Rashid's brace from world-class free-kicks salvaged thrilling 4-4 draw

Opening its Veterans match schedule in 2024, ARFC Veterans came back from 2 goals down on 3 occasions to force a thrilling 4-4 draw against OVA Veterans at the Victoria School pitch on 23 Jun 2024 at 5 pm.

ARFC Veterans was supported by:

Joy, Kai, Ellie, Ella and Levi – Kenny’s family
Tiara, Dylan and Gina – Elvis’ kids
Clara – Guoxiong’s princess

ARFC Veterans started with this line-up:


GK – Derrick
RB – Guoxiong
CB – Elvis
CB – Toh
LB – Darren
RM – Raymond
CM – Soon
CM – Sebastian
LM – Tze Ern
SC – Kenny
SC – Haron

Subs:

Toh
Allan (guest player)
Rashid (arrived during half time break)

Disaster struck ARFC Veterans when it conceded a goal almost straight from the kick-off. 0-1

ARFC Veterans did not panic and Haron executed a sumptuous volley from outside the box which was narrowly over the bar.

ARFC Veterans then gave away a penalty which was converted. 0-2

In the 15th min, ARFC Veterans pulled a goal back when Guoxiong found space down the right flank before whipping in a threatening cross into the box. Kenny then flicked the ball on and Soon headed the ball back across goal. Raymond reacted quickest when he prodded the ball over their GK for his 26th ARFC goal. 1-2 now.

With this goal, Raymond extended his lead as the ARFC Veterans top scorer with 19 goals.

ARFC Veterans then conceded another soft goal to trail 1-3.

In the 33rd min, ARFC Veterans pulled another goal back with a fantastic team move. From the middle of the park, Sebastian switched the ball to the right for Allan who then sent a perfect ball down the right flank for Guoxiong. Guoxiong fizzed in a sizzling ball which eluded their defence but Kenny was just 0.007 seconds later in connecting with the ball with the goal at his mercy. Thankfully, Soon picked up the ball on the left and lofted the ball back into the penalty box which struck the hand of their defender. Penalty!

Sebastian stepped up to fire the spot-kick to the usual spot past their GK but the referee ordered a re-take as Raymond had encroached into the box. No worries at all as Sebastian delivered an almost carbon copy of the first kick with his re-take that beat their GK who dived the right way.

2-3 now and this was Sebastian’s 130th ARFC goal, with 13 goals coming from Veterans matches.

Right on the stroke of half time, ARFC Veterans conceded yet another soft goal to trail 2-4 at half-time.

In the 2nd half, Rashid took to the field and made instant impact.

In the 45th min, Haron was fouled outside the box. From the ensuing free-kick from about 37 metres, Rashid thumped in a vicious ball that had goal screaming all the way!! True enough, their GK was beaten for Rashid’s 3rd ARFC goal, with this being his first goal for Veterans matches. 3-4 now!

Rashid then outdo himself 5 mins later with an even better free-kick. Guoxiong was fouled on the right just past the half-way line. From almost at the right line about 40 meters away from goal, Rashid produced an outrageous curling ball that sail past everyone and landed at the far corner of the goal, bearing an uncanny resemblance to Ronaldinho’s goal against England in the 2002 World Cup!!!

4-4 now and this was Rashid’s 4th ARFC goal.

Clearly fired up by Rashid’s brace, ARFC Veterans moved up a gear to grab the winner.

First, Tze Ern’s corner was headed away by their defender. With a deft first touch, Sebastian brought the high ball down expertly before placing the ball about 0.77 mm over the bar.

Next, Haron, who has been impressive all day with his link-up play, latched on to Darren’s through ball down the left. Their GK charged out but his clearance was blocked by Haron. With the loose ball rolling to the left of the box, Raymond swooped in like an eagle but his well-placed shot was diverted by the toes of the opponent and hit the post before bouncing out of play! Super unlucky!

Derrick then came to the rescue when he produced a world-class save by sticking out a strong hand to palm a powerful looping shot over the bar. Unbelievable save!

ARFC Veterans continued to create a few more chances but just could not get the winning goal and could only settle with a 4-4 draw.

It was great to see ARFC Veterans not giving up despite trailing by 2 goals on 3 separate occasions. Kudos to all for coming to play, and play with their hearts out!

These are the top 5 scorers for all 36 ARFC Veterans Matches only:

Raymond - 19 goals

Haron - 15 goals

Darren - 13 goals

Sebastian - 13 goals

Soon - 12 goals

 

 

Some key interesting facts of ARFC

 

ARFC's 1000th goal - Soon (5 July 2009)

ARFC's 2000th goal - Chun Haw (17 Sep 2017)

Biggest victory:

14-0 vs FC Corpus Christi on 18 Jan 2009

14-0 vs Nitroz on 29 Nov 2009

Elvis scored 5 successive penalties in 5 successive matches in Mar to Apr 2010.

Derrick scored in 13 successive matches from 30 Mar to 22 Jun 2014.

