Ismail matched Izwan Mahbud's miraculous display in 3-1 win over Japanese team

Playing under a torturing hot sun, ARFC overcame a very good Japanese team, Mogura FC, courtesy of a very disciplined performance.  

ARFC was supported by Lingzhi, Ron’s wife.  

ARFC also welcomed back Derrick who is slowly working his way back to peak condition after his recent knee surgery.  

Special kudos to Soon who came to play despite just completed a 111-km, not 11.1 km and certainly not 1.11 km, run earlier. Fantastic commitment and superb fitness!! 

ARFC also recalled Huiming, pioneer ARFC warrior, to help out. 

ARFC started with this line-up:

Keeper – Commanding Ismail

Right-back – Determined Huiming

Sweeper – Composed Eng Lai

Stopper - Impeccable How Meng

Left-back - Unbeatable Darren

Left mid – Unpredictable Blackburn

Right mid – Rampaging Raymond

Centre-mid - Influential Sebastian (captain)

Centre-mid – Combative Ron

Striker – Speedy Hee

Striker – Powerful Alvin

Subs:

Talisman Derrick

Sublime Khim

Dynamic Soon

Vintage Chua

Kenny (guest player from SHHK)

Weng Tuck (guest player) 

Absent:

Talented Chun Haw

Marauding Guoxiong

Steely Tze Ern

Towering Toh

Nippy Kenny

Dependable Jinzhong

ARFC Scoring Legend Haron

Skilful Weilit

Astute-reading sweeper Elvis

Hard-man Tjioe

Wonder Wayne  

ARFC conceded a goal within 177 seconds. 0-1 

ARFC then equalized after How Meng threaded a through ball to Alvin who broke their off-side trap and was in the right side of the 6-yard box area.  Alvin then squared across goal and Khim fooled their GK with some clever footwork before calmly side-footed home his 51^st ARFC goal. 1-1

Ismail then came to ARFC’s rescue when he produced a top-draw one-handed save to flick a fierce shot over the bar.  Superb! 

Raymond was then put through by Alvin and raced down on their GK. However, Raymond’s rustiness showed when he over-played the ball and their GK saved his shot but conceded a corner.   

Raymond nevertheless made amends immediately. His beautifully-floated corner was only half-cleared by their defence to the lurking Khim who was just outside the box.  With a clean first touch, Khim killed the ball and thumped in a shot that sailed past a sea of players to hit the net. 2-1 and this was Khim’s 52^nd ARFC goal. 

In the 2^nd half, the opponents exerted huge pressure on ARFC but stout defending led by Ron and Huiming kept them at bay.  

Ismail then showed his mettle when he produced 3 successive world-class saves with stunning reflexes and power.  Simply brilliant!

ARFC then sealed the win after Chua’s clearance looped over their defence. Raymond chased the ball and lofted the ball over their GK who was came off the line. 3-1 and this was Raymond’s 4^th ARFC goal. 

Ismail then again produced another out-of-this-world double-handed save to deny the opponents. 

Voting results: 

Ismail – 9

Khim – 9

Darren – 6

How Meng – 4

Ron – 4

Hee – 1

Soon's 70th ARFC goal in 2-1 win

On 30 Aug 2015 at 3 pm at Mayflower SS, ARFC defeated a very “dirty” COURTS team 2-1.
 

Soon scored ARFC’s first goal after some hard work by Kenny. After being chased down by Kenny, their GK panicked and cleared the ball only as far as Soon who was 27 metres away. With a great first touch that brought the ball down, Soon unleashed his prowess from all his recent charity record-breaking skipping act by curling the ball to the top corner just below the crossbar, beyond their GK”s desperate flailing out-stretched hands. 1-0 and this was Soon’s 70^th ARFC goal.
 

With this goal, Soon overtook ARFC’s previous scoring great Robin to move into 8^th position in ARFC’s all-time leading scorers list.
 

