ARFC in rare defeat

In a match severely shortened by the thunderstorm and inexperienced referee, ARFC dominated but contrived to lose 0-2 against ANZA.

Initially, ARFC did not have enough warriors and had to call up 4 guest players.  Thankfully, Darren, Kenny and Derrick made last-min appearances.

Special credit to Soon too as he turned up to play despite just running the Stanchart full marathon in the morning. Superb athlete and dedication!

The same, however, could not be said of Sebastian who only ran half marathon and then down for whole day.

ARFC started with this line-up:

Keeper - Kenneth (Ismail’s friend)

Right-back - Impeccable How Meng

Sweeper - Combative Ron

Stopper - Towering Toh (captain)

Left-back - Unbeatable Darren 

Left-mid - Speedy Hee   

Centre-mid - Chun Haw (guest player)

Centre-mid - Dynamic Soon

Right-mid - Talisman Derrick

Striker - Unpredictable Blackburn

Striker - Wonder Wayne  

Subs:

Skilful Weilit

Commanding Ismail (late and appeared in 2nd half)

Nippy Kenny (late)

2 guest players

Absent:

ARFC Scoring Legend Haron  

Astute-reading sweeper Elvis

Sublime Khim

Powerful Alvin

Steely Tze Ern

Dependable Jinzhong

Influential Sebastian

Marauding Guoxiong 

Hard-man Tjioe

ARFC gifted 2 soft goals. 0-2

In the 2^nd half, ARFC launched waves after waves of attacks but was let down by either poor finishing or saves by their keeper.

The 0-2 defeat also marked the first time since 10 Aug 2014 that ARFC had failed to score in a match.  Incidentally, ARFC also lost by the same scoreline (to Esperenza).

The defeat was also ARFC’s 8^th defeat (out of 44 matches) in 2014.

Voting results:

Ron – 10

How Meng – 9

Darren – 7

Soon – 6

Derrick – 4

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 246^th 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 247^th 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 248^th ARFC goal, Alvin’s hat-trick was also his 23^rd 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 66^th ARFC goal.

Voting results:

Derrick – 8

Alvin – 7

Ron – 7

Soon – 6

Darren – 3

Toh – 1

Elvis – 1

Captain Derrick leads the way to 3-2 win

On a cool and cloudy Sunday afternoon, ARFC started the game against a group of youngsters with 10men while waiting the arrival of Tze Ern who decided to support his team after learning that it was down in numbers. Kudos to him.

ARFC started with this line-up:

Keeper - Commanding Ismail

Right-back - Dependable Jinzhong

Sweeper - Combative Ron

Stopper - Towering Toh

Left-back - Unbeatable Darren 

Left-mid - Skilful Weilit

Centre-mid - Steely Tze Ern

Centre-mid - Dynamic Soon

Right-mid - Talisman Derrick (captain)

Striker - Unpredictable Blackburn

Striker - ARFC Scoring Legend Haron  

Subs:

Nil

Absent:

Impeccable How Meng

Powerful Alvin

Nippy Kenny

Speedy Hee  

Astute-reading sweeper Elvis

Influential Sebastian

Wonder Wayne

Sublime Khim  

Marauding Guoxiong 

Hard-man Tjioe

Tze Ern started the game 7mins after the kick-off. In the meantime, ARFC tried its best to control the game by playing its passing game. However, they struggled and it showed when the opponent scored off a counter attack and their first shot at goal. 0-1.

Not overawed by the deficit, ARFC remained calm and continued playing its game of passing. That effort paid off when ARFC finally got its equalizer in the 27th min. Off Weilit's cross from the left flank, Haron received the ball at the edge of the box. With one swift move, he released it to Soon who was running from the blind side on the right. Soon latched on to the through ball and volleyed it low towards goal, off the despairing hands of the keeper. 1-1 and this was Soon’s 65^th ARFC goal.

7 mins later, ARFC got the lead when a through ball by Blackburn released Weilit who has been menacing and terrorizing the opponents with his mazy runs throughout. Weilit beat the offside trap and close challenge of a defender to slam the bouncing ball home for his 10^th ARFC goal. 2-1 and with this goal, Weilit is now on level terms with Ron in the scoring chart. 

The second half was delayed by about 17 mins due to heavy shower and lightning. 

When the game finally kicked off, the long rest did not seemed to help the aging bodies of ARFC as it took them a while to continue from where they left off. The opponents though were raring to set the record straight and they did just that 77 seconds after the restart. 2-2. 

Galvanized by the equalizer, the opponents continued attacking ARFC's goal but thanks to the astute defence and good goalkeeping by Ismail, the score remained the same. 

ARFC regained the lead in the 77th min off a corner by Tze Ern who was showing Blackburn the right way of taking corners instead of blaming the pitch. Tze Ern swung a swerving ball from the right towards the front post. With all their attention on Toh and Jinzhong, Derrick took full advantage by ran towards the ball and got the slight of touches to head it home for his 102^nd ARFC goal. 3-2.

The tempo of the game seemed to escalate after that goal as both teams were determined to stamp their authority on each other with relentless attacking moves.

ARFCA nearly increased its lead in the dying minutes of the game. Off a cross from the left, Haron took two touches to juggle the ball in the box, put it over the onrushing defender and was about to hit the ball when Darren who joined the attack all the way from his left-back position, came from the blind side and volleyed the ball towards goal with his favourite right foot! The ball swerved fully and beautifully all the way towards the top left corner and would have definitely been a contender for the goal of the season ..... if not for the post! Unlucky! 

That was the last kick of the game as the referee blew for full time shortly after. 

