Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Some lessons from Fandi
Mark Leong alerted me to the following article in TODAY. I read through it and was able to lift a couple of learning points, especially in light of our (both Pandas and Panthers) performances on the pitch last week. Do read the article by clicking on it below and post what makes sense to you as a comment. I'll be the first!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Agape Cup 2009 - Pandas Match #1 .vs. Church of Ascension 1 [26th Apr]
The much awaited opening game for the Pandas turn out to be a disastrous outing for them at the hidden wembley stadium. Before kickoff, teams gather for the prematch devotion as dark clouds loomed the sky above, a definite rare sight in this recent hot and dry season. The speaker was the organiser of this FA cup and he shared his ups and downs in the years behind him, and especially in this current economic crisis where the need to let God handle our business while we concentrate on handling God's business by sharing His everlasting love. As the devotion comes to an end, torrential rain start banging down on the hard pitch. A blessing's in disguise?
With the referee whistle, COA kick off the first half in the blurry rain. The opening minutes were filled with stray passing everywhere as the ball skid along the wet pitch and make ball control a tough job for any players. COA were pressing very hard from the start, with very hard tackles flying in whenever the pandas got the ball. As minutes went by, COA found a weakness in the pandas, with attacks constantly bombed down the left flank where they exploited the slow LB Yuen Wai with speedy right winger, forcing CB Jem to constantly cover him. COA's striker, due to his relatively small size, was easily 'eaten up' by the Pandas centre pairings of David and Jem and any long balls meant for him never reached. However, COA's wingers caused both Daniel and Yuenwai a torrid time as they try to beat the defenders with their dribbling skills but the weather simply meant their final shot and crosses were totally off. As the game approach half time, Pandas managed afew shots on goal, first with Damien's freekick to the top left but lacked power and was easily caught by COA's gk. After that, another cross and 'pingponging' in the COA's penalty area presented damien once again with another shot on goal which went narrowly over. Bryan was the first sub to be used by the Pandas as he replaced the ineffective Yuenwai and Panda's defence start to cope more comfortably with COA's wingers. With an imposing howard webb refering this high tempo game, any nonsense will not be tolerated and this was well shown when he issued the first yellow card to COA's player for his late and hard tackle. A couple of 'skyshots' by COA ended the first half. HT: Pandas 0 COA 0
The rain has stopped during halftime and Wembley is now pretty chill as the cold winds blew on. Pandas kickoff the secondhalf and probably due to a coldstart, COA's hard pressing allowed them their first goal. Just 5 minutes into the 2nd half, a pass inwards by from the right allowed a COA CM time and space to conjure a dipping shot. At first glance it seems that the weak shot will be well taken by Michael but due to the swerve and dip, it went stright into the topright corner leaving michael no chance at all. With that breakthrough, COA continued their attacks and within 5 minutes after the restart, COA were 2-0 up. A cross from the right looks to be well taken by Michael but was fumbled and drop much to the delight of COA striker who tap into an empty net. Unfortunately mistakes seem to all over Pandas defence in the 2nd half as a 3rd COA goal went in again within 5 minutes of another restart. A defence splitting pass by COA CM allowed the left winger to come into space. Panda's rb Daniel rushed back and thought he had him cover and with gk Michael coming out to close the COA winger too, miscommunication between the 2 of them had them falling over each other and it was another easy COA tap in. At this point Panda's GK could be seen down with a low morale and a series of substitue begin. Michael was substituted by a loan GK and ST Darren went off to be replaced by John, pushing Jingzhong up front.
The Pandas then tried to get themselves back into the game but were totally beaten to everyball by the much physical COA defenders and midfielders. COA were trying shots at the new gk and the first shot from outside the penalty box beat Panda's GK outstretch arm and his fingertips only manage to push it to the top left corner. A series more of Pandas substitution had the Panda players confused on their position all over the pitch. Nigel and Patrick came in to have a few touches and replace LB Bryan and MC Damien. COA have afew substitution too, most notably a heavyweight in the forward position where the 5th goal came. As the big striker ran at Panda's CB Jem and David, Jem managed to nudge him off balance away from the ball and david went to challenge and tackle him as well. Unfortunately the nudge pushed him and the ball away from the sliding David and allowed him through with the GK and he regain his posture to simply slot it into the net.
After the restart, a long ball by Pandas into COA penalty box was not dealt properly by COA defence allowing David chances. COA defence managed to come in with a harsh tackle on a 50-50 ball as gk went to collect the ball. Apparently not happy with the challenge, an incident occured with shovings and pushing in the penalty box. Howard Webb was quick to the scene and issued both Daniel and COA's gk yellow card. 5 minutes later, a COA's attack down the right sent in an outswinging cross that evaded both Jem's and Nigel's head and nodded in by COA on rushing striker. With the match coming to an end, Daniel and Jem was pushed up to attack COA's goal. Unfortunately a 7th goal came when COA's counter attack long ball to its striker put him onside as Nigel failed to moved up after instructions were told for him to look at David's line. Lack of pace by Nigel easily allowed the striker to brezze through and put in the finishing goal that eased Panda any further pain when howard webb blow the final whistle as the gk pick the ball out of the net a 7th time.
