ARFC's 2nd successive clean sheet in annihilating 4-0 win over Asteroids

Buoyed by its hard-fought but deserving 1-0 win over Falcon last week, ARFC kept yet another clean sheet with a crushing defeat of Asteroids FC 4-0.  The score could have easily been at least 8-0 if not for some wasteful finishing.

Once again, ARFC was supported by its perennial fervent supporter in the form of Lingzhi, gorgeous and beautiful wife of Ron.

ARFC also welcomed back Jinzhong after he was finally granted permission by his girlfriend to play.

ARFC started with this line-up:

Jersey no.	Name	Position
33	Talisman Derrick	Goalkeeper
31	Vintage Chua	Right-back
14	Combative Ron	Sweeper
15	Towering Toh (captain)	Stopper
6	Unbeatable Darren	Left-back
2	Unpredictable Blackburn	Right-mid
4	Dynamic Soon	Centre-mid
16	Marauding Guoxiong	Centre-mid
10	Sublime Khim	Left-mid
99	Powerful Alvin	Striker
66	Wonder Wayne	Striker
Subs:
3	Astute-reading sweeper Elvis
7	Influential Sebastian
11	Speedy Hee
19	Skillful Weilit
20	Composed Eng Lai
77	Dependable Jinzhong
78	Steely Tze Ern
Absent:
5	Impeccable How Meng
8	Talented Chun Haw
9	ARFC Scoring Legend Haron
17	Nippy Kenny
18	Determined Huiming
21	Rampaging Raymond
28	Hard-man Tjioe
45	Commanding Ismail

Right from the start, ARFC pressed and passed the ball so well that the opponents were often on their back-foot.

In the 7^th min, ARFC took the lead after Wayne, who has been impressive in recent matches, was fouled on the right.  Blackburn’s vicious free-kick was delivered with so much pace that their defenders could not dealt with.  After a series of aerial challenges from both Wayne and Khim, the loose ball was picked up by Alvin who showed that he is finally back to goal-scoring business when he simply ton-joe the ball to the far right bottom corner of the goal that totally left their GK rooted to the spot. 1-0 and this was Alvin’s 292^nd ARFC goal.

After missing several chances, ARFC finally doubled its lead with virtually the last kick of the half. Blackburn was again the creator when his corner kick from the left saw both Toh and Darren running to meet the ball and thereby drawing 4 defenders with them.  Jinzhong was the biggest beneficiary of this decoy move when he sneaked in at the far post to plant a firm header that ricocheted off the knee of their defender into the roof of the net. 2-0 and this was Jinzhong’s 7^th ARFC goal that put him on level terms with both Raymond and En Dian.

In the 2^nd half, ARFC did not let up and continued its total domination of the opponents.

In the 47^th min, Guoxiong, who was probably the most impressive player on the pitch, floated a cross from the right that saw Tze Ern charging in like a raging bull.  Alas, his header smacked against the cross-bar. Unlucky!!

From yet another Blackburn’s corner, Hee headed straight into the arms of their GK.

Sebastian then found Toh with a laser-sharp corner but Toh’s header was not enough to beat their GK.

ARFC then scored its 3^rd goal in the match after some world-class composure from Wayne. Tze Ern’s slide-rule pass down the middle put Wayne in the clear.  Wayne then showed a rare piece of skills when he fooled their GK with a fake right-foot shot, switched the ball to his favoured left foot before dispatching the ball past their GK. Brilliant!  3-0 and this was Wayne’s 25^th ARFC goal, putting him level with ex-ARFC legend Kiat.

Tze Ern then found Wayne again with yet another piercing pass down the middle. However, Wayne’s shot was turned away for a corner by their GK.

From Tze Ern’s corner, Toh’s header was palmed away by their GK.

ARFC then put the result to bed in the 67^th min.  Tze Ern, who had a monster of a match, delivered a well-measured grounder through ball to Khim who sprung their off-side trap.  With his caliber, all ARFC players and substitutes had already started celebrating even before he scored.  Naturally, Khim did not disappoint as he placed the ball past their bewildered GK for his 57^th ARFC goal. 4-0

Khim then found Wayne with a great through ball. With just their GK to beat, Wayne’s shot was saved by their GK.  Soon, who continued his run, then picked u the loose ball on the right and squared to the unmarked Blackburn.  However, Blackburn dithered on the ball and their covering defender cleared the ball away.

The opponents then tried to disrupt the rhythm and probably tried to abandon the match when one of the substitutes stubbornly refused to either sit down or take off his jerseys at the touch-line.  Their captain also constantly argued with the referee in the hope to abandon the match.  Thankfully, ARFC was able to keep its focus on the match and not be distracted by such childish behaviour from the opponents.

ARFC played a great team match but much credit has to be given to its defenders and GK for keeping a clean sheet for the 2^nd successive match.

