The final game of January before we break for CNY. We decided to accommodate as many as possible to give everyone a run before this break. Squad of 16 were there and it was a very strong lineup to start with. The message was the same; keep the shape, communicate and pass to feet. The strategy was to contain as to give us some time to see how the opponents are.
We started nervously and Ron gave us quite a few heart attacks with a few mistakes but we kept them at bay. A Kee clearance evaded the last defender and Yew Boon opened the scoring with a lob over the keeper in just 5 minutes. 6 minutes later, Yew Boon was at hand to nod home from point blank after a mistake from the keeper. Changes were made to keep the rotation going and Colin scored when he beat the last man and lobbed over the on-rushing keeper. More chances were created and in the later part of the 1st half, we were playing some very nice football with passing and movement. Half-time score 3-0.
There were an air of good feeling around the team. Captain of the day (Damian) stated that it was pleasing to watch when we managed to do the pass and move. It was a good effort from everyone and SK didn’t had much to do in goal. Half time talk was about keeping the shape and continued the good work.
We continued to swap things around for the 2nd half, and Ron made amends by scoring straight from a corner. He did picked himself up after struggling for the 1st few minutes in the first half. 5 minutes into the half, a cross from the right, was swept in at the far post. Poor defensive work. However, we kept it up and straight away went to score another goal through Harold’s head from a Daryl long throw. The opponents were getting frustrated and pushed us back. Another poor clearance fell to their midfielder at the edge of the box, who volleyed it into the top corner. SK had no chance with that. A good goal. We kept our heads up and continued attacking, with Jason leading the way with loads of running. A Harold pass then led to Colin scoring his second goal. Jason then scored the final goal with a tap-in after Colin’s shot was blocked. Final score 7-2.
We had played SOFA many times before and I think they were shell shocked by the score. Most of the earlier games were pretty well matched, but today, we simply overwhelmed them. A VERY good team effort, with a few individuals playing well and hard. There are many contenders for this game’s MOM, Yew Boon with his 2 early goals and then playing everywhere that he was asked, Striker, LM, RB. Richard was full of running until he got injured., Patrick did well at both positions that he was asked to play. He said he was good enough to play anywhere, even in goal. I believed that. Jason was absolutely immense with lots of running and harassing the midfield, even popping up to score a goal. My selection for MOM this week goes to Colin. For his 2 well taken goals and a shot/assist for Jason. He might not be the most skillful player we have, but he certainly had a lot of heart and definitely can finish.
Well, that’s it everyone. That’s the end of the long match report and possibly any future match reports. Right from the start, I stated that I wasn’t doing this for fun. I can’t play and the only way to stay involved is to HELP this team because I feel that we can all do a better job. Regardless of what everyone think of how I did, I strongly believed that we had improved as a team. We somehow managed to make this team a team again. It wasn’t for me. I didn’t sacrifice my time to come down every Saturday evening for my own sake. I didn’t take on this role to try to please everyone. I knew what I wanted to do and I set out to do it while trying to maintain the social aspect of it. Along the way, I might had ruffled a few feathers. My apologies. It is time to sign off and I hope that you will enjoy playing without the fear of being scolded. That takes the fun out of this for me.
I had asked twice on who is willing to take over. There has not been any response other than Ron and Sean, who asked why. No one has actually volunteered other than one person. However, he will not be available to take charge of the team until the 22 Feb’s game. Until then, if there are no objections, I will just do the time-keeper role.
