PMC 11-a-side Invitational League: AMC vs PMC (9th October)

It had rained quite a lot the night before and many players could have wondered if the match would be called off due to a water-logged pitch. However, by late morning, the sun was shining intensely, and it remained so when both teams gathered at AMC's home ground of Fairfield Methodist School for the 'top-of-the-table' clash.

As the players kitted up and warmed-up, Rayson from AMC shared a devotion with everyone, touching on the fact that regardless of what life throws at us (even trying to 'bury as like a donkey' sometimes), we can always count on Jesus to help us through. He closed with a word of prayer, just in time, as Shah the referee showed up.

Kevin reminded the PMC team to start playing 'the correct way' from the start, instead of taking too long to settle into the match and always having to make a comeback. The following starting 11 was selected to kick-off:

Martin - Jeremy Tan

Jingzhong - Kee Min - Weijie - Jacob

Damien - David - Dominic - Jeremy Sin

Sean

Lincoln, Nigel, Yi Jun and Kevin formed the bench for the match.

The match kicked off with both teams playing some neat football with nice touches. The slightly bumpy pitch did not seem to deter both teams from playing the ball on the ground, and trying to string passes together. It was AMC who had the better chances to assert their authority initially. With the ball at his feet, AMC's left winger played a number of good balls behind the back four and into the path of the AMC striker, only for last minute interventions by David and Dominic to clear the danger. The early danger seemed to have spurred the PMC team on, as Jacob led the charge from the right wing and Martin used his skill to threaten the AMC defence. On one of Jacob's good moves down the right, his low cross found Jeremy Tan in the box and his first time effort found the corner of the net to put PMC 1-0 up. It did not take long for the AMC to kick into gear again, and the equalizer arrived within 10min. Another lofted pass behind the defence saw the AMC striker easily prod the goal past Sean with the defence rooted. With the score at 1-1, both teams tightened up their defences, and with possession quite even, there was little goalmouth action for the next 15min or so. Both teams took the opportunity to bring on fresh legs, with Yi Jun and Kevin coming on for Jeremy Tan and Weijie respectively. Within another 5min, Lincoln and Nigel came on for Jacob and Jeremy Sin respectively. The substitutions seemed to help, as PMC was able to put some pressure on the AMC goal late in the 1st half. Jingzhong and Yi Jun, both sent shots which stung the AMC GK's hands. Martin was also giving the AMC RB a torrid time, but the couple of corners he won were not converted. Just before half-time, Yi Jun decided to take matters into his own hands. Taking the ball down the left wing, he cut in and drove an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net to put PMC up 2-1 before the referee blew for half-time.



The 2nd half kicked off with a couple of changes, with the instruction being to press for a goal and keeping it tight at the back, as we knew that AMC would come at us in the 2nd half. The match started as expected, with AMC playing free flowing football and using the wings to good effect. Although they won many corners and put considerable pressure on the defence, the PMC back four stood firm and when needed to make a save, Sean was up to the task. Some of his one-handed saves were truly outstanding and definitely kept us in the lead at that stage. On the attacking end, PMC's chances were extremely limited, with nothing much threatening the AMC goal as their defence was always first to the ball. When shots were unleashed they were blocked by the defenders. At about the half-way point of the 2nd half, AMC got the equalizer they were searching for. A long cross from the left found the AMC RM completely unmarked. He was some way out but his well placed header found the top corner of the net to bring the score to 2-2. From that point, it was all to play for and the PMC team tried their best to press for the winner. The best chance the team got was from a free-kick which Lincoln sent crashing against the post. From the resulting goal-mouth scramble, no one could put the ball into the net and AMC managed to clear their lines. The match was pretty much even until the referee blew for full-time.

The match was played in good spirits, and the PMC team showed much better composure and tactical discipline. Although unable to hold its lead twice, the positive approach to the game has really been developing over the last few matches and this augurs well for the matches to come.