The opponents then equalized. 1-1
 

ARFC regained the lead with Kenny again at the centre of things.  Kenny’s magical through pass down the heart of their defence was matched by an equal magical run from Haron.  With a quick feint, Haron eluded their GK who was totally memesrised and wrong-footed by Haron’s move. Facing the net alone, Haron still took his time as he was thinking why no one closed down on him. At the prompting of Blackburn who shouted “keep it simple”, Haron then slotted home his 227^th ARFC goal. 2-1

Voting results:

 

Darren – 11

Soon – 7

Kenny – 7

Tze Ern – 6

Haron – 4

Ron – 4

Toh – 2

Elvis – 1

Sebastian nets winner in 4-3 thriller

Despite being pegged back 3 times by the determined Marine Devils, ARFC managed to emerge 4-3 winners in an enthralling match at AMK SS. 

ARFC started with this line-up:

Keeper – Commanding Ismail

Right-back – Dependable Jinzhong

Sweeper – Combative Ron

Stopper - Towering Toh
Left-back - Steely Tze Ern
Left mid – Speedy Hee
Right mid – Marauding Guoxiong
Centre-mid - Influential Sebastian (captain)
Centre-mid – Nippy Kenny
Striker – Unpredictable Blackburn
Striker – Powerful Alvin

Subs:

Dynamic Soon (late)

Talented Chun Haw
Eng Lai (guest player)
Ah Chua (guest player)
Dominic (guest player)

Absent:

ARFC Scoring Legend Haron

Skilful Weilit

Unbeatable Darren

Astute-reading sweeper Elvis
Hard-man Tjioe
Impeccable How Meng
Wonder Wayne
Talisman Derrick
Sublime Khim

ARFC took a while in kicking into gear and nearly conceded a goal if not for a smart alert  save from Ismail. 

ARFC took the lead after Toh surged in to powerfully head home a precise corner from Alvin on the left. 1-0 and this was Toh’s 85^th ARFC goal, with 97.77% of those goals coming from his head.  

ARFC then conceded a bizarre goal. 1-1

ARFC then regained the lead 7 mins later. Chun Haw laid on the grounder for Sebastian who was 37 metres away from goal. Similar to what Paul Scholes and Steven Gerrard have been doing, Sebastian cracked in a fierce rising shot that struck the right post and rebounded off their GK’s shoulder. The ball rolled along the line but Kenny was quickest to hold on their covering defender to stroke home his 62^nd ARFC goal. 2-1 and what a great follow-up.  

ARFC then conceded a penalty which was converted. 2-2 

ARFC restored its lead through fortuitous manner. From the left wing, Tze Ern swung a cross-shot that somehow sailed over their GK to land nicely into the far corner. 3-2 and this was Tze Ern’s 12^th ARFC goal and his 3^rd goal in his last 4 ARFC matches. 

ARFC then conceded again. 3-3 

Tze Ern then came close when his violent shot from outside the box just clipped the crossbar. 

In the 2^nd half, ARFC played slightly better and took the lead for the 4^th time when their defender clumsily handle Jinzhong’s long-throw. Sebastian stepped up and buried the ghost of his recent penalty misses when he sent their GK the wrong way for his 98^th ARFC goal. 4-3

Eng Lai then came to ARFC’s rescue when he cleared the ball off the line.  

Kenny then almost grabbed his brace but his venomous shot struck off the post.  

Ismail then preserved ARFC’s lead when he twice slapped the dangerous ball away from their corners. 

Voting results:

Tze Ern – 10

Kenny – 7

Toh – 6

Sebastian – 5

Ismail – 5
Chun Haw – 3
Guoxiong – 3

Alvin's 25th ARFC hat-trick could not secure win

Coming back from the long weekend break, ARFC let slipped a 3-goal lead to draw 4-4 against a very sporting team E’Valor. 

ARFC also welcomed back Sebastian from his week-long trial with Brisbane Warriors. Though he was offered a 5-year A$50,000 weekly contract, he turned it down as his love for ARFC is simply just too deep. 

