01 July 2012 (Sun)
1700 hrs = 15 pm
Greendale Sec Sch (we played there recently)
Opponent is TRSunday
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
ARFC rues missed chances in 3-3 draw
In a topsy-turvy friendly match against New Legends, ARFC missed a
penalty in the last min to draw 3-3 at the rather-poor SengKang SS pitch.
ARFC welcomed back Sebastian from his ankle injury though it can be
seen that his movements were still rather restricted. Khim and Toh also made
last-min appearance and Hock also made his second outing since his return from
the USA.
Guoxiong sat out the match due to fatigue as he was totally
exhausted from 27 rounds of sex for the past week. However, he still turned up
to support support a bit.
ARFC started with only 10 men due to lateness:
Keeper - Talented
Chun Haw
Right-back - Combative
Ron
Sweeper - Astute-reading sweeper Elvis
Stopper - Towering
Toh
Left-back - Steely Tze Ern
Left-mid - Sublime Khim
Centre-mid - Unpredictable Blackburn
Centre-mid - Influential Sebastian
Right-mid - Talisman Derrick
Striker - Speedy
Hee
Subs (all late):
Powerful Alvin
Mean-machine
Hock
Jasper
Alex
Weili
Jackson
Jackson
Marauding Guoxiong (rested)
Absent:
ARFC
Scoring Legend Haron
Dynamic
Soon
Dependable
Jinzhong
Unbeatable Darren
Hard-man
Tjioe
Wonder
Wayne
Long-throw
specialist Norman
Precocious
En Dian
Nippy
Kenny
Just 77 seconds into the match, Blackburn almost gave ARFC the lead
when he picked up a loose ball just inside their half and instinctively let fly
a half volley that sailed over their stranded keeper. Unfortunately, the ball hit
the post and bounced out to safety.
Hock then came in after warming up and Derrick moved upfront to
partner Hee. Derrick and Hee then combined effectively by harassing their
defence non-stop.
Toh was next to be the unlucky one when his header off Hock’s corner
hit the woodwork.
ARFC took the lead in the 17th min after a great
team-work goal. Hock’s corner from the right was met by Toh’s head but the ball
was cleared out and picked up by Hee. Hee released Hock down the right flank and
Hock send in a sizzling cross to the far post where ARFC’s best player, Khim,
was lurking. Keeping eye on Toh all the way and with an advance shout-out to
Toh, Khim passed the high ball with his inside right foot to just right at the
edge of the 6-yard area and Toh swept the ball home with his left foot! With
this goal, Toh showed that he can also score with his feet! According to ARFC’s
archives, this was also the first goal scored via his left foot.
1-0 and this was Toh’s 58th ARFC goal which moved him
level with Tjioe at 7th position in ARFC’s all-time scorers list.
ARFC then conceded a goal out of nothing. 1-1
In the 27th min came the miss of all time since ARFC’s
formation in Jun 1991. Weili chipped in a curling ball and Derrick ran in from deep
and reached the home ahead of their on-rushing keeper. With their keeper beaten
and no other covering defenders back, the ball was rolling nicely and safely
towards goal with Derrick shepherding the ball. A goal looked to be a confirm
certainty!
What happened in the next 0.77 seconds shocked the whole world and
the whole universe including Planet Pluto, Planet Mars, Planet Jupiter and
other planets! With the ball just 0.77
mm from the goal-line, Derrick lashed out at the ball with the intention to
thrash the ball into the net ala Jesus Navas’ recent goal against Croatia.
Unfortunately, the ball somehow sailed high over the bar and out!!!
With such a shocking miss, all ARFC warriors were really and totally
stunned into silence and almost immediately, ARFC conceded a goal as their feet
were still glued to the ground from the shock! 1-2
Alvin then recovered later to fire a low shot against the post.
In the 2nd half, ARFC continued to press for the equalizer
and almost found one soon after the re-start. Khim showed sublime skill to
trick their defender but chose to pass to Alvin when a shot would be better.
