Thursday, December 04, 2014

Alvin signals return to scoring form with 23rd ARFC hat-trick


Returning to the St. Wilfrid’s pitch and playing at the same kick-off time as last week, ARFC fought hard to earn a well-deserved 4-2 win over Crescent FA.

ARFC was supported by:

Ron's wife Lingzhi and kids
Darren's kids Rayes n Rachel
Tbn's Rayes n Javier
Weilit's friend soccer gal

ARFC started with this line-up:

Keeper - Weilit’s friend
Right-back - Unpredictable Blackburn
Sweeper - Astute-reading sweeper Elvis
Stopper - Towering Toh
Left-back - Unbeatable Darren 
Left-mid - Sublime Khim  
Centre-mid - Combative Ron
Centre-mid - Dynamic Soon
Right-mid - Talisman Derrick (captain)
Striker - Powerful Alvin
Striker - Nippy Kenny

Subs:

ARFC Scoring Legend Haron  
4 more guest players

Absent:

Skilful Weilit
Steely Tze Ern
Dependable Jinzhong
Commanding Ismail
Impeccable How Meng
Speedy Hee  
Influential Sebastian
Wonder Wayne
Marauding Guoxiong 
Hard-man Tjioe

Opponent looked like a group of Malay delinquent kids with tattoos all over their bodies, unlike our suave Haron and Ismail who are role models.

ARFC showed superiority with some good passing and control of the game in the first 7 minutes. However, off a counter-attacking move, the opponent shocked ARFC when it scored the first goal. 0-1

In the 17th min, ARFC got its equalizer. Derrick dribbled past the defender from the right by-line and sent in a low cross towards goal. The ball was moving towards the keeper's near post but he failed to catch the low ball cleanly which saw it ricochet off his body.  Alvin, who was lurking in the center of the box, naturally needed no second invitation and promptly slotted the ball into the empty net for his 246th ARFC goal. 1-1

ARFC then took the lead in the 27th min. Winning a free kick just at the edge of the opponent's box, Derrick showed some quick-thinking when he played a short ball to Alvin who was standing in the box while the opponent was still trying to get back to form its defensive wall. With only the keeper to beat, Alvin duly slammed the ball home to make it 2-1 and his 247th ARFC goal.

Several substitutions were made throughout the game so as to give everyone who came a chance to play. This had also somewhat caused ARFC to lose its momentum in playing its normal passing game. However, in the 67th min when the line-up was reverted to the core ARFC players, it finally paid dividends.

Straight from the opponent's goal kick, the ball fell to Derrick who was just before the halfway line. With just one touch, Derrick sent a delightful through ball into the box. Alvin who was running towards the ball while shielding off a challenge from the opposing defender, kicked the bouncing ball towards the keeper's bottom right corner to make it 3-1. What a beauty!

Besides notching his 248th ARFC goal, Alvin’s hat-trick was also his 23rd hat-tricks for ARFC!  

7-minutes later, the opponent scored another goal to make it 3-2. They continued to attack ARFC's goal upon sensing a comeback. There was even a slight altercation towards the end of the game as the opponents started to get more physical and provocative in their challenges. 

However, all their hopes died when Soon scored the decisive goal in the dying minutes which totally silenced the opponents.  Receiving a through ball near the middle of the box, Soon rushed towards goal and with only the keeper to beat, sent a swerving ball towards the keeper's left post which saw the keeper remained rooted to his spot. Class!  4-2 and this was Soon’s 66th ARFC goal.

Voting results:

Derrick – 8
Alvin – 7
Ron – 7
Soon – 6
Darren – 3
Toh – 1
Elvis – 1

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