Soccer Fellowship Report (15th June)

Its the middle of the school holidays season on a hot saturday afternoon as PMC soccer regular khakkis turned up in HSS for their weekly kickabouts. Not a big attendance as the youths in Church were involved in an event, while some others are taking a break with their family for a weekend holidays overseas. Still about 11 regulars turned up, with the core of it being the PMC team guys.

Play only started at about 345pm as the heat really had the players trickling in at a later timing. After all had geared up and did some passing in the middle of the field, Jem opened the session with a short prayer. Teams were split fairly equal of 5 red shirts v 6 white shirts, with the father and son being in the same team. Goal posts were, as per the last fellowship session, shifted to half field, and play was without goalkeepers. It was a pretty well close game as teams were split up of fairly equal quality. The reds had hard players in Jem, KM, Dan, experienced Uncle Ronnie and pacy Joel. Whites on the other hand have attacking minded David Sng, JZ, YJ, with Michael at the back and the father and son (has pretty good touches for a young age). Goals were flowing on both sides, as all players enjoyed a relaxing session without overexerting on each other. Break was at about 430pm, and after that, Michael (i guess still hangover from his wedding) pulled out, followed by the father and son. Towards the end, its just the reds constantly overloading the whites, as the passing seemed to be non-stop, just waiting to find the gap past the bus parked by the whites in front of their goalpost. Finally it was 5 and everyone was tired, but equally enjoyed the fellowship session. We then bid each other farewell and looked to meetup again in the coming match against PMC known "derby rivals".

Till then, lets all enjoy this school holidays with our loved ones. For those free on 23 June afternoon, feel free to come down to St Gabriel Sec to cheer on PMC as they take on CMC. Cheers.

Soccer Fellowship (15th June)

Soccer Fellowship is on this Saturday, 15th June at Hai Sing Catholic School* (yes, the one in Pasir Ris). We are at this new venue as our regular fields are all unavailable. The location is still rather convenient with many buses plying between Pasir Ris MRT Station and the school. The session will be from 3 - 5 pm.

Please bring BOTH a BRIGHT and DARK jersey so that we can split the teams evenly.

Please pray for good weather! If you suspect the session is cancelled, please check the blog/email for more information before you head for the field. Cancellation of session will be broadcast on the blog and by email immediately when we are informed by Sports Council.

*The address of Hai Sing Catholic School is 9 Pasir Ris Drive 6. The entrance to the field however, is along Pasir Ris Drive 3, just across the road from E-Hub. There is a bus-stop just next to the field entrance. The nearest car park is the open air car park along blocks 406/407 Pasir Ris Drive 6.

You can view the map of the area HERE. 

CRC2013 Match #4 Report: PMC vs CAG (9th June)

The PMC Soccer Team turned up at its new 'home ground' of St Gabriel's Secondary School truly intending to get its season back on the road again. Bolstered by the return of last year's offensive duo of Timothy and Martin, the PMC team was certainly hopeful of a good result, even though Isaiah and Daniel were suspended, and Rusydi and Jacob were away.

The pre-match proceedings began with CAG leading in worship and some sharing by their leaders. The PMC team conferred for their pre-match team talk and focused on playing offensively, and getting the result that was badly needed. The team lined up in the following formation:

Martin

Jingzhong - Timothy - Justin

Kee Min - Jeremy Sin

Damien - Kevin - Samuel 

Weijie

David Lim

Both teams started competitively although with contrasting styles. PMC was playing primarily down the middle, with the occasional ball through the left with Jingzhong. CAG on the other hand, was quick to swing long diagonal balls to their wingers at every opportunity, using these speedy players to send quick crosses in or cutting in to take shots on goal. CAG threatened more than PMC in the early stages, with their quick wingers. More than once they had opportunity to shoot, but their shots sailed high, wide or both. Unfortunately for PMC, there was only so much onslaught the team could withstand and when a low cross was played just outside the box, the PMC defenders were wrong-footed by an unplanned double dummy, allowing a free CAG player to shoot unobstructed into the corner of David Lim's net to put CAG 1-0 up. Undaunted, PMC pressed for the equaliser, with Martin leading the line. When he was fouled just outside the box, Timothy stepped up to fire a free-kick into the net, leaving the CAG GK with no chance. With the scores back level at 1-1, both team used the remainder of the 1st half to bring an advantage to the interval, but to no avail. During the half-time team talk, everyone was encouraged by a positive first half but was asked to improve communication and increase chances in the final third.