But nothing to blame Khim since he has always been known to be an unselfish
player and prefer to let team-mates take the glory of scoring.
ARFC finally equalized after Blackburn released Alvin who galloped
down the left flank and into the box in his trade-mark move. Alvin was the
brought down in the box and he dusted himself off the ground to plant the ball firmly
into the net and wrong-footed their keeper for his 176th ARFC goal. 2-2
and Alvin is now just one goal away from Haron’s 177 goals for ARFC.
Chun Haw then showed again why he could be a key player for ARFC in
future with yet another clever run from deep after Blackburn throdded a nice
low through ball for him. Chun Haw’s pace saw him nipped the ball ahead of
their keeper and placed the ball home for his 7th ARFC goal. 3-2 and
this was Chun Haw’s 3rd goal in as many matches.
ARFC then conceded a penalty which was converted. 3-3.
However, the faulty does not lie with the conceded penalty but
rather on why no ARFC warrior stood in front of the ball off the free-kick
prior to the penalty incident. Also, Derrick must be praised for getting down
quickly to block out the quickly-taken free-kick and hurt his knee in the
process.
ARFC had the chance to snatch a victory in the last min. Chun Haw
produced yet another penetrative run into the box and was brought down
clumsily. Regular penalty-taker Sebastian forgo the chance and let Alvin took
it. However, Alvin’s meek effort was easily pushed out by their keeper.
Man-of-the-Match is jointly given to Tze Ern (who was a colossal at
left-back) and Khim.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Chun Haw inspired ARFC's victory
Playing its 3rd league match,
Chun Haw produced an inspiring performance to lead ARFC to a 2-0 victory over
Team BBG.
ARFC continued to miss a slew of first time
regulars but thankfully, Khim (best ARFC player) and Haron (best ARFC scorer)
turned up at the 11th hour.
ARFC started with this line-up:
Keeper - Dependable Jinzhong
Right-back - Marauding Guoxiong
Sweeper - Astute-reading sweeper Elvis
Stopper - Combative Ron
Left-back - Unpredictable Blackburn
Left-mid - Speedy Hee
Centre-mid - Sublime Khim
Centre-mid - Dynamic Soon
Right-mid - Talisman Derrick
Striker - Powerful Alvin (captain)
Striker - ARFC Scoring Legend Haron
Sub:
Talented Chun Haw
Jasper
Alex
Weili
Absent:
Influential Sebastian
Unbeatable Darren
Towering Toh
Steely Tze Ern
Hard-man Tjioe
Wonder Wayne
Long-throw specialist Norman
Mean-machine Hock
Precocious En Dian
Nippy Kenny
Both teams cancelled each other out in the
first half and chances were at a premium.
Of course, the bouncy uneven pitch did not help matters as controlling
and passing of the ball was extremely difficult.
In the 25th min mark, Chun Haw
replaced the tiring Hee with Khim switching over to left mid.
Mins later, Khim showed the world why he is
regarded as ARFC’s best player of all time when he mesmerized 2 opposing
players and floated in a delightful cross that eluded their sweeper. Haron
swopped in like an eagle but under immerse pressure from their left back, Haron
just sent the ball about 0.77 cm wide of the goal. Unlucky!
The half ended 0-0.
In the 2nd half, ARFC unleashed the
remaining young prodigies, Alex, Jasper and Jackson with Ron moving to centre
mid to add much-needed steel and bite.
Ron then dominated the centre mid area.
ARFC finally made the break-through in the
60th min. Chun Haw produced a world-class through ball to Alvin who,
in a trade-mark move, sprinted clear of their defence and with his outside
right foot shot into the bottom corner for his 175th ARFC goal. 1-0
and Alvin’s goal pulled him ever so close to Haron’s all-time record of 177
goals.
Chun Haw then capped off his inspired
display with his 6th ARFC goal. From a throw-in, ARFC’s twin-terrors,
Haron and Alvin combined brilliantly to pressure their defender which saw Alvin
winning the ball. Alvin then returned the compliment by sending Chun Haw
through on goal. Chun Haw did not disappoint as he burst clear and produced a
stinging shot that found the bottom of the net. 2-0 and Chun Haw’s 6 goals
pulled him level with Tze Ern.
