ARFC in sorry defeat

In a match played under 47 degrees celcius, ARFC was soundly beaten by a competent opponent 4-1.

ARFC got off to a strange start with some very uncharacteristic way-ward passings that seemed to give opponents confidence to build on their attack. However, ARFC managed to stay on its feet and the opponents could not find a way past our defence. In fact, ARFC had several chances but could not put them away.

Off a counter-attack, their quick striker exposed our slow defence to put them 1-0 up which remained the score-line at half-time. ARFC was booed off at half-time as well.

ARFC fans' incessant booing did not help the warriors at all. In fact, ARFC soon found themselves 0-3 down which prompted the fans to rain rotten-eggs, female panties with "menstrul blood", vomit, soiled toilet papers, etc onto the pitch.

In the 67th min, ARFC pulled a goal back when WO Neo heard powerful Alvin's shout and let the ball run through for the latter to thump in the ball into the bottom right-hand corner for his 31st ARFC goal.

HOwever, the opponents had the last laugh when they scored their 4th goal and thereby condemning ARFC to a rare 4-1 defeat.

Speaking after the 4-1 debacle, ARFC Captain Influential Sebastiano apologised for a poor showing by all warriors and vowed to do better in the next match.

After the match, the ARFC Board of Directors had a 77-min closed-door meeting. Emerging from the meeting with a deep frown, Kiat Gulam, one of ARFC Directors, told the gathering reporters that ARFC would refund the ticket fees to the fans for today's match.

"All tickets holders need to produce their ticket stubs at all 7-11 outlets to claim their refund. In addition, all fans would be given a free pack of 3 condoms for them to vent their "frustration" elsewhere", assured Kiat Gulam.....

Another come-from-behind victory for ARFC

In a game played under a water-logged paddy field full of mud, ARFC staged yet another come-from-behind 3-2 victory against a team of PRCs.

Prior to the match, ARFC scoring legend Haron and astute-reading sweeper Elvis had to pull out due to family commitments. As influential Sebastiano was late, ARFC had no choice but to start with only 10 warriors, namely Speedy Hee (as GK), unpredictable Blackburn as sweeper, determined Huiming as stopper, left-foot wizard Bernard as left-back and reliable David as right-back. hard-man Tjioe and hard-working Tong paired up at the middle, with Kiat Gulam and Tjioe's German colleague, a younger Berti Vogts look-alike, Hans, on the flanks. Talisman Derrick was the lone forward.

From what i heard, despite playing with just 10 men, ARFC created several openings that were all squandered by talisman Derrick. Influential Sebastiano then joined the team about 27 mins into the game but just minutes after his entry, the amateurish and anyhow-play opponents took a surprise lead off a free-kick. 0-1!!

Just 70 seconds into the 2nd half, the opponents extended their lead when they counter-attacked and scored. 0-2 now and the ARFC fans began booing the team for their lacklustre display.

Taking matters into his own hands, influential Sebastiano switched hard-man Tjioe to the left and he moved into the middle to partner hardworking Tong who was also told to cover more on the right flank as Hans was clearly tiring. The switch worked wonders and ARFC began pressing for goals.

In the 57th min, ARFC was finally rewarded for their preseverance. Left foot wizard bernard's cross was only half cleared and hard-man Tjioe took a powerful low shot but the ball was stuck in the pool of water in betweeb the penalty box and penalty spot. Up came unpredictable Blackburn who toe-pocked the ball home. 1-2.

7 minutes later, ARFC equalised. A great cross from the right by hard-working Tong (or is it unpredictable Blackburn) found left-foot wizard Bernard free at the far post. He connected with the ball powerfully but their defender used his hands to stop the ball from crossing the line. Again, Bernard was unlucky not to score from open play but at least he won a penalty which was duly converted with ease by unpredictable Blackburn. 2-2 now.

About 17 mins from the end, ARFC finally got the lead that they thoroughly and totally deserved. Reliable David and Hard-working Tong won the ball on the right and relayed the ball to unpredictable Blackburn. A series of wall passes between him and influential Sebastiano saw the latter breaking clear on the right flank. Looking up, the ball was squared to the on-rushing talisman Derrick and he won the ball ahead of their keeper and defenders, and proceeded to leash the ball home. 3-2 and the crowd went wild!!

The match, however, was ended early due to some mini scuffles. The Nigerian referee, who was later found to be a Nigerian con-man instead of a referee, contributed greatly to the frustrated play by both teams with SO MANY dubious and questionable decisions.

Speaking to reporters after the match, joint Man-of-the-Match hard-man Tjioe and unpredictable Blackburn felt that ARFC had only itself to blame for gifting the lousy opponents 2 goals and had to work hard for its victory. Nevertheless, both were glad that ARFC had once again displayed its famed spirit and team-work by working hard and get a victory.

The defence did very well for this game, as with hard-working Tong as well. However, talisman Derrick, despite scoring the winning goal, was rather wasteful in front of goal and lost possessions on many occasions. This could be attributed to the poor pitch condition. Also, if given a better pitch, the oppo0nents would surely be whalloped at least 7-0....

Half-century list

After last Saturday's late night match, influential Sebastiano has joined the elite "half-century scoring list" after scoring his 50th goal for the club. The fore-runners in the list are:

ARFC scoring legend Haron with 111 goals;
Deadly Robin with 69 goals;
Unpredictable Blackburn with 60 goals;
Influential Sebastiano with 50 goals.

Towering Toh became a father!!!!

Our Towering Toh became the proud father of his son, Gerrard Toh, on Friday....

On behalf of ARFC, congratulations to him and his wife....