ARFC started with this line-up:

Keeper – Surinderpal Singh (guest player)

Right-back – Eng Lai (guest player)

Sweeper – Combative Ron

Stopper - Towering Toh

Left-back - Unbeatable Darren

Left mid – Skilful Weilit

Right mid – Marauding Guoxiong

Centre-mid - Steely Tze Ern

Centre-mid – Dynamic Soon

Striker – Unpredictable Blackburn

Striker – Powerful Alvin

Subs:

Influential Sebastian

ARFC Scoring Legend Haron

Ah Chua (guest player)

Dominic (Eng Lai’s son) 

Absent:

Astute-reading sweeper Elvis

Hard-man Tjioe

Nippy Kenny

Talented Chun Haw

Dependable Jinzhong

Speedy Hee

Commanding Ismail

Impeccable How Meng

Wonder Wayne

Talisman Derrick

Sublime Khim

ARFC totally controlled the opening proceedings with Tze Ern, Soon, Guoxiong and Alvin all coming very close. Particularly, Tze Ern’s shot was just 0.77 mm over the bar after a nice chested take-down. 

ARFC was made to pay for its profligacy when it conceded a break-away goal. 0-1 

Seeing enough, Haron, Sebastian and Ah Chua came on for Blackburn, Soon and Eng Lai respectively. 

Within 77 seconds, ARFC was level. Ah Chua, who had an impressive outing at right-back, pumped the ball upfield.   With the ball taking a bounce up in the air, Haron used his big body to head the goal forward while at the same time knocked their defender down. Alvin chased the ball and clipped the ball home for his 265^th ARFC goal. 1-1 

7 mins later, ARFC took the lead with yet another tried-and-tested corner routine. Sebastian floated in a perfect ball right at the most dangerous zone between the 6-yard box and penalty spot and who else but Toh who came in and powered home a header that is totally impossible to stop. 2-1 and this was Toh’s 84^th ARFC goal.  

ARFC extended its lead with Haron turning provider again. Surinderpal launched a high ball from GK position and Haron then back-flicked the ball goalwards. Alvin chased the ball and fully utilized his Hulk-like upper body strength to hold off their covering defender. Just near the penalty spot, Alvin simply thumped the ball right through their GK for his 266^th ARFC goal. 3-1

 

This was also Alvin’s 25^th career hat-trick for ARFC which netted him 82 goals. 

7 mins after the re-start, ARFC looked to out the result to bed. Ah Chua again played the ball down the right wing. Haron unleashed his burst of speed to volley in a right-wing cross to the box. Alvin then stole ahead of their defender to glance home his 267^th ARFC goal. 4-1

Sebastian then came close with a left-foot hook-shot. Moments later, he intercepted a clearance from their GK about 47 metres out but just lofted the ball a little bit too high the bar. 

Strangely enough, ARFC conceded 3 goals to draw 4-4.

Voting results:

 

Alvin – 9

Tze Ern – 7

Haron – 6

Guoxiong – 3

Soon – 3

Sebastian – 2

Ron – 2

Toh – 1

ARFC wishes happy 50th birthday to Singapore....

On behalf of ARFC, I would like to wish Singapore a happy and prosperous 50th birthday....

May Singapore's future be as bright as now....

Tze Ern's world-class goal in 3-2 victory

On the back of the thumping 10-0 win last weekend, ARFC warriors played with spring in their steps to win 3-2 against Tebing FC at St Wilfrids.

Special mention to Ron for volunteering to be GK.

ARFC started with this line-up:

Keeper – Combative Ron

Right-back – Ah Chua (guest player)

Sweeper – Eng Lai (guest player)

Stopper - Towering Toh

Left-back - Unbeatable Darren

Left mid – Unpredictable Blackburn

Right mid – Marauding Guoxiong

Centre-mid - Nippy Kenny

Centre-mid – Hard-man Tjioe

Striker – Vanilla Ice (guest player)

Striker – Powerful Alvin 

Subs:

 

Steely Tze Ern (late)

Astute-reading sweeper Elvis (late)

Skilful Weilit (late)

Dominic (Eng Lai’s son)

Absent:

Talented Chun Haw

Dynamic Soon

Dependable Jinzhong

Influential Sebastian

Speedy Hee

Commanding Ismail

ARFC Scoring Legend Haron

Impeccable How Meng

Wonder Wayne

Talisman Derrick

Sublime Khim

ARFC drew first blood in the 7^th min. Kenny’s long ball from the middle led to Ice bearing down on their GK. Their GK reached the ball first and cleared the ball away to just outside the penalty area. Guoxiong, who is back to his best, shouted for the loose ball and duly rocketed in a volley that gave their GK no chance at all.  Superb goal!! 1-0 and this was Guoxiong’s 23^rd ARFC goal, moving him level with ex-ARFC legend David. 

