090111: Special match @ Queensway Sec Sch. Red 2 - 4 Blue

Bay (GK)

Kevin - Edmund - Saidi - Firdaus Masdar

Karim - Azman - Fazli - Farhan

Akim - Huang
___

Kelvin - Mazlan

Omar - Firul - Rahman - Joharie

Chris - Azmi - Imran - Shahid

Wilson (GK)



subs for red:
Calvin (not in picture)
Helmi
Rahman Carrefour
Khairi (not in picture)

subs for blue:
Es
Rizuan
Fairuz

scorers for red:
Rahman Carrefour
Akim

scorers for blue:
Rizuan x3
Rahman

I had arranged this match for a variety of objectives:

1. Good response for our anniversary game (we lost) which featured 80% of our current active players, meant that I felt it would be nice to have a 2nd special match.
2. Recent dip in form for our friendly competitive matches. Ever since our loss in the JMK Cup, which snapped our awfully long winning streak, we have not been up to the mark.
3. To try to find a better field and hopefully reduce our expenditure week in and out. It should cost about $55/- for the entire team if we keep on finding school fields, any fields, to play on.
4. Last (I think), to find YOU! We all know we are defensively weak, so we hoped to tap talent to bolster our defensive ranks.
5. Ok this one is last, I wanted to play striker.

For each factor, here are the results:
1. Objective met. 9 regular players apiece featured for either team. Out of our current crop of 25 players, that meant 70% turned up.
2. Objective not met. Due to the small and bumpy pitch, both teams were unable to express ourselves fully, carving out chances were at a premium although the goals scored were well-taken.
3. Objective partially met. Queensway Sec field was even worse than Yishun and Tampines combined! But we did pay only $4 each.
4. Objective somewhat met. Imran, Calvin (both twice) and Saidi (once) featured before and we know they can play as defenders. We hope to have Firdaus, Chris and Edmund (once) coming more often. Chris, I understand, has his own team. A match perhaps?
5. Objective met! LOLz.

Before the match started, there was a schoolyard-style selection, familiarity being essential of course, and after trotting out on the field, I thought we had more regular players than Blue. Turned out we were on roughly equal footing in terms of familiarity though somewhat lacking in terms of a man-to-man match-up.

For the purpose of finding new defenders, apart from Kevin, we fielded an unfamiliar backline. Offensively, midfield onward, we had nothing wrong there. Karim, a regular defender, got his wish to play in midfield, and I was tempted to play Fazli in defence, who wouldn't, he is our best defender but at the same time I wanted us all to enjoy the game and the result did not matter, though of course a double digit scoreline isn't acceptable. Farhan, Azman and Huang (striker) are of course vital cogs to our current team.

So it was with a certain amount of satisfaction with regards to the final score. Blue outplayed us for the main part of the match and despite the tight score, it was flattering for us.

Blue definitely won on the general mano-mano factor. With the pacy and powerful players (Mazlan, Rizuan and Fairuz) the Blue side had, to add to the bite (Kelvin, Firul and Rahman), pace and trickery (Omar and Joharie), defensive acumen (Imran and Azmi), determination (Chris and Shahid), left-legged utility man (Es) and of course Wilson THE GK. Unfortunately, we have the luxury of such similar attacking-minded players (if only lack of physical presence and strength) in our current crop, so barring any bad luck with attendance, I feel our current crop is enough to work with for now.

For our team, I was impressed with Rahman Carrefour while Khairi enhanced his ability and potential. Bay had a good, nay, excellent run in goal (good goals are sometimes simply hard to stop) and though I was tempted to swap him for Wilson for the 2nd half, for purely footballing reasons, I was denied. Edmund tried his best while Kevin had recently return from injury and Firdaus looked a decent full-back. My general bottomline is; well done Reds!

More significantly, thank you all for responding well to attend this match!

SOME PITCH RANTING

Having played our last few matches in pitches of less than satisfactory conditions, Mus and i came up with a neat idea to try our luck again at the designated football fields offered by the 'endeared' Singapore Sports Councils. Since it was still Sunday (after the match), we tried looking up all the playing fields offered that was still available for booking the following week. After much deliberation, it was soon decided unanimously that Queensway Secondary School seemed to be the best option for consideration (we had reservations about the size of the pitch but due to our already negative sentiments of the Mango pitch, we chose to take up this field).

Upon arrival we found the pitch to be in sub-standard conditions, i was convinced Queensway Secondary would be excellent geological specimen-taking sites due to a number of meteor craters on both sides of the flanks. Adding to the narrow and short dimensions of the pitch, it wasnt at all satisfactory or come close to it for our weekly footballing demands. Perhaps we, the team's organisers learnt something new; that Queensway Secondary now is a Forbidenned site for Kambing FC, and that football pitches, if possible have to be booked WAY in advance. We have set our sights on a couple of pitches, some of which are known to be of artificial turf (although these pitches are booked only through means of balloting), and also some of natural 'cow-grass' pitches that is at least decent enough to be used for playing football. However, regrettably for this oncoming match, we still have to be content with Mango as i was beaten to the booking of the Kent Ridge Secondary School field. Having dedicated a whole two paragraphs on field-rantings, i would like to take this opportunity to urge the team to give a shout out should you have any 'lobangs' for good fields. Plus, a big big thank you to those whom have given us your forecast of availability for selection for the upcoming weeks (and also those informing us of their inability to make it on time) which gave us a hand at predicting possible attendance (which has been good! THANK YOU!) and hence perhaps in the near future, the confidence to book better fields to meet our needs.

