IMPT : CHANGES Matchday : Sunday 17th February 2008

pls note changes for the match. location is now at fernvale fields. pls see map

http://www.streetdirectory.com/asia_travel/travel/travel.php?ismap=1&starmode=0&star=1&buildingid=22768&masterid=130217&x=32564.3366&y=41363.7883&level=6?49,284


match start 11am, reach 1030am. colour blue as usual

for those travelling by public transport, take 163 from sengkang interchange. keep a look out on the left for the fields, once u see the fields then alight.

for those driving, need to park at the MSCP. Do not park road side. a lot of complains by residents = TP everytime come.

Unido 1 - 3 KB United @ PasirRis Crest Sec

Mildly warm & sunny; 5pm @ PasirRis Crest Sec; firm grassy ground; slight uneveness
Squad present: 11+2 [GuestPlayers: HongLoon(CS'), Alex(KR's)]
Half-time = UNIDO 0 : KBU 1
Full Time = UNIDO 1 : KBU 3

After-match thoughts:
(1) "...feel like we just got robbed!"-JQ. Playing against a team we last drew 0-0 with, we were well aware of their tight possession-play and tough tackling. Thankfully, everyone kept needless/serious fouls in check. We took KBU to task with our attacking play, passing well between the centre and the flanks. It was inspiring to see our crosses well-met by our forwards and even flankers around the opponents' penalty area. KR's 2nd-half vollied-equalizer from Ben's(correct?) cross bears testament to that; amongst the several other good chances.

(2) But KBU had a fair share of possession and chances too. Timing their runs well, KBU forwards were seldom caught offside. I notice that the assists for their goals came from chipped through balls from within our half; over and eluding either myself or KS. Perhaps both of us should have sat deeper in our defensive zones. Or, we could have commited one more player to defensive-midfield to stifle their passing. But credit to the uncle who scored a brace; controlling through-balls and placing his 2 goals well.

(3) Yet I think it is fair to say that we controlled much of the second half while KBU were seemed content to merely absorb the pressure as we created numerous chances. Overall, it was an enjoyable performance; considering our willingness to play positively with composure; despite having to chase the lead half of the game. A draw would probably have better reflected the outcome of this contest.

(4) Our guests did well; at least whilst they played in their preferred positions. HL sub-ed in as right-back in the 1st-Half and played on right-wing earlier part of 2nd-Half. Unfortunately, the moment he was picked for goalie-duty was the time KBU decided to take the lead again. KR's friend Alex had a bright debut in centre midfield. He controlled and distributed well; often playing KR/Leslie through with intelligent passing. Both HL and Alex are promising with their energetic displays.

Got anything to add?

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WR's emo ranting:
I feel helpless whenever I watch opponent strikers scoring while I'm nowhere near them to make a difference. It's a sense of dejection that accompanies the failure of preventing that danger from becoming fatal. Somehow, through the way the opponents scored, I felt useless; kinda out-of-the-game. It's like: I could have done more, but in those situations I didn't even have a chance to tackle! Perhaps I was simply out of position. Sigh. Clearing balls and taking goal kicks aren't all there is to my game. I feel I can be a ball-winner and I prefer not having to refrain from tackling just because commiting to it might prove costly(as a centreback). Argh.

20th Jan Match

ok match confirm. we can wear either yellow or blue so up to captain. i suggest we wear blue since we always win / tend to win more wearing blue hehehe...

430pm marsiling secondary

=)

20th Jan 2008 Match

Guys,

The match on this coming weekend will be on 20th Jan @ 5:00pm. As usual, we will meet at 4:30pm. Location should be Marseilling Sec ( K.S pls help to confirm).
After the match I propose we eat dinner together in the nearby vicinity or somewhere good for example jalan Kayu. Pls try to make it as its abt time we have a get together makan.

Unido 2 - 0 Random Team @ Punggol Sec

Good job guys for the win. Clean sheets seem to be a rarity for our team and it's the 1st clean sheet since a very long time. Well done. Though, the referee did award a goal to the opponent in the dying minutes, we are sure that the ball did not cross the line. As Ah Seng said, "Just write 2-0 on the website." So let's not let an incompetent referee take away our clean sheet. So 2-0 it shall be and let's rejoice. In my opinion, our defence did quite well. (Their attack also quite 'chui', but let's focus on the positives rather than the negatives.) We dug in deep and was able to frustrate the opponent with our resilience and determination.

Our midfield did well with Reuben providing the defensive cover and the wingers providing the width. Reuben is a revelation as defensive midfielder. KR linked up well with Leslie and Qiang was as energetic as ever. Personally, I was quite impressed by Seng's all-action tackling. I feel it gives us the aggression in the middle of the park where we lacked in several occasions. (Honestly, I prefer his tackling to his talking. :))

On my part, I thought that our attack was quite OK, managing to take our chances.

