League Match details - 29 July 2012

 29 July 2012 (Sun)
5 pm = 1700 hrs
Northview Sec Sch

Opponent is YVFC

Lethargic display in loss

Playing under very (x 777) hot weather at West Spring SS, ARFC produced a lethargic display to lose 1-3 to Casanova XI, an opponent they just beat 3-1 the previous Sunday.

ARFC was hit with a huge blow when Jinzhong pulled out at the 11^th hour due to unknown illness. Thankfully, Brenden was able to help out as keeper.

ARFC started with this line-up:

Keeper             -           Brenden

Right-back       -           Marauding Guoxiong

Sweeper           -           Astute-reading sweeper Elvis

Stopper                        -           Combative Ron

Left-back         -           Unbeatable Darren

Left-mid          -           Weilit

Centre-mid       -           Unpredictable Blackburn

Centre-mid       -           Hard-man Tjioe

Right-mid         -           Talisman Derrick

Striker              -           Powerful Alvin (captain)

Striker              -           Speedy Hee

Subs:

Towering Toh (late)

Influential Sebastian (late)

Dynamic Soon (late)

Steely Tze Ern (late)

Jasper (supporter)

Absent:

Dependable Jinzhong

Sublime Khim

Wonder Wayne

ARFC Scoring Legend Haron

Mean-machine Hock

Talented Chun Haw

Long-throw specialist Norman

Precocious En Dian

Nippy Kenny

The humid weather really affected ARFC warriors the most and things were really even-stevens in the opening 20 mins.

ARFC managed to conjure some half-chances but did not really pose any threats.

The half ended 0-0.

In the second half, ARFC quickly fell behind after conceding 2 quick goals in succession. 0-2

ARFC pulled a goal back courtesy of a brilliant team move. From right-back position, Ron passed to Blackburn who was between the penalty box and half-way line. Blackburn spotted Derrick making a run down the right wing and prodded a diagonal low ball to him. Without breaking his stride, Derrick squared the ball across and Soon came from deep and swept the ball home for his 42^nd ARFC goal.   1-2 and it was a really good world-class, yet simple, team goal.

It was hence a surprise that ARFC did not produce more of such moves.

Toh then failed to connect cleanly with 2 headers. Tjioe also came close when he sliced his shot, off an Alvin lay-off, just slightly over the bar.

ARFC then conceded a 3^rd goal to lose 1-3.

Being such poor performance, No ARFC deserved any Man-of-the-Match award though Hee and Soon played quite well.

League Match on 22 July 2012

 22 July 2012 (Sun)
3 pm = 1500 hrs
West Spring Sec Sch

Opponent is Casanova XI

Potent combination of Alvin and Hee in league win

ARFC finally exorcised the ghost of Casanova XI by dismissing them 3-1 in a league match played at the very poor pitch at Beatty SS.

ARFC started with this line-up:

Keeper             -           Dependable Jinzhong

Right-back       -           Marauding Guoxiong

Sweeper           -           Combative Ron

Stopper            -           Towering Toh

Left-back         -           Jasper

Left-mid          -           Unpredictable Blackburn

Centre-mid       -           Dynamic Soon

Centre-mid       -           Steely Tze Ern  

Right-mid         -           Weilit

Striker              -           Powerful Alvin (captain)

Striker              -           Speedy Hee

Subs:

Influential Sebastian

Talisman Derrick (late)

Absent:

Sublime Khim

Wonder Wayne

ARFC Scoring Legend Haron

Hard-man Tjioe

Unbeatable Darren

Astute-reading sweeper Elvis

Mean-machine Hock

Talented Chun Haw

Long-throw specialist Norman

Precocious En Dian

Nippy Kenny

ARFC had played Casanova XI twice in the last season and could not beat them despite dominating both matches. Hence, all warriors were fired up to put things right.

Particularly, both Hee and Alvin played with much fire in their bellies and harassed their defence non-stop throughout the match.  However, ARFC could not fashion any good openings due to the poor pitch which made judgement of the bouncing of ball very difficult.

ARFC drew first blood in the 17^th min. Blackburn received a ball out on the left and hooked in a half-volley that was meant for Alvin and Hee. Fortune favoured ARFC when the ball somehow took a wicked swerve and looped over their keeper who tried to push the ball out but in vain. This was Blackburn’s 113^th goal for ARFC. 1-0.

Sebastian then replaced Weilit with Soon switching over to right mid. Moments later, Derrick arrived and replaced Soon who succumbed to cramps.

