ARFC suffers second defeat in Classiq League 06

Dear ARFC warriors:

ARFC slumped to its successive defeat in the Classiq League 2006 after going down to a narrow 2-1 loss against Yaakeen in front of the faithful 77,777 fans at ITE Stadia.

Prior to the match, ARFC received a blow when Elvis, the astute-reading Sweeper, pulled out due to last-minute work commitment. In step Kiat Gulam to take over his place, with Towering Toh, Bernard and Huiming covering him. In the midfield, Sebastiano and hard-working Tong guard the centre, with the sublime Khim and powerful Alvin taking up the flanks. Up front, Speedy Hee partnered ARFC scoring legend Haron. ARFC was also delighted to see unpredictable Blackburn turning up even though he was badly injured during last week’s game. In goal, Chow (guest player) helped ARFC out.

ARFC was immediately put under tremendous pressure by the very determined Yaakeen. They took shots after shots but ARFC held firm. In the 27th min, off a quickly-taken free-kick by Sebastino that released Khim in the area, Khim took a shot that unfortunately ricocheted off the post and bounced away to safety. Unlucky ARFC!!

In all fairness, ARFC was also lucky not to trail by the first half after some wayward finishing by Yaakeen.

In the 2nd half, Blackburn replaced Speedy Hee. It was clear by now that Blackburn was not fully fit. However, in the 57th min, sublime Khim released Blackburn down the left flank and despite being unable to sprint, Blackburn still delivered an inch-perfect cross to ARFC scoring legend Haron and the latter did not disappoint by expertly headed the ball past their keeper. 1-0!! Chants of “Blackburn, Blackburn!!” echoed around the stadia.

The lead, however, lasted only a few minutes. Off an innocuous ball pump into ARFC’s defence, Chow fumbled the ball and the opponent quickly took the ball, side-stepped a defender and shot the ball towards goal. Though the shot was no power, Kiat Gulam came within 7 mm of kicking the ball out. 1-1!!

In the 77th min, things got worse for ARFC. Their left-winger received a ball and shot past Chow for a 2-1 lead.

ARFC did not give up the fight. Speedy Hee, who replaced Blackburn who was unable to carry on anymore, raced on to a through ball from Khim but his shot was parried by their keeper for a corner.

Minutes later, some clever inter-play between Khim and Haron resulted in Khim taking the ball right up into the penalty box. Before he could a shot, their defender managed to slide the ball out of play and in the process brought Khim down. The referee, who was having a poor game, waved away the vehemous protest from the ARFC warriors.

When the final whistle went, ARFC warriors were disappointed not to at least snatch a point in this game. The fans appreciated ARFC’s efforts and applauded the team off the field.

Would also like to place on record for Blackburn’s attendance for today’s game, even though he was unable to run much. Excellent attitude!!!