Match #22 (16 May 09): We Lacked the Kampong Spirit But Not the Winning Desire!

Surely from how we kitted ourselves and the way we turned up, got ready and waited for them, we didn’t look like we came from the same kampong as them, right? But Relak Abang somehow had the impression that we turned up just to kick around with them. So, they took their own sweet time to change, stroll into the pitch, exchanged shoulder slaps and high-fives among themselves. We had other ideas. Relak Abang were rudely awakened by our ruthless play in the 1^st half and they could have been starring at a cricket scoreline at half-time if not for our toothless Kian Hwa who squandered four, read that again, four, scoring opportunities in just one half. Credit to them, when the match resumed after the break and after realising that we were not their kawan after all, they decided cukup was cukup, jangan main main lagi, jangan relak relak, must man-tan bal-lan (read: maintain balance!), they played some decent football bearing some resemblance of their heydays. 2^nd half was a much closer affair but it was too late to stop us from running away a 6 – 1 winner.

Their pre-match attitude irked us and that must have spurred one of the top teachers from one of the top junior colleges, who himself is one Relax Jack, into action. Mike put in a whirlwind, devastating performance in the opening 15 minutes of the match. Though he fizzled out thereafter, he had done enough by then to conjure up the opening 2 goals for us, and not forgetting the assist within the first 60 seconds by setting Kian Hwa up in the box but the latter’s intended left-foot chip over the keeper was nowhere near Teck Chye’s class. Mike punished Relax Abang’s last man, whose touches were too tiada-apa and sloppy, and squared in a simple ball for Teck Wah to tap in. 1 – 0! Our edge in mobility brought us the 2^nd goal. Kian Hwa escaped the defender’s attention and stepped up to receive a throw-in from Kok Hock and then released Mike on the right flank. Mike’s subsequent cross kissed the horizontal but Teck Wah was on hand to tidy up the loose ends and scored his 2^nd goal with a stiff grounder. 2 – 0!

Kok Hock, anchoring the midfield, was commanding in breaking up Relak Abang’s play. One of his many interceptions yielded his 1^st goal for the season. Winning the ball just after the mid line, he had only one look at the goal and shot from distance. The ball sailed over the keeper and landed perfectly just under the horizontal for our goal No 3. Kian Hwa then nipped in front of the keeper to get to the ball before the latter did but with an open goal in sight, KH’s left-foot shot from a tight angle met the left upright instead. See Chiang then set Kian Hwa up in the box with only the keeper to beat but KH once again screwed his effort wide off the mark.

We didn’t have to wait much longer for our 4^th goal when See Chiang nodded a corner down onto the path of Chor Guan, who was given time and space in the box to trap the box and turn to shoot at goal. 4 – 0! Relak Abang almost snatched a goal against the run of play when their midfielder produced what Kok Hock did earlier with a delicate shot from distance but Gan proved to be a different class from Relak Abang’s keeper – he tipped the dipping shot over the bar. We still had time to extend our lead when an exchange between Kian Hwa and Simon put the former through in the box. Kian Hwa, clearly struggling to find his balance and short in confidence, chose to pass the ball forward to Chor Guan instead of having a go at goal. Chor Guan was duly ruled offside, thereby wasting another effort. Half-time came with Marine Sunday leading by a gulf of 4 – 0.

Relak Abang were a transformed side in the 2^nd half as they began to pass the ball confidently. Whilst their diligent possession of the ball was aplenty, the penetration was found wanting. In addition, they found our backline a bit too miserly for their liking. At the same time, they continued to play suicidal football at the back with their penchant to involve their keeper in the play. Off a poor clearance by their custodian, we made them pay dearly. Teck Chye was at the receiving end of the poor clearance and passed it forward to Kian Hwa on the right. Seeing Simon unmarked in the box, KH picked him up with a measured pass. Simon didn’t waste the assist and finished it off with a trap-and-shoot to put us up at 5 – 0! As the game wore on, Relak Abang’s custodian should be performing in a circus instead of on the football pitch. Another piece of clowning clearance gifted the ball to Teck Wah but the keeper recovered to clear it for a corner. It proved to be no difference as Teck Wah’s corner was met by Weng Khong’s thumping header. 6 – 0!

