Pre-season Friendly vs COA (15th Feb)

PMC's 5th pre-season friendly before the Chinese New Year break took place again at Serangoon Secondary, with opponents being the returning Church of Ascension (COA) led by Winston Tay, who had joined us as GK during last year's Alpha Cup. COA had put together a new look side mostly of young legs, to participate in this year's CrossRoad Cup and were eager to get a pre-season win under its belt. PMC was able to count on a solid core of players who turned up to put the finishing touches on their pre-season campaign.

It was a strong PMC line-up that took the field, with strength mostly in the central areas of the pitch. Jeremy Sin and Kee Min were having another fine showing in the middle of the park, shoring up the defence and winning balls with ease. On the right, Matthew Philix started off brightly, wanting to impress and find a place in the PMC team for the season. Sheldon was also making his return at RB and although slightly off the pace, was generally able to cope with the COA #10, clearly their main threat on the afternoon. Malcolm, re-joining the team after a long absence, was also impressing through winning headers, and taking a couple of long shots that narrowly missed the target. The match was fairly even, with crosses being swung in from PMC's right and some forages by Eddie (LM) and Kevin (LB) from the left. There was no real breakthrough with chances not being well taken. On COA's part, their direct approach allowed some dangerous balls to challenge the PMC back line, but the pairing of Daniel Chen and Martin stood strong. PMC's breakthrough finally came when Sheldon was fouled on the right, winning a free kick just outside the box. Timothy stepped up to whip in an accurate cross which Eddie planted firmly into goal to put PMC up 1-0. PMC had kept up its bright start in the first half of matches this pre-season. The rest of the half saw PMC assuredly keep their lead, denying COA any clear shot on goal.

With Martin and Matthew needing to leave at half-time, a couple of changes were again made to offer options during the season ahead. Sheldon took his place as CB, with Samuel at RB. Chin Kai started at RM. COA seemed a lot more intent to get back into the match at the start of the 2nd half. Their main threat was from their left wing, threatening a number of times, with the most dangerous chance when the winger found his way behind the defence, but David was so quick of his line to clear the ball from outside the box. David almost tried to dribble his way out of trouble against the winger! Before long, it was one-way traffic in PMC's favour. The combination of Timothy and Jacob as PMC's front 2 reaped the reward when Jacob flicked on a return pass to Timothy who took on the GK and fired the ball into goal. A number of changes took place after this, with Malcolm and Henry coming back on. The changes spurred PMC to charge forward and the 3rd goal was scored when Henry beat a defender on the right, played the ball to Kee, who fed Timothy through on goal. There was still some work for Timothy to do with 2 defenders on his tail, but he held them off expertly and scored his 2nd of the match. COA was completed deflated by this time and were left clueless how to get back into the match. PMC played controlled football after this, to seal its first full match pre-season win. Only the referee was able to help COA get back into the match by dubiously awarding a penalty to COA when the handball by Jeremy Sin was clearly outside the penalty box. Even COA players were surprised. Fortunately, David was able to stand firm and save the resulting spot-kick, preserving PMC's clean sheet.

The post-match team talk was very encouraging for all as the previous pre-season games had achieved the goals of assimilating new players into the team, and also concretising positions and tactics for the season.

Pre-season Friendly vs CAG (8th Feb)

The PMC Team gathered at Serangoon Sec on a hot Sunday afternoon for its 4th pre-season friendly against Calvary Assembly of God (CAG), looking to put the final touches on its preparations for CRC2015. A very strong starting line-up took to the field, with players intent on cementing their place for the upcoming season.

Almost immediately from kick-off, Jacob scored what could be PMC's quickest ever goal scored in a competitive match. A long ball was perfectly delivered by Jingzhong into Jacob's path and the onrushing CAG GK mis-calculated his interception, allowing Jacob to get to the ball first and roll it into an empty net. It was the perfect start for PMC, taking this early lead, and pressing CAG from the get go. PMC had settled well into the rhythm of the match, with the defensive midfield duo of Jeremy Sin and Kee Min doing an excellent job of stopping any CAG advances, and the back-four of Maurice, Daniel Chen, Martin and Weijie (at LB) sweeping up any loose balls. CAG tried to use their youthful speed and counter-attacks to trouble PMC, but by-and-large, they did not make any significant inroads within the first 20min of the match. Most outstanding during this time was probably David Lim's return as GK, making light work of long range shots and sweeping up nicely with his quick movement. Before long, PMC scored a 2nd goal, with a quick direct move starting with Daniel Chen, to Jingzhong, who again delivered a precise through ball to Jacob, who sprinted beyond the CAG last man to fire past the CAG GK. The Jingzhong-Jacob partnership has reaped huge rewards in this pre-season, combining already for 4 goals and 6 assists. With the score at 2-0, PMC took a more controlled approach for the rest of the half, clearing any danger without fuss to preserve its lead at half-time.

