-digits score. Last week, the woodwork denied us four times. This week, Fluid’s custodian made at least half-a-dozen point blank saves to defy us. Factor in the half-chances, crosses that didn’t reach the intended targets and shots that went astray, we could have had the plot scripted the very way we wanted. We threatened to score early into the game but Gan, needing injections of confidence, failed to get past the keeper with his tame shot after being put through. That was the first of the many saves that Fluid’s keeper put in to avoid a potential huge embarrassment. As usual, we needed to be awakened by conceding an early goal before got our acts together. We failed to clear the ball cleanly and their striker pounced onto the loose ball to put it past Brandon. The one-of-those-days feeling dawned on us but we knew we had plenty of time to play for. We equalized not long afterwards. A clumsy challenge on Simon’s back in the box required no further thoughts from the referee, who not only pointed to the spot decisively but even took time to explain to Fluid’s defenders why the offence warranted the 12-yards spot kick, which Simon duly converted. 1 – 1 now and we moved into our top gears from then on.

Plenty of crosses and advances into Fluid’s box raised their alarms but counted nothing for us until a freak goal finally broke down their resistance. Gan did well to win back the ball and laid it to the left for Teck Wah, whose overhit cross (or rather the pitch was too narrow) evaded everyone in the box. Mike recovered the stray ball and put it back into the 6-yards box again, putting pressure on Fluid’s defender to produce a first-time clearance that hit Gan on the line, resulting in the ball diverted into goal. Gan was just too glad to claim credit for that!
We continued to push forward and further increased their misery just before the break. Yong Chua received a cross from the right at the near post and was given time to turn and lay the ball across the box. Kian Hwa came in from the left to tuck the ball into the net, wrong-footing the Fluid’s keeper in the process. 3 – 1 at the break.

2nd half was more of the same for us. The number of failed conversions began to embarrass us instead. Conversely, Fluid’s custodian stood out like a beacon guiding the lost vessels with his top drawer save after save to frustrate us. Whatever ball Fluid could get to, they launched it far and high into our half but Mark and Hock Leong were simply superb to deal with the direct balls. The odd forays down the flanks were attended to capably by Chung Wen, Ng and Weng Kwan, rotating in the full back positions. They did come close to score but even then, Brandon was on top of his game with a double-saves to maintain the 2-goals margin.

We deserved more goals but only 1 came, courtesy of Chwee Leng’s swinging left-footed shot after he brought down an outward-swerving cross from the left by Kian Hwa. As the ball sailed past their keeper to the far post, Chwee Leng raised his arms in jubilation for his first goal of the season. 4 – 1 now and we were still hunting for more but it was not to be. Fluid was saved from further margin erosion with the final whistle going off at 4 – 1 the final score.

Next come the drum-roll moment. Before coming to that, put it as my ego talking, I’m increasingly feeling vindicated that the MoTM scheme is worth implementing and it does instill the appreciation of our fellow teammates in us. This week’s highly skewed proportion of nominations, 13 out of 15 valid votes, demonstrated that we do appreciate the guys at the back. More often than not, their performance goes unmentioned and unnoticed but not this time. Despite the convincing win, our defensive colleagues were in the limelight, and for the right reason.

This was by far the keenest round of voting this season. The eventual MoTM winner literally won by just a hairline, 7 votes to 6! Trust me, I had never felt so exhilarated in tallying the nominations. Enjoy reading their nominations, they are superb stuff. Now, the MoTM. He is one of the handful few with the better footballing brain among us. Always cool on the ball and hates to rush, he prefers to look up and spread the ball. If you noticed, his performance was really not his usual style of play. Not when, just before the kick-off, he was placed under “restrain order” by Mr Ultimate Ultra Big Ego to just play simple football, i.e. just clear the balls first time. Well, it was like a seasoned warrant officer being told by an inexperienced young punk officer how to fight a battle. In this case, it was a technically sound player being told by a two-left-feet how to play football, you know how it feels. But great credit to this footballer, he put any displeasure aside and played for the team. There was hardly any of his usual hold-and-look-up-and-pass but simple and timely clearances throughout the match. The performance may not be pleasing to the eyes but the huge impact of such simple play did not go unnoticed. The MoTM was Mark!

Man of The Match: Mark (7 votes)
“Mom: Mark - sealed up the back line”
“Vote goes to Mark. Read the game very well at the back, giving procession back to us on numerous occasions.”
“Motm: mark. Swept up all the loose balls n was everywhere in defence line.”
“Motm goes to mark. Rock solid and unbeatable at the back.”
“Mark motm for gd defence against their Wimbledon strategy”
“Mark, played the offside trap well n make impt clearance”
“MOTM – Mark marshal the defence well to limit the opponent’s attack”

Hock Leong came in very close with 6 votes. Together, our central defensive pair was the cornerstone of our win!
“Opponents game plan looked simple... feed ball to ang moh, ang moh score. Hock Leong spoilt their party by diffusing all through balls to them limiting opponent strikers to only 2 shots on goal. Hock Leong MOM.” [Editor: No lah, ang mo didn’t score, the local Chinese guy did! You were so near to the action, yet you still got this wrong!]
“My MOTM goes to Hock Leong for his simple and effective play. Excellent readings of the game. Well timed tackles and calling out his teammates when necessary.”
“Motm to hock leong. Was a rock in defence. Cleared most of the long lobs and passes from opponents in the small pitch. Broke up many of their attacks and limiting them to very few shots on goal.”
“MOM to hock leong. Our solid rock in the middle of the defence together with mark, heading away most high balls with ease, intercepting opponents’ passes with confidence. Their ang mo was hardly in the game.”
“Motm to hock leong, the human ball repelling machine!”
“A 1.9m ang mo outjumped by a less-than-1.7m stocky defender – how much better could we get? Commanding in the air, sure-footed on the ground, the opponent realised that despite our lack of height in the backline, we were not to be bullied by their high balls mainly because of this chap who must have had some springs implanted in his heels! Great credit to Hock Leong! He is the MoTM!”

The against-the-grain votes went to Simon and Kian Hwa, 1 apiece:
“MOTM goes to Simon who solidly controlled the midfield & stringed passes together both for offensive & defensive moves.”

“kh – one of the most hardworking player and score a 50-50 goal” [Editor: I doubly confirmed. Kok Hock was absent, so the “kh” shouldn’t refer to him :)]