FT: Pandas 0 COA 7
Post match press conference:
Captain Jem: It was a definite disastrous 2nd half. I knew they were dominating but we have the confidence of holding them after a great 1st half. Our players were simply not able to get into the game in the 2nd half and many were not running and covering the 'little holes' ard the pitch. Miscommunication has to be the main prob that open up the floodgates.
Vice cpt Daniel: The subs came in and complicate things even more. They have no idea where they should be playing and doing what job.
Winger Damien: We just lacked the physical prescence to matched them. They were all overbuilt to me.
CM Bangshi: I have no idea in the 2nd half who im playing with in the middle. The subs came in and complicate things. I cant run everywhere. CM needs to help each other out and always drop as a unit when opponent has the ball. I saw at 1 time that 4 of our players were up attacking and after losing the ball, continue staying up. I just cant run everywhere.
Final conclusion: Everyone agreed that no more needless substitution will be welcomed. Just because theres substitutes does not mean that theres a need to use them. Always come in with a plan and knowledge of what your job is when you're on the pitch. Every game will be filled with the strongest starting 11. If you're on the substitutes simply meant youre not good enough to be in the starting 11. Unless of fatigue or injuries, subs will not be used. No more 'cause ure here so give u a runout' kind of reason. The next few fellowship will try to keep the shape of the team together to gel more as a unit, with better communication, better passing, better gameplay.
With the referee whistle, COA kick off the first half in the blurry rain. The opening minutes were filled with stray passing everywhere as the ball skid along the wet pitch and make ball control a tough job for any players. COA were pressing very hard from the start, with very hard tackles flying in whenever the pandas got the ball. As minutes went by, COA found a weakness in the pandas, with attacks constantly bombed down the left flank where they exploited the slow LB Yuen Wai with speedy right winger, forcing CB Jem to constantly cover him. COA's striker, due to his relatively small size, was easily 'eaten up' by the Pandas centre pairings of David and Jem and any long balls meant for him never reached. However, COA's wingers caused both Daniel and Yuenwai a torrid time as they try to beat the defenders with their dribbling skills but the weather simply meant their final shot and crosses were totally off. As the game approach half time, Pandas managed afew shots on goal, first with Damien's freekick to the top left but lacked power and was easily caught by COA's gk. After that, another cross and 'pingponging' in the COA's penalty area presented damien once again with another shot on goal which went narrowly over. Bryan was the first sub to be used by the Pandas as he replaced the ineffective Yuenwai and Panda's defence start to cope more comfortably with COA's wingers. With an imposing howard webb refering this high tempo game, any nonsense will not be tolerated and this was well shown when he issued the first yellow card to COA's player for his late and hard tackle. A couple of 'skyshots' by COA ended the first half. HT: Pandas 0 COA 0
The rain has stopped during halftime and Wembley is now pretty chill as the cold winds blew on. Pandas kickoff the secondhalf and probably due to a coldstart, COA's hard pressing allowed them their first goal. Just 5 minutes into the 2nd half, a pass inwards by from the right allowed a COA CM time and space to conjure a dipping shot. At first glance it seems that the weak shot will be well taken by Michael but due to the swerve and dip, it went stright into the topright corner leaving michael no chance at all. With that breakthrough, COA continued their attacks and within 5 minutes after the restart, COA were 2-0 up. A cross from the right looks to be well taken by Michael but was fumbled and drop much to the delight of COA striker who tap into an empty net. Unfortunately mistakes seem to all over Pandas defence in the 2nd half as a 3rd COA goal went in again within 5 minutes of another restart. A defence splitting pass by COA CM allowed the left winger to come into space. Panda's rb Daniel rushed back and thought he had him cover and with gk Michael coming out to close the COA winger too, miscommunication between the 2 of them had them falling over each other and it was another easy COA tap in. At this point Panda's GK could be seen down with a low morale and a series of substitue begin. Michael was substituted by a loan GK and ST Darren went off to be replaced by John, pushing Jingzhong up front.
The Pandas then tried to get themselves back into the game but were totally beaten to everyball by the much physical COA defenders and midfielders. COA were trying shots at the new gk and the first shot from outside the penalty box beat Panda's GK outstretch arm and his fingertips only manage to push it to the top left corner. A series more of Pandas substitution had the Panda players confused on their position all over the pitch. Nigel and Patrick came in to have a few touches and replace LB Bryan and MC Damien. COA have afew substitution too, most notably a heavyweight in the forward position where the 5th goal came. As the big striker ran at Panda's CB Jem and David, Jem managed to nudge him off balance away from the ball and david went to challenge and tackle him as well. Unfortunately the nudge pushed him and the ball away from the sliding David and allowed him through with the GK and he regain his posture to simply slot it into the net.
After the restart, a long ball by Pandas into COA penalty box was not dealt properly by COA defence allowing David chances. COA defence managed to come in with a harsh tackle on a 50-50 ball as gk went to collect the ball. Apparently not happy with the challenge, an incident occured with shovings and pushing in the penalty box. Howard Webb was quick to the scene and issued both Daniel and COA's gk yellow card. 5 minutes later, a COA's attack down the right sent in an outswinging cross that evaded both Jem's and Nigel's head and nodded in by COA on rushing striker. With the match coming to an end, Daniel and Jem was pushed up to attack COA's goal. Unfortunately a 7th goal came when COA's counter attack long ball to its striker put him onside as Nigel failed to moved up after instructions were told for him to look at David's line. Lack of pace by Nigel easily allowed the striker to brezze through and put in the finishing goal that eased Panda any further pain when howard webb blow the final whistle as the gk pick the ball out of the net a 7th time.