On the down side, I was quite upset with the standard of refereeing. I was kicked in the face and hacked down in the penalty box but the ref was ambivalent about it. Worse of all our Mr. Nice guy, WR, was needlessly attacked from behind by the opposition. The ref ignored our claims for fouls and it seemed like the opposition's transgressions were all forgiven in a split second. Seeing our players hurt is the last thing I want and I hope it wouldn't happen again. Luckily, our players survived, despite WR having a swell on his hand. Thank God there was no fight!

To conclude, good game good win. Maybe we play better in the future and continue to keep clean sheets like we did. Cheers!!!

13th Jan Punggol Secondary

here's the location for the game.

http://www.streetdirectory.com/asia_travel/travel/travel_id_25902/travel_site_1/

Unido 2 - 3 Rueb'sFriends @ SAFRA Tampines

(Note: back-dated post)
Hot & Sunny; @ SAFRA Tampines; Artificial turf.
Squad present: 11+3
[with GuestPlayers: HongLoon(CS') ZheLong?(KS')]
Half-time = UNIDO 1 : Rb'sFren 2
Full Time = UNIDO 2 : Rb'sFren 3

After-match thoughts:
1. We played a cautious game with a pre-match expectation that the opponents would be good. They proved to be so, with their confident passing and movement giving them a slight edge over our side especially in the first half. After the break, we wrestled for control of the game and created decent chances as the opponents seemed to have shifted to a lower gear. The hot humid conditions probably had something to do with that. Competent refereeing facilitated fair and flowing football. Overall, it was a spirited performance especially in our determination to comeback from the early deficit with disciplined gameplay.

2. Playing on artificial turf for the first time(at least for me) and with guest-players were some of the things that I felt made an impact on the game. Artificial turf provides an excellent level surface but affects ball-response as I observed:
a. the artificial "grass" material generates more friction so passes had to be more weighted
b. the "soil"-black rubbery pellets that hold the "grass" together disperses upon impact; causing high-balls that land to bounce less and slow down earlier; doesn't hurt as much when one falls(except in the case of abrasions! :-( Marcus:Ouch!)

3. Our guests had fairly good games. HL continues his stint with a good second match; passing and supporting the flank as a Right-back. ZL displayed firm handling when it was required of him and made some saves. Apart from the second cross-cum-shot goal conceded due to questionable positioning(and, plus me; somehow allowing that cross to fly in :-/), I guess he had a good debut. (So... Will we sign them?)

Comments, Suggestions anyone?

Fixtures

Date: 6th Jan 2008
Venue: Tamp Safra
Time: 1100

Date: 13th Jan 2008 (Tentative)
Venue: Punggol Sec
Time: 1500

The last match of the year!

First of all, I feel our performance against SRJC (Weihan and friends) was our best performance to date. It is not often that we are able to dictate a passing game against the opposition, and we kept possession for more than 10 passes quite a number of times, something which I cannot recall for quite a while. Kudos to us for the improvement, and lets work on our game play more!

Sans the goals, there were a number of things I noticed. Our teamwork and understanding is showing, and our wing-backs' off-the-ball movement are effective (this was esp. clear when I was observing the game on the sidelines, when we needed to distribute the ball in defence). We are also playing the simple pass more frequently, and our defenders and Reubs were very comfortable with receiving the ball and distributing it. One major aspect we can improve on is, as again, on releasing the ball faster, doing the simple pass etc (I am the biggest culprit on this, will improve). I didn't think I would be saying this, but Hogan made use of the ball intelligently in this aspect in the match!

Moving on to the issue of foreign imports. The GK issue was a case of miscommunication which was sorted out post-match, so lets leave it at that. WRT to our new right-back (Hong Loon), I believe it was an issue of introducing more committed players into the team. The main core of players is getting smaller, and some games we struggle to hit 14 players. The past two matches proves the case in point, and KS, JQ and I have talked about expanding our core group of players.

I agree that throwing in better players just for the mere sake of improving the team is not right as per KR's views. However, there is also the numbers issue, and it does make sense to call in good players when we need to hit the numbers. I also agree that new players should not be starting ahead of our more established players. Some reasons as to why Hong Loon started the match was because he verbally committed himself to weekly call-ups, came in for training Sat, and we were eager to see the effects of a 'zai' back 4 post-DH; however, on hindsight Alex/Hogan should have started. There should a 'probation' period where he should be treated as a guest player i.e. play as sub, and if commitment-wise he is steady aka pre-crocked-Jialiang then we consider him a core player.

Do comment on this issue as this has been a grey area for a while and we do have different views.

