Playing on the second Monday night game (7 pm kick-off) in successive week, ARFC was held to a 2-2 draw by the Republic Polytechnic staff team despite an inspired performance from talisman Derrick.
The magnificent pitch and ambience was matched by the grand turn-out of 107,777 fans, including influential Sebastian’s wife, Caren, astute-reading sweeper Elvis’ girlfriend, Anna and the family of ARFC scoring legend Haron, Su and their daughter Afiqah and his mother-in-law. The chief reason for the big increase in turn-out was due to the fact that Afiqah is making her first support for her father for the first time since born.
Missing regular keeper dependable Jinzhong (due to work), ARFC started with versatile Kiat who kindly volunteered to be the keeper. He was supported by astute-reading sweeper Elvis, towering Toh, left-foot wizard Bernard and unpredictable Blackburn as the defence. Influential Sebastian, hard-man Tjioe, hard-running Guoxiong and talisman Derrick were the midfielders, with the feared striker-force of powerful Alvin and ARFC scoring legend Haron. WO Neo, who had just returned from a month-long training stint in India, speedy Hee and hardworking Tong (both late due to work) and sublime Khim were the subs. Upon hearing that sublime Khim was surprisingly made a sub, the fans jeered the decision by pelting banana skins onto the pitch. Luckily, the well-trained pong-pong girls from Republic Polytechnic were able to defuse the situation by treating the fans to a well-rehearsed routine that soon had the fans forgotten about sublime Khim’s absence.
ARFC showed its intent by launching attacks after attacks right from the kick-off. ARFC scoring legend Haron nearly opened the scoring just minutes after but his shot struck the wood-work. Wasted!!
However, he was not to be denied in the 17th min. Influential Sebastian played a direct pass to powerful Alvin who expertly flicked the ball to the on-rushing Haron. He shrugged off the challenge of the defender to unleash the ball home for the 121st ARFC goal. Immediately, he pointed to the stands and amazingly, Afiqah was observed to have smiled at her father’s goal!!!!!
After the goal, ARFC appeared to turn complacent and wasted so many golden opportunities, with the most glaring miss by powerful Alvin in the 27th min. He bored down on goal right into the 6-yard box but to the huge astonishment of everybody in the stadium, shot wide!!!
As football logic goes, ARFC was soon punished. Off a counter-attack, they equalized. 1-1 now!!
ARFC then made a string of substitutions with speedy Hee, WO Neo and sublime Khim taking over, talisman Derrick (who was brutally chopped down on numerous occasions by the opponents), Haron and unpredictable Blackburn respectively.
The first-half ended 1-1.
7 mins into the half, hardworking Tong appeared for towering Toh who declared his tireness on the pitch.
In the 57th min, talisman Derrick nearly produced a carbon-copy of Marco Van Basten’s goal in the 1988 Euro Final against the USSR. Sublime Khim looked up and switched an elegant ball all the way to talisman Derrick on the right flank. Without missing a beat, he blasted a venomous volley that had goal screaming all the way until their keeper touched the ball onto the cross-bar for a corner. Wonderful and the whole stadium groaned in agony!!!
ARFC was not to be denied in its search for the 2nd goal. In the 67th min, ARFC went ahead again. Off a corner, towering Toh, talisman Derrick and hard-man Tjioe all challenged for the ball which seemed to stay in the air for eternity. When the ball finally dropped, talisman Derrick swiveled and volleyed home for his 18th ARFC goal, a goal that was very similar to David Platt’s goal in World Cup 1990 against Belgium!!!
However, another mistake allowed the opponents to equalize yet again.
By the 77th min mark, ARFC warriors were tiring and the opponents began to have the upper hand, especially after they introduced a few students-looking players who were very fit and comfortable on the ball.
Final score 2-2 and this was ARFC’s 35th draw in its illustrious history.
Speaking to the pong-pong girls after the match, Man-of-the-Match talisman Derrick said he was lucky to keep his legs intact after many many tackles that threatened to break his legs. He also turned down the girls’ requests for his mobile number as he said that his heart is only with his wife, Iris, and son, Reyes.
