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

Out-of-sorts ARFC drew 3-3

In one of its most disjointed display ever seen, ARFC conceded a last-grasp goal to draw 3-3 against Jerry’s team at Tampines SAFRA.

ARFC was supported by Rayes, Derrick’s son.

Credit to both Haron and Derrick for volunteering to be GK for each half.

ARFC started with this line-up:

Keeper - ARFC Scoring Legend Haron

Right-back - Dependable Jinzhong

Sweeper - Astute-reading sweeper Elvis

Stopper - Towering Toh

Left-back - Unbeatable Darren 

Left-mid - Skilful Weilit

Centre-mid - Combative Ron

Centre-mid - Influential Sebastian

Right-mid - Marauding Guoxiong  

Striker - Powerful Alvin (captain)

Striker - Talisman Derrick

Subs:

Nippy Kenny

Sublime Khim  

Speedy Hee

Unpredictable Blackburn

Dynamic Soon (late)

Steely Tze Ern (late)

Absent:

Wonder Wayne

Impeccable How Meng

Commanding Ismail

Hard-man Tjioe

Immaculate Indra

Booming Boon

Weilit was rewarded with a first-place spot after his recent impressive performances.

Strangely enough, ARFC had trouble controlling the ball on a rather wet surface.

Sebastian was first to try from a free-kick won by Derrick. However, his placing shot was put too near the centre and their impressive keeper tipped over for a corner.

From the resulting corner, Toh threatened but could not get any headway.

Picking up a loose ball from 47 metres out and seeing their keeper off his line, Sebastian side-footed shot was saved.

ARFC then conceded from a counter-attack. 0-1

Haron then got down sharply to produce a quick world-class double-save to keep ARFC in the match.

Weilit then justified his first-11 place when he slalomed his way into the penalty box before being upended. Sebastian stepped up and sent a waist-high diagonal ball to the keeper’s right and even with keeper going the right way, the ball still bulged the net. 1-1 and this was Sebastian’s 95^th ARFC goal.

Immediately after scoring, Sebastian was replaced by Soon.

A slew of substitutions also took place with all getting a run-out.

ARFC then conceded another goal. 1-2

ARFC equalised for the 2^nd time. From Darren’s long-throw from the left, Toh flicked on and in the goal-mouth melee, Blackburn poked the ball home for his 142^nd ARFC goal. 2-2

Khim then shot wide form just inside the box.

ARFC then took the lead with almost the last kick of the half. Blackburn was pushed to the ground and the referee had the easiest of decisions to award a penalty. Blackburn dusted himself off the ground and sent their keeper the wrong way for his 143^rd ARFC goal. 3-2

In the 2^nd half, ARFC totally dominated proceedings with the opponents getting no shots at all!

ARFC had so many chances that I almost lost count. From probably the only flowing move, Sebastian swept the ball to Guoxiong who then sent Hee galloping down the right flank. His low ball across the box was totally sweet but Haron and Kenny arrived just a wee bit too late.

Weiit then wriggled his way down the left touch-line but skewed his shot wide when Kenny was open.

Moments later, Kenny swiveled to just miss the goal by millimeters.

Blackburn then unleashed a high shot from almost the centre circle but unfortunately, the ball cannoned off the left post.

With virtually the last kick of the match, the opponents scored with their only shot in the 2^nd half to grab a 3-3 draw.

This was a match where ARFC was totally complacent and was not mentally prepared. The old adage is really true – if you do not have the right mentality in approaching a match, then the performance would really show.

In contrast, the opponents were really determined in chasing and closing down every ball, especially when we reached their half.

Voting results:

Weilit – 9

Kenny – 9

Ron – 7

Jinzhong – 4

Blackburn – 4

Guoxiong – 4

Hee – 3

Haron – 3

Khim – 2

Darren – 2

Soon – 1

Tze Ern – 1

Derrick becomes 5th ARFC Centurion Club member in 6-2 victory

Despite once again hit by a slew of last-min withdrawals, ARFC still had enough in its tank to brush aside SMS 6-2.

Credit to both Jinzhong and Derrick for volunteering to be GK for each half.

ARFC started with this line-up:

Keeper - Dependable Jinzhong

Right-back - Steely Tze Ern

Sweeper - Astute-reading sweeper Elvis

Stopper - Towering Toh (captain)

Left-back - Unbeatable Darren 

Left-mid - Unpredictable Blackburn

Centre-mid - Combative Ron

Centre-mid - Dynamic Soon

Right-mid - Talisman Derrick

Striker - Powerful Alvin

Striker - ARFC Scoring Legend Haron  

Subs:

Skilful Weilit

Absent:

Wonder Wayne

Speedy Hee

Impeccable How Meng

Influential Sebastian

Marauding Guoxiong

Commanding Ismail

Nippy Kenny

Sublime Khim  

Hard-man Tjioe

Immaculate Indra

Booming Boon

Straight from the kick off, ARFC stamped its authority by displaying a good possession game despite the searing heat. The opponent keeper was also tested several times. However, ARFC had to wait till the 17^th min before taking the lead.