FT: Pandas 0 COA 7
Post match press conference:
Captain Jem: It was a definite disastrous 2nd half. I knew they were dominating but we have the confidence of holding them after a great 1st half. Our players were simply not able to get into the game in the 2nd half and many were not running and covering the 'little holes' ard the pitch. Miscommunication has to be the main prob that open up the floodgates.
Vice cpt Daniel: The subs came in and complicate things even more. They have no idea where they should be playing and doing what job.
Winger Damien: We just lacked the physical prescence to matched them. They were all overbuilt to me.
CM Bangshi: I have no idea in the 2nd half who im playing with in the middle. The subs came in and complicate things. I cant run everywhere. CM needs to help each other out and always drop as a unit when opponent has the ball. I saw at 1 time that 4 of our players were up attacking and after losing the ball, continue staying up. I just cant run everywhere.
Final conclusion: Everyone agreed that no more needless substitution will be welcomed. Just because theres substitutes does not mean that theres a need to use them. Always come in with a plan and knowledge of what your job is when you're on the pitch. Every game will be filled with the strongest starting 11. If you're on the substitutes simply meant youre not good enough to be in the starting 11. Unless of fatigue or injuries, subs will not be used. No more 'cause ure here so give u a runout' kind of reason. The next few fellowship will try to keep the shape of the team together to gel more as a unit, with better communication, better passing, better gameplay.
Friendly Match Report - Panthers .vs. FIOFAFI [25th Apr]
The hot afternoon sun was beating down hard as players from the Pentecost Panthers and FIOFAFI gathered at East Spring Secondary to engage in a friendly match. Some late withdrawals meant that the Panthers were again unable to field a starting 11 on their own strength and had to invite Panda Sheldon to start as AM.
We were however, able to welcome back Andy after a long absence and lined-up as follows:
We started the match well- lots of possession and good running, especially Marcus and Rusydi down the flanks. However, the final ball into the box was often a letdown, with the opposing defence easily dealing with what we threw at them and Justin looking isolated on his own up front. On the defensive end, we had to deal with numerous high balls out to the flanks but most of them amounted to nothing.
We were holding our shape well and even the full backs were pressing forward until the 25th minute, when the 'nightmare' started. Ironically, it was a player we loaned FIOFAFI, Panda Jingzhong, who managed to beat our offside trap to easily centre the ball for FIOFAFI's striker, Luke to score. Losing our composure, we allowed FIOFAFI to breach our defensive line 3 more times in quick succession and before we knew it we were 4 - 0 down. It was a combination of not dealing with balls down the flanks and not getting a grip of the midfield. From the kickoff after conceding the 4th goal, Panda Sheldon decided to try a long one and it succeeded in catching FIOFAFI GK Sze Kuan off his line to pull a goal back. Half time score was 4 - 1 and we used the interval to emphasise again the importance of communication, keeping possession and winning the 50-50 balls.
During the 1st half, Panthers Jimmy and Keith had arrived, coming on for Sheldon and Bevan respectively. A slight re-org saw Jimmy play as SW, with Mark pushing up to CB and Kevin at DML. Keith came in at LB with Ronnie moving up to AM. Kee Min and Rusydi swapped positions as well. FIOFAFI also took the opportunity to make changes, bringing Panda Daniel on at right back.
We definitely gave it a good go in the 2nd half, trying to string more passes together and send more balls into the box for Justin to attack. On the defensive end, Jimmy did well to deal with the high balls and although there were some dangerous moments, our goal was not breached. We had at least 65% of possession in the 2nd half and although this translated into lots of opportunities on goal, the first few were rather tame. It was only in the 60th minute that a stiff low cross from Marcus on the left crept under the FIOFAFI GK for Justin to tap home. A few minutes later, good work by Justin and Kee Min in the box saw FIOFAFI's left back Yuchi trip Kee Min for a penalty. Ronnie gave the keeper no chance. With the game at 4 - 3, it was all to play for but try as we did, there were no clear cut chances to equalise. James came in for Keith to shore up the defence and although we controlled the 2nd half, we couldn't do enough to prevent the loss.
It was a good effort by everyone who gave 100% effort on the field, but summarising from the post-mortem, we need to:
Afternote: Mark and I play for FIOFAFI, who are a group of working adults playing Futsal regularly at The Premier Pitch (Bukit Timah), The Cage (Kallang) and Sports Planet East Coast, weekday nights from Monday to Thursday. Do visit their website here if you want to join the group for Futsal. You might also want to read their version of the friendly.