Relak Abang snatched a consolation goal after we stepped off the pedal with a series of substitutions to rest key players. Their ex-S League player wriggled his way through our defence and beat Gan to reduce the deficit. 6 – 1! Weng Khong came close to get his second goal but his header, from another corner, was just an inch too high above the goal. Final score stood at 6 – 1.

Man of The Match: Chor Guan (5 votes)

The man is surely regaining his form and back to his best! 3 forays upfront, 1 goal!

1. “chor guan. very stable in the defence, helping in the attack and score a beautiful goal.”
2. “MOTM goes to Chor Guan for managing the right deployment of defence & taking time off to score a goal in the coolest & simplest manner.”
3. “MOTM - Chor Guan, steady at the back and lethal upfront”
4. “motm: chor guan. swatted the opponents time n again like flies in defense n made his mark as well upfront with an opportunistic goal.”
5. “Difficult to name a MOTM. Our forwards were hardworking, created a few chances by harassing their defenders. Midfielders and defenders kept up their pace and even scored a few goals. My MOTM is a toss between Gan and Chor Guan. I will go for Chor Guan as he virtually shut their attack in the first half and he even managed to score a well executed goal.”

Mike was in supreme form, wasn’t he? Albeit for only the initial stage of the match….3 votes went to him. Keep it up!

1. “MOTM goes to mike. Exceptionally performance with good assist well taken goal."
2. “Mike-unselfish assists saw a goal and number of chances.”
3. “For the first 15 minutes, he was lively on the right flank, setting up 3 opportunities, 2 of which led to our first 2 goals. Unfortunately, he fizzled out. Still, it was an encouraging 15 minutes of performance.”

Gan, Teck Chye and Hock Leong had 2 votes each but I would go for Gan to take the 3^rd spot in the tally for standing in between the posts and dutifully sticking to his goalkeeping duty. Even his request for 20 minutes of outfield play was denied, so his attitude needs to be rewarded with due recognition:

1. “Motm to gan. Think we were all not really pushed. But he was steady throughout.”
2. “MOTM to Gan. It was tough to be playing keeper today, but he kept his focus as he made some dangerous attempts look unthreatening with his calm reactions. came out quickly on a couple of occasions to snuff out threats.”

The remaining 7 votes went to Teck Chye (2), Hock Leong (2), Chung Wen, Kok Hock and Simon:

“Teck Chye. Good attacking support which made the strike counts. Also execute a necessary professional foul to prevent opponent from shooting.”

“Teck Chye for MoTM. Good control and created dominance in midfield, harassed opponents and was a threat in attack. Some well taken shots towards the end of the game.”

“Vote goes to Hock Leong. ROCK of our defence, opponents didn't stand a chance.”

“MOTM is HL for another hard tackling and solid game as stopper”

“motm- chung wen....as usual, gives no room to the left winger.....hard tackler......”

“MOTM is the Kok Hock - Supported both the defence and attack effectively”

“MOM is Simon for stabilising the midfield and creating good moves and also for scoring a great goal with 2 touches.”

Match #21 (9 May 09): Deja-vu.....Almost

Lightning almost struck twice two weeks in succession for Marine Sunday. There were several similarities with last week’s match that at one stage, the feeling of déjà-vu dawned on us. Just like last week, we conceded our first goal directly from a corner when we were comfortably leading 3 – 1 before we shot ourselves in our feet by giving away a late penalty. Thankfully, we managed to hold out the final nail-biting 10 minutes that merely produced verbal bickering than further goals. We narrowly avoided throwing away what looked like a comfortable win. We could do with less self-imposed anguish if our forwards had been clinical – we missed three sitters! – and a higher level of concentration in our keeper. Among the four forwards – Teck Wah, Gan, Kian Hwa and Leo, rotating to front the line, only Gan did admirably well as he notched a brace. Kian Hwa was in his usual assist mode scurrying down the flanks and supplying his crosses, including setting up two sitters for Leo but the latter simply had a bad day in office. Teck Wah was out of sorts throughout the match with an uncharacteristic glaring miss when presented with a sitter, and his only notable contribution was a fine cross from the right for Gan to equalise.

