Inspirational Ismail's save of the year in 4-0 win

Ending his 3-match barren run, Alvin dished out an inspiring performance to snap ARFC’s 3-match winless run by running out comfortable 4-0 victors against the Nanyang Polytechnic staff team.

ARFC was supported by Hee’s woman Melissa and Jasper’s girlfriend YY.

ARFC started with this line-up:

Keeper - Commanding Ismail

Right-back - Influential Sebastian (captain)

Sweeper - Astute-reading sweeper Elvis

Stopper - Towering Toh

Left-back - Jasper (guest player)

Left-mid - Weilit (guest player)

Centre-mid - Marauding Guoxiong

Centre-mid - Combative Ron  

Right-mid - Talisman Derrick

Striker - Unpredictable Blackburn 

Striker - Powerful Alvin

Subs:

ARFC Scoring Legend Haron (late)

Dynamic Soon (late)

Speedy Hee (late)

Eng Lai (guest player)

Absent:

Unbeatable Darren

Steely Tze Ern

Sublime Khim  

Nippy Kenny

Wonder Wayne

Impeccable How Meng

Dependable Jinzhong

Hard-man Tjioe

Immaculate Indra

Booming Boon

ARFC showed its intent from the whistle and within 77 seconds, Alvin exchanged wall-passes with Derrick to set the latter free. Unfortunately, Derrick lifted the ball over the bar with their keeper closing in.

Ismail then came to ARFC’s rescue on 2 quick occasions when he was very fast off his line ala Manuel Neuer to clear to clear balls from the opponents.

Derrick then condemned his dismal scoring jinx to history when he again exchanged an one-two with Alvin, set himself free, evaded a tackle and calmly slotted home for his 96^th ARFC goal. 1-0

Ron then hit a fierce rising shot from 47 metres that looked destined for the top left-hand corner until their keeper clawed the ball away for a corner.

The scoreline remained this way as the experienced opponents threatened to score on a couple of occasions.

In the 2^nd half, ARFC quickly doubled its lead after some intricate passing that eventually saw Alvin lofted the ball down the right for the lurking Derrick. Without breaking his stride and in a smooth groove, Derrick centred for Haron to roll the ball into the empty net for his 212^th ARFC goal. 2-0

ARFC put the result beyond any reasonable doubt when Soon’s long reaking ball saw Derrick galloping like a stealth horse down the right flank. Derrick’s square ball was controlled by Alvin who bade his time before placing the ball home for his 238^th ARFC goal. 3-0

Ismail then underlined why he was so highly-valued by all when he produced the save of the year for ARFC.  For probably the first time in the match, ARFC was exposed and their impressive striker sent a delicate chip across goal. Their FT striker looked to have easily scored a header as he was totally unmarked but Ismail looked himself looked extremely big by spreading all his limbs and kept out his header from 0.77 mm from the goal-line! World-class save that all had everybody present at the stadium on their feet!

Unfortunately, Ismail’s queen and prince were not there to witness this world-class save.

Blackburn then out the icing on the cake when Haron released him in the box. Blackburn dithered a little, as usual, before blasting the ball high into the roof of the net for his 139^th ARFC goal. 4-0

Soon could have made it 5 just seconds before the match. Blackburn’s long searching ball from the half-way line saw Soon sprinting in from inside his own half to win the ball ahead of their defender. With just their keeper to beat, however, Soon sliced his shot wide!

Voting results:

Ron – 7

Derrick – 7

Ismail – 6

Alvin – 4

Guoxiong – 3

Hee – 3

Soon – 2

Blackburn – 2

Elvis – 1

Toh – 1

Kenny's brace and Toh's header inspired fight-back in 3-3 draw

Displaying true never-say-die attitude, ARFC snapped its rare 2-consecutive match defeats by drawing 3-3 against its Chinese opponents.  The draw was a cruel result for ARFC who dominated the match and created a clutch of chances throughout the match.

ARFC was once again supported by Shidah and Aqeel, lovely queen and lively prince of Ismail, Hee’s woman Melissa and Ron’s OC Lingzhi.

ARFC started with this line-up:

Keeper - Commanding Ismail

Right-back - Marauding Guoxiong

Sweeper - Astute-reading sweeper Elvis

Stopper - Towering Toh (captain)

Left-back - Unbeatable Darren

Left-mid - Speedy Hee

Centre-mid - Unpredictable Blackburn  

Centre-mid - Sublime Khim  

Right-mid - Talisman Derrick

Striker - Nippy Kenny

Striker - Powerful Alvin

Subs:

Dynamic Soon

Influential Sebastian

Combative Ron  

Steely Tze Ern

Absent:

ARFC Scoring Legend Haron

Wonder Wayne

Impeccable How Meng

Dependable Jinzhong

Hard-man Tjioe

Immaculate Indra

Booming Boon

For probably the first time, 4 top-grade ARFC central midfielders were the substitutes as team manager wanted Blackburn to pair up with Khim.

ARFC started the match furiously and Derrick soon continued his mediocre scoring run by missing as easy chance.

