1st Nov 2008 Saturday

Match confirmed for 1st November 2008 Saturday

Location: Field opposite Temasek Poly
Time to reach : 830am
Time to kick off: 9am
Colour to wear : YELLOW
opponents : blue team

see you all there. pls let jq know about attendance =)

Match Confirmation 26th Oct Sun

Ok guys, this is a bit late but ya here we go

Match Confirmed Sun Oct 26

LOcation : Ping Yi Secondary

Time to reach : 830am

Colour to wear : Yellow

Opponents : Blue Team

See u all there

"We pay you 70 mins ah!" - Unido 3-3 Weird Whites

Our last game at Pasir Ris Crest ended in defeat (2-3 to this uncle team) in the rain. At least this game was played at 5pm, when the sun was less intense. We needed this, given that most of our games had been scheduled at 5pm or were night games under floodlights (read: SAFRA).

Our opponents this time were the White team, which seemed to be made up of a hodgepodge of players. The pitch over at PRC seemed to have shrunken quite a bit since the last time we played there, and SA tried to take advantge of this fact by taking a pot shot at goal straight from the kickoff. Unfortunately the shot sailed over the bar.

The next unfortunate incident resulted in an early substitution. The opponents had kicked the ball out of play. As I went to retrieve it, I stumbled into an ants' nest and had angry red ants all over my head. I had to get off the pitch to wash it all out of my hair. Thank goodness for the changing room facilities.

I returned to pitchside just in time to see a corner being swung over. It dropped at the far post to an unmarked no. 7, who gleefully slammed the ball past Wenwei for a 1-0 lead to the whites. Worse was to follow when their no. 13 was played through and tucked the shot into the net for a 2-0 lead. With that lead, the whites began to sit back and absorb our pressure. JLO looked rather listless on the right, as their no. 21 managed to intercept a few long balls played into the right channel.

Half time and we were 2-0 down. We reverted to a more conventional 4-4-2 for the second half and were rewarded when Leslie scored from an excellently executed overhead kick. However, all that good work came undone when the no. 11 wiggled free in the penalty box and squared the ball. Ben attempted to clear the cross but only managed to slice at the ball, which floated up and bounced over WW to give the whites a 3-1 lead early in the second half.

From then onwards, it was attack after attack as we launched waves forward. This left us slightly more exposed at the back, but their less mobile strikers (like the no. 7) were caught offside almost every time the ball was played forward. The whites began protesting decisions by the referee, and at every opportunity, played dirty.

Our probing paid off when a long ball downfield from WW caught the white defence asleep. JQ sprung the offside trap and courageously challenged the white keeper for the ball. The result was a goal for us, and an injury to the keeper, who was hurt in the clash. The whites again started protesting vehemently, but to no avail.

The substitute keeper was tested almost immediately, but managed to clear his lines effectively. But again, wave after wave of attacks swept towards the white goal. And it was only fitting that Reubs, probably our most comfortable midfielder (by comfortable i mean lazy ;)) stepped up to the plate and delivered a long-range shot into the goal. With only 5 or so minutes to go, we had brought ourselves level at 3-3.

The whites were beginning to lose their focus, and SA should have made them pay. But all he managed to do was shoot straight at the keeper, who gratefully palmed the shot wide for a corner.

The referee blew for full time soon after, but the game was marred by verbal abuse from the whites, notably the no. 21. His remark "Ref, we pay you only 70 mins lah, since you only play 70 mins for us" was totally unrequired and pointless, amid the campaigns around the world to show more respect to the men in black.

Excellent recovery for us, but pity about the quality of the opponents in terms of the emotional quotient.

Comeback: Unido 2-2 Green Team

This was probably our third night game, forgive me if my memory is kinda hazy cos its been a while since I've managed a match report. Anyways, the response was alright, with about 15-16 of us turning up for this one, unlike when the novelty of the first night game drew all of 20 clamouring for the 11 starting spots.

The fact that it was a weekday night probably contributed to the lower turnout. A few regulars were missing from the squad, most notably Jackson, replaced by Bram in goal. Ben was also held up by work commitments, which meant Reubs began the game in the centre of defence.

