Tze Ern nets debut goal in 4-2 loss

In an evenly-matched friendly at Tampines SAFRA, ARFC put in a good shift but was undone by an unprecedented 2 own goals to eventually go down 2-4 to its opponent.

The loss was witnessed by the 77,777 fans which of course included Anna, wife of Elvis

ARFC started with this 4-5-1 line-up:

Keeper: Chun Haw
Right-back: Marauding Guoxiong
Sweeper: Astute-reading sweeper Elvis
Stopper: Towering Toh
Left-back: Unpredictable Blackburn
Right-mid: Talisman Derrick
Centre-mid: Steely Tze Ern
Centre-mid: Influential Sebastian
Left-mid: Sublime Khim
Striker: Powerful Alvin
Striker: ARFC Scoring Legend Haron (captain)

Subs:

Long-throw specialist Norman
Wayne
Nippy Kenny
Jason (Alvin’s friend)

ARFC welcomed back Haron from his intensive 3-week overseas training in Nepal and he was made captain of the day.

In the opening exchanges, ARFC knew that they would be in for a tough match when the opponents created a couple of chances. However, Chun Haw, the super-impressive 14 year-old keeper, came to the rescue with his top-notch saves.

ARFC then conceded a goal in the 17th min. 0-1.

Barely 7 mins later, ARFC drew level when Derrick released Haron down the right flank. Showing much-improved speed, Haron sped to the right bye-line and flashed a shot across goal. The ball looked to be safely picked up by their keeper but to their horror, he spilled the ball and turned it into the net! 1-1 now and this was the 21st own goals conceded by ARFC’s opponents all these years.

ARFC took the lead in the 27th min. The move started from our right-back position when Guoxiong dispossessed their skillful left winger and laid the Khim. With a quick swivel, Khim prodded the ball through and in came Tze Ern, who again put in an impressive display, from deep and galloped down the left side. Their keeper dashed out and tried to intercept the ball but Tze Ern was always first to the ball. Without hesitating, Tze Ern chipped the ball with his left foot and the ball sailed over their keeper and nestled nicely into the empty net. 2-1 and this was Tze Ern’s debut goal for ARFC.

The score stayed at 2-1 at half-time.

By now, it was clear to all that ARFC was tiring whereas the opponents still had many subs. They drew level when Guoxiong conceded an unfortunate own goal as he tried to clear the ball with a slide but only diverted the goal into our net. 2-2

ARFC conjured up a couple of chances and Kenny was particularly impressive but could not get into the score-sheet. Kenny also drew the most fouls as the opponents recognized his threat.

In the 67th min, ARFC went behind when Khim also scored an own goal. 2-3.

Alvin then missed some great chances when his first touch let him down.

In the 77th min, ARFC conceded another goal after failing to clear a corner. 2-4.

This was a match whereby I was happy with our display even though we lost the match. But it is no shame as the opponents are also a decent team. All warriors did well, including Blackburn.