Separately, ARFC scoring legend Haron dedicated his goal to his lovely wife, Su, and especially to his daughter, Afiqah who witnessed his father’s predatory instinct for the first-time and I believe, for many times to come in the coming years……..
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
ARFC faltered 1-3
Playing on an unusual Monday night (7 pm kick-off) at the magnificent artificial pitch at Meridien Junior College, ARFC succumbed to a very strong Hwa Chong Old Boys 1-3 in front of the usual 77,777 fans which included the wife, Caren, and mother-in-law, Caren senior, of influential Sebastian.
Just hours before kick-off, ARFC received 3 huge blows when sublime Khim (wife sick), versatile Kiat (work) and towering Toh (in-grown toe-nail operation) pulled out, leaving ARFC with just 13 warriors.
ARFC started with dependable Jinzhong as keeper with astute-reading sweeper Elvis, Edwin (guest-player), hard-running Guoxiong and left-foot wizard Bernard as defence. Hardworking Tong, influential Sebastian, unpredictable Blackburn and talisman Derrick formed the midfield quartet with ARFC scoring legend Haron partnering powerful Alvin unfront. Speedy Hee and hard-man Tjioe (late) were the subs.
ARFC started the match on even footing as the opponents and even had a couple of half-chances but wasted them all. ARFC then paid dearly in the 7th min when off their very first attack, they opened the scoring after a mix-up between astute-reading sweeper Elvis and hard-running Guoxiong. 0-1.
ARFC tried to re-group but fell further behind 7 mins later. Influential Sebastian's under-hit pass was intercepted and the ball pumped high into the 6-yard box. Dependable Jinzhong seemed the favourite to punch the ball away but did not get a strong punch as he was clearly impeded by their player. As a result, the loose ball fell kindly to their striker just 0.77 inches from the goal-line and he gleefully thumped the ball high into the roof. 0-2.
Speedy Hee then replaced the ineffective unpredictable Blackburn and he managed to inject some urgency into the play. Edwin also swopped position with astute-reading sweeper Elvis and ARFC then started to play like the usual ARFC and much better as the half went by.
In the 27th min, powerful Alvin was put through but his shot was brilliantly saved by their impressive keeper. Influential Sebastian and talisman Derrick also had their chances but failed to put them away. ARFC scoring legend Haron also troubled their defenders no end but failed to add to his 120 ARFC goals.
When play resumed, hard-man Tjioe came in at the centre with influential Sebastian switching to right-back replacing hard-running Guoxiong. The switches apparently worked as ARFC had its fair share of play and even threatened to pull a goal back. Hard-man Tjioe also provided much-needed muscle and strength to aid hardworking Tong who was regularly outnumbered in midfield.
However, another defensive lapse allowed them to lob the ball over the advancing dependable Jinzhong. Though it was now 0-3, the fans did not give up and continued cheering the warriors. With morale lifted, all warriors gave their all, with talisman Derrick, Edwin, astute-reading sweeper Elvis and left-foot wizard Bernard particularly impressive.
In fact, ARFC could have quickly scored but the very good chances were spurned by talisman Derrick, ARFC scoring legend Haron, powerful Alvin and influential Sebastian and even Edwin failed to connect with a header.
In the 67th min, talisman Derrick, who gave their left-back a torrid time throughout, was sent off after verbal exchanges with their player who was also dismissed. The referee, who had a good game, gamely allowed both teams to substitute a player each. Hence, unpredictable Blackburn took over talisman Derrick.
7 mins later, ARFC finally pulled a goal back. ARFC scoring legend Haron, who was repeatedly fouled as their defender was having great difficulty coping with his guile and foot-work, won a free-kick in the right. Influential Sebastian sent in a perfectly-flighted ball straight onto the head of unpredictable Blackburn who nodded home ala Olivier Bierhoff for his 65th ARFC goal. 1-3
Hard-running Guoxiong then replaced the tiring Haron to play at right-mid with unpredictable Blackburn took over the left-mid and speedy Hee partnering powerful Alvin up front.
