ARFC was supported by Haron’s lovely daughter, Athirah, who seemed to inspire Haron’s goal (see details later).
Special thanks to some ARFC warriors for turning up after indicating their unavailability earlier.
ARFC also called up Zhicong (guest GK) and Nova (2nd time playing for ARFC).
After club captain Sebastian dropped himself to the bench due to some niggling issues at right knee, Haron took over the captainship at the start.
ARFC took to the pitch with this 4-4-2 line-up:
Jersey No.: | Name | Position |
xx | Zhicong | Goalkeeper |
66 | Vintage Chua | Right back |
98 | Impeccable How Meng | Sweeper |
15 | Towering Toh | Stopper |
6 | Unbeatable Darren | Left back |
22 | Elegant Keith | Right mid |
4 | Dynamic Soon | Centre Mid |
28 | Hard-man Tjioe | Centre Mid |
19 | Skillful Wei Lit | Left Mid |
9 | ARFC Scoring Legend Haron (captain) | Striker |
24 | Fearless Chong Ghee | Striker |
Substitutes: | ||
7 | Influential Sebastian |
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8 | Versatile Allan |
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18 | Wonder Wayne |
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79 | Enigma Enoch |
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99 | Powerful Alvin |
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xx | Nova |
|
Missing In Action: | ||
2 | Remarkable Rashid |
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3 | Astute-reading sweeper Elvis |
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5 | Energetic Kerwin |
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10 | Sublime Khim |
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11 | Steely Tze Ern |
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14 | Combative Ron |
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16 | Marauding Guoxiong |
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17 | Nippy Kenny |
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20 | Composed Eng Lai |
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21 | Devastating Dominic |
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23 | Talented Chun Haw |
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26 | Rampaging Raymond |
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27 | Commanding Jeremy |
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30 | Divine Delon |
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77 | Robust Hong Lee |
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88 | Talisman Derrick |
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ARFC got off to a dream start within 2 mins when Wei Lit took control of a ball about 37 metres away from their goal. Priming himself up, Wei Lit unleashed a rocket that had their GK clutching thin air. What a beauty from Wei Lit!
1-0 and this was Wei Lit’s 23rd ARFC goal, moving him on level terms in ARFC’s all-time Top Scorers’ List with ex-ARFC legend David on 23 goals.
ARFC then proceeded to miss at least 4 sitters to put the result to bed, and in the process allowed the opponents to gradually clawed their way back in the 1st half.
The opponents launched a few long-range shots and Toh did very well to block 2 such long shots. Zhicong, who used to play GK for ARFC, also made a few confident catches to thwart the opponents.
At the 20th min mark, ARFC introduced all 6 substitutes to give others to rest their legs.
The first half ended 1-0.
About 3 mins after the re-start, ARFC doubled its lead thanks to Haron’s intelligent match play.
Closing down their defender, Haron demonstrated clever anticipation by blocking the defender’s pass, used his body to shield the same defender before nonchalantly lifting the ball over their on-rushing GK, ala Fernando Torres (the Liverpool version, not the Chelsea version).
2-0 and this was Haron’s 283rd SRFC goal.
Most importantly, Haron’s goal sparked wild celebrations from Athirah who gave him the “love finger sign” from outside the pitch.
ARFC, and Nova in particular, then had 2 doses of luck within 7 mins.
First, Nova made a headed clearance from inside his own half and the ball took a huge bounce that their GK misjudged the flight and the ball ended up in the empty net. 3-0 and this was Nova’s debut ARFC goal.
This was also ARFC's 2,500th goal since it was formed in Jun 1991.
Mins later, Nova played a nice 1-2 with Wei Lit down the left flank. Receiving the ball back from Wei Lit, Nova swung in a curler that their GK somehow spilled the ball into the net! 4-0 now and what luck Nova had!
Chua then created the next goal as his headed clearance from his right back position saw the ball flew into the box. Chong Ghee showed remarkable upper body by holding off their bigger-size defender before lifting the ball over their GK, ala Mo Salah, for a 5-0 lead.
This was Chong Ghee’s 2nd ARFC goal as he had also scored for ARFC, as a guest player, on 18 Jun 2023 at East Spring SS in a 5-2 win back then.
Enoch then delivered a corner to the far post and Alvin leaped to head the ball back across goal, ala Dirk Kuyt. Wei Lit was the biggest beneficiary as he turned the ball in from just outside the 6-yard box.
6-0 and this was Wei Lit’s 24th ARFC goal.
How Meng was then taken off for a breather.
ARFC then took its foot off the pedal and allowed the opponents to score 3 goals within 10 mins. 6-3.
Sebastian then made a few substitutions in an attempt to curb the rising tide.
On the left flank, How Meng whipped in a venomous free-kick to the far post that their GK failed to keep out despite diving full length. 7-3 and this was How Meng’s 23rd ARFC goal.
ARFC then missed at least 4 more golden opportunities to extend its lead.
The opponents then pulled another goal back from a clear off-side position but the referee failed to spot as his vision was blocked by the opponents.
How Meng and Wayne were joint man-of-the-Match. Wayne was impressive with his link-up play, while How Meng kept out almost everything thrown at him, ala Virgil van Dijk, in his prime.
Credit must also be given to Chua who was virtually unbeatable at right back, while both Tjioe and Soon were like 2 tanks with their closing down of opponents. Up front, Chong Ghee harassed relentlessly which gave much-breathing space to ARFC. Zhicong also made 2-3 brilliant and crucial saves in the second half.
