Friendly Match with CMC Report [3rd Jan]

It was such a fine day when we gathered for the friendly match with Christ Methodist Church at their new home ground- Ping Yi Secondary. The sun was shining but it was not too hot. Conditions were almost perfect except for the very bumpy and hard field (that looked more like a square than rectangle).

The 2 teams gathered for a time of devotion and prayer before the start of the match. Psalm 139 was the focal point of the sharing, reminding all of us of the God who has made us, and who is in control of all things, even though we see the world spinning out of control in so many ways.

The PMC team gathered for the pre-match briefing, focused and wanting to get back into the swing of things after more than a month of relaxation and festivities. It was clear that some had even put on unwanted pounds from the partying and feasting. We opted for a more defensive 4-5-1 formation in the 1st half with the objective of not conceding a goal and to get a feel of the ball by playing it on the ground as much as we could.

The match started quite choppily. Numerous balls were played out into touch with not much continuity. Within 5 minutes however, the 1st flashpoint of the match occured. With Derrick well positioned to win a header in the middle of the field, CMC's #23 came out of nowhere to barge Derrick in the back, with seemingly no intention to win the ball. The able referee was on the spot to show the #23 the yellow card. This would be the 1st in a series of two-footed tackles, late challenges and even a 'choke-hold' from CMC's #3 that drove Derrick into the ground, leaving him concussed for a few moments. Again, the referee needs to be applauded for maintaining control of the match, metting out yellow cards when necessary. In this regard, credit also needs to be given to all the PMC players who were on the receiving end of the fouls, walking away and allowing the referee to manage the match. Indeed, I affirm Bevan who told me before the match that he is now a changed man!

As a sign of the growing maturity and tactical awareness of the PMC team, our more physical opponents did not cause us to capitulate (as was the case many times in the past). Instead, we drew strength from the hard work of team mates and defended well as a unit in order to meet our objective of keeping a clean sheet after the 1st half. 1st half substitutes Jeremy, Joel and Samuel Pang brought on fresh legs and our shape held till the end. Neither teams had clear cut chances anyway- just some free-kicks and long throws that hoped to trouble both goalkeepers, but Michael Chua was having a good day in goal (aided by the bright Orange jersey) and kept it intact.

The 2nd half started with the intention to defend higher up the pitch and to try and break the deadlock through more shots on goal. We persisted with the 4-5-1 formation as it served as well before the break. The half started very positively. Justin rolled the ball to Rusydi at kick-off and Rusydi fired straight on goal. The CMC keeper was fortunate to get his fingertips on the ball, pushing it onto the bar, afterwhich it came back off the ground and back into play. That set the tone for the 1st 20 minutes of the 2nd half where PMC pressed to get the goal. Most of our shots however, were off target and the best chances fell to Marcus and Justin, who pressed the CMC keeper and defenders to create half-chances out of nothing. On our defensive end, the midfield duo of Kee Min and Derrick held the ball well and the defence of Mark, James, Bevan and Kevin did enough to prevent CMC from threatening seriously.

The 0-0 draw was probably a fair result and keeping a clean sheet was a good way to start 2009!

PMC Team for the Friendly
1. Michael Chua 4. Kevin Ang 7. Daniel Low 9. Choo Jingzhong 10. Justin Ang 11. Derrick Ng 16. James Lee 21. Samuel Pang 22. Joel Tan 27. Lee Kee Min 38. Mark Leong 39. Rusydi Mah 69. Marcus Tan 70. Jeremy Tan -. Bevan Ang