The game was a scrappy affair for the first 20 minutes, with both teams slugging it out in midfield. Playing under floodlights meant that energy levels were somewhat higher as we did not have to roast under the sun. Both keepers had little to do as the midfields did battle, and whenever the ball was played through, both defences had little trouble in clearing the ball.

However, the game was set alight when Seng finished off a mazy run into the box by tucking an outside-foot shot under the keeper for a 1-0 lead. Not long after, Reubs was adjudged to have held back one of the Green team's players in the box. The referee awarded a penalty to the Green team, whose number 18 stepped up and blasted the ball over the bar.

We went into the half-time break 1-0 to the good, just like the previous game.

The green team came back in the second half, when the referee blew for what seemed to be a ridiculous handball decision. Bram was adjudged to have carried the ball out of the box, and from the resulting free kick, the number 11 curled a free kick beyond Bram's despairing dive.

Not long later, a long ball caught out the defence and the number 11 scored in almost similar fashion, placing a shot beyond Bram. It seemed as though the Green team had carved out the ideal comeback, from being one goal behind to 2-1 ahead.

However, we were not done yet. The guys kept probing at the Green defence, and it was one of our comeback kings, KR, who drew us level once again. A cross from JQ was flapped at by the keeper, who had been in inspirational form all evening. KR arrived at the back post and gleefully slammed his shot home for the equalizer, which was no less than we deserved.

Not long later, the whistle blew for full time, ending our third night game experience.

Final score Unido 2-2 Green Team.

Upcoming match at Safra 11 OCT

Sorry for leaving out some details in the earlier post. Here are the full details.

Time to reach:830am(match starts at 9am)

Opponent: My friend Abel's team

Jersey colour: BLUE

They will be wearing orange jersey. Total cost is $246(include ref) so it works out to be $123/team.

Pls submit attendance to JQ/KS or post on the tag-board. Cheers.

Match 5 October 2008 Sunday

dear all,

pls note upcoming match

Date : 5 October 2008 Sunday

Venue : Pasir Ris Crest Secondary School

Time to reach : 430pm

Colour to wear :Blue

Opponents : White Team

post on blog /sms ks to confirm attendance

29th Sept 2008 Tamp Safra

Hi,

The match is confirmed on 29th Sept against Green Team.

Venue - Tampines Safra Field pitch
Time - 8.30pm

Jersey - Yellow

Please confirm attendance with KS. Thanks!

Cheers,
Benjamin

Match Report Friday 19 September 2008

Another champions league game at Tampines Safra and things didn't look good at the start of the game with ks and jq down with flu and JLO, Reubs and Seng playing on a full stomach.

We didn't start well and the opponents controlled the game. Wenwei, our new goalkeeper import from 'Germany' made several good saves at the start keeping the team in the game. Thus it was with absolute excitement that we scored our 1st goal courtesy of Leslie in the 15th minute. Coming against the run of play, the team had won a corner, which Jialiang had delivered beautifully to the far post, which Leslie tapped in with the slightest of touches! 1-0 Unido.

The lead was not to last. With the opponents making several through passes, and with ks and reubs having to make last ditch sliding tackles, it was inevitable that 1 got through. Turning ks and leaving him in his wake, the opponent striker rushed through and tapped the ball under Wenwei. 1-1.

Yet the team rebounded swiftly with 2 quick goals from JLO. Pushing the ball, and using his pace to his advantage, JLO put the game beyond doubt in the 1st half with 2 quick goals, leaving the opponents bemused with our version of 'Usain Bolt'. Yet JLO was rewarded too, with a yellow card for a minor fracas with the opponent midfielder, who had kicked him.

3-1 the score at half time.

With such a comfortable lead, the team sat back to defend it with a more defensive formation in the second half, sitting deep and absorbing attacks. Wenwei made several good saves again, and the opponents were left frustrated, especially their star midfielder, no. 2, who was well-shackled by both JQ and Seng. The midfielders and the defenders worked well to contain the threat, and we counter attacked on several occasions. it was with shock that the team saw JLO make good progress down the wing with his pace, putting in the cross, and seeing Shian miss the shot from 1m out and the keeper well beaten =P. Other than that, JLO had the other chance of the game but fluffed his chances of a hat trick by shotting wide.