Eagleboyz (EB) found the pitch a tad too hard for their liking as their passes went astray early in the match. We settled down earlier and soon, we broke through on the right when Kian Hwa evaded their offside calls but Gan’s header to meet Kian Hwa’s cross was too tame to trouble EB’s keeper. EB played a high line that kept catching our static forwards offside but they were struggling to keep up with the pace of See Chiang on the left. He timed his breakthrough well to position himself with a scoring opportunity but his hasty effort screwed the ball wide. Teck Chye then picked out Mike in the box, who found the net with a header but the effort was ruled offside. At the other end, the defence was well marshalled by Chor Guan and Hock Leong, ably supported by Chung Wen and Ng on both sides. Chor Guan showed that he was back to his best as he timely broke up their attacks with ease. Mid way through the 1st half, Teck Wah and Leo replaced the Kian Hwa-Gan combination and things began to liven up. Both sides came close to open the account. A well-worked passing and off-the-ball running involving See Chiang, Simon and Mark released Mark to advance into the box. Mark had time to look up and presented Teck Wah at the near post with a sitter. It was a too-good-to-miss scoring opportunity but to everybody’s disbelief, our top scorer scooped the ball over the post. Teck Wah continued to work hard but he further ballooned twice, leaving us wondering what (or shall we allude it to who?) had consumed him the night before. At the other end, EB was denied by a brave block by Chung Wen when he put himself in the firing line of a long-range effort that was packed with so much power and it looked destined for goal before Chung Wen’s intervention. The half finished scoreless.

Second half hardly moved into 2nd gear and we found ourselves a goal down, courtesy of a lapse in concentration by Brandon in goal. A corner was floated in from the left and with nobody in close proximity to harass him, Brandon could have plucked the ball from the air. Even without catching the ball, he could have punched it away to safety but instead, he palmed it against the underside of the post and the referee judged that the subsequent bounce brought the ball over the line despite Chwee Leng’s last-ditch clearance. 0 – 1 down! We did not let our heads down and the new pairing of Teck Wah and Gan reaped immediate dividend. Gan chested the ball onto the path of Teck Wah and then continued advancing into the box to meet Teck Wah’s cross from the right. Gan flicked the ball high enough over their tall keeper for our equaliser. It was simple football – pass and move – that was pleasing to the eyes. 1 – 1! Next, Simon was alert to intercept a poor back pass and rounded the keeper before, surprisingly with his left foot, chipping the ball over the recovering keeper! Gan was lurking behind the keeper to nod the ball home 2 – 1! Gan was surely in irrepressible form and his quest for a hat-trick was denied by the earlier provider, Simon who failed to notice that Gan was in a better scoring position in the box. Simon decided to beat the keeper on his own but this time round, EB’s keeper put his height to good use as he blocked Simon’s chip with ease. Mike was felled in the box but the referee dubiously ruled that the tackle took place outside the box. Teck Wah put paid to the poor referee decision when he drove a low shot from the subsequent free-kick. His initial effort was allegedly blocked by Melvin in the box. Melvin’s block seemed to have confused EB’s keeper for a split second and Simon followed up on the loose ball with a venomous half volley to find the net. 3 – 1 and we looked on cruise control. Our defence mopped up their forays into our area with relative ease. Kok Hock alternated between stopper and sweeper like hands to gloves and his assuring display reinforced our depth in the defence department.

We could have been home high and dry but it was not to be. Kian Hwa did well enough to find space on both flanks to set up his fellow strike partner, Leo with two sitters but Leo, clearly not accustomed to be the beneficiary of such too-good-to-be-true scoring opportunities, failed to capitalise on both moments of glory. In between Leo’s lack of potency in front of goal, See Chiang proved just as wasteful when he fluffed another shot in a similar position to his earlier effort in the 1st half. EB kept up the tempo of the match. Teck Chye lost possession of the ball when he indulged in one dribble too many. In his earnest effort to win back possession, he put in a wholehearted, fearless tackle in the box to deny their winger a direct shot at our goal. Teck Chye got to the ball first but the momentum of the tackle carried through to bring down the winger as well. Referee contentiously pointed to the spot and Brandon, just like last week, was again close to making a save to deny their penalty effort. 3 – 2 now and things looked nervy on our side. Aided by a few cool heads in Mark, Hock Leong, Kok Hock and Simon, we rode through the final 10 minutes with no further damage done apart from one yellow card flashed at Kian Hwa, who was elbowed in the face, for retaliating.

Final score was a close 3 – 2 win but it was only half a story.