We were however, able to welcome back Andy after a long absence and lined-up as follows:
We started the match well- lots of possession and good running, especially Marcus and Rusydi down the flanks. However, the final ball into the box was often a letdown, with the opposing defence easily dealing with what we threw at them and Justin looking isolated on his own up front. On the defensive end, we had to deal with numerous high balls out to the flanks but most of them amounted to nothing.We were holding our shape well and even the full backs were pressing forward until the 25th minute, when the 'nightmare' started. Ironically, it was a player we loaned FIOFAFI, Panda Jingzhong, who managed to beat our offside trap to easily centre the ball for FIOFAFI's striker, Luke to score. Losing our composure, we allowed FIOFAFI to breach our defensive line 3 more times in quick succession and before we knew it we were 4 - 0 down. It was a combination of not dealing with balls down the flanks and not getting a grip of the midfield. From the kickoff after conceding the 4th goal, Panda Sheldon decided to try a long one and it succeeded in catching FIOFAFI GK Sze Kuan off his line to pull a goal back. Half time score was 4 - 1 and we used the interval to emphasise again the importance of communication, keeping possession and winning the 50-50 balls.
During the 1st half, Panthers Jimmy and Keith had arrived, coming on for Sheldon and Bevan respectively. A slight re-org saw Jimmy play as SW, with Mark pushing up to CB and Kevin at DML. Keith came in at LB with Ronnie moving up to AM. Kee Min and Rusydi swapped positions as well. FIOFAFI also took the opportunity to make changes, bringing Panda Daniel on at right back.
We definitely gave it a good go in the 2nd half, trying to string more passes together and send more balls into the box for Justin to attack. On the defensive end, Jimmy did well to deal with the high balls and although there were some dangerous moments, our goal was not breached. We had at least 65% of possession in the 2nd half and although this translated into lots of opportunities on goal, the first few were rather tame. It was only in the 60th minute that a stiff low cross from Marcus on the left crept under the FIOFAFI GK for Justin to tap home. A few minutes later, good work by Justin and Kee Min in the box saw FIOFAFI's left back Yuchi trip Kee Min for a penalty. Ronnie gave the keeper no chance. With the game at 4 - 3, it was all to play for but try as we did, there were no clear cut chances to equalise. James came in for Keith to shore up the defence and although we controlled the 2nd half, we couldn't do enough to prevent the loss.
It was a good effort by everyone who gave 100% effort on the field, but summarising from the post-mortem, we need to:
- Communicate more with one another
- Challenge for more 50-50 balls
- Play more intelligently
- Keep possession when we have the ball
Afternote: Mark and I play for FIOFAFI, who are a group of working adults playing Futsal regularly at The Premier Pitch (Bukit Timah), The Cage (Kallang) and Sports Planet East Coast, weekday nights from Monday to Thursday. Do visit their website here if you want to join the group for Futsal. You might also want to read their version of the friendly.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Panthers Discussion - Sparring .vs. Pandas [18th Apr]
The purpose of this online discussion is two-fold:
1. Learning points from Sat's sparring match .vs. Pandas
2. Things we want to see happen on Sat against FIOFAFI
The 8 Panthers lined up as follows:
We had guests filling in at LB, RB and AM.
In the 2nd half, one of the guests took over as GK, with Joel playing ST and Timothy as AM.
Refer to the match report in the previous post for more details.
Note: As a general rule to using blog comments function for discussion, please read all previous posts before writing so that you will not repeat anything similar that has already been posted.
1. Learning points from Sat's sparring match .vs. Pandas
2. Things we want to see happen on Sat against FIOFAFI
The 8 Panthers lined up as follows:
We had guests filling in at LB, RB and AM.
In the 2nd half, one of the guests took over as GK, with Joel playing ST and Timothy as AM.
Refer to the match report in the previous post for more details.
Note: As a general rule to using blog comments function for discussion, please read all previous posts before writing so that you will not repeat anything similar that has already been posted.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Soccer Fellowship Report [18th Apr]
It was the 2nd derby friendly in as many weeks between the Pandas and Panthers and the wounded Panthers look to avenge their earlier loss to the arch-rivals 2 weeks ago. Putting on opposite colours this time round, the Blue Panthers aim to instill back confidence into the team following their season opening 1-3 loss to COA. The Red Pandas on the other hand was on the back of a 3-2 friendly home win last week, look to finish off the pre-season with another win before their season opener next week against COA.
Observing a minute silence for the Hillsborough incident, Kevin opened the session with a devotion, about how our perspective on life and situations are limited, compared to the unlimited knowledge and perception of God. He used the illustration of how a baseball player acted on his own impulses during a match, against his coach's instructions, leading to the opponents taking advantage of what happened. He encouraged us to be led by the Holy Spirit and be mindful of simply acting on our own understanding of what is happening around us.
It was a scorchingly hot afternoon, with temperatures hitting 36degrees on the pitch as the players throt onto the field. The Blues kickoff the first half trying to dictate play with the midfield triangle of Ronnie, Keemin and Rusydi passing the ball around and linking with striker Tim. Afew drap passing allow the Pandas to come into the game more and it was the Reds who were more threatening infront of goal, especially speedy gonzalez Darren. So it came to a no surprise as the reds got the lead early in the 15th minute when Darren fire the ball past Joel. Pandas have afew more chances after that, with Jem striking the ball just wide from a corner and darren almost reaching a through pass only for Joel to come out early to collect. As the halftime approaches, the Pandas started to slacken and lose concentration caused by the hot weather. Panthers step up their pressure and Choon Heng managed to intercept a loose pass of leftback Nigel and slotted it past Michael. Afew more random passing and referee blew for the end of the firsthalf. Everyone was relieved as they head to the coolers and shade to cool off abit.
