Elvis and Eng Lai back to their best in 4-0 win

 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
14	Combative Ron
27	Raring KJ
66	Vintage Chua
99	Powerful Alvin
Missing In Action:
2	Remarkable Rashid
8	Precocious Javier
10	Sublime Khim
11	Speedy Hee
15	Towering Toh
17	Nippy Kenny
18	Determined Huiming
26	Rampaging Raymond
28	Hard-man Tjioe
29	Flying Fremont
77	Dependable Jinzhong
78	Steely Tze Ern
98	Impeccable How Meng

 

 

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 17^th 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 97^th 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 98^th 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 123^rd 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 99^th ARFC goal. 4-0 !!

 

The goal was also Chun Haw’s 10^th 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)

 

 

 

ARFC in emphatic 6-2 win over OVA Under-35 team

 Bouncing back from a defeat in the previous match, ARFC out-played the OVA under-35 team at the fantastic brand-new artificial pitch at Victoria School on 8 May at 3 pm with a score-line of 6-2.

 

ARFC was supported by:

 

·       Tjioe’s wife (Sandy) and children (Germaine and Zoey)

·       Kenny’s wife (Joy) and children (Kai and Ellie)

·       Elvis’ children (Tiara, Dylan and Gina)

·       Guoxiong’s daughter (Clara)

 

ARFC also welcomed back KJ who made his first appearance in the new jerseys for the ARFC Open team.

 

ARFC was hit by the morning withdrawal of Derrick (GK) but luckily, we managed to activate Sunny as the stand-in GK.

 

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

 

Jersey No.:	Name	Position
xx	Sunny (Guest GK)	Goalkeeper
16	Marauding Guoxiong	Right back
3	Astute-reading sweeper Elvis	Sweeper
6	Unbeatable Darren	Stopper
5	Energetic Kerwin	Left back
23	Talented Chun Haw	Right mid
4	Dynamic Soon	Centre Mid
28	Hard-man Tjioe	Centre Mid
17	Nippy Kenny	Left Mid
9	ARFC Scoring Legend Haron	Striker
31	Wonder Wayne	Striker
Substitutes:
7	Influential Sebastian (captain)
19	Skillful Weilit
27	KJ
98	Impeccable How Meng
99	Powerful Alvin
Missing In Action:
2	Remarkable Rashid
8	Precocious Javier
10	Sublime Khim
11	Speedy Hee
13	Talisman Derrick
14	Combative Ron
15	Towering Toh
18	Determined Huiming
20	Composed Eng Lai
26	Rampaging Raymond
29	Flying Fremont
66	Vintage Chua
77	Dependable Jinzhong
78	Steely Tze Ern

 

 

The opening exchanges saw both teams testing each other out and proceedings were even-stevens.

 

In the 7^th min, Kerwin blazed a long-range rocket from a free-kick just wide.

 

In the17th min, ARFC trailed 0-1 after succumbing to their quick counter-attack.

 

ARFC then made a slew of changes with How Meng replacing Elvis and Weilit taking over Tjioe. Weilit took up the left mid with Kenny switching to the opposite flank, and Chun Haw partnering Soon at the middle.

 

Minutes later, Alvin came in for Haron, KJ replaced Kerwin at left back and Sebastian took over Soon.

 

The substitutions reaped dividends almost immediately.

 

ARFC won a corner after Kenny and Guoxiong combined well to force the opposing defence to concede the corner.   Sebastian ran over and whipped in a corner at the danger zone (near penalty spot area).  The ball ricocheted off their central defender and How Meng reacted quickest to prod the home.  1-1 and this was How Meng’s 19^th ARFC goal, level with ex-ARFC winger Jesmond.

 

3 mins later, ARFC took the lead from another corner, this time on the left, which bore uncanny resemblance to Manchester United’s champions league final winning goal against Bayern Munich in 1999.

 

From the corner on the left, Sebastian (Beckham) swung in a delicious curler that was flicked on by Chun Haw (Sheringham) to Weilit (Solskjaer) who turned the ball home from inside the 6-yard box.  Wonderful goal!

 

2-1 and this was Weilit’s 19^th ARFC goal, same number of goals as How Meng and Jesmond.

 

The opponents then equalised 5 mins later. 2-2

 

Haron then replaced Wayne.

 

ARFC regrouped and regained its lead 7 mins later. From a high ball, Alvin fully utilised his upper body strength and brushed aside their impressive sweeper.  Hearing Haron’s call, Alvin passed to Haron who showed brilliant awareness and turned sharply before expertly placing the ball to the bottom left corner past their despairing GK for his 274^th ARFC goal.   3-2

 

Sunny then made 2 good saves to preserve ARFC’s lead.

 

In the 2^nd half, ARFC extended its lead after Weilit was hacked down about 27 metres away from their goal.  Sebastian took aim and delivered an exquisite curler over their wall which their flying GK got a slight touch but could not prevent the ball from nestling at the bottom left corner.  Fantastic free-kick!

 

4-2 and this was Sebastian’s 122^nd ARFC goal.  His reward?  He replaced himself with Chun Haw.

 

7 mins later, ARFC put the result beyond doubt from another free-kick after Weilit was fouled yet again.   Alvin stood over the ball and hit a bender over the wall which their GK managed to touch the ball onto the cross-bar.  Wayne then reacted the quickest by picking up the rebound and rolled the ball home for his 55^th ARFC goal.  Great move and anticipation from Wayne.

 

5 mins later, ARFC produced the Move-of-the-Match.  On the right, Kerwin, Kenny, Chun Haw and Tjioe were playing wall-passes between themselves, thereby luring the opponents from moving towards our right.  Suddenly, Kenny pumped a long high ball to the left which caught the opponents off-guard.   Unfortunately, KJ, who had a very impressive match, just managed to over-run the ball which went out for a throw-in.  Unfortunate but it was such a joy to watch this world-class flowing move.

 

3 mins later, Alvin put the icing on the cake with ARFC’s 6^th goal in the match.  Alvin nicked the ball away from their defender and nonchalantly produced a deft chip, ala Mo Salah, over their on-rushing GK.  6-2 and this was Alvin’s 338^th ARFC goal.

 

ARFC then closed out the match for a well-deserved win.

 

The victory was largely due to the good team display from ARFC and everyone played well with at least about 60 mins for each player.  It was also rare that there were 6 different goal-scorers for the 6 goals.

The top 10 goal-scorers for ARFC:

 

·       Alvin – 338 goals

·       Haron – 274 goals

·       Blackburn – 164 goals

·       Sebastian – 122 goals

·       Hee – 117 goals

·       Derrick – 113 goals

·       Toh – 103 goals

·       Chun Haw – 96 goals

·       Soon – 93 goals

·       Kenny – 86 goals