Veterans .vs. Wesley Methodist Church [11th July]

Veterans 4 - 1 Wesley Methodist Church
Scorers: Martin (3) & John S

Starting 11:
GK - Kelvin
RB - John S, CB - James, CB - Mark, LB - Felix
RM - David S , CM - Neil, CM - Kevin, LM - Maurice
CF - Ramon, CF - Martin

Subs:
Sean for Felix (30m)
Samuel for Maurice (50m)
Joel for Ramon (60m)
Michael for David S (65m)

Ineligible sub (did not attend S&S):
John C

Soccer Fellowship Report [3rd July]

This session truly epitomised the essence of Soccer Fellowship. About 20 players had gathered at Pasir Ris Secondary School by 3pm, hoping to engage in on-field 'combat', but circumstances forced us elsewhere. The weather was perfect and it had stopped raining for more than 3 hours prior to the session. Looking at the field from the outside, it looked fine and free of puddles. However, the Singapore Sports Council Field Warden had deemed the field unplayable and refused to make his way to the school to open the gate for us. Remembering that we used to play on the open field along Tampines Avenue 1 (opposite Temasek Polytechnic), the players made their way there in a number of cars. Again, disappointment encountered the players when we looked at the condition of the field. Lalang and un-cut grass made the field un-playable and the players decided to head to the free-to-play field at East View Primary School for a last shot at afternoon soccer. It was there that Soccer Fellowship kicked off for the afternoon.

East View Primary School hosts Soccer Fellowship for the 1st time

In total, 28 players turned up, 6 joining for the 1st time. We welcome Adrian, Kiat Yong, Nick, Neil, Yock Kin and Terence. We also had Bevan back after a long absence. Yuen Wai led everyone in a time of devotion before the players were split into 3, then 4 teams in a 7-a-side, 'first goal wins' or 'both teams out after 7 min' competition. Play was fast and furious, as the photos below suggest.

Kee Min demonstrates how to keep possession of the ball

Brian takes one of the many 'kick-ins' during play

Players waiting for a kick-in to be taken

Nigel waiting for his turn to take the field

The action moved from one end of the field to the other

It's fast and furious in the middle of the pitch

None of the players would remember the number of goals scored, the number of missed opportunities, or who won the most number of matches. But everyone would remember the good run-out we had. Everyone had more than sufficient playing time, something that would not always be possible when we play in tournaments. We also had some good laughs, welcomed new friends, and even some of the kids from the neighbourhood who joined us. I believe one of them even scored a goal against 'I-shall-not-name-who'.

Although it took a bit of a roundabout to find a field, we want to thank God for leading us (quite unexpectedly) to East View Primary for this session and for the good time enjoyed by everyone who turned up.

Soccer Fellowship [3rd July]

Soccer Fellowship is on this Saturday, 3rd July at Pasir Ris Secondary School*. The session will be from 3 - 5 pm.

In line with the current World Cup season, we would like to again have a 'World Cup Special', where everyone is encouraged to come in their favourite National Team jersey. This should give us some interesting ways of splitting teams on Saturday, e.g. World Cup Champions .vs. World Cup Wannabes OR Europe .vs. The Rest of the World OR like the previous session, just the usual teams made up of the different jersey colours.

See you on Saturday and please pray for good weather!

*The address of Pasir Ris Secondary School is 390 Tampines Street 21. The car park nearest to the school field is along block 253. The map of the area around the school can be viewed HERE.

Veterans .vs. Riverlife Church [27th June]

After a very long break (of about 6 weeks) from the Agape Cup, the Veterans returned to the Hiding Place to pursue the chance of finishing in the top 4 of their group, and qualify for the quarterfinals. Knowing that every point was necessary to make this possible, this was another one of those 'must-win' games. We also welcomed 2 newcomers to our team, Keegan and Neil, who replaced Adrian and Raymond during the mid-season transfer window.

Before the match, it was again the turn of PMC to lead in the singspiration & sharing. Yuen Wai led 2 songs and then handed the time over to me, which I used to share about Jesus being the great equalizer for humanity. The reference to the devotion is HERE.