Derrick immediately made a contribution when he was put through on the right flank. With the ball bouncing up, Derrick whipped in a cross high into the penalty box. Their right back then somehow headed the ball back into his own 6-yard area which was picked up by Hee. With only their keeper to beat, Hee misjudged the ball and lifted the ball over the bar. Unlucky but what great anticipation by Hee.

Jinzhong then produced a flying save to his left to palm out a stinging volley.  World-class save!

ARFC then conceded a goal. 1-1 which remained the score at half-time.

ARFC was really determined after the re-start. Alvin caused mayhem when he twice powered his way down the left touch-line. In the first instance, his cut-back was blocked and in the second instance, he brilliantly picked out Blackburn who arrived from deep. With the gaping goal, Blackburn’s powerful shot went over the bar when a simple placing shot would suffice.

ARFC was now firing on all cylinders and Derrick went close.

From Sebastian’s free-kick on the left, Toh headed against the post and from the follow-up, his shot was blocked.

ARFC regained the lead in the 67^th min. Jinzhong’s long powerful punt from a goal-kick sailed over their defence and Blackburn reacted quickest and lifted the ball over their keeper for his114th ARFC goal. 2-1

ARFC did not slow down and aimed to put the result to bed. However, ARFC was nearly caught out on a couple of occasions but ARFC’s defence, led superbly by Ron, repelled all attacks.

7 mins later, ARFC scored its 3^rd goal. From Alvin’s well-flighted corner, Derrick 9who was standing at the right side of box) shouted for Toh to “let go” which Toh obliged. Displaying a rare accuracy and power, Derrick headed the ball back to the far post to completely beat their keeper and covering defender on the line for his 56^th ARFC goal. 3-1.

Man-of-the-Match is jointly given to Alvin and Hee.  

League Match details - 15 July 2012

15 July 2012 (Sun)
3 pm = 1500 hrs
Beatty Sec Sch

Opponent is Casanova XI.

Ron's rare brace in thumping 8-2 win

Playing in a very small artificial pitch at Kent Ridge SS, ARFC destroyed D’Marissa Utd 8-2 to records ARFC’s biggest win in the league this season.

ARFC started with this line-up:

Keeper             -           Dependable Jinzhong

Right-back       -           Marauding Guoxiong

Sweeper           -           Astute-reading sweeper Elvis

Stopper            -           Combative Ron

Left-back         -           Unbeatable Darren

Left-mid          -           Unpredictable Blackburn

Centre-mid       -           Dynamic Soon

Centre-mid       -           Hard-man Tjioe

Right-mid         -           Talisman Derrick

Striker              -           Powerful Alvin (captain)

Striker              -           ARFC Scoring Legend Haron

Subs (all late):

Sublime Khim (late)

Towering Toh (late)

Wonder Wayne

Speedy Hee

Jasper

Weilit

Absent:

Influential Sebastian

Steely Tze Ern

Mean-machine Hock

Talented Chun Haw

Long-throw specialist Norman

Precocious En Dian

Nippy Kenny

Due to the extremely small pitch, there was not much space for ARFC to play its passing game but still nevertheless dominate proceedings.

ARFC drew first blood from its first corner. Blackburn’s vicious ball flew across goal but no warriors manage to connect. However, the ever-alert Haron cut the ball back in and from 3.7 metres out, Ron headed in his 5^th ARFC goal. 1-0

ARFC doubled its lead soon after. From a missile-like throw-in from Darren, chaotic scenes ensued in the box. Soon, in a rare acrobatic move, hooked in a standing bicycle-kick, almost similar to V. Sundram Moorthy’s goal against Brunei in the 1993 Malaysia Cup match for his 41^st ARFC goal. 2-0

Toh, Wayne, Hee and Khim then came in for Elvis, Soon, Derrick and Blackburn respectively.

The changes did not slow ARFC down. In fact, it resulted in another goal. From yet another Darren’s booming throw-in, Alvin held the ball well and laid on for the in-coming Toh. Dismissing the myth that he could only score with his head, Toh took a great first-touch before rifling the ball into the net for his 59^th ARFC goal. 3-0. With this goal, Toh overtook Tjioe to move into 7^th position in ARFC’s all-time scorers list.

Hee was next to make an impact after using his world-class speed to dispossess their left-back and pass to Alvin.  Alvin cut in and shot home his 177^th ARFC goal with his right foot. 4-0.

At this juncture, Alvin was level with Haron at 177 goals.

In the 2^nd half, Weilit, Jasper replaced Tjioe and Guoxiong.

