Playing at Riverside SS pitch for the very first time, ARFC dismissed the very energetic SFS FC 4-0 on 22 May 2022 at 5 pm.
ARFC was supported by:
· Elvis’ children (Tiara, Dylan and Gina)
· Guoxiong’s daughter (Clara)
· Darren’s son (Rayes)
ARFC took to the pitch with this 4-4-2 line-up:
Jersey No.: | Name | Position |
13 | Talisman Derrick | Goalkeeper |
16 | Marauding Guoxiong | Right back |
3 | Astute-reading sweeper Elvis | Sweeper |
20 | Composed Eng Lai | Stopper |
5 | Energetic Kerwin | Left back |
23 | Talented Chun Haw | Right mid |
7 | Influential Sebastian (captain) | Centre Mid |
4 | Dynamic Soon | Centre Mid |
19 | Skillful Wei Lit | Left Mid |
9 | ARFC Scoring Legend Haron | Striker |
31 | Wonder Wayne | Striker |
Substitutes: | ||
6 | Unbeatable Darren |
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14 | Combative Ron |
|
27 | Raring KJ |
|
66 | Vintage Chua |
|
99 | Powerful Alvin |
|
Missing In Action: | ||
2 | Remarkable Rashid |
|
8 | Precocious Javier |
|
10 | Sublime Khim |
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11 | Speedy Hee |
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15 | Towering Toh |
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17 | Nippy Kenny |
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18 | Determined Huiming |
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26 | Rampaging Raymond |
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28 | Hard-man Tjioe |
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29 | Flying Fremont |
|
77 | Dependable Jinzhong |
|
78 | Steely Tze Ern |
|
98 | Impeccable How Meng |
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From the get-go, the young and fit SFS FC team ran at and challenged ARFC warriors at every opportunity which caused some discomfort to ARFC. Somewhat a bit surprisingly, ARFC did not really utilise its game-play experience to slow the tempo down and instead was a bit hurried in its play.
After about 7 mins or so, ARFC then slowly get to grips with the match and began to exert its control and dominance in the match.
Wei Lit, who had a superb match, grazed the cross-bar with a brilliant half-volley on the run. Unlucky but what a technique from Wei Lit.
3 mins later, Sebastian delivered a precise corner to the danger zone at just the top of the 6-yard box for both Haron and Chun Haw. However, Chun Haw jumped perhaps a little bit too early and he flicked the ball just slightly over the bar.
ARFC then took the lead in the 17th min. Chun Haw fizzed a through ball down the left and with the small-size pitch, everyone thought their GK would be first to the ball. Wei Lit, though, had other ideas, as he mustered up some strength and chased after the ball. Their GK reached the ball just slightly ahead of Wei Lit and cleared the ball upfield. Chun Haw then read the move, latched onto the ball and without breaking his strides, instinctively lobbed the ball with his left foot over their GK into the gaping net. 1-0 and this was Chun Haw’s 97th ARFC goal.
Credit must be given to Wei Lit for exerting pressure on their GK that created the goal.
Derrick then produced a world-class flying save to deny their fierce shot that was destined for goal.
ARFC the made a string of substitutions with Alvin, KJ, Darren, Chua coming on for Wayne, Wei Lit, Kerwin and Guoxiong respectively.
Alvin made an impact immediately. Alvin pressured their GK who had rushed out again and he again cleared the ball upfield. In a similar move, Chun Haw again picked up the loose ball and with his left foot, chipped over their GK into the empty net for his 98th ARFC goal. 2-0 now.
Ron then came on for Elvis and produced some hard but fair tackles to win possession back for ARFC. Typical Fabinho-like display.
From Sebastian’s free-kick, Darren reached the ball but just could not get a clean connection and his header was slightly wide.
Eng Lai then came up with a super last-ditch interception to prevent the opponents from bearing down on Derrick, after a quick counter-attack caught ARC off-guard.
ARFC extended its lead 7 mins after the re-start. Kerwin combined well with Haron before crossing a dangerous ball into the box which was handled by their defender, giving the African referee no choice but to point to the spot.
Up stepped Sebastian who simply stroked the ball low to his usual spot (left bottom corner) that left their GK rooted to the spot. 3-0 and this was Sebastian’s 123rd ARFC goal, with 9 of the goals coming from Veterans matches.
Sebastian then substituted himself to take a break, with Chun Haw replacing him.
Wei Lit then wriggled his way into the box and was clearly hacked down to the floor but the referee simply chose a blind eye to the obvious foul. Unlucky!
Haron then moved into centre mid and controlled play with some simply touches and movements, complemented by the intense pressing from Soon and the rest.
With virtually the last kick of the match, Chun Haw completed his hat-trick off a simple flowing move. From his right mid position, Guoxiong passed to Soon who returned the ball to him. In the meantime, Chun Haw was already starting his run into the penalty box and Guoxiong found him with a brilliant slide-rule and perfectly-timed pass to him. The pass was so perfect that Chun Haw need not adjust his footing and simply thrashed the ball into the far left corner for his 99th ARFC goal. 4-0 !!
The goal was also Chun Haw’s 10th ARFC hat-trick which yielded 31 goals. It also moved him level on ex-ARFC scoring legend Robin who also had 10 ARFC hat-tricks (with 39 goals).
For this match, several players deserved special mention.
Derrick’s kicking was perfect all day and he also produced some fantastic stops to keep a clean sheet.
Elvis was also back to his best with some key interceptions and controlling of the defence.
Eng Lai also had a great match as he did not put a foot wrong at all throughout the match.
The top 10 ARFC warriors with the most numbers of hat-tricks:
1. Alvin – 28 hat-tricks (93 goals)
2. Haron – 16 hat-tricks (53 goals)
3. Robin – 10 hat-tricks (39 goals)
4. Chun Haw – 10 hat-tricks (31 goals)
5. Hee – 6 hat-tricks (20 goals)
6. Blackburn – 6 hat-tricks (18 goals)
7. Derrick – 4 hat-tricks (18 goals)
8. Kenny – 4 hat-tricks (16 goals)
9. Jiong Jiong (ex-player) – 4 hat-tricks (14 goals)
10. Sebastian – 4 hat-tricks (12 goals)
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