Our match started with the expected rust that had set in after such a long break. It was one of those frustrating first 10min of soccer that saw us go 2 goals down in very soft fashion. A long punt from RLC's defence seemed like a routine catch from GK Kelvin, but an unfortunate slip on a muddy patch saw him drop the ball right at the feet of the RLC forward, who gleefully put it in the back of the net. Within 5min of that, more pressure led to the ball not being cleared out of defence on the left flank. The ball found its way to an RLC player, whose stiff shot caught Kelvin unsighted and it flew into the back of the net. Being 2 goals down in such unbelievable fashion sought only to galvanise the steely Veterans who knew better than to give up the fight so early in the match. From the 15min point, it was all the Veterans in the match. Harassing, chasing and fighting for every ball, we completely outplayed RLC in the middle of the park to create chance after chance. Keegan, David H, Steve and Martin, all had numerous chances to pull us back into the match, but none were put away. When shots were on target, the RLC GK was able to pull off a save. It was only when a sweet corner was swung in by Keegan that Steve planted a firm header into the back of the net to pull it back to 2-1. For the rest of the half, we pressured RLC but could not find the equalizer. The half-time team talk was simply put across by Derrick - keep pressing and going for goals!

The 2nd half started with the Veterans again putting pressure on RLC, whose players looked shaky. Even the RLC manager was getting worked up with his team's sudden under-performance. The Veterans had many opportunities to go ahead at this point. Steve himself, had at least4 good chances (1 with the GK off his line) and so did David H. Again, the ball did not find its way into goal for us. It took another set-piece to bring the Veterans level. From one of the many free-kicks RLC conceded just outside their box, George drilled a right-footed shot into the top corner of the net. With the match at 2-2, the Veterans went all out for the win, but even more chances and set-pieces did not produce the desired goal. This would certainly come back to haunt us as RLC capitalised on our weary legs towards the end of the match to score a very undeserved winner. A half-cleared corner found its way to an RLC player who had the simplest task of lobbing the ball into goal with Kelvin off his line. Tried as we did, the Veterans could not bring themselves level again. The match was another harsh lesson in the need to take chances.

Jeff giving his utmost effort on the left-side of defence

Kevin and George try to prevent the free-kick from getting through

Derrick delivering one of his trademark free-kicks

Martin in full flight- out-running those half his age

Veterans 2 - 3 Riverlife Church
Scorers: Steve & George

Starting 11:
GK - Kelvin
RB - Kevin, CB - James, CB - Mark, LB - Jeffrey
DM - Derrick, CM - Keegan, CM - George, AM - David H
CF - Steve, CF - Martin

Subs:
Justin for George (50m)
Neil for Keegan (55m)
David S for Derrick (60m)

Unused sub:
Samuel

Ineligible sub (did not attend S&S):
John S

Galacticos .vs. Full Gospel Assembly [27th June]

Its World Cup time and after a month of non-competitive soccer, GAL kickoff this match with a win in mind as they have nothing else to lose, fielding an attacking 3-2-3-2 for the first time. Much changes have been made to the usual starting lineup, as both Jeremys start the game after a long time out.

The opening few minutes see stray passes from both sides as both teams look to stamp their authority on the pitch. FGA first goal came just 10 minutes into the game, as JT goalkick was straight to FGA striker, who dutifully pounced on the gift to thunder in the opener. GALS, now clearly woken up, start to get back into the game after this soft goal. Quick feet and triangle passing earn GAL quite abit of freekicks but was disappointingly not well taken. The only threat that FGA could offer after the early goal is often delivered to their left sided pacy player to give Dom and Jem something to think about. Fortunately it was a threat that bear no fruit. Otherwise, most of the lofted balls towards GAL half was easily dealt with by Jem and Marcus, as GAL enjoyed much possession and camp the remaining first half in FGA zone, earning freekicks after freekicks.

Halftime soon came with FGA up 1-0.

GAL made changes at the break, with Joel replacing JT in the post and Lincoln came in for Jingzhong as he felt a strain on his thigh. Tactically, the shape is reverted back to a 4-2-3-1, with Ming Kiat coming in at LB and Dom out at RB. 2nd half begin just as where GAL left off. FGA resorted to sending in many long balls down their left, challenging Dom and Jem but to little result. FGA manage to earn a rare freekick in GAL half, that resulted in their 2nd goal. Joel was off his line and misjudged the flight of the dipping ball which the whole defence line could only look on as the ball land in the net.

Play started to get more aggressive after that as both side gets more physical. Deep in 2nd half, Marcus pulled a muscle and Nigel came in for him, playing at RB as Dom pushed in to CB. Clearly still unaware of the pace of FGA left striker, a through ball towards him was easily retrieved and Nigel was easily outpaced and charged through towards goal. Dom recovered to put pressure and made a good block but was unfortunate as the striker still managed to scramble the ball past Joel for his 2nd goal of the game. Jem then reminded Nigel again that the pacy left striker of FGA will get at him again and again he did. Fortunately this time Jem dealt with it comfortably. More freekicks for GAL late in the 2nd half but was again poorly executed. Towards the end of the game Dom was yellow carded on a mistime tackle on the pacy FGA leftsided striker, earning GAL the 5th yellow card of the season (1 league point deducted).

