Field of Dreams Report

On 30th June, 14 of us gathered on a warm Saturday afternoon to make our way to the National Stadium. It was time to bid farewell to the Stadium that brought us many memories, mostly from the soccer matches that were played there. It was also an excellent time to fellowship, get to know one another better and talk soccer while a live match was being played right in front of us.

The event kicked off with the Legends match- Singapore ex-internationals versus the Malaysian ex-internationals. For most of us, we only recognised a few legends like V. Sundramoorthy and David Lee but we witnessed our age did not take away any skills of the players. What they lacked in speed and fitness was made up with good ball possession and team work, something we all wanted to learn from. The veterans used the ball very well and did not give away possession easily. Their build-up play was patient and calculated. The match ended in a 1-1 at full time and the Singapore team won after a coin-toss by the guest of honour!

The highlight of the evening was the match between the current National Team and Australia. Immediately after kick-off, we noticed the difference in standard. The Aussies were faster, sharper and were moving the ball at lightning speed. We were also able to see first-hand what Ronnie was telling us the previous week- the need for a target man. The Aussie attack really revolved around Mark Viduka, playing the ball at his feet and allowing him to string passes to the running wingers and midfielders. Time and again, our boys needed timely interceptions from Precious and Daniel Bennett to prevent conceding. They did well to hold out for a half but in the 2nd period, there was no stopping the Aussies and Viduka (2) along with Harry Kewell, won it 3-0 to the Aussies. It was unfortunate that Khairul Amri didn't score after a great move leading to his shot hitting the post.

[Daniel, JZ, Justin, Kevin, John, Isaac
Desmond, Rusydi, Bryan and Daniel]

In short, all of us had a great time and witnessed the passing of one of Singapore's greatest icons. We learnt lots more about soccer and in Isaac's words- 'inspired' to put these into practice on the field!