From the left, Alvin picked up Blackburn's pass and upon looking up he saw Derrick shouting for the ball. With a delightful cross-chip over the opponent's defence, Derrick ran on to the bouncing ball and delightfully volleyed it (ala Van Persie) past the onrushing keeper that saw the ball nestled nicely and smugly into the bottom left-corner of the goalpost. 1-0 and this was Derrick’s 99^th ARFC goal.

7 mins after the re-start, ARFC doubled its lead. From the left again, Blackburn slid a beautiful through ball which saw Haron latching on to the ball.  The ball seemed quite fast initially which made Haron slowed down his pace as he saw the keeper coming out of his line. However, noticing that the keeper was apprehensive in taking control of the ball, Haron started sprinting again, defying his age and ever-growing belly. Haron got to the ball first, did a body feint and dribbled past the keeper to roll the ball into an empty net for his 217^th ARFC goal.  2-0.

In the 27th min, ARFC scored its third goal from yet another beautiful team-play. Ron, who was commanding in the centre of the field, got the ball and dribbled past several defenders before passing to Haron who was at the edge of the box. With his back facing the goal, Haron shielded the ball from the opponent's last man. Noticing that Ron was continuing his run, Haron cheekily back-heeled the ball (ala V. Sundram Moorthy) past the defender's legs which fell nicely for Ron. Ron took the ball forward while brushing off a last minute challenge from a defender before kicking it towards goal. Though Ron had somewhat miskicked the ball, the ball still somehow trickled past the keeper, hit the bottom left goalpost before going in. 3-0 and this was Ron’s 10^th ARFC goal.

ARFC was not done though, as it kept attacking the opponent's goal relentlessly. The score could have been much more if not for some poor finishing. 

In the 37th min, from a through ball on the right, Haron got to the end of it first and instinctively sent a low cross to the center of the box. Rushing in from the blind side, Alvin gleefully slammed the ball home to put the result to bed. 4-0 and this was Alvin’s 244^th ARFC goal.

Just before half-time, Apex received a scare when Weilit got to the wrong end of a high ball challenge. Weilit was rushing in to head the bouncing ball just as the opponent's defender was trying to kick it. Inadvertently, Weilit's face got into the defender's boot which resulted in him getting a 9cm long scar (laceration) at his left jaw. After a brief treatment on Weilit and ensuring that he was okay, the referee blew to end the first half. 

Further checks were made on Weilit during half-time. Lesser man would have asked to see doctor immediately but not warrior Weilit who insisted to carry on playing albeit with much pain on the jaw.  Superb bravado warrior Weilit!!

ARFC started the second half with Derrick in goal and Jinzhong playing at right back. The change however had somehow caused some disorientation to the team as it seemed very slow to get its move going, unlike in the first half. The opponent seemed to notice ARFC’s awkwardness and began attacking ARFC's goal. Derrick made several fine saves to keep the score status quo. However, he could do little in the 57th min to stop an unexpected long shot from the opponent who scored almost from the halfway line. 4-1. 

Frustrated at conceding the goal and its poor play, ARFC somehow started to wake up and improve its play slightly after that. 

The crowning moment for Derrick came in the 67th min.  Haron earned a penalty for ARFC when he was fouled in the box. The defender was fuming at the referee for giving the penalty as he claimed Haron had dived. Haron did not care as he exacted revenge on the same person who kicked him from behind just minutes earlier. 

As planned prior to the game, Derrick was to take this penalty. He ran all the way from his goal-line, put the ball at the spot and rammed the ball as hard as he can. However, similar to Ron's goal earlier, Derrick seemed to miskick his shot as the ball bounced several times towards the keeper before going under the latter's outstretched arms. 5-1

With this goal, Derrick has finally scored his 100^th ARFC goal and in the process became the 5^th ARFC Centurion Club member, after (in order of achievement) Haron, Alvin, Blackburn and Hee.

Sharing his thoughts after the game, Derrick admitted that he was nervous upon taking the penalty, even more nervous than his wedding day.  Hence, he decided to simply whack as hard as he could and luckily for him, the kick was hard enough to creep into goal.

ARFC got another goal in the 79th min. Off a corner kick by Blackburn, the opponent tried to head the ball away but it went behind him instead. The ball fell nicely for Soon who was near the edge of the box, to side-foot the ball into goal for his 64^th ARFC goal. 6-1. 

ARFC conceded another goal just before full-time. The opponent swung a cross from the right by-line which seemed to hang in the air for the longest time but still would fall nicely for Derrick to catch. In his bid to confuse the opponent who were near him, Derrick shouted that the ball was his and tried to punch the ball away. However, to everyone's horror, Derrick failed to connect to the ball properly as it hit his gloves and into goal. 6-2. 

After the game, Derrick apologised for the last goal conceded as he admitted that his punch was poor and he had caused confusion to his own-self instead of the opponent. Derrick likened the punch to a certain Roberto Brendan but it was pointed out to him, that Brendan had never conceded such a goal.

Voting results:

Haron – 7

Derrick – 7

Tze Ern – 6

Soon – 3

Weilit – 3

Blackburn – 2

Elvis – 2

Alvin – 2

Toh – 2

Darren – 2