Rusydi tries to break down the FGA defence

Kee Min finds himself outnumbered in midfield

Marcus does what he can to bring the ball upfield

Dominic holds off the FGA forward

Final Score: GAL 0 FGA 3

Starting 11:

GK: Jeremy Tan
CB: Dom, Jem Sin, Marcus
CM: Kee Min, Damien Chua
LM: Jingzhong, AM: Roy, RM: Rusydi
ST: Yi Jun, Andrew


Subs:

GK: Joel for Jeremy Tan (HT)
Def: Ming Kiat for Damien Chua (HT), Nigel for Marcus (70 min)
Mid: Damien Chee for Andrew (HT), Lincoln for Jingzhong (HT)

Soccer Fellowship Report [19th June]

It was certainly a very hot afternoon when players started streaming into the Pasir Ris Secondary School field. We welcomed Steve's Dad who was visiting from the UK, and welcomed back Roy, who had been overseas for the last couple of months.

To add to the current World Cup atmosphere, this session was themed as a 'World Cup' special and it was a mix of players who came in National Team jerseys, and those who came 'loyally' in PMC jerseys, or those of their favourite clubs/teams.

Andrew & Samuel clearly expect Spain to triumph this year

A mixture of World Cup winners & World Cup wannabes represented

The session started with devotion led by Kevin, after a World Cup devotional booklet 'The Final Goal' was distributed to everyone. Kevin's devotion was based on the devotion from June 18th, entitled Love and Vengeance.

After devotion, the players were split into the usual Reds & Whites (RWs) and the Other Colours (OC). Turn-out was good and we started off playing 14-a-side, which made the field really cramped, with little space to move. The RWs seemed to possess the younger and faster players, who attacked with pace and directness. The OC on the other hand, tried to rely on their ball control and the tireless running of Steve up front. The game was fairly even, with neither side able to take the initiative. Jingzhong, Andrew and Yi Jun from the RWs fashioned a few openings, but they did not result in a goal. Similarly for the OC, Steve, Justin and Ronnie had a number of half-chances, but they remained chances. It took an interesting twist in the game for the 1st goal to be scored - Maurice sending the ball into Pasir Ris Secondary School. A very bouncy replacement ball was used and its bounce was not only exaggerated, but unpredictable. From an innocuous knock-on, Yi Jun lobbed the ball into the OC box. Unchallenged, GK Kelvin was unable to judge the bounce of the ball and it looped over him and into the empty net. It was 1-0 to the RWs in the most unlikely manner but it opened the floodgates for them. The RWs 2nd goal came through a bit of individual brilliance from Daniel Chen. A corner was only halfway cleared to him and he weaved abit of his usual magic in the box before unleashing an stoppable shot into the roof of the net. RWs goal number 3 came from a simple passing move, ending with Yi Jun sidefooting the ball into the corner of the net.

The 2nd half began with a reversion to 11-a-side soccer as the 1st half was far too crowded. Play immediately opened up and the OC definitely had a lot more control and chances, notably through Steve and Rusydi. Dominic and Andy Mason were also doing a commendable job on defence, cutting out whatever attacks that did get through. This ensured that OC did not concede any goals in the 2nd half. Play was competitive throughout this half, with the ball moving nicely across the pitch. For the OC, most of the chances were long range efforts. For the RWs, they had a couple of half chances and a stinging shot which Kelvin did well to tip over the bar. The half ended scoreless to the credit of both teams.

Maurice closed in prayer and thanked God for the wonderful weather and Soccer Fellowship.

Soccer Fellowship [19th June]

Soccer Fellowship is on this Saturday, 19th June at Pasir Ris Secondary School*. The session will be from 3 - 5 pm.

In line with the current World Cup season, we would like to encourage everyone to come in their favourite National Team jersey. This should give us some interesting ways of splitting teams on Saturday, e.g. World Cup Champions .vs. World Cup Wannabes OR Europe .vs. The Rest of the World. If you are interested to get a National Team jersey from one of this year's World Cup teams, a group may be heading down to Weston Corporation this Wednesday (16 June) evening to browse and buy. Do drop an email if interested to come along.

See you on Saturday and please pray for good weather!

*The address of Pasir Ris Secondary School is 390 Tampines Street 21. The car park nearest to the school field is along block 253. The map of the area around the school can be viewed HERE.