Man of The Match: Simon (5 votes)
This must be the closest round of nominations in the season so far. Both our midfield generals – Simon and Mark – tied on 5 votes each. The tie breaker is simple, attendance counts in situations like this and here, MoTM is awarded to Simon.
“MOTM Simon. While Mark was the anchor in the defensive midfield, it allowed Simon to be more creative in attack. I felt Chwee Leng also had a good game.”
“motm: simon. complemented his good work in midfield with one pinpoint assist n one opportunistic follow up from a equally brilliant 'defensive' block by melvin.”
“MOTM - Simon. Control midfield well. Good anticipation for the assist and a goal. Play simple football and kept his cool throughout.”
“MOTM is Simon. Great all round play and a well taken goal.”
“MOTM goes to Simon for his all-round superb performance - tireless work in the midfield area, coming back to help up in defence & putting up several good assists in the attack & netting one goal for himself. Though Gan is not my MOTM but he is another player worth mentioning with his confidence coming back & looking forward to more goals from him.”

Well done, Mark! No doubt about your quality and we could certainly do more with your regular turnouts:
“MOTM: Mark. Really hard this one cos central midfielders played brilliantly and completely shut out their players. Both goals came off dead ball so no worthy attack out of open play and for that we have to thank Simon, Chye and Mark. See Chiang tearing down the flank also created loads of opportunities for us. Brandon was steady as hell except for the corner. Our defence played well too but it all started with the central guys and I must say Mark was just brilliant.”
“It's a toss between Simon and Mark. I go for Mark for his overall command of midfield and determined performance which has allowed us to dictate the pace of the game.”
“Motm. Mark, good control at midfield, stop most of the opponent attack fm center midfield, thus our defender got bit of time to support midfield n striker”
“MOTM goes to Mark. Industrious performance in midfield. Impressive me with his energy level and shown dominance in the center despite facing more skillful opponents.”
“Vote goes to Mark, who controlled the game from midfield very well.”

Gan was just 1 vote behind:
“Motm to Gan for getting into the box with perfect timing to score 2 goals. A constant threat to opponents as he was always first to the balls in their half, then passing well to help MS build attacks.”
“MOM for me is Gan who scored two well taken goals and had a part in both their creation as well.”
“Motm to gan for scoring the two goals. Held on to ball well and was a handful for their defenders today. Lively play and good confident touches that left their defenders struggling whenever he played.”
“Gan – a tentative 1st half performance was replaced by a match-winning display in the 2nd half! More than made up for the other ineffective strikers!”

The remaining 3 votes were split among the 2 KHs and See Chiang:
“KH: The most hard working players of the team. Also created a goal by working hard to create a beautiful cross resulted in a headed goal.” [Note: this nominator later confirmed his nomination was meant for KH but he got his facts wrong. The one who put in the beautiful cross that resulted in a headed goal was Simon, not KH. KH did put in some decent crosses but they were clearly not good enough to the extent that our forwards refused to score from such lousy assists :D]
“MOTM - Kok Hock (it was not an easy task to contain their strike force but Kok Hock was there to deal with it effectively. I thought he was very composed despite the constant pressures towards the end of the game)…….. Btw, my friend (goalkeeper) commented that despite our age (he thinks we are all above 40) he is impressed that we kept running at their defence. Obviously he is referring to our strikers...... well done to all the strikers.....”
“Motm - See Chiang....make very good runs down the left when he is playing, full of energy. Too bad did not score on 2 occasions”.

Match #20 (2 May 09): Not H1N1 Flu But Yellow Fever Flattened Us!

We only had our lack of sharpness in our frontline and lack of concentration in our backline to blame. What looked like a certain win somehow slipped through our grip. A commanding 3 – 1 lead gave way to an unsatisfying 3 – 3 draw at the final whistle, courtesy to all the goals conceded through dead-ball situations, and for that matter, a corner, a direct free-kick just outside the box and a penalty completed the repertoire. Teck Wah, Gan and Kian Hwa had, in total, 5 gilt-edged chances in the 2nd half to wrap up the match but each of the front trio must have put on two left-sided boots. Teck Wah fared slightly better as both his efforts were denied by some superb saves from Yellow's custodian, whereas Gan and Kian Hwa confirmed they were not snipers in their army days as they put their efforts anywhere except within the goal frame.
All Yellow had in them are a couple of speedy and skilful Gonzales and a tall right-back who used his height to cause us a great deal of troubles whenever it came to their corner kicks.

