Soccer Training Report [30th August]

Most players were eagerly anticipating this day as the last training session had been rained out and this would be the last opportunity for the Pentecost Panthers and Pandas to train before the MWS Tournament on 6 September. God, in His faithfulness, held back the rain and blessed us with excellent weather, until 5pm, when the heavens opened to signal the end of our training session. Before the session began, Maurice led us in devotion, reminding us not to take our eyes off our 'prize', which is our salvation, and to train and live in a way that would honour God.

Both teams started off with 8 players and opted to play full-field but without keepers, only allowing scoring within the 6-yard box. This seemed an excellent decision as keeping possession was the main emphasis for both teams, leading to better passing and communication. The Pandas seemed to have better control of the ball, even after the 2-week layoff. With Derrick and Kee Min keeping possession in the middle and Ronnie marshalling the defence, the Pandas had most of the possession. Their early attacks used the flanks well, with Samuel Pang and the ever-willing Andy overlapping on the right and Kevin on the left. On one of these moves, Kevin crossed the ball to Justin in the 6-yard box, who eluded Panther David to tap the ball into the net. The Panthers tried to rally themselves to even the score but their possession frequently broke down in the middle. Their best chances fell to the speedy Jingzhong but he was lacking support most of the time. By the end of the half, the Pandas had scored at least 5 more times, with Justin owning most of the goals.

After their half-time team talk by Papa Panther Maurice, the Panthers returned to the field more focused. By this time, both teams had 9 players and goalkeepers. The Panthers were led in midfield by Rusydi, who was controlling play and James, the defensive cover. However, despite stringing more passes and keeping the ball better, it was the Pandas again who scored first. A backpass from John in defence was intercepted by Justin who took the ball pass Maurice to roll into the empty net. This fired up the Panthers even more and almost immediately from kick-off, they sent Marvin right through who gave us a 'Marvin special', firing the ball from outside the box and into the top right-hand corner of the net, with Derrick well beaten in goal. More good passing followed from both teams but it was eventually the Pandas who scored the goals to put the match away through Justin and a Derrick header from Andy's corner.

It was a good work-out for both teams and we're all looking forward to the MWS Tournament!