Soccer Fellowship Report (5th January)

The first Soccer Fellowship session of the year saw players blessed with perfect weather at Pasir Ris Crest Secondary School. It took players quite some time to stream in, but eventually about 20 turned up to enjoy the good weather and fellowship through soccer. We welcomed quite a number of new faces from reYAct and look forward to having them again.

Cheng Qian, Jacob and Justin getting ready for the run-out

Players gathering for devotion

Kevin kicked off the session with devotion by elaborating on the Christmas message that was shared on the blog. Using examples of Hurricane Sandy and the recent gang-rape incident in India, to show the bad and ugly of the world, Kevin encouraged all present to turn to the good news of Jesus to see us through 2013.

With only 14 players present at the start of the session, only half the field was used with cones/corner flags used as goal posts. The Blacks/Reds (BR) lined up against the Other Colours (OC) for kick off. The BR were quick to get into top gear with many direct passes for their forwards to chase. It wasn't long before they scored a goal through Cheng Qian, with the OC defence still trying to sort themselves out. Only some wayward finishing allowed the score to remain at 1-0 after 10min. Credit to the OC for trying to play themselves into the match, and did equalise through Joel after about 15min. With more players arriving, the decision was made to have a quick water break and play using the full field with goalkeepers.

With the game now 10-a-side over the full field, there was a lot more space to maneuver and pass the ball. For the BR, they continued to play a very direct approach over the centre of the pitch, with forwards David Lim and Marvin seeing a fair share of the ball, but nothing troubling GK Joel of the OC. Ironically, with little possession to show, it was the OC that scored first, through some mix up at the back for the BR. Jeremy Tan was there for the OC to score through the BR's gift. However, after that, it was almost one way traffic by the BR, heaping lots of pressure on the OC goal. Joel did very well to save shots and claim loose balls. The OC did try to string some moves through long balls and occasional good passing, but often let down by passes in the final third of the pitch. It wasn't long before the BR scored their first goal through Justin.

Play ebbed and flowed, with some decent passing and moves despite it being the first session of the year. A couple more goals were scored by the BRs and the most notable incident for the rest of the match was an incredible 15 seconds of action in the OC penalty box when 4 BR players hit the post/bar while trying to score. It seemed like the OC had a 2nd GK on their side. The BR certainly ran out winners with no one really keeping tabs of the final score.

It was a good run-out and Jacob closed the session in prayer.