On Foreign Imports

Hi children, first of all, good job thrashing my friends 6-3, heard that the team played pretty well. Anyway my vote for player of the year would be KS wheras the biggest blunder surely has to go to Reubs one way or another. We might want to have one more "most number of foul throws". I'm sure everyone knows who is most deserving of that honor hahaha..

Anyway the purpose of this post is to comment on the issue of guest players. It seems like there are imported players featuring in the starting eleven while our own players are sitting out on the bench. If our players are sitting out as a 'punishment' (whether for being late, for missing training, etc.), I think that's fine. But if the reason for playing an imported player in the starting eleven is simply because he appears to be a better player somehow, then I think something is very wrong here. We started out knowing the various strengths and weaknesses of each of our players. There is no reason why anyone should be penalised for their weaknesses now. If anytime a 'better' player appears for 1 or 2 weeks, then we throw our own player out, we might as well not have a team.

Imported players should only be called up in the event we don't have enough core players to fill up a decently-numbered team. And imported players should be turned away even if our own player commits his availablity only one day prior to the match. I see no problem with telling your imported friend you have to play him out because your own keeper decided that he can play at the last minute.

My point is, we are not professionals. We play for leisure, and obviously its more fun when everyone feels belonged to the team. Some say that the team spirit seems to be waning - if any one of the nineteen names listed on the right panel of this blog gets dropped simply because an impressive outsider comes along, what team spirit is there to speak of?

PS: Just some thoughts to share, feel free to drop me for inciting unrest within the 'team'. Haven't been turning up for the past few weeks, so I may be wrong about some 'observations'. Anyway, just a gentle reminder to all - don't let fancy new players distract you from the fact that we still have a core of players zealously waiting to sweat it out for the team week in week out.

Awards Presentation 2007

Biggest win: 6-2 (tamp ave 8)

Biggest loss: 5-1 (greenview sec)

Goal of the year: Poll for yr fave goal

1) alex lim's first goal (Tamp ave 8 against Shangwei's team)
2) Leslie's SUPER ANGLEed shot (tamp ave 8 against KR's friends)
3) Leslie's Leslie's mid air volley (Last match of 2007)

Blunder of year: Poll for yr fave blunder

1) Ah-Seng's FAMOUS INFAMOUS "LET GO" version 1.
2) Ah-Seng's FAMOUS INFAMOUS "LET GO" version 2. (FYI, both versions took place in 1 match!)
3) Reubs "i think i can trap the ball at the goal line" stunt.

Top Scorer: Leslie

Most Improved player: Weirong

Most distance clocked on the field: Duh! isnt it obvious!

Player of the year: Poll for yr fave player of the year

1) KS
2) Leslie
3) JQ


PS: Should there be any objections or additions, pls feel free to make the neccessary changes.

Unido 2 - Dunman High(er) 5

Cloudy weather; @ Tampines Ave 8; Fairly level pitch.
A match where we played with only one sub.(only 10men for first 10mins or so)
And no referee.(someone mentioned he "went hospital?")
Half-time = UNIDO 2 : DH 1
Full Time = UNIDO 2 : DH 5
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After-match thoughts:
1. In general, we played a calm and controlled game most of the way.(only a few stray passes) D.H. midfield proved to be quite a challenge - allowing only few chances for us through their defence. At times we were out-muscled/outrun but did maintain our composure.

2. Without the luxury of having subs, I guess most of us had to reserve our stamina to try to last the whole game. In the absence of our regulars, our guest-players had to up their game quite a bit to keep pace with the play.

3. Without a neutral referee officiating, it was rather disrupting especially in the cases where we've caught our opponents off-side already only to have to keep pursuing them because no one was around to blow a whistle! >:-#

4. I confess to being de-moralized... especially after failing to intercept the opponents in a few crucial situations. I personally felt responsible for the header and the goal after it.
Argh. :-( Sorry Ruebs.

Some more thoughts...
1. In all our matches so far, we rarely have all the perfect match conditions(weather, pitch, opponents, refreeing). And we've hardly got the time to train together before each match to build understanding, individual technical ability, tactics & etc.

2. But what we do have full control of is the attitude we each bring into every match.
Think about it. Whether we enjoy our game or not, sometimes, rests simply on how we've upheld our team spirit. A favourable score-line makes a difference of course.
Yet, if each of us played our hearts out as a team-player, for the team; with full trust and respect for one another regardless of position, ability or current performance, I think we'll have a good time and win or lose gracefully. We just take whatever comes in our stride.

3. Also, though we might not be able to organize and forecast every match with one/two weeks advanced-notice, let's help those of us who are organising matches out by replying promptly.
Organizers: Hopefully you can receive at least 12 player-confirmations before proceeding to make the bookings.

Our own goal posts?

Guys,

Check this site out. http://www.redyset.com/index.php

Cheers,
SA