Towards the end, ARFC still managed to spurn a golden chance and the final score stayed 1-3.
Speaking to all, influential Sebastian thanked the fans for never giving up on ARFC and their continued encouragement even when the chips are down.
"The fans tonight were fantastic, as with usual matches. After the Liverpool and Everton fans, I think the ARFC fans are the best in the world!!
I also want to say that we should have no shame in losing 1-3 to Hwa Chong Old Boys. The team has many ex and current players playing for Katong FC in our NFL Division I and some of them are even ex-Singapore Chinese national team players. Therefore, I feel the scoreline was respectable. Also, we have to bear in mind that we are missing 3 regulars in determined Huiming, towering Toh and sublime Khim. In fact, if we have put away the many golden chances that came our way, we might even snatch a victory. So, no shame at all in the loss."
Just hours before kick-off, ARFC received 3 huge blows when sublime Khim (wife sick), versatile Kiat (work) and towering Toh (in-grown toe-nail operation) pulled out, leaving ARFC with just 13 warriors.
ARFC started with dependable Jinzhong as keeper with astute-reading sweeper Elvis, Edwin (guest-player), hard-running Guoxiong and left-foot wizard Bernard as defence. Hardworking Tong, influential Sebastian, unpredictable Blackburn and talisman Derrick formed the midfield quartet with ARFC scoring legend Haron partnering powerful Alvin unfront. Speedy Hee and hard-man Tjioe (late) were the subs.
ARFC started the match on even footing as the opponents and even had a couple of half-chances but wasted them all. ARFC then paid dearly in the 7th min when off their very first attack, they opened the scoring after a mix-up between astute-reading sweeper Elvis and hard-running Guoxiong. 0-1.
ARFC tried to re-group but fell further behind 7 mins later. Influential Sebastian's under-hit pass was intercepted and the ball pumped high into the 6-yard box. Dependable Jinzhong seemed the favourite to punch the ball away but did not get a strong punch as he was clearly impeded by their player. As a result, the loose ball fell kindly to their striker just 0.77 inches from the goal-line and he gleefully thumped the ball high into the roof. 0-2.
Speedy Hee then replaced the ineffective unpredictable Blackburn and he managed to inject some urgency into the play. Edwin also swopped position with astute-reading sweeper Elvis and ARFC then started to play like the usual ARFC and much better as the half went by.
In the 27th min, powerful Alvin was put through but his shot was brilliantly saved by their impressive keeper. Influential Sebastian and talisman Derrick also had their chances but failed to put them away. ARFC scoring legend Haron also troubled their defenders no end but failed to add to his 120 ARFC goals.
When play resumed, hard-man Tjioe came in at the centre with influential Sebastian switching to right-back replacing hard-running Guoxiong. The switches apparently worked as ARFC had its fair share of play and even threatened to pull a goal back. Hard-man Tjioe also provided much-needed muscle and strength to aid hardworking Tong who was regularly outnumbered in midfield.
However, another defensive lapse allowed them to lob the ball over the advancing dependable Jinzhong. Though it was now 0-3, the fans did not give up and continued cheering the warriors. With morale lifted, all warriors gave their all, with talisman Derrick, Edwin, astute-reading sweeper Elvis and left-foot wizard Bernard particularly impressive.
In fact, ARFC could have quickly scored but the very good chances were spurned by talisman Derrick, ARFC scoring legend Haron, powerful Alvin and influential Sebastian and even Edwin failed to connect with a header.
In the 67th min, talisman Derrick, who gave their left-back a torrid time throughout, was sent off after verbal exchanges with their player who was also dismissed. The referee, who had a good game, gamely allowed both teams to substitute a player each. Hence, unpredictable Blackburn took over talisman Derrick.
7 mins later, ARFC finally pulled a goal back. ARFC scoring legend Haron, who was repeatedly fouled as their defender was having great difficulty coping with his guile and foot-work, won a free-kick in the right. Influential Sebastian sent in a perfectly-flighted ball straight onto the head of unpredictable Blackburn who nodded home ala Olivier Bierhoff for his 65th ARFC goal. 1-3
Hard-running Guoxiong then replaced the tiring Haron to play at right-mid with unpredictable Blackburn took over the left-mid and speedy Hee partnering powerful Alvin up front.