We were comfortably keeping our shape despite the early pressure from them. Our better teamwork built up a comfortable 2 – 0 margin at half-time. Kian Hwa and Weng Khong worked well on the left to break the shackles of their tall right-back. Kian Hwa latched onto Weng Khong's return pass and put a decent cross into the box for Teck Wah. Yellow's keeper dealt with the cross but Mike did enough to cause the custodian to spill the ball. With his back facing the goal but possessing a keen sense of direction, Teck Wah produced a cheeky back-heel to score the opening goal, 1 – 0! The Tang sibling rivalry has been producing the goods for Marine Sunday and we aren't complaining. Showing that he could do much better, the elder Tang intercepted a ball in the middle, brought it forward and after seeing the keeper slightly off his line, produced what-has-become-his-trademark lob over the stranded keeper. Another classy goal to add to his collection of audacious goals, 2 – 0! Leo and Ng, taking turns in left-back, managed to hold their own against their speedy right-winger and on the opposite flank, Chung Wen and Chwee Leng kept forcing their robust striker wide without allowing him to have a single shot at goal. Chor Guan, regaining his touches, put in a very assuring performance with his timely interceptions and partnered well with The Rock, whose astute reading of the game nullified danger early. Kok Hock, deputizing for Chor Guan, provided the depth we need in time to come.

Whereas we were in control in the 1st half, 2nd half was a different story as we allowed them back into the game. Yellow began to find space in our half and made full use of their fast players to breach our defence. Chung Wen held his ground well at the byeline to deny their striker and concede a corner. Yellow scored directly from the resultant corner when their playmaker curled in the ball that sailed beyond the reach of Ng standing at the right post. Brandon could only watch in dismay, having caught surprised by the flight of the ball. The margin was reduced to 2 – 1. We recovered quickly from the setback and Gan was presented with back-to-back scoring chances by firstly, Teck Wah and then Teck Chye. Gan disappointed the Tang brothers with his failure to convert both. It was 3rd time lucky for Gan when he headed unchallenged a corner from Teck Wah beyond the stretched arms of Yellow's keeper into goal. We restored the 2-goals margin to 3 – 1. Teck Wah tested their keeper with a couple of stiff shots that brought out reflex saves from the latter to deny our Chief Predator.

Yellow's playmaker punished us for our misses. Again, we allowed them too much space outside our box before Kok Hock attempted to rob the ball from them but in the process, tripped their player just outside the box. Yellow's playmaker curled the ball nicely over the wall to dip at the lower left-hand corner of the goal. 3 – 2. A moment of folly on our right involving Brandon and Chwee Leng resulted in a hasty clearance and concession of a corner. We failed again to defend the corner, allowing their towering right full-back to head the ball towards goal. The ball took an unkind bounce before hitting Chwee Leng's hand and referee pointed to the spot. Brandon was so close to become our hero as he got down well to get his hand to the penalty kick from Yellow's playmaker but the ball simply packed too much punch. Three dead balls from the playmaker, three goals and 3 - 3. We still had enough time to rescue the game but after being set up nicely in the box, Kian Hwa screwed his left-foot effort wide, with only the keeper at his mercy.

No further goals ensued and we had to settle for a draw. AS we trooped off the pitch, we were wondering if we were hit by a bout of yellow fever!

Man of The Match: (5 votes)
Ever since he started his chicken rice business, Ng has been playing like a spring chicken! Another no-nonsense performance from him for the MoTM!
“MOTM goes to Ng for many timely & effective tackles in the box. Great performance! But his height was sorely exploited by opponent’s goal from corner J”
“Motm was Ng. Again, he saved us with a couple of tackles that prevented goal scoring opportunities.”
“MOM is Ng : He manage to prevent the opposition strikers from scoring thru a few well timed tackles that were hard but fair. It kept the game in balance as we continued to miss golden opportunities to extend the scoreline.”
“motm - Ng. hard tackler and manage to prevent some of their threatening moves. Special mentioned to Chung wen also who played just as well. But no choice, got to choose 1.”
“I was torn between Ng and Hock Leong. Both put in one very good tackle each. Hock Leong’s tackle in the 1st half was timed perfectly to break down their speedy winger’s marauding run down the right flank. Ng’s 2nd half tackle in the box denied them a certain shot at goal. I’m inclined to go for Ng because his tackle was not only timely but he was brave in putting in that block. The lack of which would have resulted in a certain goal for them and a loss for us.”

