Superb first goal in ARFC Veterans’ 3-0 win

 Playing its 40^th Veterans match overall, ARFC Veterans dished out a very controlled and simple display to dismiss the OVA Team 3-0 on 16 Aug 2025 at 5 pm at Victoria School 

 

At the request of the opponents, the match was in 3 periods of 30 mins each.

 

ARFC Veterans started with this 4-4-2 line-up:

 

GK – Nelson (guest GK)

RB – Chua

Sweeper – Eng Lai

Stopper – Toh

LB – Allan (guest)

RM – Guoxiong

CM – Son

CM – Tjioe

CM – Jeff Lee (guest)

LM – Desmond (guest)

SC – Raymond

 

Subs:

Sebastian

Ron

Haron

Tze Ern

 

 

ARFC Veterans made a quick-fire start by pressing the opponents right from the first whistle, with Raymond, Soon, Tjioe, Desmond and Guoxiong at the forefront of the actions, backed up ably by Jeff sitting at the base of the midfield to provide good cover ala Roy Keane.

 

It was no surprise that ARFC Veterans took the lead with arguably one of ARFC’s best moves since it was formed in June 1993.  

 

Soon won a loose ball on the back to Allan at left back.  Allan then relayed the ball to Jeff who instinctively passed to Eng Lai at centre back.  Eng Lai then involved Nelson (GK) who quickly switched to Chua at right back.  Chua passed to Eng Lai who had moved up to ask for the ball. Ater receiving the ball, Eng Lai found Guoxiong at right mid.    

 

In the meantime, Tjioe made a superb diagonal run from his centre mid position down to the right channel to receive a well-timed pass from Guoxiong.  With a sharp swivel, Tjioe whipped in a low cross into the box and Raymond dashed in to side foot and finish with much aplomb.  1-0 and this was Raymond’s 28^th ARFC goal, with 21 of those goals from ARFC veterans matches.

 

This goal was such a beauty to watch.  Simple, effective and involved 10 players from the team. 

Things got even better 3 mins later.  ARFC Veterans won a foul at the left flank and Desmond floated in a great goal into the penalty box which the opponents missed and could not clear.   Once the ball took a bounce on the ground, Raymond reacted quickest to drill home his 29^th ARFC goal.   2-0 now!

 

With the goal, Raymond has moved up on level terms with Darren at the 17^th position in ARFC’s all-time top scorer chart.

 

10 mins later, ARFC Veterans put the result to bed with its 3^rd goal.   Desmond’s corner from the left saw Jeff outjumping everyone to nod the ball home, ala Jaap Stam, for his debut goal for ARFC Veterans!    3-0

 

ARFC veterans then made a string of substitutions with Sebastian, Ron, Tze Ern and Haron replacing Tjioe, Toh, Desmond and Raymond respectively. 

 

ARFC Veterans then won a free-kick right at the edge of their penalty box.  Haron stood up but his bender was well saved by their GK.

 

Haron then produced a snatched volley but it flew just wide.

 

In the 2^nd period, chances were few and far between from the 2 sides.

 

In the 3^rd period, Raymond almost grabbed his hat-trick after Desmond found space down the right flank before fizzing a low cross into the 6-yard box area.  Raymond slided in but their GK somehow managed to stop the ball on the line!  Unlucky Raymond!

 

Desmond then produced yet another corner from the left and Toh leaped highest to power a header goalwards. The ball was blocked by their defender and was slowly trickling towards goal when their GK recovered to stop the ball from crossing the line.

 

Nelson then preserved his clean sheet when he rushed out and got down well to thwart a one-on-one situation ala Peter Schmeichel to concede a corner.  Totally world-class!

 

ARFC Veterans then see out the match for a totally well-deserved 3-0 victory!

 

For this match, every one played very well and it was a total team performance.  That said, Chua, Guoxiong and Eng Lai were the top 3 performers. No one could get past Chua at all, Guoxiong was top-notch both in supporting defence and attack, and Eng Lai was totally calm and marshaled defence well. 