Soccer Fellowship Report [5th June]

The weather looked nice and cool after morning showers, but the heat soon turned up as players streamed in at Pasir Ris Secondary. There was an overwhelming sense of older players in blue, but before long, the younger players in red and white turned up to even the numbers. Yuen Wai led everyone in a time of devotion. He shared on the topic of disappointment and how everyone at some point in their lives would need to cope with it, regardless of status. He used the example of professional soccer players and 'stars' who also had to cope with disappointment as a result of missing out on the World Cup due to injuries. Similarly, we need to overcome disappointment in the areas of studies or work. He encouraged all to turn to God, who is always there to help us overcome disappointment in every aspect of our lives. After devotion, we welcomed a newcomer, Jacob, as well as Harold and Kenzie, who were joining us for the 2nd time.

The players were split into the Blues and Red/Whites (RWs) for the match. Play started with 11-a-side but very soon, the RWs had 2 substitutes to call upon. Much of the 1st 15min appeared to be disjointed, with poor first touches leaving the ball changing 'hands' ever too often without much control. The 1st clear cut chance of the match fell to Nigel of the RWs. A good cross from Jingzhong found him completely unmarked at the far post, but his defensive instincts took over and he did the Blues a favour by clearing the ball away from goal. Following that, the RWs gained the lion's share of possession, leaving the Blues with some half-chances which Steve and Ramon tried to put away but to no avail. The breakthrough finally came for the RWs when a long range shot by Marcus fooled everyone including GK Kelvin to find its way into the top corner of the net. The Blues tried to get back into the match, but even with Kee Min leading the way in midfield, too much possession was lost in the final third for anything significant to happen. In the dying minutes of the 1st half, the RWs got their 2nd goal when poor defending of a corner allowed Yi Jun too much space and he nodded the ball firmly into the back of the net.

The 2nd half started with the Blues trying their best to get back into the match, but the RWs defence of Jeremy, Ming Kiat and Marcus stood firm. Even the ever-reliable Ronnie was unable to breakdown this defensive wall. It was thus the RWs who again struck early in the half when Jacob, playing as RB, was accorded sufficient space to run down the flank and fire a long range effort into goal. It was a beautiful debut goal for him. The Blues truly had no answer, and even after playing a higher defensive line, Dominic was able to break through for RWs' 4th goal when he chipped the GK in a one-on-one situation. There would be no way back for the Blues in this one.

Soccer Fellowship [5th Jun]

Soccer Fellowship is on this Saturday, 5th June at Pasir Ris Secondary School*. The session will be from 3 - 5 pm. We will split the teams according to DARK and BRIGHT 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!

*The address of Pasir Ris Secondary School is 390 Tampines Street 21. The car park nearest to the school field is along block 253. The map of the area around the school can be viewed HERE.

Friendly Match .vs. AMC Report [30th May]

18 PMC players (a combination of GAL and OLD) gathered on the Sunday of the long weekend to take on the defending Agape Cup champions AMC in a very friendly match at Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary). It was a relaxed atmosphere as everyone streamed in and kitted up. In addition to keeping ourselves fit, we welcomed Xavier who was joining us for the 1st time, and Neil who had not played with us since the 1st friendly of the year at St Pat's.

The match started with only 10 AMC players, but judging by the possession and passing they held, they had sufficient men. They opened the scoring in quick fashion with speedy attacks down the flanks, most notably on their left. 1, 2, 3, 4, then 5 goals were conceded by the 30th minute, leaving the team shell-shocked and needing a breather. Wholesale changes were made with 9 substitutes coming on. However, within 2 minutes or so, another goal was conceded, making it 6-0 at the half.

The 2nd started with the apparent 'strongest team' being fielded. This appeared to pay some dividends when play was much more competitive and possession was rather even. At times, the PMC even strung some beautiful moves, most notably with David Horne on the left supplying some through passes and nice runs. On the right, Rusydi had good possession on the ball, and Neil at RB was calm and assured. Andy Mason and Kee Min were also keeping the ball better in the middle of the park. However, none of the possession led to goals and on an AMC counter, they scored their 1st of the half. A 2nd one soon followed before we pulled a goal back when a Rusydi cross found Martin in space, who gave the GK no chance. AMC wrapped up the scoring late in the match to make it 9-1 to them.

A '3rd half' was played so that everyone would get a good run-out. This was done without the referee and in mixed teams. It was a good flowing game with 9 players on each side, highlighted by a Ramon and John Chia goal to give their side a 2-0 win.

We thank AMC for hosting us!