Alvin then followed suit when unmarked just at the 6-yard box, he headed the ball over the bar from a great cross by Kenny.

ARFC then conceded a goal. 0-1

ARFC then sluggish and team manager Sebastian decided enough is enough and brought on the 4 top guns, replacing Blackburn, Derrick, Hee and Elvis.

Things improved a little with Kenny and Alvin combining very well upfront.

From another counter-attack, the opponents scored again. 0-2

In the 2^nd half, Toh came close from Sebastian’s corner when his header just went 77mm over the bar.

The scoring luck continued to desert Derrick when he picked up a loose ball in the box but his toe-poke eluded everyone but not the upright. Really wrenched scoring run.

Frustrated with himself, Derrick then substituted himself.

The opponents then scored another goal. 0-3 and things looked really dead for ARFC.

ARFC then rallied and Kenny started the come-back when he turned and struck a long-range missile about 40 metres from the right. 1-3 and this was Kenny’s 43^rd ARFC goal.

Kenny then grabbed his brace from a similar distance but this time from the left. His rocket then dipped under the bar, giving their keeper no chance at all. 2-3 and this was Kenny’s 44^th ARFC goal.

Elvis then came up with 2 crucial block as ARFC was focusing on finding the equalizer.

Kenny almost scored a hat-trick after he was set free by Alvin. Their keeper, however, charged out and made himself big and blocked Kenny’s low shot.

With 77 seconds to go, Khim’s corner to the far post was met by Toh who dashed in from the blindside to knock in a downward header that bounced onto the floor and hit the roof of the net. 3-3 and this was Toh’s 78^th ARFC goal.

The whole stadium crowd then went berserk and Toh was mobbed by 15 SYTs after the match.

Voting results:

Kenny – 13

Khim – 10

Tze Ern – 9

Elvis – 4

Soon – 3

Hee – 3

Toh – 1

Sebastian – 1

Guoxiong – 1

ARFC failed to score for the 1st time in 39 matches in 0-2 loss

Playing against Esperenza again since 15 Jun 2014, when we beat them 2-1 with goals from Derrick and Guoxiong, ARFC could not repeat its success after going down 0-2.

This defeat marked the first time since 22 Sep 2013 (when ARFC lost 0-6 to the SAFSA team at Bedok Camp) that ARFC had failed to score at least a goal in a match, a feat stretching over 39 matches.

ARFC was once again supported by Shidah and Aqeel, lovely queen and lively prince of Ismail, as well as Hee’s woman Melissa.

ARFC started with this line-up:

Keeper - Commanding Ismail

Right-back - Impeccable How Meng

Sweeper - Unpredictable Blackburn

Stopper - Towering Toh  

Left-back - Unbeatable Darren

Left-mid - Nippy Kenny

Centre-mid - Marauding Guoxiong

Centre-mid - Dynamic Soon  

Right-mid - Speedy Hee

Striker - ARFC Scoring Legend Haron

Striker - Powerful Alvin (captain)

Subs:

Talisman Derrick

Astute-reading sweeper Elvis (late)

Wonder Wayne (late)

Absent:

Dependable Jinzhong

Hard-man Tjioe

Influential Sebastian

Combative Ron  

Steely Tze Ern

Sublime Khim

Immaculate Indra

Booming Boon

The game started at a rather cautious pace as both teams adopted a high pressing game giving each other little space and time to produce flowing football. ARFC dominated the game though and tried its luck with some long shots at goal which either went wide, over or to the keeper.

However, from one such attacking moves, ARFC nearly took the lead. In the 37th min, Kenny headed a high ball towards Haron who was nearby. Haron instinctively headed the ball over the onrushing last-man towards goal where Kenny did not break his stride n brought it forward. With only the goalkeeper to beat and the ball still bouncing, Kenny unleashed a powerful volley that rocked the opponent's goalpost and bounced back to play before finally being cleared by the opponent. Unlucky!

That was the best chance of the first half. The opponent hardly had a sniff at ARFC's goal especially with Toh being totally dominant in the air and Blackburn and later Elvis marshaling the backline well.

FIRST HALF: 0 - 0

ARFC started the second half in similar fashion with everyone trying their best to give ARFC the lead. Toh and How Meng were dangerous during offensive corners and nearly scored during one of the many corners ARFC had won in the second half. However, their headers went wide.

Then came the defining moment in the 67th min. In an attacking move, Derrick lost possession at the right side of the field. How Meng had went up to offer his support with an overlapping run. The opponent seized the opportunity by winning the ball from Derrick and played a neat one two by-passing Elvis who was the last man, before facing Ismail in the box. Their striker gleefully slotted the ball home with a low tonjol shot to the far corner. 0-1

The opponent scored yet again about 7 mins later, after suspiciously beating the off-side trap. 0-2

By now, ARFC made several substitutions and went for the jugular to find that elusive goal to start their fightback. ARFC played with a 3-5-2 and 4-3-3 formations which saw them relentlessly attacking the opponent's goal mouth with shots and attempts at goal.