Allan was also unbeatable and Tze Ern ran non stop. 

 

These are the top 5 scorers only for ARFC Veterans’ 40 matches:

 

1. Raymond – 22 goals
2. Haron – 17 goals
3. Darren – 13 goals
4. Sebastian – 13 goals
5. Soon – 12 goals

 

These are the top-20 goal scorers in ARFC’s all-time Top Scorers Chart:

 

1. Alvin – 366 goals
2. Haron – 281
3. Blackburn – 164
4. Sebastian – 130
5. Hee – 117
6. Derrick – 116
7. Chun Haw – 116
8. Toh – 108
9. Soon – 98
10. Kenny – 90
11. Tjioe – 73
12. Robin – 69
13. Khim – 66
14. Wayne – 59
15. Jeffrey – 53
16. Guoxiong – 38
17. Darren – 29
18. Raymond – 29
19. Tong – 27
20. Kiat – 25

 

Derrick scores again after almost 3 years in 2-5 loss

 On 20 Jul 2025 at 5 pm at Tanjong Katong SS, ARFC played against home team Eurasian Association for the very first time and came unstuck with a 2-5 loss.

 

At the request of the opponents, the match was played in 3 30-mins period.

 

ARFC took to the pitch with this 4-4-2 line-up:

 

Jersey No.:	Name	Position
13	Talisman Derrick	Goalkeeper
16	Marauding Guoxiong	Right back
14	Combative Ron	Sweeper
15	Towering Toh	Stopper
6	Unbeatable Darren	Left back
78	Steely Tze Ern	Right mid
7	Influential Sebastian (captain)	Centre Mid
28	Hard-man Tjioe	Centre Mid
19	Skillful Wei Lit	Left Mid
9	ARFC Scoring Legend Haron	Striker
99	Powerful Alvin	Striker
Substitutes:
2	Remarkable Rashid
3	Astute-reading sweeper Elvis
66	Vintage Chua
xx	Divine Delon
Missing In Action:
4	Dynamic Soon
5	Energetic Kerwin
10	Sublime Khim
17	Nippy Kenny
20	Composed Eng Lai
23	Talented Chun Haw
26	Rampaging Raymond
31	Wonder Wayne
98	Impeccable How Meng

 

 

ARFC conceded 2 soft goals to trail 0-2.

 

Guoxiong then kept the scoreline down when he headed off the line.

 

Tze Ern was unlucky when he blasted just over when clean on goal.

 

Tjioe then pinged a great ball down the left which saw Wei Lit bearing down at goal.  He then squared the ball across that eluded their GK and defenders but Tze Ern was just 0.11 seconds too late to tap the ball home.

 

In the 2^nd period, Haron was unlucky after he was put through by Rashid.  Facing their GK one-on-one, Haron’s first shot was blocked by their GK but from the rebound, Haron sliced the ball wide.

ARFC then conceded 3 more goals to trail 0-5.

 

ARFC did not give up and soon pulled a goal back.

 

From a great long ball from Ron, Derrick (who played as right winger in the 3^rd period) was brutally chopped to the ground by their defender, giving the biased referee the easiest of decisions to award a penalty.

 

Rashid stood up and sent their GK the wrong way with a precise ball to the left.  1-5 and this was Rashid’s 5^th ARFC goal.

 

ARFC scored its second goal 5 mins later.

 

Chua did well to win the ball at right-back and passed to Guoxiong who duly passed inwards to Sebastian.  Looking up, Sebastian switched the ball to the left, ala Xabi Alonso, and Rashid swooped in like an eagle.

 

Drawing their GK out, Rashid squared the ball across for Derrick who killed the ball with a great first touch but waited too long before prodding the ball into the empty net.  However, his delay allowed their GK to hit his ribs on the pretext of challenging for the ball.  What a dirty GK there!