Panthers tinkerman must have given a great speech during halftime as the blues look to continue where they left off in the first half. Pandas kickoff the second half with the same gameplay, winning all the 50-50balls having collected all the second balls. Unfortunately mistakes once again by the reds gave the Panthers 2 quick successive goals. An inswinging corner in the 60th minute from the right was volleyed home by Kevin as he shake off Daniel easily. 5 minutes later, Daniel attempted to dribble up from the right and was robbed by Timothy and he shake off any challenge to lob it past the helpless Michael once again. With that the Blues began to sit deep and allow the Pandas to attack at them but they were well contained until the 75th minute. Once again it was the preseason top scorer Darren who manage to get the ball down the right before unleashing a ferocious drive past Choon Heng. Sensing a comeback, the Reds kept trying but were letdown by too many individual plays. The final whistle finally came as the burntout players head back into the tunnels.
Final score: Panthers 3 Pandas 2.
Observing a minute silence for the Hillsborough incident, Kevin opened the session with a devotion, about how our perspective on life and situations are limited, compared to the unlimited knowledge and perception of God. He used the illustration of how a baseball player acted on his own impulses during a match, against his coach's instructions, leading to the opponents taking advantage of what happened. He encouraged us to be led by the Holy Spirit and be mindful of simply acting on our own understanding of what is happening around us.
It was a scorchingly hot afternoon, with temperatures hitting 36degrees on the pitch as the players throt onto the field. The Blues kickoff the first half trying to dictate play with the midfield triangle of Ronnie, Keemin and Rusydi passing the ball around and linking with striker Tim. Afew drap passing allow the Pandas to come into the game more and it was the Reds who were more threatening infront of goal, especially speedy gonzalez Darren. So it came to a no surprise as the reds got the lead early in the 15th minute when Darren fire the ball past Joel. Pandas have afew more chances after that, with Jem striking the ball just wide from a corner and darren almost reaching a through pass only for Joel to come out early to collect. As the halftime approaches, the Pandas started to slacken and lose concentration caused by the hot weather. Panthers step up their pressure and Choon Heng managed to intercept a loose pass of leftback Nigel and slotted it past Michael. Afew more random passing and referee blew for the end of the firsthalf. Everyone was relieved as they head to the coolers and shade to cool off abit.
Panthers tinkerman must have given a great speech during halftime as the blues look to continue where they left off in the first half. Pandas kickoff the second half with the same gameplay, winning all the 50-50balls having collected all the second balls. Unfortunately mistakes once again by the reds gave the Panthers 2 quick successive goals. An inswinging corner in the 60th minute from the right was volleyed home by Kevin as he shake off Daniel easily. 5 minutes later, Daniel attempted to dribble up from the right and was robbed by Timothy and he shake off any challenge to lob it past the helpless Michael once again. With that the Blues began to sit deep and allow the Pandas to attack at them but they were well contained until the 75th minute. Once again it was the preseason top scorer Darren who manage to get the ball down the right before unleashing a ferocious drive past Choon Heng. Sensing a comeback, the Reds kept trying but were letdown by too many individual plays. The final whistle finally came as the burntout players head back into the tunnels.
Final score: Panthers 3 Pandas 2.
Friday, April 17, 2009
English Champions Again?
Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be encouraging more and more Soccer Community members to sign up as an author on this blog (currently there are 16). I've long believed that this blog should not just be one that hosts announcements of our activities and their subsequent reports. I think this blog is also a good platform to connect us with one another during the week, by leaving comments and sharing thoughts on soccer-related issues, even if they are not related to the PMC Soccer Community.
Some of you may have met Marc Lim, who's playing for the Panthers this year. I've highlighted some articles he's written in the past as the Straits Times Sports Correspondent. Here's a recent one on this year's UEFA's Champions League and the likelihood that we'll have an English champion again... Click on the photo to read the full blog post and leave a comment on this post if you'd like to engage in a discussion.
Some of you may have met Marc Lim, who's playing for the Panthers this year. I've highlighted some articles he's written in the past as the Straits Times Sports Correspondent. Here's a recent one on this year's UEFA's Champions League and the likelihood that we'll have an English champion again... Click on the photo to read the full blog post and leave a comment on this post if you'd like to engage in a discussion.
Panthers... Friendlies... Sat 18 & 25 April
Panthers. We have 2 friendlies lined up over the next 2 Saturdays to give us an opportunity to gel. We already have the privilege of 1 competitive game against Ascension, so the next 2 would prepare us for a 'better' game when we return to Agape Cup Action.
18 April
Panthers Vs Pandas
Not just an opportunity to work on our positional play, but to support our fellow Church team members as they prepare for their 1st Agape Cup clash!
25 April
Panthers Vs FIOFAFI
FIOFAFI- a collection of senior players, local as well as foreign who would be able to give us a decent game. If we are in our full 'glory', perhaps this would be a walk over for us... Only IF...
Kindly RSVP your attendance if you have not to Kevin or U Ronnie.
18 April
Panthers Vs Pandas
Not just an opportunity to work on our positional play, but to support our fellow Church team members as they prepare for their 1st Agape Cup clash!
