Wednesday, June 29, 2011

ARFC crumbled in last 7 mins

Resuming its league programme, ARFC fell apart in the last 7 mins and lost 0-2 to a very young and determined Macheda under extremely hot weather at Bedok Green SS.


ARFC received a late blow when Elvis and Brendan pulled out. Thankfully, ARFC was boosted by the last-min appearance of Khim, Darren, Norman, Hee and Seh Meng.

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

Keeper: Seh Meng (guest player)
Right-back: Marauding Guoxiong
Sweeper: Towering Toh
Stopper: Wonder Wayne
Left-back: Unbeatable Darren
Right-mid: Yao Yang (guest player)
Centre-mid: Influential Sebastian
Centre-mid: Steely Tze Ern
Centre-mid: Combative Ron
Left-mid: Sublime Khim
Striker: Unpredictable Blackburn (captain)

Subs:

ARFC Scoring Legend Haron (late)
Speedy Hee
Long-throw specialist Norman
Talisman Derrick (turned up with less than 10 mins to go – credit to him for rushing down)

Absent:

Powerful Alvin (but turned up right at the end of match after his work - credit to him)
Dynamic Soon
Hard-man Tjioe
Astute-reading sweeper Elvis
Dependable Jinzhong
Precocious En Dian
Nippy Kenny

It was clear from the start that the very hot weather would favour the younger opponents and it showed throughout with ARFC creating very few chances.

In the entire 1st half, the opponents took many shots but all were thwarted by the superb Seh Meng. The defence also stood out with Wayne particularly impressive. Ron also impressed.

In the 27th min, ARFC almost opened the scoring after some good work by Blackburn and Khim. However, Norman failed to connect to the ball and the chance goes abegging.

Tze Ern’s header also flew narrowly wide.

The 2nd half was the same story as ARFC failed to conjure up good chances for the forwards.

A great chance came ARFC’s way in the 57th min. Khim’s corner was flicked on by Hee to the unmarked Toh who was standing just outside the 6-yard box. However, Toh’s weak header was easily gathered by their keeper. In hindsight, Toh could have used his legs but he was unaware of the amount of time and space afforded to him.

Derrick then came on and immediately he was put through but he shot into the side-netting.

ARFC then conceded 2 goals in the last 7 mins to lose 0-2.

Man-of-the-Match goes to Wayne.

Credit to the good attendance too.

League match - 03 July 2011

03 July 2011 (Sun)
5 pm = 1700 hrs
Bishan Park Sec Sch (should be artificial pitch)

Opponent is Team Kangtao.

Pls bring both colours.

Good luck and thanks.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

League match - 26 June 2011

26 June 2011 (Sun)
3 pm
Bedok Green Sec Sch (artificial pitch)

Opponent is Macheda.

Bring both colours.

Thanks.

ARFC cruised to victory over Republic Polytechnic staff/alumni team

Playing on a rare Monday night match at the magnificent artificial pitch at Republic Polytechnic, ARFC cruised to a 4-3 victory over the Republic Poly staff/alumni-cum-partial ARFC team in front of just 77 fans which included Anna and Soon’s lovely daughter.


After waiting for 17.77 mins, the RP team could only muster 6 players and hence ARFC loaned Toh, Ron, Haron and Derrick to them. With the loan, ARFC played with 10 warriors in this line-up:

Keeper: Brandon
Right-back: Marauding Guoxiong
Sweeper: Astute-reading sweeper Elvis
Stopper: Seh Meng
Left-back: Unpredictable Blackburn
Right-mid: Dynamic Soon
Centre-mid: Influential Sebastian
Centre-mid: Hard-man Tjioe
Left-mid: Steely Tze Ern
Striker: Powerful Alvin (captain)

Subs:

No subs

Loan to RP:

Towering Toh
Combative Ron
ARFC Scoring Legend Haron
Talisman Derrick

Absent:

Long-throw specialist Norman
Unbeatable Darren
Speedy Hee
Wonder Wayne
Sublime Khim
Dependable Jinzhong
Precocious En Dian
Nippy Kenny

The match was played at a leisurely pace in the opening 7 mins. The ante was upped only when Soon executed a crunching tackle on their player and every player then played to their committed selves.