The same team trudged onto the field for the 2nd half, determined to take the match to CAG. Both teams tried to get the rhythm going again, but CAG was clearly getting the lion's share of chances, with Weijie and Samuel having to make goal-line clearances, and the PMC crossbar saving the team on 3 occasions. Offensively, PMC wasn't that sharp, with just hopeful balls lofted into the CAG half. It was thus no surprise that CAG took the lead again, with another swift break down the PMC right flank. As hard as the defenders tried, the whipped cross evaded a number of players in the box, leaving the CAG forward near the far post to finish from a tight angle. Being 2-1 down, PMC brought on David Sng for Sameul and Yi Jun for Justin in search of goals. The equaliser did come quickly, but it was all done to the individual work of Jingzhong, who stole the ball from CAG's LB and took on the GK to make it 2-2. With full time just 15min away, it seemed like a draw was to be a fair result, but both teams disregarded that fact and continued to attack. However, the game-changer arrived when David Sng and David Lim went for the same high ball, without an opponent near them. The collision left David Lim on the ground with a badly sprained ankle, and was subbed off with Maurice coming on. Steve also came on for Martin during this time. With the defence slightly shaken and CAG continuing their onslaught from the wing, it was a matter of time before a high ball was not well claimed by Maurice, leaving the CAG forward to poke the ball into an empty net. It was another bitter pill for PMC to swallow, with a late goal leaving PMC without a point from the match after working so hard. 

The post-game team talk sounded familiar as it was the 2nd consecutive game that PMC had been at 2-2 at the 70th minute, but late mistakes leaving the team on the losing end. Still everyone felt the effort was good, and left knowing that there would still be more matches to play. David Lim had to leave for the hospital for an X-ray but was thankful to find his ankle not fractured. 

Soccer Fellowship Report (1st June)

Despite the excellant weather for soccer only 8 guys turned up for soccer fellowship. Poor turnout largely due to a number of regulars absent to attend our Bro Michael Chua wedding celebrations that day. Ronnie opened the session by sharing that God wants us to honor our parents, to value and cherish them as our parents deserve our love and respect. This is how we should treat our parents if we desire God's blessing.

Due to the small turnout, play had to be restricted to 4 a side which was played on a half size field with no goalie. It was the usual Whites vs Coloured team. Play commenced with the Coloured team playing the more aggressive and direct soccer focusing on short passing, retaining posession, short dribbling and shoot on sight strategy. The White team was however contented to sit back to handle the onslaught, defending stoutly, employing quick counter attacks to score a couple of quick goals. Play was pretty even in the first half and a similar pattern followed in the second half. The second half saw both teams stepped up the pace as rain threatened to pour as grey clouds covered the skyline and strong winds blewed. Lots of running and short passing of the ball by both teams with many goals scored. Due to the small number of players per team, the players had to do more running than usual and all did enjoyed a good workout on the field. Heavy rain eventually descended on the field with about 15 mins of playing time left and play had to stop with the players running to the changing room to take shelter from the rain.
Kevin closed the session in prayer.

Soccer Fellowship (1st June)

Soccer Fellowship is on this Saturday, 1st June at Hai Sing Catholic School* (yes, the one in Pasir Ris). We are at this new venue as our regular fields are all unavailable. The location is still rather convenient with many buses plying between Pasir Ris MRT Station and the school. The session will be from 3 - 5 pm.

Please bring BOTH a BRIGHT and DARK jersey so that we can split the teams evenly.

Please pray for good weather! If you suspect the session is cancelled, please check the blog/email for more information before you head for the field. Cancellation of session will be broadcast on the blog and by email immediately when we are informed by Sports Council.

*The address of Hai Sing Catholic School is 9 Pasir Ris Drive 6. The entrance to the field however, is along Pasir Ris Drive 3, just across the road from E-Hub. There is a bus-stop just next to the field entrance. The nearest car park is the open air car park along blocks 406/407 Pasir Ris Drive 6.

You can view the map of the area HERE. 

Friendly Match Report: PMC vs CBC (25th May)

The PMC players gathered at Greenview Secondary on a very hot day to use its 'free' weekend for some match practice in order to keep the momentum going for CRC2013. Both PMC and CBC were in last position in their respective CRC groups, and needed a win to boost team morale. Being a long weekend, many PMC players were unavailable, but the team welcomed back Martin after his recovery from a fractured elbow. The pre-match team talk focused on using the friendly match to give everyone a good run-out and also to try out new formations to suit players available, instead of being adamant about playing a 4-2-3-1 if available players could not play some of the positions in this formation. The PMC team lined-up as follows:

Jeremy Tan

Jingzhong - Martin - Justin

Kee Min - Jeremy Sin

Wei En - Kevin - Daniel Low - Samuel

David Lim

The early exchanges were quite even, with the main battle in the middle of the pitch. CBC's #16 was seeing a lot of the ball, and it was clear that he was the playmaker for the team, stringing long passes, holding the ball well and even taking a few shots that sailed high above David Lim's goal. On PMC's part, having Martin back meant that the ball was retained better and on a number of occasions, Jeremy Tan was able to pressure the CBC defence. Jingzhong also had a number of chances and in general, the team was playing reasonably well, stringing decent passes but unable to put any away. In defence, the back four held firm and didn't allow much to trouble them. When the CBC players did get through, David Lim was there to smother the danger, or CBC's final pass was astray. With nothing much in it, the 1st half ended with the team performance reinforcing what had been the case this season - strong in defence, but unable to put the ball in the back of the net. 