The opponents then equalized in the 20^th min with ARFC suffering another bad refereeing decision as their winger was miles offside. 1-1 

In the 27^th min, Darren played the ball out of the danger area to Weilit. Fresh from his one-week BMT, Weilit showed enormous upper body strength to shrug off the pulling and tugging of the opponents before threading a low ball down the left for Alvin.  In his trademark move, Alvin powered away from his marker, moved into the box and unleashed a powerful grounder.  Though their GK got his hands to the ball, the shot was too powerful that the ball went loose. Following up, Alvin simply cracked another powerful shot into the net for his 264^th ARFC goal. 2-1 

In the 50^th min, Toh’s powerful header bounced off the cross-bar. Dominic reacted quickest but his shot also hit the upright. Unlucky! 

In the 57^th min, ARFC extended the lead with a world-class goal from Tze Ern.   Off yet another ARFC attack, the opponents cleared the ball outside the box only to find the on-form Tze Ern lurking there. Before the ball hit the ground, Tze Ern let fly a first-time volley that saw the ball hit the top right hand corner, giving their exasperated GK no chance at all! 3-1 and this was Tze Ern’s 11^th ARFC goal and 2^nd successive goal in 2 matches. 

Tze Ern’s goal also meant that he is now the proud holder of ARFC’s 1800^th goal in its illustrious history.  

The opponents then pulled a goal back. 3-2 

In the 77^th min, off a Guoxiong through ball down the right, Alvin raced clear and tried to chip their GK. However, the ball hit the left cross-bar despite their GK clearly beaten. Unlucky!  

Voting results:

Tjioe – 7

Guoxiong – 6

Tze Ern – 6

Kenny – 5

Alvin – 5

Weilit – 2

Darren – 1

Elvis – 1

ARFC warriors who scored 6 goals in a single match

These are the ARFC warriors who scored 6 goals in a single match:

05 Jul 1992:   Robin (won 14-2)
10 Nov 1996: Robin (won 8-1)
21 Aug 2011: Alvin (won 13-2)
04 Sep 2011:  Derrick (won 12-3)
25 Jul 2015:   Kenny (won 10-0)

Kenny equalled record in 10-0 victory

Rarely playing on a Saturday, Kenny equalled the most-goals-scored-in-a-match when he chipped in with 6 goals in a landslide 10-0 win over a team of young NS boys.

ARFC started with this line-up:

Keeper – Guest player

Right-back – Unpredictable Blackburn

Sweeper – Eng Lai (guest player)

Stopper - Dependable Jinzhong

Left-back - Unbeatable Darren

Left mid – Raymond (guest player)

Right mid – Steely Tze Ern

Centre-mid - Dynamic Soon

Centre-mid – Talented Chun Haw

Striker – Nippy Kenny

Striker – Powerful Alvin

Subs:

2 more guest players

Absent:

Combative Ron

Influential Sebastian

Hard-man Tjioe

Skilful Weilit

Speedy Hee

Towering Toh

Astute-reading sweeper Elvis

Marauding Guoxiong

Commanding Ismail

ARFC Scoring Legend Haron

Impeccable How Meng

Wonder Wayne

Talisman Derrick

Sublime Khim

First-half score was 5-0 with goals from Kenny (3 – 58 ARFC goals), and one each from Chun Haw (34 ARFC goals) and Tze Ern (10 ARFC goals).

In the second half, ARFC scored 5 more goals through Kenny (3 – 61 ARFC goals) and one each from Jinzhong (6 ARFC goals) and Alvin (263 ARFC goals).

Voting results:

Kenny – 6

Chun Haw – 6

Soon – 5

Jinzhong – 3

Alvin – 2

Tze Ern – 2