Chun Haw is the Man-of-the-Match with his
incisive running and passing, but Ron came close too with his dominating
display at the heart of defence and centre mid.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
League Match details - 17 Jun 2012
17 Jun 2012 (Sun)
5 pm = 1700 hrs
Greendale Sec Sch
(located at 51 Edgedale Plains - located near Punggol Central)
Not sure whether grass or artificial pitch
Opponent is Team BBG.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Haron ends goal drought
Playing under Sahara desert-like
weather at the brand-new artificial pitch at Turf City, ARFC shrugged off the
rugged challenge of a young team 4-2 courtesy of inspired performances from
Chun Haw and Alex.
ARFC started with this line-up:
Keeper: Haomin (guest keeper –
Home Utd U-14 keeper)
Right-back: Marauding Guoxiong
Sweeper: Astute-reading sweeper
Elvis
Stopper: Combative Ron
Left-back: Unbeatable Darren
Right-mid: Speedy Hee
Centre-mid: Dynamic Soon
Centre-mid: Unpredictable
Blackburn
Left-mid: Wonder Wayne
Striker: Powerful Alvin
Striker: ARFC Scoring Legend
Haron (captain)
Subs:
Talented Chun Haw
Alex
Jasper
Weili
Absent:
Towering Toh
Influential Sebastian
Steely Tze Ern
Sublime Khim
Hard-man Tjioe
Talisman Derrick
Dependable Jinzhong
Long-throw specialist Norman
Precocious En Dian
Nippy Kenny
Prior to the match, ARFC was hit
by the double last-min absence of Khim and Derrick who pulled out due to family
and work commitment respectively. As such, Soon had to take the field despite
still nursing his leg injury.
Thankfully, all the young
players all rose to the occasion and I can say that this was the match that all
of them blossomed!
Within mins of the start and
perhaps still not used to the heat, ARFC fell a goal behind. 0-1
Hee and Wayne then succumbed to
the heat and were replaced by Chun Haw and Alex who made an immediate impact.
Weili then took over Haron, and
Jasper replaced Ron to rest him.
Blackburn hit a shot that struck
the cross-bar and out. Unlucky!
ARFC equalized 7 mins before the
end of the first half. After some clever inter-exchange, Chun Haw unleashed a
stinging low shot from 37 metres that their keeper could not parry out. Alex
did very well to react fastest to the loose ball and prodded the ball home for
his ARFC debut goal. 1-1
Alex’s goal had all the nearby horses
galloping profusely into the field but thankfully, no ARFC warrior was stepped
on by the horses!
ARFC then took the lead in the 2nd
half thanks to Chun Haw. He received a world-class through ball from Blackburn
(or Ron?) and broke the off-side trap with his sheer pace and tenacity. With
only the keeper to beat, Chun Haw calmly placed the ball to the far corner for
his 5th ARFC goal. 2-1 and Chun Haw’s goal moved him level with
Wayne at 5 goals for ARFC.
ARFC scored its 3rd
goal after a fantastic quick thinking by Jasper who continued to improve. Jasper
took a quick throw-in into the box which caught their defenders off-guard. The
ball found its way to Haron who curled home a brilliant left-footer ala Chris
Waddle to the top right corner of their keeper for his 177th ARFC
goal. 3-1.
With the goal, Haron also ended
his goal drought which stretches all the way to 29 Jan 2012 when he netted in
the 4-1 loss to Jaws SC in the league title-decided then.
ARFC then conceded a goal 3-2.
However, ARFC put the result to
bed thanks to a brilliant piece of skill from Hee. With a cheeky back-heel ala
Ryan Giggs, Hee’s ball tricked their defenders and presented Alex with a
violent first-time shot that flew into the far post. 4-2 and Alex doubled his
debut ARFC goals!
ARFC then closed out the match
and Elvis, as usual, marshaled the defence superbly!