Only 4 players had scored 6 goals in a match:

Robin (twice) - 5 Jul 1992 and 10 Nov 1996

Alvin (twice) - 21 Aug 2011 and 26 Jun 2022

Derrick (once) - 4 Sep 2011

Kenny (once) - 25 Jul 2015

Soon hit century mark in ARFC's 4-2 win on 16 Jun 2024

 Taking on Dynasty Classic, albeit a new-look team with so many young players, for the second time in 2024, ARFC squandered loads of chances but still triumphed 4-2 eventually on 16 Jun 204 at 3 pm at Tampines SAFRA.

The match also saw Soon hitting the 100th-goal mark for ARFC!!!!

ARFC was supported by:

Clara - Guoxiong’s daughter;

Tiara, Dylan and Dylan - Elvis’ kids

Germaine - Alvin’s daughter

How Meng also made his long-awaited comeback after his injury.

ARFC took to the pitch with this 4-4-2 line-up:

Jersey No.:	Name	Position
13	Talisman Derrick	Goalkeeper
66	Vintage Chua	Right back
20	Composed Eng Lai	Sweeper
15	Towering Toh (captain)	Stopper
5	Energetic Kerwin	Left back
16	Marauding Guoxiong	Right mid
28	Hard-man Tjioe	Centre Mid
4	Dynamic Soon	Centre Mid
19	Skillful Wei Lit	Left Mid
23	Talented Chun Haw	Striker
99	Powerful Alvin	Striker
Substitutes:
3	Astute-reading sweeper Elvis
7	Influential Sebastian
14	Combative Ron  (only arrived at 2nd half)
98	Impeccable How Meng
Missing In Action:
2	Remarkable Rashid
6	Unbeatable Darren
9	ARFC Scoring Legend Haron
10	Sublime Khim
17	Nippy Kenny
31	Wonder Wayne
78	Steely Tze Ern
xx	Jonathan
xx	Divine Delon

ARFC wasted no time in stamping its authority in the game.

From Chun Haw’s corner, Wei Lit caused mayhem in the box by challenging for the ball which was blocked by their GK.  The loose ball fell to Soon just outside the 6-yard box but Soon fired the ball into row Z.

Guoxiong then combined with Soon at right before the former strung the ball across just outside the box.  Hearing Chun Haw’s shout, Wei Lit did a brilliant dummy and Chun Haw hit an arching shot that struck the cross bar.  From the rebound, Alvin header was just slighted wide of the goal.

Alvin’s floated free-kick from the right was perfect and Soon dashed in from the blind side but could only flashed his glancing header just wide of goal.

Chun Haw was unlucky yet again when his left-footed free-kick from the right beat their GK but not the crossbar.

ARFC then continued to miss at least 3 more chances.

ARFC then earned the rewards from its relentless attacks thanks in large part to Kerwin.  From his left-back position, Kerwin simply powered his way down the left all the way to the byeline.  Kerwin then drilled the ball across that saw Wei Lit’s shot being blocked by their GK.  Soon then reacted fastest when he lifted the ball over their GK.  

1-0 and this was Soon’s 100th ARFC goal!!! 

How Meng then showed his pedigree when he sent in a well-timed high ball to the left and Wei Lit dribbled all the way to the left touchline but their defender was covering.  Wei Lit then dragged the ball back and passed the ball back to Tjioe who had gone up to support him.  With a quick switch of his foot, Tjioe heard How Meng calling for the ball and duly chipped the ball across to How Meng who was standing outside the top of their penalty box. From the high ball, How Meng did a Robin van Persie with a first-time jumping volley that struck the left post.  Thankfully, Kerwin was at the right place when he tucked the back home.

2-0 and this was Kerwin’s 10th ARFC goal.

Elvis then made a superb block to prevent their striker from breaking through.

Just before half time, ARFC conceded a goal to lead 2-1 going into the break.

In the 2nd half, ARFC continued its profligacy with another 2 misses.

ARFC then paid the price when it conceded another goal. 2-2

Chun Haw then found How Meng with a great ball but when unmarked, How Meng rushed his shot which went wide of goal.

Eng Lai then rescued ARFC on 2 occasions when he intercepted the ball from their counter-attack.

Similarly, Sebastian (who played at left back in 2nd half), managed to intercept a through ball with a good reading.

ARFC then scored the goal of the match.

From the right back position, Chua won the ball and passed inwards to Soon who in turn moved the ball to Tjioe. In a flash, Tjioe pinged the ball to Wei Lit at left mid and Wei Lit demonstrated his skills when he bamboozled their defenders before making a slide-rule pass to Chun Haw who had ran in from deep.  The end result was obvious as Chun Haw placed the ball past their despairing GK. 3-2

This was Chun Haw’s 117th ARFC goal, putting him on level terms with Hee.

Chua then preserved ARFC’s lead when he made a timely block.

In the dying minutes of the match and with everyone tiring out, Kerwin had other ideas when he latched on to a loose ball at the left mid area near the halfway line. 

Kerwin then turned on his turbo engine when he powered his way down the left flank ala Ryan Giggs and into the box.  From an acute angle just outside the 6-yard box, Kerwin somehow managed to squeeze the ball inside the near post!

4-2 and this was Kerwin’s 11th ARFC goal.

Guoxiong is the Man-of-the-Match with his many forays down the right flank and delivering many threatening crosses.  Wei Lit is the join MOTM too.