ARFC fell behind in the 17th min. 0-1

ARFC did not lose heart and started to play a passing and possession game with Sebastian at the heart-beat of their moves. Tjioe, Tze Ern and Soon also put in lots of ground in covering for the defence and attack.

RFC equalized in the 27th min. Off a quick corner from Tze Ern, Blackburn whipped in a delicious cross to the far post and Seh Meng headed the ball against the bar. Alvin reacted quickest to the rebound and headed the ball goal-wards and Seh Meng was there to nod the ball in for his 1st-ever ARFC goal. 1-0

Despite conjuring several chances with slick passing movements, ARFC could not get a 2nd goal and the half ended 1-1.

One thing worth mentioning is that the RP actually played with 11 players shortly after the start but due to the hardwork put in by the 10 ARFC warriors, there was not much difference.

Derrick was then recalled to ARFC after the RP team added in 1 more player. Derrick took up right mid position with Blackburn pairing up with Alvin upfront. Seh Meng shifted to left-back with Tjioe dropping to stopper position.

ARFC continued its excellent display from the re-start.

7 mins after the re-start, ARFC took the lead. Tze Ern did well to move the ball up and spotted Alvin who called for the ball inside the box. After receiving Tze Ern’s well-timed ground pass, Alvin did an extremely sharp turn ala Fernando Torres before their defender can come near to him. Eluding the defender, Alvin proceeded to plant the ball firmly into the bottom right corner for his 143rd ARFC goal! 2-1 and their keeper was firmly rooted to his spot.

ARFC extended its lead in the 57th min after some good work down the right flank by both derrick and Guoxiong. Guoxiong held the ball well at the right touch-line while waiting for support. In a rare foray upfront, Elvis sprinted up and called for the ball. Guoxiong duly obliged and Elvis got to the ball first before their defender was late and brought Elvis down in the box, giving the referee the easiest decision to award a penalty.

It was observed that when Elvis fell to the ground, the whole polytechnic ground shake and everybody thought there was an earth-quake!

Sebastian stepepd up to take the penalty and sent their keeper the wrong way for his 78th ARFC goal. 3-1

ARFC then conceded anther goal. 3-2 now.

Derrick then hit the upright after Alvin sent him through.

The best goal of the night arrived in the 77th min after yet another slick move. Sebastian received the ball from Tze Ern about 7 metres outside the penalty box. Hearing a shout, Sebastian nonchalantly chipped the ball in and Seh Meng ran in from deep at the left area and broke their off-side trap. Seh Meng then squared the ball across goal but Blackburn was unable to reach. The ball then rolled to the far post at right side and Guoxiong dashed in from deep ala Dani Alves/Cafu and shot the ball home for his 12th ARFC goal. 4-2.

Guoxiong’s goal also moved him level with Elvis at 12 ARFC goals.

ARFC then conceded another goal near the death. 4-3.

This was a match where ARFC played the best as a team. The passing, possession and movements was similar to the Singapore U-15's display against Newcastle U-15. The fans have never seen such good passing before.

Every warrior played their hearts out and all did very very well. Also, special credit to the good attendance yet again!

Match ratings:

Brandon – Still raw for an untrained keeper but appreciate his help to be a keeper;

Guoxiong - Made so many overlapping runs ala Dani Alves or Cafu. Contributed a good goal;

Seh Meng – Played very well both as stopper and left-back.Would be an useful addition to ARFC. Scored 1st-ever ARFC goal;

Blackburn – Fantastic performance from him;

Elvis – Was very commanding and stopped many potential goal-scoring chances with his clever reading. Created a penalty as well with his rare foray upfront;

Tjioe – Best performance from him for a long time. I think the opponents were fearful of his crunching tackles;

Tze Ern – Did very well in covering the left-back on many occasions. Assisted with a goal. Often under-rated but appreciated for doing the dirty work for the team;

Soon – Set the tone at the start with a crunching tackle. Cover every inch of the pitch;

Sebastian – Inspired display and controlled proceedings from midfield.