I want to specially praise Haomin.
Given his tender age, his distribution and kicking was really good and I have
personally relayed this to his Home Utd U-16 coach who is my personal friend.
Like Chun Haw before him, Haomin has a bright future ahead of him if he
continues to play and improve.
Next, I want to also say that
Alex, Weili and Jasper have done pretty well in the recent matches. The litmus
test, however, will come when ARFC plays older and better teams.
Tuesday, June 05, 2012
Roberto Carlos-like Darren inspires ARFC victory
In a performance
that reminded the whole world of a certain Roberto Carlos in his prime years,
Darren put in an inspiring and whole-hearted display to propel ARFC to a 3-0
victory over a tough CCFC.
ARFC started with
this line-up:
Keeper - Talented
Chun Haw
Right-back - Marauding
Guoxiong
Sweeper - Astute-reading
sweeper Elvis
Stopper - Towering
Toh
Left-back - Jasper
Left-mid - Unbeatable
Darren
Centre-mid - Unpredictable
Blackburn
Centre-mid - Alex
Right-mid - Talisman
Derrick
Striker - Powerful
Alvin (captain)
Striker - Weili
Sub:
Speedy Hee (late)
Absent:
Dynamic Soon (present but did not play due to leg injury)
Dependable Jinzhong
Combative Ron
Sublime Khim
Wonder Wayne
ARFC Scoring Legend Haron
Long-throw specialist Norman
Mean-machine Hock
Steely Tze Ern
Hard-man Tjioe
Influential Sebastian
Precocious En Dian
Nippy Kenny
With such a long
list of absentees especially almost all the regular midfielders, any other team
would have given up. Not ARFC though, as the young guest warriors like Alex and
Weili stepped up their game, and Blackburn also turned back the years with a
decent performance. Of course, Darren was instrumental as he totally monopolized
the entire left side of the field.
Starting with 3
young players, it was no surprise that the opponent sought to take advantage
with their physical strength. However,
ARFC did very well to contain their attacks, particularly Darren who frequently
tracked back to assist the inexperienced but enthusiastic Jasper.
The first half did
not spring up any clear-cut chances for ARFC due to the lack of creativity from
the absent centre midfielders. Hee then replaced Weili with 15 mins to go to
inject some pace but to no avail.
The half ended 0-0
though ARFC would have strewn up the match if the attendance is better.
For the
second-half, stand-ip managers Elvis and Toh decided to add more grit and speed
in midfield by playing Hee at left-mid and Weili in centre mid. Alex then took
a breather.
The move paid
handsome dividends about 15 mins into the re-start. Weili received a brilliant
through-ball from Darren at the left, showed his skills by slaloming his way past
2 defenders and then fired in a rasping shot that hit the underside of the bar
past the gasping keeper for his debut ARFC goal. 1-0!
The break-through
goal brought relief and belief to ARFC that a win is achievable and within
mins, ARFC scored another goal. Derrick, who also put in a decent shift, won a
corner on the right. Blackburn delivered a delicious ball into the box and who else but Toh who dashed in
and thumped the ball home with his forehead beyond the outstretched hand of the
keeper for his 56th ARFC goal. 2-0.
With a 2-goal
lead, ARFC played disciplined football and limited the opponents to almost no chances
at goal. Alex then came in for Weili to beef up the midfield.
With 15 seconds to
go, ARFC wrapped up the match with yet another header goal from Toh. ARFC won a free-kick on the left and
Blackburn whipped in a pin-point cross for Toh, who escaped his marker, to dive
in and nod the ball into the net. The header was also powerful that the keeper
could not keep out despite getting his hands to the ball. 3-0 and it was Toh’s 57th
ARFC goal.
Man-of-the-Match
goes to Darren.
Special mention to
Guoxiong for soldiering on the entire match despite sustaining a sprained wrist
midway into the 2nd half.
Special mention to
Soon for turning up and support despite carrying a leg injury.
Special mention to
all who have contributed to the clean sheet.
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