Towards the end, ARFC still managed to spurn a golden chance and the final score stayed 1-3.
Speaking to all, influential Sebastian thanked the fans for never giving up on ARFC and their continued encouragement even when the chips are down.
"The fans tonight were fantastic, as with usual matches. After the Liverpool and Everton fans, I think the ARFC fans are the best in the world!!
I also want to say that we should have no shame in losing 1-3 to Hwa Chong Old Boys. The team has many ex and current players playing for Katong FC in our NFL Division I and some of them are even ex-Singapore Chinese national team players. Therefore, I feel the scoreline was respectable. Also, we have to bear in mind that we are missing 3 regulars in determined Huiming, towering Toh and sublime Khim. In fact, if we have put away the many golden chances that came our way, we might even snatch a victory. So, no shame at all in the loss."
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
ARFC drew 4-4
In a match played under Sahara Desert-like temperature at the St. Wilfrid’s artificial pitch, ARFC conceded a last-grasp penalty to allow its opponent to claw a 4-4 draw.
Just hours before the match, ARFC suffered triple-blows when hard-man Tjioe (flu), versatile Kiat (daughter sick) and ARFC scoring legend Haron (personal commitment) all withdrew from the squad. As such, ARFC had no choice but to play with only 10½ warriors as powerful Alvin was hampered by a hamstring injury suffered few days before the match.
The starting line-up was thus: dependable Jinzhong as keeper with the usual defence of astute-reading sweeper Elvis, Towering Toh, determined Huiming and left-foot wizard Bernard. Hardworking Tong, influential Sebastian, speedy Hee and talisman Derrick formed the midfield while the half-fit powerful Alvin was paired up with unpredictable Blackburn.
ARFC easily dominated the proceedings from the word go though the opponents fought hard for almost every ball. In the 7th min, influential Sebastian and talisman Derrick combined to set up powerful Alvin in the box. Capitalising on the nervousness in the opposing defence, he calmly dinked the ball over their keeper and covering defender to nestle nicely into the bottom right corner for his 43rd ARFC goal. The goal surprised the 77,777 fans as he was clearly unfit to even run for the ball yet maintained his predatory instinct.
However, a horrible but unusual howler by dependable Jinzhong gifted them an equalizer. A direct long punt into our penalty box looked to be well-covered by determined Huiming but to the astonishment of the whole stadia, dependable Jinzhong charged out, kicked the thin air and completely missed the ball, leaving their striker with the easiest chance in the world to roll the ball in. 1-1.
The goal appeared to instill confidence and galvanise the opponents as they seemed to found extra energy and raised their game a few notches. Indeed, they went ahead in the 17th min after influential Sebastian’s pass was intercepted and they counter-attacked with a ball to their striker. Though he looked suspiciously off-side, the referee waved play on and he thus slotted in. 1-2 now!!
At this juncture, the fans started whistling and booed ARFC as they were dissatisfied with the effort put in by ARFC as the warriors were too slow in releasing the ball and lost out too often in duals for balls. Not wanting to let anybody down, towering Toh tried to wake every warrior up from their slumber with shouts and shouts.
All warriors responded positively. In the 27th min, ARFC equalized. Off a corner from unpredictable Blackburn, towering Toh’s header was handled by their defender giving the referee little choice but to point to the spot. Influential Sebastian stepped up and sent their keeper the wrong way for his 52nd ARFC goal. 2-2.
During the half-time pep talk, ARFC recognized its faults and pledged to do better for the fans as well as Yanxiu (wife of determined Huiming) and Irene (girlfriend of powerful Alvin.)