 

2-5 and with the goal, Derrick has now scored 116 ARFC goals, putting him on level terms with Chun Haw.

 

A check also revealed that Derrick’s last goal for ARFC was on 22 Sep 2022 at Pasir Ris Crest SS, in a 3-0 win over DC FC.

 

ARFC then closed out the match to lose 2-5.

Kenny’s 90th ARFC goal in 2-5 defeat

 Playing its 39^th Veterans match overall, ARFC Veterans was played out once again by the referee organiser and lost 2-5 to a very young team, Sky Venture on 29 Jun 2025 at 3 pm at Tampines SAFRA. 

 

ARFC veterans had to call up a guest GK, Nash, as regular GK Derrick was away in Bangkok for his 4^thhoneymoon (not same wife but 4^th different wives).

 

ARFC Veterans started with this 4-4-2 line-up:

 

GK – Nash (guest GK)

RB – Guoxiong

Sweeper – Ron

Stopper – Toh (Captain)

LB – Tze Ern

RM – Raymond

CM – Rashid

CM – Tjioe

LM – Khim

SC – Haron

SC – Kenny

 

Subs:

 

Sebastian

Eng Lai

Chua

Wayne

Elvis

 

ARFC drew first blood within 10 seconds when straight from the kick-off, Raymond pressured their defender who made a poor back pass to their GK.   Raymond intercepted the ball and rolled it into the unguarded net.

 

1-0 and this was Raymond’s 27^th ARFC goals, with a whopping 20 goals coming from Veterans matches.

 

Toh then won the ball with a great tackle in midfield and passed to Haron. Haron showed fantastic vision when he nonchalantly lofted the ball over their defence for Kenny.  Alas, Kenny’s attempted lob was clawed away by the out-stretched arms of their GK.

 

Kenny then returned the favour with a brilliant chip to the right that saw Haron swivelled and volleyed just 0.99 mm over the bar.

 

Haron was unlucky yet again when his header from Rashid’s precise corner was cleared off the line.

 

Suddenly, the opponents equalised. 1-1.

 

Rashid’s corner was then headed back by the defender to him.  With a brilliant floating ball from Rashid, Wayne showed immerse bravery when he challenged for the ball with their GK but saw his header thumped off the crossbar! 

 

The referee then made the mistake of the century in football.  Raymond again chased after an under-hit back pass and managed to reach it ahead of their GK.  As the ball rolled towards the byeline, and with their GK rooted to his spot, Raymond managed to keep the ball in play with at least a metre to spare, and rolled the ball into the net.  To the huge surprise of everyone, the referee blew for a goal-kick when he was near the centre circle!!!!!

 

With virtually the last kick of the half, the opponents then scored from a quick break-away goal to lead 2-1 at half-time.

 

During half-time, Raymond tried to reason with the referee who simply refused to acknowledge his mistake (even though the opposing GK admitted that the ball did not go out of play) and to make matters worse, the referee simply walked off.

 

In the 2^nd half, ARFC Veterans were obviously affected which was made worse by the tiredness.  Hence, it was no surprise that the opponents scored 3 more goals to lead 5-1.

 

ARFC Veterans did not give up though.  From the left, Kenny received a ball from Darren and shifted the ball to his trusted right foot before curling the ball home to the top right corner, sparking wild celebrations from Joy and his 4 children who were watching from the sidelines.

 

2-5 and this was Kenny’s 90^thgoal, with 6 coming from veterans matches.

 

Rashid then executed a reverse through ball for Raymond but just before he could get a good footing, Raymond suffered cramps and could not get a clean shot in, much to the relief of their GK who pushed the ball away for a corner.

 

Wayne then received a well-weighted lofted ball from Kenny but after rounding their GK, Wayne somehow shot wide with the goal gaping!