Nevertheless, the whole team played well. Great teamwork. It would be a tough call for MOM between WW and JLO, but i think my call would have to go to WW who kept us in the game with several outstanding saves =).

Match Details

Time: 2030hrs

Date: 19th Sept

Venue: Tamp Safra

Colour: Blue

Paper Trail...

Hi all,

Didn't know that my first post here would be on something unrelated to football but as the situation calls for it, here i am...

According to my investigation based on the ip addresses and links of this mystery tag-board poster, I'm 80% confirmed that its a member of Skopets. Also, based on the history on their tag-board,  its obvious that someone was impersonating "Kelvin" & "JQF", trying to incite tension and disharmony between Skopets and us. 

Hopefully, someone from Skopets would read this post and realise that someone else was the real culprit behind all this nonsense, taking Skopets and us on a ride. 

And since the access to the tag-board has been restricted, we should just leave it as it is and not go creating trouble on Skopets tag-board. For doing so would only result in delighting the troublemaker who impersonated Kelvin and Jq in the first place.

Regards

Its all a misunderstanding

Hey all,

After all dat hoo-ha ytd, I went to check whether our "friend" was indeed from skopet. Guess wat?

Apparently, someone impersonated "kelvin" and "JQ" on their tag board and left several messages there. So I wun be surprised if they came back and took revenge.

I highly doubt that kelvin and JQ will be so bo liao to leave messages on their tag board so just to disturb them.

Go and read the older posts of the tag board of skopet. They also kena the same thing.

Positives

In view of the recent uproar, I have decided to shift the focus towards something more healthy, something constructive and tangible that we can look at. I know I have just joined the team but I would like to give my two cents' worth. So here's my observations based on the few matches that I have played in.

Let's start with the positives so as to lighten things up a bit.

Goalkeepers: We have a few good keepers. Especially Jackson as I am told, though I have yet the fortune to see him play. The other keepers have proved more than able.

Defenders: KS and Ben works well together and marshalls the defence well. Hong Loon is a very hardworking fullback. Seeing him play with Jia Liang on the same flank I can see them working together nicely. Weirong Is another powerhouse with his stamina and running.

Midfielders: I really think Sherman is a good holding midfielder. With him in that position I can always see him in action. Chun Seng and Junqiang have good chemistry. Junqiand in particular is I think the most hardworking player on the pitch. Jia Liang's pace on the wings means he often outrun defenders and is putting in the crosses.

Strikers: Leslie is often played as the lone striker which I think is a difficult job for him. Still he is putting in the runs and pressuring the defence. I heard he just scored 2 so he's doing his job.

The rest of the players are of course contributing too. I haven't seen enough of our matches to comment on everything. The ones that I mentioned are the more regular players in the fixed positions.

Not a friend at all

(two posts in two days, i'm on a roll man!)

I can't help but interfere in this again.

KS: Your arguments are solid and after knowing you for some time, I understand that you're pretty much a straight shooter who will tell someone what you think about him to his face.

To the one who calls himself "friend": Do you think that by posting such an outburst on the chatbox and attempting to hide behind an anonymous shield you're doing yourself and everyone else a favour? Please. To me, it is a pathetic attempt at trying to change things by shoving the blame to others. I urge you to self-reflect and think about what you're doing. Unfortunately, it is despicable, underhanded and totally NOT REQUIRED. For the record, we are no professionals. We are just some Sunday warriors (or ah nuas, whatever you wanna call it). Why get all hot and bothered about "winning tactics" and "starting lineups" and playing time and whatnot? What's most important is you play the game, and you have contributed to the game.

Since you have the cheek to come out and start raining criticism all over the place, why not also grow some balls and use your real identity? If you really care as a friend, you should tell JQ his flaws to HIS FACE and not hide behind some random online identity.

This team has been getting along fine so far, why the sudden storm-in-a-teacup?