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.
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