The Rock was just as imposing at the back to win 3 votes:
“Hock Leong: He is outstanding in cutting out the attack, never give a chance for them to turn to their front during the attack. He was playing a great stopper role.”
“MOTM to Hock Leong. Tough choice as defence played well and Ng was Mr Super reliable but Hock Leong was also essential in covering gaps in the middle.”
“Motm goes to hock Leong. Neutralised most of opponents attacks especially in the first half where they were much more aggressive and faster. Again lift up to the rock reputation.”

Teck Chye seems to have found his Indian Summer. Another classic goal, and 3 nominations!
“Motm is always marginal with so many players. Despite the 3 goals, credit to the defence which played well. Chye deserves motm for another fighting performance & classily taken goal.”
“MOTM to Teck Chye - He was a livewire in our team and was very influential in our attacking play. If he was there to convert those chances we had created like the 2nd goal he had scored, we would have probably won against a very fast and good opponent.”
“MOTM-Teck chye for a great solo goal and some good attacking play”

The remaining 7 votes went to the following players:
“MOTM - Difficult to choose between the Tang Brothers. Both were influential in their own rights. The younger Tang continue his good form and the older Tang is getting back his fitness and scoring form. My vote to the younger Tang for his opportunistic goal and the assist for the third goal.”
“MOM is teck wah. was always a threat to the opponent.”
“motm: 2nd half no one in particular stood out. so my choice is more motm '1st half', which goes to see chiang. full of running on the left n combined well several times with kh. most attacks were from the left.”
“MOTM for Kian Hwa. His assist minded game saw him running the flanks, feeding the flanks. I think he ran as much as on days we have 12 guys.”
“MOTM: Chor Guan has my vote as he read the game well and stabilise the defence when we were shaky.”
“MOTM = simon. Great work rate and effective link up play in midfiled, creating numerous chances for the strikers”
“motm. Chung Wen, provide solid defence against a very strong and quick opponent, also make a good clearence in the 2nd half.”

Match #19 (26 Apr 09): We Crushed Minnows But Not After Surviving Their Spirited Fightback!

The last encounter between Marine Sunday and Minnows two months ago was a close one, with us snatching a keenly-matched 2 – 1 win. This time round, Minnows doubled their goals scored against us but we edged further than them, more than doubled our goals scored against them. It could have been tripled if Gan had converted the penalty, whose effort was put off by a strange scare tactic from our tactically-wise Melvin. We definitely deserved to be on the correct side of the final score, 5 – 2, but it did not do justice to the onslaught by Minnows in the 2nd half in their gallant attempt to overturn a half-time 4 – 1 deficit.

The tag team of Tang brothers put the issue beyond doubt by half-time as each grabbed a brace to remind us of the famed Ali Bakar-Isa Bakar brothers of Penang in the 1970s. As if to demonstrate their ample talent and skills, the elder Tang scored his goals from a couple of exquisite chips, the younger Tang put his head to good use. The elder Tang scored once from each foot, the younger Tang used both the right and left sides of his skull to head home his goals. Out of respect, the younger Tang provided the assist to the elder Tang’s first goal. Out of brotherly love, the elder Tang returned the favour by providing the precise cross for the younger Tang to head in the latter’s first goal.

Minnows were the livelier of both sides in the opening encounter but we proved to be the fine wine that enthused into life after being left to breathe. They were quicker to the ball, like hungry wolves devouring their succulent meat, but we were clinical with the ball, akin to experienced men knowing where to hit the G-spot. Teck Wah, from the right, picked out his elder sibling at the far left. Teck Chye feinted a move before cutting to his left and deftly chipped the ball over their tall keeper for our opening goal. 1 – 0! Shortly later, Teck Chye’s measured left-foot cross from the left found Teck Wah in the box like precision engineering. The younger Tang could do no wrong with a fine header to double our lead. 2 – 0! Despite their huff-and-puff, Minnows found themselves chasing the game. Chung Wen, admirably subduing their danger man, No 8, operating on the left wing, further compounded their misery with a direct ball down the right for Gan to do the fetching. Gan lobbed the ball into the box for Teck Wah to head in his 2nd goal and our 3rd. 3 – 0!