With another solid first half performance (following last week's 3-1 HT lead), the second half again focused on doing some experimentation to firm up possible permutations for the league season. Needless to say, with a changed line-up and players trying out unfamiliar positions, the 2nd half didn't start off so smoothly for PMC. There were fewer completed passes and far more hurried clearances and long balls, as CAG tried to get back into the match with some controlled passing and incisive play. CAG finally got back into the match when a nice cross from their left found their on-rushing forward beating the offside. David Lim was there to meet the ball, but somehow let the ball slip through his fingers, allowing the forward to roll the ball into an empty net. At 2-1, more PMC changes were made to give David Lim a run-out at LM and Michael some GK time. With more changes, CAG naturally managed to capitalised on the new look defence to float another cross behind the back line, allowing their forward to beat Michael with a first-time volley. At 2-2, it was all to play for and CAG found enough drive to score the winner when a corner was expertly diverted goal-wards by a CAG player in the box. The pace of the ball left all PMC players flat-footed and CAG players in dreamland, as they completed a comeback victory. The remaining moments of the match were marred in unnecessary ugliness when a CAG player needlessly elbowed Michael while challenging for the ball, causing Michael to react angrily. Once players calmed down, the referee blew for full-time.

Scoreline aside, the game gave the leaders great insight into what would work and what would not during matchplay, further confirming the probable starting line-up and positions for players.

Pre-season Friendlies vs CMC1 & CMC2 (25th Jan & 1st Feb)

PMC kicked off its pre-season proper with a double-header against perenial rivals Christ Methodist Church, with 2 teams likely to be fielded in CRC2015. It was a good way to welcome back last season's regulars, as well as give a run-out to new players who are looking to join the PMC team for the season, with some regulars still out due to injuries and family commitments. 

Taking on CMC's 1st team on 25th Jan, PMC arrived with a team of 20 players comprising both old and new faces. Contrary to expectation that the team would be rusty and unable to match CMC, PMC displayed some quick passing football, with new players like Wee Long and Justin Chua eager to shine and cement a place in the the team. The only irony was that although PMC had more chances in the first half, it was CMC who was able to capitalise on the few that they had to take the lead and add to it, from a combination of defensive fumbles to just being quicker on the ball. Going 3-0 at half-time clearly appeared to be very harsh on the PMC side that showed lots of bright work in the attacking third, with Jingzhong, Joel and Kee Min all coming close but unable to put the ball in the back of the net. 

The 2nd half so a much changed PMC side looking to get back into the match. In contrast to the first, the 2nd half did see CMC taking the lion's share of possession but unable to score more goals early in the half. PMC struggled to retain possession, and when they did, were unable to do much with the ball except launch it goal-wards for the forwards to chase, to no avail. Needless to say, it was only a matter of time before CMC put another one past Mike in PMC's goal and concluding the match 4-0 to the hosts. The scoreline was certainly harsh considering the better start that PMC had in the match, but as they say in football, the ball is round. The post-match huddle focused on taking away some positives, thinking about closing the areas for improvement and returning the following week to put up a better show. 

The PMC team did return the following week, again with large numbers, to take on CMC's 2nd team, which comprised at least half of the previous week's team. Regardless of that, the PMC players were determined to put the previous week's result behind them and do well in preparation for CRC2015. 

The 1st half clearly showed PMC's determination, with some good passing and direct action in the attacking third. It wasn't long before one of these attacks produced a reward in the form of a penalty, when the CMC defender was adjudged to have tugged on Jingzhong in the box. Daniel Low coolly stepped up to stroke the penalty beyond the GK's reach to give PMC a 1-0 lead early in the match. PMC's defence had held on well in the first half, clearing the dangerous balls well, through the newly formed central defensive partnership of Daniel Chen and Martin. Unfortunately, Kevin's fumble as GK allowed CMC a route back into match when he spilled a high ball while trying to catch it, allowing the CMC forward the simplest of tap-ins. With the score at 1-1, clearly it was all to play for and PMC's determination was the key factor in the rest of the half. Firstly, a nicely swung free kick by Daniel Low on the right was back-heeled by Jacob into the path of Eddie, who made no mistake from 2 yards out, giving PMC the 2-1 lead. Then, Jacob showed great determination and energy to hustle the CMC defender into losing possession, allowing him to fire the ball past the CMC GK to give PMC a 3-1 lead, which it largely deserved. The positivity of the first half clearly had a cohesive effect on the team. 

As in the last match, the 2nd half team was much changed from the first, to allow everyone to get a run-out and also try out new combinations on the field. Clearly this moved seemed to backfire as the lack of communication and composure resulted in CMC getting themselves back in the match in rousing fashion. This was after they endured an early scare, when Kevin fired a stiff low shot which the CMC GK had to parry, and Sam's goal-bound effort saved by the GK who was well of his line. A series of defensive errors allowed CMC to score from close range, a penalty and then a dead giveaway by Joel who passed the ball short in the box, allowing the CMC forward to poach an easy goal. Everyone was stunned as CMC held the match in its grasp up 4-3, coming from 2 goals down. However, their victory was not to be when Wee Long swung in a nice through ball from the right, for Jacob to chase down and beat the CMC GK in a one-on-one situation with almost the last touch of the match, leaving both teams drawn at the end. As topsy turvy as the match was, it did give the leaders much to think about in terms of possible combinations and positions for future matches. 

After the post-match huddle, the team also prayed for Isaac, who would be departing for Montreal, Canada for a period of about 3 years. We wish him all of God's blessings on this new journey.

The PMC team all-smiles after the match despite not being able to hold on for the victory