Indeed, ARFC came out firing on all cylinders and totally dictated play in the first 25 mins of the second half. Speedy Hee, who was having an impressive outing, mesmerized their defence with a Ryan Giggs-like run on the left flank and eluded 2 defenders. Once inside the box, he found powerful Alvin who duly thumped home the ball for his 44th ARFC goal. In the process, his shot also damaged their keeper’s spectacles. Amazing shot for a half-fit warrior!!!
In the 67th min, ARFC increased its lead. Again, speedy Hee was the architect as he caused havoc in their defence. The loose ball dropped to unpredictable Blackburn about 37.77 metres away. Dragging the warriors’ and fan’s memories back about 10 years, he unleashed a volley that had goal screaming all the way and true enough, the ball landed into the top right-hand corner. His wonderful goal had the commentator exclaiming that even “top keeper like Bruce Grobblearr, Neville Southall, Pat Jennings, Gary Bailey, Dino Zoff would have no chance at all!!”
All the pioneer warriors would attest that unpredictable Blackburn’s goal, his 64th ARFC goal, was typical “Blackburn in his younger days” when such goals are regular and common sight.
However, ARFC took its foot off the pedal and was punished. In the 77th min, left-foot wizard Bernard was sold a dummy by their striker who scored from inside the box. 3-4.
The day turned the worst for left-foot wizard Bernard in the dying minutes of the match when he clumsily clattered into their striker and a penalty was awarded. With virtually the last kick of the match, they converted the penalty to claim a 4-4 draw.
This was a match where ARFC gave a Jekyll and Hyde display where ARFC was very impressive in certain periods and very poor in other periods. Also, it was very rare to have so many warriors, EXCEPT determined Huiming, speedy Hee and astute-reading sweeper Elvis, performed so poorly in the same match.
Man-of-the-Match? Shared by determined Huiming and speedy Hee.
Just hours before the match, ARFC suffered triple-blows when hard-man Tjioe (flu), versatile Kiat (daughter sick) and ARFC scoring legend Haron (personal commitment) all withdrew from the squad. As such, ARFC had no choice but to play with only 10½ warriors as powerful Alvin was hampered by a hamstring injury suffered few days before the match.
The starting line-up was thus: dependable Jinzhong as keeper with the usual defence of astute-reading sweeper Elvis, Towering Toh, determined Huiming and left-foot wizard Bernard. Hardworking Tong, influential Sebastian, speedy Hee and talisman Derrick formed the midfield while the half-fit powerful Alvin was paired up with unpredictable Blackburn.
ARFC easily dominated the proceedings from the word go though the opponents fought hard for almost every ball. In the 7th min, influential Sebastian and talisman Derrick combined to set up powerful Alvin in the box. Capitalising on the nervousness in the opposing defence, he calmly dinked the ball over their keeper and covering defender to nestle nicely into the bottom right corner for his 43rd ARFC goal. The goal surprised the 77,777 fans as he was clearly unfit to even run for the ball yet maintained his predatory instinct.
However, a horrible but unusual howler by dependable Jinzhong gifted them an equalizer. A direct long punt into our penalty box looked to be well-covered by determined Huiming but to the astonishment of the whole stadia, dependable Jinzhong charged out, kicked the thin air and completely missed the ball, leaving their striker with the easiest chance in the world to roll the ball in. 1-1.
The goal appeared to instill confidence and galvanise the opponents as they seemed to found extra energy and raised their game a few notches. Indeed, they went ahead in the 17th min after influential Sebastian’s pass was intercepted and they counter-attacked with a ball to their striker. Though he looked suspiciously off-side, the referee waved play on and he thus slotted in. 1-2 now!!
At this juncture, the fans started whistling and booed ARFC as they were dissatisfied with the effort put in by ARFC as the warriors were too slow in releasing the ball and lost out too often in duals for balls. Not wanting to let anybody down, towering Toh tried to wake every warrior up from their slumber with shouts and shouts.
All warriors responded positively. In the 27th min, ARFC equalized. Off a corner from unpredictable Blackburn, towering Toh’s header was handled by their defender giving the referee little choice but to point to the spot. Influential Sebastian stepped up and sent their keeper the wrong way for his 52nd ARFC goal. 2-2.