Complacency then set in when ARFC conceded 2 quick goals. 4-2

To arrest the complacency, ARFC made several substitutions to seize back the initiative of the match.

True enough, ARFC extended its lead immediately. Guoxiong sped down the right flank and his ball was cleared to Ron who was 37.77 metres from goal. Without hesitation, Ron thumped in a violent ball that went straight into the roof of the goal and left their keeper rooted to the spot. 5-2 and this was Ron’s 6^th ARFC goal and first-ever brace for ARFC.

Guoxiong chalked up another assist when his shot hit the cross-bar but Alvin reacted quickest and dashed in to score with a header for his 178^th ARFC goal. 6-2.

With this goal, Alvin temporarily stood atop the ARFC all-time scorers list with 178 goals.

From another attack, Khim played a 1-2 with Haron who displayed his class and composure by lifting the ball over their keeper for his 178^th ARFC goal and level with Alvin. 7-2

Off an Alvin’s corner, Toh rose unchallenged and scored with yet a text-book header for his 60^th ARFC goal 8-2.

Man-of-the-Match is clearly Darren though Ron came very close.

League Match Details - 08 Jul 2012

 08 Jul 2012 (Sun)
5 pm = 1700 hrs
KentRidge Sec Sch (artificial pitch)

Opponent is D'Marissa Utd

ARFC let down by Sebastian in 1-1 draw

In its 4^th league match against TRSunday at the poor Greendale Sec Sch pitch, ARFC dominated the match but could only draw 1-1.

ARFC started the match aggressively and created a host of chances.

First, Soon had a shot cleared off the line but from the resulting corner from Alvin, Ron dashed in and planted a firm downward header that ricocheted off their defender and into the net.  1-0 and this was Ron’s 4^th ARFC goal.

Next up, Guoxiong had 2 chances in quick succession but was twice thwarted by their keeper who parried both shots away. In mitigation, the poor pitch contributed a great deal to both missed chances as Guoxiong could not get a clean connection after the ball bounced awkwardly for him and off his shin.

In the 2^nd half, both Sebastian and Tze Ern turned up after their grueling match at 3 pm earlier.  

However, both contributed differently to ARFC. While Tze Ern filled in admirably at centre mid and left-mid later, Sebastian was rightfully dismissed about less than 10 mins after his entry after his swinging left hand caught the opponent squarely in the face.  With his stupid act, ARFC had to cope with 10 warriors.

Nevertheless, ARFC continued to press forward and Hee was particularly impressive with his forays down the left flank.

From Alvin’s corner, Toh connected but his header flew just wide of the left post.

From Alvin’s floated cross into the box, Tjioe ghosted in from the blind aside and looked to have scored with a header but their defender headed the ball away at the 11^th hour.

From another Alvin’s corner, Toh pressured their keeper who spilled the ball which dropped at Toh’s feet. Toh let fly but the ball was again cleared off the line.

Man-of-the-Match is clearly Tjioe with his battling display though ARFC’s defence held firm throughout.

The warriors present were:

Talisman Derrick

Astute-reading sweeper Elvis

Towering Toh

Combative Ron

Unbeatable Darren

Unpredictable Blackburn

Dynamic Soon

Hard-man Tjioe

Speedy Hee

Marauding Guoxiong

Powerful Alvin

Influential Sebastian

Steely Tze Ern

Jasper

Weili

Absent:

Sublime Khim

Talented Chun Haw

Mean-machine Hock

ARFC Scoring Legend Haron

Dependable Jinzhong

Wonder Wayne

Long-throw specialist Norman

Precocious En Dian

Nippy Kenny

League Match details - 01 July 2012

 01 July 2012 (Sun)
1700 hrs = 15 pm
Greendale Sec Sch (we played there recently)

Opponent is TRSunday

ARFC rues missed chances in 3-3 draw

In a topsy-turvy friendly match against New Legends, ARFC missed a penalty in the last min to draw 3-3 at the rather-poor SengKang SS pitch.

ARFC welcomed back Sebastian from his ankle injury though it can be seen that his movements were still rather restricted. Khim and Toh also made last-min appearance and Hock also made his second outing since his return from the USA.

Guoxiong sat out the match due to fatigue as he was totally exhausted from 27 rounds of sex for the past week. However, he still turned up to support support a bit.