25 April
Panthers Vs FIOFAFI
FIOFAFI- a collection of senior players, local as well as foreign who would be able to give us a decent game. If we are in our full 'glory', perhaps this would be a walk over for us... Only IF...
Kindly RSVP your attendance if you have not to Kevin or U Ronnie.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Soccer Fellowship [18th Apr]
Soccer Fellowship is ON this Saturday, 18th April at East Spring Secondary School. The session will be from 3 - 5 pm. The session will again be used by the Pentecost Panthers and Pandas to spar in preparation for the Agape Cup. Soccer Community members who are not involved in the Agape Cup will be distributed between the 2 teams as per the last few sessions.
We will split the teams according to BLUE (Panthers) AND RED (Pandas) jerseys for this session , so please bring BOTH just in case we need to balance the teams out.
See you on Saturday and please pray for good weather!
*Please be reminded that the entrance to the field is next to Block 362. If you are driving, the multi-storey car park you should park at is at Block 359A. If unsure, please check the street directory map.
We will split the teams according to BLUE (Panthers) AND RED (Pandas) jerseys for this session , so please bring BOTH just in case we need to balance the teams out.
See you on Saturday and please pray for good weather!
*Please be reminded that the entrance to the field is next to Block 362. If you are driving, the multi-storey car park you should park at is at Block 359A. If unsure, please check the street directory map.
Agape Cup 2009 - Panthers Match #1 .vs. Church of Ascension 2 [12th Apr]
The Pentecost Panthers kicked off their Agape Cup 2009 season on a gloomy Easter Sunday. It was drizzling earlier in the day but it was nice, cool and dry just before the 5pm match. Church of Ascension (COA) 2 started off proceedings by leading in worship and I shared about the significance of Easter, where Jesus made the perfect 'substitution' for us by conquering sin and death on the cross.
Ronnie briefed us on the formation/tactics for the match and reminded us to challenge hard for the 50-50 balls and to control the match with our experience, seeing the young, energetic and fit opponents that we were facing. Our best guess was that their average age was well below the youngest person on our team at 20. We lined up as follows in a 4-4-2 (diamond) formation:
Ronnie briefed us on the formation/tactics for the match and reminded us to challenge hard for the 50-50 balls and to control the match with our experience, seeing the young, energetic and fit opponents that we were facing. Our best guess was that their average age was well below the youngest person on our team at 20. We lined up as follows in a 4-4-2 (diamond) formation:
The match started off quite evenly with both teams attacking but not finding their way past the respective defences. On our part, Mark was marshalling the defence well with James and Marcus steady. Joel, standing in at right back, was also commendable. Some half chances fell our way at the other end of the field, along with a few throw-ins, but nothing was converted. In the 15th min, from a throw-in, one of COA's midfielders ran in from the blind side and found space in between Mark and Kevin in the box and volleyed home first time inside Felipe's near post. We pressed for an equalizer which soon arrived. Derrick's long range free-kick caught a COA defender flat-footed who deflected the ball pass his keeper and into the net. The match stayed at 1-1 till halftime despite numerous corners and more chances that we couldn't put away. Towards the end of the 1st half, Felipe sustained a nasty foot injury and had to be replaced by Jimmy when the 2nd half started. Also coming on in the 2nd half was Marc, making his long awaited PMC comeback, in place of Ronnie.
The 2nd half started with both teams trying to gain a firm foothold on the match. A couple of long range efforts and through balls that the COA keeper just managed to snuff out summed up our day in front of goal. On the defensive end, things were going well until the 60th min, when a COA corner was poorly defended, resulting in a goalmouth scramble leading to the ball being fired into the net. We kept on pressing for another equaliser, but again, chances were not converted. What looked like a clear foul on Kee Min in the penalty box was not spotted by the referee and a good attempt on goal by Justin was saved by the COA keeper. In the 75th min, a solo run by a COA forward allowed him to let fly from 25 yards. Jimmy managed to get his finger tips to the ball but it was not enough to prevent it from entering the net. We continued to drive forward, but nothing resulted from it. On the 80th min, Keith replaced Joel and Raymond replaced Justin to inject some fresh legs. No further goals were scored and the match ended with us going down 3 - 1.
There were many learning points from this defeat. We lacked communication and commitment to win 50-50 balls. There were gaps in midfield due to players' lack of fitness and discipline. Running into space was non-existent and passing was often wayward and we didn't use our experience against a more youthful side. At times, players were frustrated and did required character and self-control to not let things boil over.
On the positives, the defence played well as a unit with Marcus probably putting in a man-of-the-match performance.
As a final point, please keep Felipe in prayer as he has sustained ligament damage. Pray that he will have pain relief and recover soon.
Soccer Fellowship Report [11th Apr]
Saturday’s game had a late kickoff due to some technical problems (the absence of a soccerball) from the management staffs of the home team and was only resolved ard 30 minutes later. The Red Panthers turned down the friendly against the Blue Pandas in due of their opening match of the Agape Cup on Sunday, though afew still turn up to have a kickabout. Boosted by last week's win over the Red Panthers, the Blue Pandas took this opportunity to gel and play more cohesively together against a mixed team of ‘others’. A few key Pandas were missing from the starting lineup in particular Gk Michael Chua, so the gaffer has no choice but to recall Marcus in the goal. A total of 26 players took to the pitch, making the centre of the pitch abit crowded. John open the session with a devotion on ‘Good Friday’ and God’s greatest love for us in sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins before kickoff.