Then our typical lapse in concentration and lack of communication at the back allowed them to reduce the deficit. Teck Wah’s back pass found both Leo and Teck Chye napping, who were probably thinking the other would get the ball. Instead, Minnows’ forward nipped in to cross in from the right. Instead of heading the ball away, Weng Kwan chose to boot the ball but missed it totally, allowing Minnows’ striker to gleefully tuck the ball past Brandon, who in the first place should have called out to pluck the harmless looking cross from the air. 3 – 1. Their hope of recovery was brief as Teck Chye punished them again with another piece of top-class clinical finishing. Matt Le Tissier would have been amazed by what Teck Chye could do with both his feet. Teck Chye’s 2nd goal came off another exquisite chip from, this time, his right foot outside the box. Minnows’ custodian decided it was useless stretching himself as he helplessly watched the ball sailed over him into the net. 4 – 1 at half-time!

Minnows’ new-found vigour as they resumed the 2nd half unsettled us greatly. Ironically, it was when we retreated Teck Chye to fill in stopper position. Instead, perhaps too eager to find his hattrick, it slipped Teck Chye’s mind that he was supposed to prevent goals instead of scoring. Defending a long throw-in at the near post, he shockingly back-headed the ball past Brandon. Minnows’ striker at the far side was thankful for our generosity in defending and found their 2nd goal. 4 – 2! Teck Chye and Brandon were involved into another piece of non-communication mix-up in the six-yard box that almost allowed Minnows to snatch their 3rd goal. Enough was enough and See Chiang returned to take over the stopper role. It was not coincidental that from then on, Minnows found us hard to break down at the back. In contrast to the 1st half when we were sharp in front of goals, we were rather toothless in the 2nd half. It eventually took Mike’s quick thinking to steal the ball from in between their last man and the keeper and set Simon up for our 5th goal. Mike then threaded a through ball into the box for Gan, who was crudely checked in his path. Referee pointed to the box without hesitation. Instead of lining up for his hattrick, Teck Chye allowed Gan to convert the penalty but the latter’s failure in doing so was largely attributable to Melvin’s fine piece of work in distracting his own teammate.

The match degenerated into numerous niggling fouls by both sides but no further damage was inflicted on either side. 5 – 2 final score!

Man of The Match: Teck Chye (7 votes)
The last time we pitted against Minnows, Yong Chua was the MoTM with two goals worthy of any predatory striker. This time round, Teck Chye’s classy brace earned himself the honour.
“motm:teck chye. Score two long range goal and one good cross for our first goal, hope to see him remain or improve his scoring form in our future games....”
“MoTM goes to Teck Chye. Everything he does is magic...the two goals and the assists for his brother...”
“MOTM to Chye - 2 great goals and 1 assist. gentleman to give up chance for hatrick to Gan (who then missed)”
“MOTM=CHYE. Ever threatening. Effective link up play in midfield and rewarded with 2 great goals”
“motm: teck chye for two well taken goals, one assist, plus positive play on the left flank”
“Motm to teck chye. Not only controlled midfield, but helped out in defence by tracking opponents back and was in the thick of action with some tough tackling. His two goals were sublime beauties that gave their goalie no chance. It also helped settle our team given the speed the opponents closed us down.”
“Motm to classy Chye. 2 exquisite goals, 1 precise assist & versatility in defence.”

See Chiang came in 2nd with 3 votes:
“MOM: Chiang-the Rock #2.”
“MOM is See chiang for a impactful performance where he stamped his authority on the game with his first time clearances and timely interceptions.”
“The first 10 minutes of the 2nd half was chaotic at the back. Then See Chiang resumed his stopper role and played like a man possessed, clearing all the balls and breaking down their attacks. SC is the Man of The Match for me!”

The hardworking Simon won a couple of nominations:
“Didn't catch the whole game but what I saw of Simon was stellar. Hard young team to defend against and Simon played like a real tiger in defensive midfield, freeing up Lakesh and Chye to roam.”
“Simon and Lakesh were the glue that held the midfield together. Simon tips my vote for his inspiring display in breaking down the opponent's midfield forays.”

1 each for the guest player and our scoring machine:
“Lakesh. He basically control the mid very well and also distribute the ball excellently.”
“motm = Teck Wah for 2 brilliant goals.”

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.”