ARFC started with only 10 men due to lateness:

Keeper             -           Talented Chun Haw

Right-back      -           Combative Ron

Sweeper          -           Astute-reading sweeper Elvis

Stopper            -           Towering Toh

Left-back        -           Steely Tze Ern

Left-mid          -           Sublime Khim

Centre-mid      -           Unpredictable Blackburn

Centre-mid      -           Influential Sebastian

Right-mid        -           Talisman Derrick

Striker             -           Speedy Hee

Subs (all late):

Powerful Alvin

Mean-machine Hock

Jasper

Alex

Weili
Jackson

Marauding Guoxiong (rested)

Absent:

ARFC Scoring Legend Haron

Dynamic Soon

Dependable Jinzhong

Unbeatable Darren

Hard-man Tjioe

Wonder Wayne

Long-throw specialist Norman

Precocious En Dian

Nippy Kenny

Just 77 seconds into the match, Blackburn almost gave ARFC the lead when he picked up a loose ball just inside their half and instinctively let fly a half volley that sailed over their stranded keeper. Unfortunately, the ball hit the post and bounced out to safety.

Hock then came in after warming up and Derrick moved upfront to partner Hee. Derrick and Hee then combined effectively by harassing their defence non-stop.

Toh was next to be the unlucky one when his header off Hock’s corner hit the woodwork.

ARFC took the lead in the 17^th min after a great team-work goal. Hock’s corner from the right was met by Toh’s head but the ball was cleared out and picked up by Hee. Hee released Hock down the right flank and Hock send in a sizzling cross to the far post where ARFC’s best player, Khim, was lurking. Keeping eye on Toh all the way and with an advance shout-out to Toh, Khim passed the high ball with his inside right foot to just right at the edge of the 6-yard area and Toh swept the ball home with his left foot! With this goal, Toh showed that he can also score with his feet! According to ARFC’s archives, this was also the first goal scored via his left foot.

1-0 and this was Toh’s 58^th ARFC goal which moved him level with Tjioe at 7^th position in ARFC’s all-time scorers list.

ARFC then conceded a goal out of nothing. 1-1

In the 27^th min came the miss of all time since ARFC’s formation in Jun 1991. Weili chipped in a curling ball and Derrick ran in from deep and reached the home ahead of their on-rushing keeper. With their keeper beaten and no other covering defenders back, the ball was rolling nicely and safely towards goal with Derrick shepherding the ball. A goal looked to be a confirm certainty!

What happened in the next 0.77 seconds shocked the whole world and the whole universe including Planet Pluto, Planet Mars, Planet Jupiter and other planets!  With the ball just 0.77 mm from the goal-line, Derrick lashed out at the ball with the intention to thrash the ball into the net ala Jesus Navas’ recent goal against Croatia. Unfortunately, the ball somehow sailed high over the bar and out!!!

With such a shocking miss, all ARFC warriors were really and totally stunned into silence and almost immediately, ARFC conceded a goal as their feet were still glued to the ground from the shock! 1-2

Alvin then recovered later to fire a low shot against the post.

In the 2^nd half, ARFC continued to press for the equalizer and almost found one soon after the re-start. Khim showed sublime skill to trick their defender but chose to pass to Alvin when a shot would be better. But nothing to blame Khim since he has always been known to be an unselfish player and prefer to let team-mates take the glory of scoring.

ARFC finally equalized after Blackburn released Alvin who galloped down the left flank and into the box in his trade-mark move. Alvin was the brought down in the box and he dusted himself off the ground to plant the ball firmly into the net and wrong-footed their keeper for his 176^th ARFC goal. 2-2 and Alvin is now just one goal away from Haron’s 177 goals for ARFC.

Chun Haw then showed again why he could be a key player for ARFC in future with yet another clever run from deep after Blackburn throdded a nice low through ball for him. Chun Haw’s pace saw him nipped the ball ahead of their keeper and placed the ball home for his 7^th ARFC goal. 3-2 and this was Chun Haw’s 3^rd goal in as many matches.

ARFC then conceded a penalty which was converted. 3-3.

However, the faulty does not lie with the conceded penalty but rather on why no ARFC warrior stood in front of the ball off the free-kick prior to the penalty incident. Also, Derrick must be praised for getting down quickly to block out the quickly-taken free-kick and hurt his knee in the process.

ARFC had the chance to snatch a victory in the last min. Chun Haw produced yet another penetrative run into the box and was brought down clumsily. Regular penalty-taker Sebastian forgo the chance and let Alvin took it. However, Alvin’s meek effort was easily pushed out by their keeper.

Man-of-the-Match is jointly given to Tze Ern (who was a colossal at left-back) and Khim.