The Pandas kickoff the match in amazingly cool weather, with the opening few minutes a fluffy of unsuccessful passes in the crowded midfield. The ‘others’ were first to score when speedy left winger Theodore’s cross from the left bubbled through the sea of players in the penalty box and probabaly with the slightest of deflection, went beyond Marcus’s reach into the bottom right corner. The Blues then press on for the equaliser but were pegged back once again, this time by a set piece. A corner was delivered accurately into the six yard box and met by a powerful header by another of ‘others’ player who was failed to be picked out by any of the Blue players. Just before half-time, forward Jingzhong gave the Pandas a much needed lift as he outpaced his marker on the left flank and cooly slot it in the bottom right corner.
Many changes were made at halftime: The Pandas changing another ‘loan gk’ Jeremy Tan back into his natural position with Marcus now outfield and captain Jeremy Sin reverted back to his centreback position after an early withdrawal from Adrian. Kee Min also withdrawl from the ‘others’ after taking afew knocks, and the pitch now looked less crowded in a more playable condition. One has to wonder what the gaffer delivered in his halftime teamtalk as the Pandas started the 2nd half with more authority and launch many quick long balls to the strikers. The 'others' did not deal quite well with this new approach and an equaliser soon came when David Sng shake off his marker to run into the box and head home a cross from the right. The ‘others’ tried to get the winning goal but any threat was comfortably dealt with by the defence who choose to sit deeper this time. Afew high clearance of the ball past the walls of Anfield stadium causes quite a delay before the Blues kick in their sucker punch. Marcus taking on the right back, turn him insideout before sprinting through and smashing it past the helpless goalie. Afew more unsuccessful passes by both teams brought the final whistle by referee Mike Riley.
A great comeback by the home team, but the performance is still considered largely below par by the never-smiling gaffer and much is still to be improved of the Pandas, especially in the midfield departments. Kudos to the Panthers who came down and played for and against the Pandas.
Pandas starting lineup: Marcus(gk), Nigel(rb), Adrian(cb), Daniel(cb), loan player(lb), Jeremy Sin(dm), Bangshi(dm), David Sng(cm), Jingzhong(lm), Jeremy Tan(amc), Ryusdi(amc), John(rm), Darren(st), Damien Chee(st).
The Pandas kickoff the match in amazingly cool weather, with the opening few minutes a fluffy of unsuccessful passes in the crowded midfield. The ‘others’ were first to score when speedy left winger Theodore’s cross from the left bubbled through the sea of players in the penalty box and probabaly with the slightest of deflection, went beyond Marcus’s reach into the bottom right corner. The Blues then press on for the equaliser but were pegged back once again, this time by a set piece. A corner was delivered accurately into the six yard box and met by a powerful header by another of ‘others’ player who was failed to be picked out by any of the Blue players. Just before half-time, forward Jingzhong gave the Pandas a much needed lift as he outpaced his marker on the left flank and cooly slot it in the bottom right corner.
Many changes were made at halftime: The Pandas changing another ‘loan gk’ Jeremy Tan back into his natural position with Marcus now outfield and captain Jeremy Sin reverted back to his centreback position after an early withdrawal from Adrian. Kee Min also withdrawl from the ‘others’ after taking afew knocks, and the pitch now looked less crowded in a more playable condition. One has to wonder what the gaffer delivered in his halftime teamtalk as the Pandas started the 2nd half with more authority and launch many quick long balls to the strikers. The 'others' did not deal quite well with this new approach and an equaliser soon came when David Sng shake off his marker to run into the box and head home a cross from the right. The ‘others’ tried to get the winning goal but any threat was comfortably dealt with by the defence who choose to sit deeper this time. Afew high clearance of the ball past the walls of Anfield stadium causes quite a delay before the Blues kick in their sucker punch. Marcus taking on the right back, turn him insideout before sprinting through and smashing it past the helpless goalie. Afew more unsuccessful passes by both teams brought the final whistle by referee Mike Riley.
A great comeback by the home team, but the performance is still considered largely below par by the never-smiling gaffer and much is still to be improved of the Pandas, especially in the midfield departments. Kudos to the Panthers who came down and played for and against the Pandas.
Pandas starting lineup: Marcus(gk), Nigel(rb), Adrian(cb), Daniel(cb), loan player(lb), Jeremy Sin(dm), Bangshi(dm), David Sng(cm), Jingzhong(lm), Jeremy Tan(amc), Ryusdi(amc), John(rm), Darren(st), Damien Chee(st).
Monday, April 06, 2009
Soccer Fellowship [11th Apr]
Soccer Fellowship is ON this Saturday, 11th April at East Spring Secondary School. The session will be from 3 - 5 pm. Do come down for a time of Easter Saturday soccer!
We will split the teams according to BLUE AND RED jerseys for this session, so please bring BOTH just in case we need to balance the teams out.
See you on Saturday and please pray for good weather!
*Please be reminded that the entrance to the field is next to Block 362. If you are driving, the multi-storey car park you should park at is at Block 359A. If unsure, please check the street directory map.