 

 

These are the top 5 scorers only for ARFC Veterans’ 39 matches:

 

1. Raymond – 20 goals
2. Haron – 17 goals
3. Darren – 13 goals
4. Sebastian – 13 goals
5. Soon – 12 goals

ARFC Veterans starts 2025 with 2-1 victory

 Playing its 38^th Veterans match overall, ARFC Veterans was forced to work hard for a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over the Republic Polytechnic staff team (comprising many guest players) at the magnificent pitch at Republic Polytechnic on 28 Mar 2025 at 7 pm.

 

Both teams agreed to play at 3 30-min periods for the match.

 

ARFC Veterans was supported by the family members of Haron, Rashid, Kenny and Elvis.

 

As it was still puasa month, Rashid and haron requested to be on the bench first.  Kudos to them for still turning up to play.

 

ARFC Veterans started with this 4-4-2 line-up:

 

GK – Zhicong

RB – Guoxiong

Sweeper – Elvis

Stopper – Toh (captain)

LB – Ron

RM – Raymond

CM – Soon

CM – Tjioe

LM – Tze Ern

SC – Wayne

SC – Kenny

 

Subs:

 

Sebastian

Haron

Rashid

Alvin

Darren

 

 

ARFC Veterans started brightly and Raymond came close with 2 sliding shots. Otherwise, the first half was a drab affairs.

 

In the 2^nd 30-min half, Tze Ern produced a couple of well-delivered corners which were not capitalised by ARFC warriors.

 

ARFC Veterans was dealt a sucker punch when the opponents scored from a quick counter attack. 0-1.

 

In the 3^rd 30-min half, ARFC Veterans finally woke up and played some decent football.

 

Raymond won the ball on the right and passed inwards to the impressive Rashid.  Spotting Tze Ern starting his run from deep on the left, Rashid hit a well-timed slide rule pass down the left channel.  At the same time, both Haron and Alvin were so intelligent to made their decoy runs back to our own half.  Tze Ern latched on in a flash and duly lobbed over their GK from distance.  1-1 and this was Tze Ern’s 19^th overall goals for ARFC, with 3 of them coming from Veterans matches.

 

The goal galvanised ARFC Veterans team who took the lead 3 mins later. Soon did very well to block their clearance upfield and the ball rolled to Kenny about 40 metres way from their goal.  The distance posed no problems to Kenny who quickly swivelled and unleashed a world-class low shot that eluded everyone and nestled nicely into the bottom right corner. Simply brilliant goal!!

 

2-1 and this was Kenny’s 89^thoverall goals for ARFC, with 5 goals coming from Veterans matches.

 

ARFC Veterans then missed several golden chances to put the result to bed.

 

Alvin was the first culprit when he somehow missed a rather easy chance.

 

Alvin nearly redeemed himself when he powered his way down the left bye-line from Darren’s long ball.  Squaring the ball across, Alvin had his arms up in celebration as Wayne was free just outside the 6-yard box.  Inexplicably, Wayne fired the ball high and wide to the astonishment of everyone.

 

Haron then produced a sumptuous right foot volley from 30 matres but the ball flew narrowly wide.

 

Rashid then hit a clever through ball for Raymond to run in from deep. Raymond tried to fool their GK with a clever step-over but his attempt was thwarted by their GK.  From the rebound at acute angle, Raymond side-footed the ball into the side-netting, even though Haron was totally free to his left.

 

ARFC Veterans then held on for a 2-1 victory.

 

For this match, Elvis, Ron and Tjioe produced several key blocks.

 

Tjioe was particularly impressive on one moment when he won a tackle just outside our own box, and dribbled all the way up to their box.  A real box-to-box moment!

 

Both Guoxiong and Darren also came up with so many overlapping runs, and Tze Ern and Soon ran themselves to the ground.

 

These are the top 5 scorers only for ARFC Veterans’ 38 matches:

 

1. Raymond – 19 goals
2. Haron – 17 goals
3. Darren – 13 goals
4. Sebastian – 13 goals
5. Soon – 12 goals