Soccer Fellowship Report [10th January]

A bumper crop of about 25 players turned up for Soccer Fellowship on 10th January. It being the 1st session of the year, many had turned up to get a good run out and stretch those legs again. There were also more 'colours' as we switched to Dark and Bright colours instead of the usual 2-colour-set. It was pretty much the Blues/Blacks against the Reds/Yellows/Oranges/Whites. John led the group in a time of devotion before play started.

The early part of play was characterised by a bit of rustiness. Poor first touches, over-hogging of the ball and a general lack of cohesion led to the ball swinging from one end of the pitch to the other without much productivity. It thus took a set-piece for the deadlock to be broken. An in-swinging corner found Dark Marcus unmarked and he rose like a salmon to head the ball into the net. Bright keeper Maurice did not even have time to react. It appeared that the Darks were going to run out winners of the match, with Ronnie and Bevan pulling the strings in midfield and Sheldon trying to satiate his hunger for goals by playing as a forward. However, that was not to be. In quick succession, the Brights used a direct style of play to score 3 goals- the 1st from Jeremy Tan's curler into the top of the net, the 2nd from a header off John's pinpoint right-wing cross and the 3rd from ? The Brights' defence was also well marshalled by David Teong with Kee Min holding things in midfield. Maurice was also having a brilliant game in goal, denying at least 2 or 3 good chances from Jeremy Sin and Joel. It thus took extra effort from the Darks to get back into the match and some fortune as well, with Bevan scoring straight from a corner, off the post. At half-time, the score was probably 3-3 but I could be wrong (please post your own version as a comment!).

The 2nd half started with reduced numbers as people had to leave early. There were generally better touches, passing and off-the-ball running. The Darks (with more numbers) took the lead after some neat passing found Ronnie on the edge of the box and he made no mistake by firing into the bottom corner. The Darks took a 2 goal lead with Joel prodding home from a left-wing cross mid-way through the half. The Brights seemed to be stuck in the rut, with no clear chances except for a few counter-attacks here and there. There were also some needless, overenthusiastic tackles that broke the flow of play. It was thus left to the last kick of the game for the Brights to salvage some pride- Choon Heng firing a stiff shot into the top corner of the net after Andy tried to clear the ball from the Darks' penalty area.

It was certainly a good run-out for everyone. Lots of running and enthusiasm and hunger for the ball. Although these may not have translated into goals (for some, there were even a hat-trick of missed chances), the overall objective of fun, fellowship and fitness was achieved. Looking forward to next week's session!

* For those who remembered the match differently, or the scorers, please feel to post these as a comment. A Bright version of the match would also be greatly appreciated.