Voting results:

Khim  - 14

Wayne – 9

Ron – 7

Tze Ern – 5

Guoxiong – 5

Soon – 4

Elvis – 2

Jinzhong – 2

Alvin – 2

Derrick – 1

Chua – 1

Eng Lai – 1

Darren – 1

ARFC top-10 scorers (as at 07 May 2017)

1. Alvin - 291 goals
2. Haron - 243 goals
3. Blackburn - 152 goals
4. Hee - 107 goals
5. Sebastian - 103 goals
6. Derrick - 102 goals
7. Toh - 93 goals
8. Kenny - 76 goals
9. Soon - 74 goals
10. Robin - 69 goals

Derrick and Chun Haw dazzled in 1-0 win over Falcon

Resuming its league campaign, ARFC displayed superb teamwork, discipline and focus to edge out Falcon 1-0 courtesy of a world-class free-kick from the inspirational Chun Haw at Yio Chu Kang SS.

The 1-0 victory was also its first clean sheet since 03 Jul 2016 when it won 4-0 against Pionneer at the same venue!

ARFC welcomed Elvis from his secret training in Hanoi but he has to settle for a place on the bench.

ARFC started with this line-up:

Jersey no.	Name	Position
33	Talisman Derrick	Goalkeeper
31	Vintage Chua	Right-back
14	Combative Ron	Sweeper
15	Towering Toh (captain)	Stopper
6	Unbeatable Darren	Left-back
16	Marauding Guoxiong	Right-mid
4	Dynamic Soon	Centre-mid
8	Talented Chun Haw	Centre-mid
19	Skillful Weilit	Left-mid
2	Unpredictable Blackburn	Striker
66	Wonder Wayne	Striker
Subs:
3	Astute-reading sweeper Elvis
7	Influential Sebastian
18	Determined Huiming
20	Composed Eng Lai
xx	Kiat (guest player)
Absent:
5	Impeccable How Meng
9	ARFC Scoring Legend Haron
10	Sublime Khim
11	Speedy Hee
17	Nippy Kenny
21	Rampaging Raymond
28	Hard-man Tjioe
45	Commanding Ismail
77	Dependable Jinzhong
78	Steely Tze Ern
99	Powerful Alvin

The match was delayed for 40 minutes as the referee was late.  However, ARFC did not let this delay affect its morale and was dominating the match in the opening 20 mins.

In the 7^th min, a series of passes between Soon and Blackburn put Chun Haw through.   With Guoxiong free on his right, Chun Haw let fly a fierce left-foot shot that was just wide.

Chun Haw then released Wayne with a clever pass.  However, Wayne’s clever movement to his left was not matched by his finishing as he sent the ball to row Z.

Derrick then showed that he is a fast-improving GK when he stretched out his left hand to keep out their venomous shot.

Soon, who was still carrying a niggling injury, then intercepted a ball in his own half and galloped forward.  After passing the ball to Wayne, who again cleverly veered to his left, Soon continued his run into the box.  Wayne reverse pass found Soon in the clear but he ballooned the ball after a strong pressure from their defender.

In the 20^th min, ARFC produced the move of the match. From his right-back position, Chua passed to Guoxiong and continued his over-lapping run.  Guoxiong laid the ball to Chun Haw whose brilliant through run saw Chua breaking their off-side trap.  With their GK charging out, Chua somehow reached the ball first and passed to Wayne who was totally unmarked just outside the 6-yard box.  Wayne looked to have scored until their sliding defender blocked the goal-bound ball with his hands! Incredulously, the referee did not see and merely awarded a corner.

From the ensuing corner from Blackburn, Toh headed over.

Derrick then produced a top-draw one-on-one save to enhance his ever-growing reputation as a GK.

Wayne’s bad luck in front of goal continued. Kiat received a great ball from Chun Haw down the left and squared the ball across to the unmarked Wayne. To the dismay of all supporters, Wayne miskicked and screwed his shot wide!

In the 30^th min, Sebastian’s free-kick was struck straight into their GK’s arms.

In the 37^th min, ARFC finally took the lead after relentless pressure.  Chun Haw showed Sebastian how it is done when he expertly curled the ball to the far corner that had their GK totally rooted on the spot.  1-0 and this was Chun Haw’s 55^th ARFC goal.

In the 2^nd half, ARFC did not carve out many chances and had to soak up their pressure.  Falcon also started playing dirty and conjured several under-the-belt moves.

ARFC was then indebted to Derrick who stuck out his left hand to push a cannon-ball shot from their striker to the post. Simply world-class.

ARFC then held out for a totally well-deserving 1-0 win.

Voting results:

Chun Haw – 12

Derrick – 11

Ron – 6

Darren – 4

Guoxiong – 3

Wayne – 2

Soon – 2

Chua – 2