Match #19 (22 May 10): Whitewashing day

We played one of our best games in a long while against Mixes of White. We set out to contain their playmaker, No 8, and then to deploy Chor Guan to play behind our striker in the 2nd half to help shore up our midfield in the absence of Teck Chye and YC. We couldn't ask for a better outcome, with Chor Guan almost grabbing a hat-trick. Their No 8 was no doubt a class act and true enough, he gave us a couple of moments of fright early in the game, came close to score on two occasions and was their only threat to us throughout the match. But we did well to contain him and frustrate him to the extent that he called it quit mid way through the 2nd half.

I would not have described the result as a durian harvest season, despite the whitewash scoreline. We thoroughly deserved this win. Sure, Mixes of White had their chances, all except one came from their No 8. Whereas, several of us came close to add on to our tally. Of course, they brought out 2 stupendous saves from Seah in the 2nd half - a tip-over of a ball that was destined for the top right-hand corner and a point-blank save from a header. But we had Teck Wah hitting the frame early in the game, Gan's close-range header met a reflex save from their keeper, Kian Hwa's half-volley found the side netting and later saw his left-footed effort rattle the upright after a flowing move of football. Chor Guan completely missed a sitter that could have notched his hat-trick.

As commented by YC, all our goals were scored by our Young Guns. It was a match where the Young Guns were the Princesses and the Old Cocks played the Bridesmaids. The first 3 goals scored by Gan, Chor Guan and Teck Wah in that order were set up by Kian Hwa, Meng Hock and Weng Khong respectively. Then the Princesses decided they could do it without the Bridesmaids. Teck Wah picked up an overhit cross from KH and crossed in from the opposite flank for Chor Guan to head in his 2nd goal and our 4th. Teck Wah upped the ante and elevated his Princess status to a Queen with THE goal of the match - a brilliant solo effort to break the static defence line and beat their keeper with ease to complete his brace.

Match #18 (15 May 10): Won 6 - 2 against SingTel Kaki

Now, we know why Teck Wah lined up this opponent for us. Besides being a morale booster for us, it was also to help him boost his goal tally. Well, he helped himself to a hat-trick and was a constant threat down the right flank. Yong Chua contributed a brace, including the best goal of the match. Kok Hock opened his goal account with his 1st goal of the season, a coolly-taken shot from outside the box, after being set up by Teck Chye.

Match #17 (8 May 10): Drew 2 - 2 with Seafoodies

Again we melted in the morning sun at St Wilfrid, where we have been struggling at for quite a while. We should have won this match. We scored 2 good goals but also conceded 2 through lapses in concentration. But Seafoodies had to scramble to produce 2 goaline clearances to deny us the win. We were rather compact, restricting them to either shoot from distance or pass down the middle that posed no real threat to us. The heat sapped us and twice we lost our concentration and they capitalised on them to equalise.

Teck Wah got us our opening goal after a string of passes, particularly the final defence-splitting pass from Kok Hock, set him free to shoot the ball past the onrushing keeper. Before that, he lobbed the ball over the keeper from a tight angle but Seafoodies' last man got back in time to prevent the ball from settling into the net. Seafoodies equalised at the dying moments of the 1st half when their playmaker No 8 connected from a corner. That caught everyone flatfooted and their striker nodded the ball past the rooted Seah. 1-1 at half-time.

Yong Chua almost restored the lead for us but his goalbound header was scrambled away for a corner. But YC's next header from another corner helped set up our 2nd goal. Seafoodies' keeper couldn't hold on to YC's header and dropped the ball on the line. Weng Khong was at the right place to whack the ball in. Our joy was shortlived. The heat got the better of us, their right winger wriggled a free route towards our goal and unleashed a shot that cannoned off the bar. We failed to clear the rebound and their striker pounced onto the loose ball for their 2nd equaliser. 2-2.

Match #16 (2 May 10): A Labored Win over Pink

As usual, we arrived early. What's unusual was referee was early too. Some were asking where's the boss? He was in Taipei for whatever reasons....he he! Without the boss around, we were probably still half asleep when Pink opponent opened the scoring within minutes of the start. Think some of us had not even touched the ball. One could almost feel the wrath of the boss's roar from Taipei. We began to take control of the game thereafter. It did not take long for our goal to come. Gan took advantage of a defensive mix up to put us back into the game. Opponent was younger and full of running. Their only Malay player, a very young chap, was always a threat. Then a moment of genius from Chye put us 2-1 up. We were waiting but Chye decided to send his corner kick directly into goal instead.

Not long into the 2nd half, opp equalized with a deflected shot that flew over Seah into goal. Both teams then went in search of the winner. Off a freekick by Wah, both Mike & Chye went for the same ball. Instead of seeing them bundling the ball over the goal line, we saw two men in the net. YC was in the right place to first time the loose high ball back towards goal. Keeper was probably still distracted by Mike & Chye's little 'tete a tete' on the floor. He had a touch with his foot but it was not enough to keep the ball out. Pink went all out for the equaliser but we held on to grind out a deserving 3-2 victory.

Match #15 (24 Apr 10): Lost 3-4 against Top Ten

Our scrappy performance persisted throughout April, strange month indeed. Today, everyone seemed to have stepped into wrong-sized boots, including our usually dependable midfielders who kept giving the ball away. It was a very disjointed performance in the 1st half to say the least. We seized the lead through Teck Wah against the run of play, capitalising on their high line. Then they equalised through a direct free-kick. Gan pounced on another breakaway to put us 2-1 up before a poor giveaway allowed their star man to advance unchecked and let fly a stiff shot to beat Brandon. Another poor pass allowed the same star man to charge down the flank before setting up his striker to tap the ball in. 2 - 3 at the break. We kept the ball much better in the 2nd half. Gan squared the ball to Simon for our equaliser, or so we thought. Then, Top Ten made use of their height to nod in their winning goal from a corner. The scoreline could have been much worse had it not for Brandon who pulled off 2 fantastic saves and another 2 tip-overs to save us the embarassment.

Match #14 (17 Apr 10): Won 1-0 against Neighbourhood Kawan

Second successive week where we faced up against opponent comprising youngsters who are not even half our age. And this opponent was even more 'stylo' than our last week's opponent, with a few players turning up in full compression suit. But our grit and tactical discipline triumphed over individualism and showmanship. Yong Chua once again showed that joints and ligaments may be wearing out, agility may be eroding away, but class stays. His goal stamped class - after evading a tackle and seemingly losing his balance in the box, he steadied himself to place the ball beyond the well-positioned keeper for our only goal. But his goal would not have happened without that gritty tackle and superb interception from Chung Wen at the back. We converted that clearance into the winning goal in such fashion that even the football purists might have drooled. Against such team possessing youth and fitness, skill and techniques, we dug in and our defence line comprising Chor Guan, Rock, Weng Kwan, Chung Wen, Ng and Chwee Leng, with Mark providing the shield deserved our applause. 1-0 win but 10-nil satisfaction!

Match #13 (10 Apr 10): Lost 2 - 4 against Quality Young Boys

Our dismal performance continued. Not even YC's auspicious day could save us from our 2nd successive defeat. This young team, with all of them not even half our age, beat us 5-3 in our last encounter in Nov 2009. This time round, we did better in terms of twice seizing the lead before eventually caving in to their superior fitness and technical ability. Teck Wah got a brace, both coming from the left to set him up. But we came up short in fitness and holding on to the ball and those cost us the 4 goals conceded.