FIFA's decision on WO Neo's goal

After a 7-hour deliberation, Mr Michel Platini, the Head of FIFA Disputed Goal Committee, has decided that WO Neo’s goal should be credited to him instead of an own goal. With the decision, which no appeal would be allowed, WO Neo has now scored 48 goals for ARFC.

Commenting to the decision, the “very smart football analyst” with “The Old Paper”, Mr “Tohaha Paipai” retracted his previous view and said that he totally agreed with the FIFA’s decision.

“FIFA’s decision is definitely correct. I should know. I have played football for many years.” He said. At this juncture, a fan pointed out his different view the previous night before FIFA’s decision. Looking slightly embarrassed, Mr “Tohaha Paipai” refused to answer and simply left the conference room for some nasi briyani at the Adam Road Hawker Centre.

ARFC's come-from-behind victory in its 200th match

In its latest-ever match kick-off time in its entire history, ARFC came from behind to snatch a 4-3 victory over Westminister at the all-new fantastic artificial pitch at Tampines SAFRA. As it as ARFC’s 200th match in its illustrious history, the stadium was packed to the rafters with about 100,777 fans. The wives and girlfriends of influential Sebastiano, ARFC scoring legend Haron, hard-running Guoxiong, astute-reading sweeper Elvis and talisman Derrick were also there to cheer on the warriors. The lovely son of talisman Derrick also provided much “entertainment” at the sideline.

ARFC was hit by the very last-minute withdrawal left-foot wizard Bernard due to some urgent personal commitment. Determined Huiming and Kiat Gulam were also missing. However, ARFC scoring legend Haron was able to make it after breaking fast as did deadly Robin who made a sudden appearance.

Dependable Jinzhong returned in goal with astute-reading sweeper Elvis, hardworking Tong, hard-running Guoxiong and reliable David Mak as the defenders. Sublime Khim, influential Sebastiano, hard-man Tjioe and talisman Derrick were the midfielders, with WO Neo and ARFC scoring legend Haron leading the line. For probably the first-time ever, ARFC’s 4 substitutes were all forwards, namely powerful Alvin, deadly Robin, speedy Hee and unpredictable Blackburn.

Right from the kick-off, ARFC warriors played like men on fire and bombarded the opponents’ goal. However, stiff defending by the opponents kept ARFC at bay. In the 17th min, ARFC was caught out by one if their counter-attack on the right. A misunderstanding by dependable Jinzhong and hard-running Guoxiong resulted in them snatching a surprise lead. 0-1.

Within 7 mins, however, ARFC equalised. Off an attack from our right side, WO Neo threaded the ball to sublime Khim who was breaking in from the left right up into the box. Displaying his trade-mark unselfishness, sublime Khim squared the ball across to talisman Derrick who controlled and placed the ball home for his 13th ARFC goal, thereby continuing his red-hot form. 1-1 now.

Off yet another attack from their right, the opponents regained the lead, albeit through a controversial off-side call. 1-2 now.

ARFC then made a string of substitutions. One of the subs, unpredictable Blackburn then promptly conceded an unnecessary penalty when he carelessly pushed their striker off a corner. Dependable Jinzhong, however, made amends for his earlier error by expertly saving the penalty and kept ARFC in the game.

In the 37th min, again from a dubious off-side call, the opponents increased their lead to 3-1 and ARFC looked dead and buried at half-time. The fans also jeered off the warriors for their lacklustre display.

During the half-time pep talk, all agreed that we did not play well and vowed not to let the fans down this time, especially since it was our 200th match in history.
In the 2nd half, ARFC started as what was like in the 1st half. However, some hesitant attacking and stubborn defending by opponents let ARFC down. The defining moment came in the 57th min when their tough-tackling Indian midfielder brought down talisman Derrick and thereby earning his 2nd yellow and red card. ARFC, however, sportingly allowed them to replace with another player.

17 mins later, sublime Khim won the ball on the left and laid it to the on-rushing unpredictable Blackburn who controlled the ball coolly and slotted in for his 60th ARFC goal!! However, ARFC paid a heavy price when sublime Khim had to limp off injured during the process.

In the 77th min, ARFC equalized!! WO Neo refused to give up on a seemingly lost cause on the right touch-line, won the ball and crossed it into the box. The ball appeared no danger but their keeper inexplicably spilled the ball into his own net!!! 3-3 now!!

Roared on by the fans to get a winner, ARFC responded with one in the 87th min. Influential Sebastiano played a wall-pass with unpredictable Blackburn who sent him racing clear on the right flank. Facing the keeper one-to-one, influential Sebastiano calmly placed the ball home for his 50th ARFC goal that sparked off delirium in the stands!!! His newly-minted wife, Caren, was ecstatic and nearly spoilt her newly-bought DS Lite when she threw it up into the air to celebrate.

After the match, influential Sebastiano paid credit to some midfielders like hard-working Tong, sublime Khim and speedy Hee who had to play defence due to lack of defenders. It was not easy but all 3 came through with flying colours.

Speaking on WO Neo’s goal, the “very smart football analyst” with “The Old Paper”, Mr “Tohaha Paipai”, felt that it should be credited as an own goal. “Surely it is an own goal. I should know. I have played football for many years.”

Nevertheless, the goal would be sent to the FIFA Disputed Goal Committee for a final decision.

ARFC's 200th match

For your information, this coming Saturday's match at the new artificial pitch at Tampines SAFRA would be our 200th match in our 17th-year history......

Separately, I will also be bringing my lap-top to show you what I have done for our magazine thus far. For those who have yet to give me your inputs + photographs, please do so ASAP.....

Thanks and cheers...