We will split the teams according to BLUE AND RED jerseys for this session, so please bring BOTH just in case we need to balance the teams out.
See you on Saturday and please pray for good weather!
*Please be reminded that the entrance to the field is next to Block 362. If you are driving, the multi-storey car park you should park at is at Block 359A. If unsure, please check the street directory map.
Soccer Fellowship Report [4th Apr]
The showers that poured down just after mid-day worried a few but most were confident that fine weather would follow...and they were proved right. By the time 3pm arrived, the sun was shining brightly above East Spring Sec and about 28 players gathered for a time of Soccer Fellowship. The Pentecost Pandas (in Red) and Panthers (in Blue) took the opportunity to play a practice match before the Agape Cup 2009 kick-off, with Soccer Community members evenly distributed on both sides.
Before the match started, Maurice led us in a time of devotion, using Argentina's recent 6-1 humiliation to Bolivia to illustrate that giants can be slayed, even by minnows. Using the story of David and Goliath from the Bible to further emphasise this point, Maurice concluded that with God on our side, we can indeed humble the giants that we face in our lives.
As the teams lined-up against each other, one could see that the Reds had more prowess in central midfield, while the Blues had speedy wingers. Much of the match would be played out along these lines. It was the Reds who started brightly, controlling the match from midfield and allowing few chances for the Blues to pass the ball. With Derrick and Kee Min controlling the midfield for the Reds and Mark Leong marshalling the defence well, it seemed that all would go well for the Reds this Saturday. However, this was not to be. From a Reds throw-in close to the Blues penalty area, the Reds lost the ball and a fast counter-attack saw the ball move from Jingzhong on the left, to Darren on the right, who squared the ball to David Sng who made no mistake from 2 yards out. Pegged back by the goal, the Reds pressed for the equaliser. A few chances fell their way but it took a goal-mouth melee for the ball to find its way the Justin, who fired a stiff grounder into the net. The score remained at 1-1 till halftime.
In the 2nd half, both teams sought to win the match. The Reds did a little re-shuffling, with Ronnie moving into midfield. The Blues stuck to their game plan and defence of Daniel, David Teong, Jeremy Sin and Bryan held the Reds well. A series of corners by the Reds aimed to unsettle the Blues, but this did not happen. On one of these corners, the Reds again lost possession of the ball to spark a Blues counter-attack, leading to a goal by Jingzhong (I think). The speed of the Blues was posing the Reds lots of problems. At the same time, although the Reds were finding their way into key areas of the pitch, either the final ball into the box or the finishing touch eluded them. It was again from a Reds corner that the Blues sprung a counter attack to go up 3-1, Damien racing clear to chip the keeper Joel with a sweet left foot shot. It was only through the last kick of the game that Jeremy from the Reds managed to prod the ball past Blues keeper Michael to end the match at 3-2 to the Blues.
Ronnie conducted a short post-mortem, pointing out key areas for improvement before the Agape Cup campaign begins. One of these areas include needing to go in for 50-50 balls and being committed to retain possession.
Before the match started, Maurice led us in a time of devotion, using Argentina's recent 6-1 humiliation to Bolivia to illustrate that giants can be slayed, even by minnows. Using the story of David and Goliath from the Bible to further emphasise this point, Maurice concluded that with God on our side, we can indeed humble the giants that we face in our lives.
As the teams lined-up against each other, one could see that the Reds had more prowess in central midfield, while the Blues had speedy wingers. Much of the match would be played out along these lines. It was the Reds who started brightly, controlling the match from midfield and allowing few chances for the Blues to pass the ball. With Derrick and Kee Min controlling the midfield for the Reds and Mark Leong marshalling the defence well, it seemed that all would go well for the Reds this Saturday. However, this was not to be. From a Reds throw-in close to the Blues penalty area, the Reds lost the ball and a fast counter-attack saw the ball move from Jingzhong on the left, to Darren on the right, who squared the ball to David Sng who made no mistake from 2 yards out. Pegged back by the goal, the Reds pressed for the equaliser. A few chances fell their way but it took a goal-mouth melee for the ball to find its way the Justin, who fired a stiff grounder into the net. The score remained at 1-1 till halftime.
In the 2nd half, both teams sought to win the match. The Reds did a little re-shuffling, with Ronnie moving into midfield. The Blues stuck to their game plan and defence of Daniel, David Teong, Jeremy Sin and Bryan held the Reds well. A series of corners by the Reds aimed to unsettle the Blues, but this did not happen. On one of these corners, the Reds again lost possession of the ball to spark a Blues counter-attack, leading to a goal by Jingzhong (I think). The speed of the Blues was posing the Reds lots of problems. At the same time, although the Reds were finding their way into key areas of the pitch, either the final ball into the box or the finishing touch eluded them. It was again from a Reds corner that the Blues sprung a counter attack to go up 3-1, Damien racing clear to chip the keeper Joel with a sweet left foot shot. It was only through the last kick of the game that Jeremy from the Reds managed to prod the ball past Blues keeper Michael to end the match at 3-2 to the Blues.
Ronnie conducted a short post-mortem, pointing out key areas for improvement before the Agape Cup campaign begins. One of these areas include needing to go in for 50-50 balls and being committed to retain possession.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