During the half-time pep talk, ARFC recognized its faults and pledged to do better for the fans as well as Yanxiu (wife of determined Huiming) and Irene (girlfriend of powerful Alvin.)
Indeed, ARFC came out firing on all cylinders and totally dictated play in the first 25 mins of the second half. Speedy Hee, who was having an impressive outing, mesmerized their defence with a Ryan Giggs-like run on the left flank and eluded 2 defenders. Once inside the box, he found powerful Alvin who duly thumped home the ball for his 44th ARFC goal. In the process, his shot also damaged their keeper’s spectacles. Amazing shot for a half-fit warrior!!!
In the 67th min, ARFC increased its lead. Again, speedy Hee was the architect as he caused havoc in their defence. The loose ball dropped to unpredictable Blackburn about 37.77 metres away. Dragging the warriors’ and fan’s memories back about 10 years, he unleashed a volley that had goal screaming all the way and true enough, the ball landed into the top right-hand corner. His wonderful goal had the commentator exclaiming that even “top keeper like Bruce Grobblearr, Neville Southall, Pat Jennings, Gary Bailey, Dino Zoff would have no chance at all!!”
All the pioneer warriors would attest that unpredictable Blackburn’s goal, his 64th ARFC goal, was typical “Blackburn in his younger days” when such goals are regular and common sight.
However, ARFC took its foot off the pedal and was punished. In the 77th min, left-foot wizard Bernard was sold a dummy by their striker who scored from inside the box. 3-4.
The day turned the worst for left-foot wizard Bernard in the dying minutes of the match when he clumsily clattered into their striker and a penalty was awarded. With virtually the last kick of the match, they converted the penalty to claim a 4-4 draw.
This was a match where ARFC gave a Jekyll and Hyde display where ARFC was very impressive in certain periods and very poor in other periods. Also, it was very rare to have so many warriors, EXCEPT determined Huiming, speedy Hee and astute-reading sweeper Elvis, performed so poorly in the same match.
Man-of-the-Match? Shared by determined Huiming and speedy Hee.
Bogus referee match annulled
After 7 hours of intense deliberation and discussion, the ARFC Board of Directors comprising of versatile Kiat, reliable David Mak and determined Huiming have decided that the match on 30 Mar 08 (the bogus referee match) at United World College would be annulled.
With the decision, which is welcomed by all the ARFC fans and warriors, the result and scorers would not be counted in ARFC's vital statistics.
With the decision, which is welcomed by all the ARFC fans and warriors, the result and scorers would not be counted in ARFC's vital statistics.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
FIFA verdict
In a packed room of managers, coaches, scouts, reporters, roti prata sellers and Tohari Paijan, FIFA's spokesman, Sag Bladder announced its verdict on the bogus referee saga.
"After 7 hours of deliberation, FIFA has decided to impose a 7-year ban on bogus referee Runchoolai s/o Pratalingam. He will also be fined US$77,777 and required to serve community service by giving away 77,777 free pratas to Narayanan Narayanan Home. We have also ruled that the match is invalid and hence annulled and would not be officially recognised as a match. I have written to ARFC Board of Directors for them to decided for themselves if they want to officially recognise this match's records. Once again, I would like to extend my humblest of apologies to ARFC for this bogus referee saga. Thank you."
"After 7 hours of deliberation, FIFA has decided to impose a 7-year ban on bogus referee Runchoolai s/o Pratalingam. He will also be fined US$77,777 and required to serve community service by giving away 77,777 free pratas to Narayanan Narayanan Home. We have also ruled that the match is invalid and hence annulled and would not be officially recognised as a match. I have written to ARFC Board of Directors for them to decided for themselves if they want to officially recognise this match's records. Once again, I would like to extend my humblest of apologies to ARFC for this bogus referee saga. Thank you."
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
FIFA to decide on validity of match
As a result of the finding about the bogus referee in last Sunday's match, FIFA will be convening a meeting later today at 7.07pm. FIFA will decide whether the match would be annulled on grounds of technicality.
The decision will be made known soon.
The decision will be made known soon.
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