Derrick – The team surely missed his penetrative wing play in Sunday tournament matches. Tormented their left-back no end and was really unlucky not to score;

Alvin – His goal reminded us of a certain Fernando Torres’ goal against Man Yoo. Did very well playing as a lone forward in the entire 1st half.

It would be unfair to give a Man-of-the-Match as every warrior played very well but it’s fair to say that Elvis and Tjioe really stood out.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Monday Night Friendly Match - 20 June 2011

20 June 2011 (MONDAY)
7 pm = 1900 hrs
Republic Polytechnic (artificial pitch)

Opponent is Republic Poly Staff/Alumni team

Pls bring both colours.

ARFC fell 0-3 to FC Simpang again

Taking on FC Simpang for the 2nd time in the league, ARFC suffered a 2nd half melt-down to go down 0-3 at Broadrick SS in front of usual supporters Anna and Tracie.


For the longest time, ARFC had 16 warriors present for the match which was very encouraging.

ARFC started with this 4-4-2 line-up:

Keeper: Brandon
Right-back: Marauding Guoxiong
Sweeper: Astute-reading sweeper Elvis
Stopper: Towering Toh (captain)
Left-back: Combative Ron
Right-mid: Dynamic Soon
Centre-mid: Steely Tze Ern
Centre-mid: Hard-man Tjioe
Left-mid: Unpredictable Blackburn
Striker: Speedy Hee
Striker: Powerful Alvin

Subs:

Influential Sebastian
Unbeatable Darren (late)
Long-throw specialist Norman
Yao Yang
Seh Meng

Absent:

ARFC Scoring Legend Haron
Talisman Derrick
Wonder Wayne
Sublime Khim
Dependable Jinzhong
Precocious En Dian
Nippy Kenny

Boosted by the good attendance and eager to avenge an earlier 0-3 defeat by the same opponent, ARFC was quickest off the blocks and within seconds, Alvin and Hee combined to pressure their defence which led to an opening. Unfortunately, Hee could not get enough power behind his shot.

Tjioe then showed that despite his absence for the past few matches, he did not lose his awareness when he picked up a loose ball just inside the box ala Paul Scholes. However, he did not connect cleanly with the ball which trickled out for a goal kick.

Sebastian then replaced Blackburn and almost immediately, Sebastian’s corner found Toh’s head but he headed just over the bar.

A series of substitutions then followed with all the subs appearing.

Brandon then produced a top class one handed save ala Pepe Reina when he turned their player’s shot over the bar. What made the save incredible was the fact that their player was totally free just outside the 6-yard box.

Soon then fired over after coming in from the blind side position on the right.

Sebastian next stepped up but his free-kick could not find the target.

In the 2nd half, ARFC continued to match the opponents and Brandon again produced a world-class save with his foot ala Bruce Grobblearr when he turned their shot out for a corner.

ARFC then fell behind after FC Simpang scored directly from a corner. 0-1

ARFC could have equalized but Sebastian’s brilliant left-foot scoop shot was parried over by their impressive keeper.

ARFC fell further behind when Ron upended their striker. They then scored from the spot. 0-2

Morale dropped, ARFC quickly conceded another break-way goal to lose 0-3.

The 0-3 score-line was probably harsh to ARFC who played rather well. Special mention must be given to the good turn-out of 16 warriors. Also, Brandon deserved praise for his performance despite being a raw newbie.

Man-of-the-Match is given to Hee.

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

League Match - 12 June 2011 (Sun)

12 June 2011 (sun)
3 pm = 1500 hrs
Greenview Sec Sch

Opponent is FC Simpang.

Pls bring both colours.