Soccer Fellowship Report [15th September]

The early morning showers on Saturday morning brought much hope that the Springfield pitch was going to be nice and soft. Alas, the pitch showed much resilience, especially in the middle portions, which were still rather hard and sandy. Nonetheless, the weather was really fine when players started to gather and we thank God for that. Kevin shared a devotion on having balance in our lives. Instead of working or studying all the time, to the neglect of family, friends and health, God encourages us to have a balance in what we do and to make time to relax and exercise.

The match started with 10 players on each side. Both the Blues and Whites looked very balanced and all the players knew that it would be an exciting match ahead. That certainly turned out to be the case with much attacking play from both sides. It was the Blues that took the 1st initiative, Jingzhong pouncing on some lax White defending to put the Blues 1-0 up. Before the Whites could recover, Choon Heng eluded both Kevin and Samuel Eyo to put the Blues 2-0 up. It wasn't until some pressure and a moment of magic from Ronnie's right boot that saw the Whites pulling 1 back through a long range curler from midfield. Alas, the Whites defensive play let them down again when they gave the ball away at the edge of the box for Damien to strike a sweet shot with his left foot into the corner of the net. With time winding down in the 1st half, the Whites managed to win a corner and with the last kick of the game, Darren pulled another back for the Whites when the Blues couldn't clear the ball from the corner.

With the score 3-2 at the half, it was going to be anybody's game. The 2nd half saw both sides strengthened with 1 player each, making it an 11-a-side match. The Whites started the match more hungry but it was the Blues again that took the initiative early on. Another defensive inadequacy allowed Jeremy Tan to steal the ball from the hands of goalkeeper Mike Chua to prod the ball home for a 4-2 lead. The Whites had to focus and managed to level things when an intelligent move from a corner saw John head the ball into the net to make the score 4-3. Soon, the Whites pulled level with another swift move and Kee Min ending it by striking the ball past Blues keeper Joel. With the score at 4-4, things were really getting competitive. Unfortunately for the Whites, they had to play the rest of the half with one player less when Errol limped off with a calf problem. With a player short in midfield, the Blues capitalised and from a speedy move down the wing, Jingzhong shot the Blues up 5-4. Undeterred, the Whites fought back again and managed to level through another John goal. At 5-5 and time expiring, the Whites tried to win the match but more than a few attempts flew narrowly wide. It was thus left to the Blues to capitalise- Choon Heng shooting into an unguarded net when Mike Chua was in conversation with Daniel while the ball was still in play! Try as they did, the Whites could not find their way back into the match this time and not even a corner with all 10 players up saw another equaliser. Final score-

Blues 6

[Scorers- Jingzhong (2), Choon Heng (2), Jeremy Tan & Damien]

Whites 5

[Scorers- John (2), Ronnie, Darren & Kee Min]