BLUE TEAM REVIEW

The blue team started off with 4 new faces, Chris, Rizuan, Mazlan, and FAiruz while also welcoming back Imran whom have appeared for us in a few matches quite some time ago. The other familiar faces that make up the team, not necessarily arranged in any order, are Kelvin NG WEN ZE, Wilson, Azmi, Shahid, Es, Joharie, Omar, Shafirul and Me. There were some doubt being casted on the strength of the team in comparison to the other but deep inside i knew that we could pose more than a challenge for our counterparts (given to both the depth in strength we had in terms of player ability and also the dimensions of the small pitch that could dampen the threat of several of the key threats we face from the REDS).

We started the match with Mazlan, Fairuz and Es on the bench to perhaps give the team some familiarity at the start of play. Some key players of the Red Team were late, and that in part helped us to take control of the first half of the game. We got the momentum we needed going forward, with a lot of credit going to the predatory instincts of our out-and-out striker Rizuan, whom on more than one occasion, showed his shooting ability, raining shots from various angles to keep Bei, the REDS keeper constantly on his toes all the first half. On two separate incidents, he actually found the back of the net with good finishing (with one i remembered being smashed in to the corner of the net) that could have only left the exposed Bei with no chance at all. In the first half of the match we got the lions share of the chances, even with the goal-shy but spectacularly hamsem-burger ME taking a lob that only whizzed past the top left hand corner of Bei's goal.

The backline looked solid, steady in countering the threat posed by the RED offence (though they had a few chances that should have been goals on any other day that were somehow thwarted by Wilson). Azmi returned to the team with a steady performance marshalling the back line alongside the ever-athletic Imran, with sufficient cover from both full backs on the flanks whom were not easily wanting to give an inch. The defence looked stable enough even as the Reds midfield were struggling to gain a foothold from our hard running and industrious midfield, particularly with Firul dominating the challenges giving good effective screening to the defence. However, a lapse of concentration allowed the other RAHMAN from the REDS to equalise with a follow up shot from a swift REDs counter attack.

The second half ended with the Blues looking good value for the 2-1 lead courtesy of fine finishing by Rizuan. There was not much to say to the team in the halftime break considering the team were doing very well. Omar was pushed to central midfield alongside Firul towards the close of the second half while Fairuz was brought on to patner Rizuan to 'terrorize' the REDS defence. The team started as they ended, and it wasnt long till the goal hungry Rizuan added another to his tally to rip apart the RED's hearts with a vicious goal that screamed to the back of the net. It was 3-1.

Things werent going that well for the Reds, and they knew it (i guess). To start off the half conceding a goal already chasing the game must have been devastating. However, our opposite numbers responded in good fashion. Their midfield was getting accustomised to the pitch and were showing some promise. Halfway through the second half they were rewarded when a hopeful shot from Striker (i think he was striker) Mustaqium went deliciously into the net despite the backpedaling efforts of Wilson. 3-2 and it was a lifeline for the Reds to get back in the game with a shout. However, things were not meant to be for them as a good team effort on the left side of the flank saw Me slotting home a well executed cut back from Joharie to put the tie beyond any reasonable question.
In the end it was a 4-2 victory for the Blues, a particularly sweet victory for the players whom ended on the wrong side of the 5-2 scoreline for the Blues last 'special match', though i am sure everyone had fun in this not-so-pressurising game.

MY PERSONAL TAKE ON THE MATCH

Shooting

I found the victory for the Blues in this match was very much down to the SHOOTING-shyness of the Red offence. They were at times thwarted by some alert goalkeeping, but this prove to be no reason for them to stop trying. When they did try, in the form of Mus' lob, they were rewarded with a goal that could snatch victory from the Blues. In a small condensed pitch like this, it is essential to take chances from anywhere, as space is likely to be too scarce to be effectively exploited. Rizuan's shooting, on the other hand has been deadly.

Midfield Battle

The midfield battle especially the Omar-Helmi tussle for superiority in midfield was a great spectacle. Omar stuck on to Helmi for the most part of the 2nd half to stop the danger Helmi posed to the Blues lead (of course with a number of the cohesive blue team midfield and defence whom were more than aware to deal with the Red's dangerman). Firul's dominance in the first half was key to our edge in midfield in the first half, nipping most of the Red's offences in the bud. On the other side, Azman showed glimpses of magic with good close control and skill to weave and turn his way through a few stumped Blue KAMBINGs.

The 'New Faces'

The new faces of the Blue team took very little time to blending themselves into the team. Chris, though complaining of some hesitation in decision making due to unfamiliarity with the team, showed himself to be reliable in giving the Red's left flank little room for error. Mazlan and Rizuan has shown countless times their uncanny ability to find space for exploit in the already tight playing field while Fairuz managed to show his ability to hold up or start a counter attack.

red's team report: akim - small pitch but i hope u guys had fun!
blue's team report: rahman - Good effort from all... Really good to see old and new faces back in action again, but we will not stop our quest in search of a better pitch
More pictures here!