Soon missed the chance to score when his wonderful lob over the keeper missed the goal frame by a mere 7mm.

Haron also failed to score when he played a beautiful one two with Derrick just outside the box and with only the keeper to beat, he could not control the ball well n shot meekly wide.

Derrick though was the biggest culprit when he failed to capitalize on two beautiful cut backs by Alvin in the 77th and 87th min. Standing just outside the small box and with only the keeper to beat Derrick either shot straight at the keeper or had his shot saved. Truly unlucky. Another key defining moments lost by ARFC which decided its fate. 

Derrick's misfortune in front of goal continued to haunt him because in the last kick of the game, from a corner kick that was headed downwards towards goal, Derrick unbelievably scooped the ball over the bar, when standing at a mere 77mm from the goal line.

Top 20 ARFC goal-scorers (as at 08 Aug 2014)

Alvin - 237
Haron - 211
Blackburn - 138
Hee - 97
Derrick - 95
Sebastian - 94
Toh - 77
** Robin - 69
Soon - 61
Tjioe - 59
Khim - 50
** Jeffrey - 49
Kenny - 42
** Chun Haw - 29
** Kiat - 25
** Tong - 24
** David - 23
Guoxiong - 22
** Jiong Jiong - 21
** Hock - 21


** Denotes ex-ARFC warriors

ARFC in bizarre 2-8 loss

In Tjioe’s 1^st appearance since our 2^nd Reunion Match early this year, ARFC lost out at key moments to go down to a very-bizarre score-line of 2-8 to the SIA Crew team at the SIA Training Centre artificial pitch.

ARFC was once again supported by Shidah and Aqeel, lovely queen and lively prince of Ismail.

ARFC started with this line-up:

Keeper - Commanding Ismail

Right-back - Marauding Guoxiong

Sweeper - Combative Ron  

Stopper - Towering Toh  

Left-back - Unbeatable Darren

Left-mid - Speedy Hee

Centre-mid - Influential Sebastian (captain)

Centre-mid - Dynamic Soon  

Right-mid - Talisman Derrick

Striker - ARFC Scoring Legend Haron

Striker - Nippy Kenny

Subs:

Unpredictable Blackburn

Astute-reading sweeper Elvis

Dependable Jinzhong

Powerful Alvin

Hard-man Tjioe

Absent:

Impeccable How Meng

Wonder Wayne

Steely Tze Ern

Sublime Khim

Immaculate Indra

Booming Boon

ARFC gifted a soft goal within 17 seconds. 0-1

ARFC was determined to out things right and soon settled down.

ARFC suffered a setback when Guoxiong succumbed to his yet0to-heal knee injury and had to be replaced with Jinzhong.

In the 7^th min, ARFC grabbed an equalizer after Kenny was brought down. From the ensuing free-kick, Sebastian fired in a vicious ball which caused mayhem in the opponents’ box.  Toh reacted fastest to the loose ball and he swept home his 77^th ARFC goal. 1-1

ARFC was in dream-land when it scored its next goal within 77 seconds. This time round, Derrick was upended and Sebastian again stepped up to whip in a venomous ball into the danger area (between penalty spot and 6-yard area). Despite strong pressure by Toh, Derrick and Jinzhong, their defender managed to head the ball away. Hee was at the right place at the right time when he did not even allowed the ball to touch the ground by producing a stupendous volley with a sweetly-struck shot that pierced right through the sea of players in the crowded box. 2-1 and this was Hee’s 97^th ARFC goal.

Then came 2 key-defining moments in the match. From yet another free-kick, Sebastian placed the ball right onto the chest of Derrick who took it down in a world-class technique. Unfortunately, his finish did not commensurate with this ball-trapping technique when he shot meekly at the keeper.

77 seconds later, Derrick was again put clean through but with only the keeper to beat, Derrick again produced a weakling shot that was easily smothered by their keeper.

Alvin then had chance to extend ARFC’s lead when he quickly robbed their defender who had played a quick short free-kick in their half. With Alvin speeding clear and Kenny free on the left, the inept referee incorrectly ruled that their free-kick had yet to be taken. Unlucky!

The opponents then scored 2 goals to lead 3-2 at half-time.

In the 2^nd half, ARFC suffered yet another key moment agony. From Alvin’s delicious corner-kick on the left, Ron rose majestically to plant a looping header to the top corner at the far post. Their short keeper looked to have failed to keep the ball out but Soon was ruled to have blocked him illegally and the goal was chalked out for a foul against Soon. Super unlucky!

The opponents then scored 2 more to lead 5-2.

ARFC again had the shorter end of the stick when it failed to capitalize on yet another key moment. Kenny sprayed a great diagonal ball down the right which saw Derrick sprung their off-side trap and charged towards goal. With their keeper to beat, Derrick squared the ball across goal for Alvin who had come in from deep but his mis-connected pass was picked up by their keeper. Unlucky yet again!

The opponents then scored 3 more goals after ARFC was completely demoralized. 2-8 was the final score.