Voting results:

Derrick – 9

Soon – 6

Darren – 5

Ron – 5

Tze Ern – 5

Weilit – 2

Ismail – 1

ARFC too good for SHHK in 5-0 win

In a highly-anticipated match against SHHK, ARFC proved a standard too far from the SHHK with a comprehensive 5-0 victory at SIA Sports Club.

ARFC was supported by Lingzhi, Ron’s lovely wife.

ARFC started with this line-up:

Keeper - Commanding Ismail

Right-back - Dependable Jinzhong

Sweeper - Astute-reading sweeper Elvis

Stopper - Towering Toh (captain)

Left-back - Unbeatable Darren 

Left-mid - Speedy Hee  

Centre-mid - Combative Ron

Centre-mid - Nippy Kenny

Right-mid - Talisman Derrick

Striker - Powerful Alvin

Striker - ARFC Scoring Legend Haron  

Subs:

Skilful Weilit

Impeccable How Meng

Unpredictable Blackburn

Dynamic Soon (late)

Absent:

Influential Sebastian (playing for SHHK)

Steely Tze Ern (playing for SHHK)

Wonder Wayne

Sublime Khim  

Marauding Guoxiong 

Hard-man Tjioe

Immaculate Indra

Booming Boon

Within seconds, ARFC earned itself a dubious penalty after Derrick was brought down despite a fair but hard challenge.  Haron stepped up and beat their keeper. However, the referee ordered a re-take as Kenny had encroached. No matter, as Haron successfully converted with his 2^nd attempt for his 218^th ARFC goal. 1-0

In the 7^th min, Kenny scored a gem of a goal. Picking up a clearance from 37.77 metres out, Kenny spotted their keeper off the line and unleashed a belter that flew over their keeper for his 47^th ARFC goal. 2-0

ARFC was awarded yet another penalty after Derrick won yet another penalty albeit a fair penalty. However, Haron performed a Chris Waddle in the penalty shoot-out between England and Germany in 1990 World cup semi-final when he sent the ball into the nadir.

7 mins from the end of the half, Derrick put the result beyond doubt when he connected with a header from Blackburn’s corner for his 101^st ARFC goal. 3-0

7 mins into the second half, Kenny grabbed his brace when he picked up a perfectly-weighted lofted pass from Weilit, rounded their keeper and placed the ball into the far bottom corner. 4-0 and this was Kenny’s 48^th ARFC goal.

Alvin wrapped things up when he justified his "powerful" moniker.  From yet another Darren's torpedo-like throw-in, Alvin fully utilised his upper body strength ala Didier Drogba to hold off their sweeper before placing the ball home for his 245^th ARFC goal. 5-0

ARFC could have notched a half-dozen score-line when ARFC was awarded its 3^rd penalty of the match. Ismail ran all the way from his position but saw his spot-kick well-saved by their keeper. With the miss, Ismail has yet to open his ARFC scoring account.

Voting results:

Kenny – 11

Ron – 8

Weilit – 7

Darren – 5

Derrick – 5

Ismail – 3

Alvin – 3

How Meng – 2

Haron – 1

Alvin powered ARFC to narrow but totally deserving 2-1 win

Playing at St Patrick’s School again since the ill-fated day when their sweeper was brutally hacked down by his own goalkeeper, ARFC defeated Trinity, the same opponent, 2-1 courtesy of an determined, perseverance and superb effort from Alvin.

ARFC started with this line-up:

Keeper - Commanding Ismail

Right-back - Dependable Jinzhong

Sweeper - Astute-reading sweeper Elvis

Stopper - Towering Toh

Left-back - Unbeatable Darren 

Left-mid - Unpredictable Blackburn  

Centre-mid - Combative Ron

Centre-mid - Dynamic Soon

Right-mid - Talisman Derrick

Striker - Powerful Alvin (captain)

Striker - Nippy Kenny

Subs:

Influential Sebastian

Speedy Hee

Wonder Wayne

Absent:

Sublime Khim  

Steely Tze Ern

Marauding Guoxiong 

Skilful Weilit

ARFC Scoring Legend Haron

Impeccable How Meng

Hard-man Tjioe

Immaculate Indra

Booming Boon

ARFC was quicker off the blocks and Blackburn soon put Derrick through with a sliced pass. However, Derrick’s shot hit the upright and bounced out.

Derrick’s lucklessness continued when he again struck the same post after being teed up by Alvin.

ARFC then conceded a goal. 0-1

ARFC equalized 7 mins into the 2^nd half. Blackburn’ bullet corner from the right was headed out by their defender. Darren retrieved the ball near the left flank and passed to Ron. From the left, Ron swung in a cross and Jinzhong dashed in from deep to place a brilliant well-placed glancing header to the far post ala Lawrie Sanchez’s headed goal for Wimbledon against Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup final. 1-1 and this was Jinzhong’s 2^nd goal for ARFC.  1-1

ARFC put the opponents under severe pressure but were unable to grab a break-through until Alvin’s inspiring move in the dying minutes.

The ball was cleared all the way and was headed out at the left corner. While all warriors had given up on the chase, Alvin had other ideas. He embarked on a lung-bursting run and just managed to keep the ball in at the left corner spot. With their keeper back-pedalling, Alvin sent the ball across goal and there was Keny who popped up at the far post to steer the ball into the empty for his 46^th ARFC goal. 2-1

World-class effort from Alvin. Truly an inspiring moment.

What made Alvin’s effort more commendable is that he was fed mainly with lousy balls from the midfielders and some selfishness from Blackburn. However, Alvin did not give up at all.

Voting results:

Alvin – 12

Ron – 11

Kenny – 6

Jinzhong – 6

Darren – 5

Soon – 1

Elvis – 1