The 2nd half allowed PMC to experiment with a 4-3-3 formation with more emphasis on attack. David Lim also made his debut in a forward role to see if that would provide a cutting edge to the team. The 2nd half kicked-off with the following line-up:

Jingzhong - David Sng - David Lim

Kevin - Kee Min - Jeremy Sin

Wei En - Samuel - Joel

Daniel Low

Michael

This new formation certainly allowed PMC the upper hand in the early exchanges of the match, keeping the ball in the opponent's half with some good pressing in the middle third. The best chance of the early exchanges fell to Jingzhong when he was played through on goal, but fired the ball high with only the GK to beat. David Lim tried to use his pace to beat defenders, but chances to do so were few and far between. It was against the run of play that CBC scored their first goal. A long lofted ball down CBC's right wing found their forward, who evaded Wei En and fired a still shot into the top left corner of Michael's goal, with the entire defence rooted. CBC's 2nd goal came quickly, again through a fast-break. Being 2-0 down and still not being able to score, PMC reverted to the 4-2-3-1 formation, which steadied the ship, allowing the players on the bench to rotate back on the pitch, and see out the match at that scoreline. 

Although it was another loss for PMC, the match allowed everyone to get at least a half of football and also allowed the team to try out something new with an eye on the next CRC match against CAG. 

Soccer Fellowship Report 18 May 2013

Hi all, last Saturday's fellowship had about 18 of us playing an enjoyable session of football in a nice cool weather. This was after Michael opened the session with a personal testimonial about God's grace & saving mercy.

The session was also joined in by a new friend Edmund who was introduced by Maurice. The game started off brightly for David & his teammates who were wearing mainly blue. In the opening 15 min, he scored at least two goals with other teammates scoring a few as well against the mainly white jerseys. The white finally break the zero goal mark with a stunner shot from Samuel half an hour into the game.

In the second half, the whites have more possession in the opening 15 minutes due to the departure of Isaiah from the blue team. The whites tried hard to score but only managed to do so through Maurice after some time. Due to fatigue, the white somehow allowed the blues to score a few more before wrapping up the session.

Whatever the score may be, all of us enjoyed the game & really had a good workout.

Soccer Fellowship (18th May)

Soccer Fellowship is on this Saturday, 18th May at Greenview Secondary School* (yes, the one in Pasir Ris). The session will be from 3 - 5 pm.

Please bring BOTH a BRIGHT and DARK jersey so that we can split the teams evenly.

Please pray for good weather! If you suspect the session is cancelled, please check the blog/email for more information before you head for the field. Cancellation of session will be broadcast on the blog and by email immediately when we are informed by Sports Council.

*The address of Greenview Secondary School is 15 Pasir Ris Street 21.

CRC2013 Match #3 Report: PMC vs FMC (12th May)

It was a really hot afternoon as the PMC players gathered at St Gabriel's Secondary School for our 'home' match against Faith Methodist Church (FMC). Needing a win to ensure that our season did not go into a downward spiral after the 3rd match, the players were quite prepared to slog it out on the field, despite some last minute withdrawals and players unavailable. Maurice and Kevin led the Singspiration and Sharing, with Kevin encouraging both teams to play with integrity (according to the laws of the game) and for team mates to encourage one another in this endeavour. After the respective team talks, the teams lined up on the field, with PMC in the following formation:

Jingzhong

Daniel Chen - Jeremy Sin - Rusydi

Kee Min - Isaiah

Damien - Kevin - Daniel Low

Weijie

David Lim

The action was fast and furious from the kick-off, with FMC playing a high speed up-tempo game with the pacy wingers. In the early stages of the match, they threatened by taking the ball past our full backs on more than one occasion, but we were let off by their selfishness as the FMC wingers often chose to shoot (off target) instead of cross to a team mate in the box. On the occasion that a cross did end up in the box, David Lim or the defenders were there to repel the danger. On the part of PMC, the early forward movements were in the form of counter attacks, with Isaiah trying to string passes for Rusydi and Jingzhong to chase down. Although possession was even, FMC clearly had the attacking share of the play, and duly took the lead with a corner. FMC's whipped cross found the head of a player who made his way in front of Kee Min, and he made no mistake by guiding the ball into the net, with David Lim attempting to meet the cross. With FMC 1-0 up, it looked all bleak for PMC as the sun continued to sap the energy of the players. The first 'victim' of this was Daniel Chen, who had to come off after 25min, replaced by Lincoln who swapped positions with Jingzhong. Play was largely even after the re-start, with PMC stringing a few decent moves, and FMC surprisingly keen to sit back to hold their lead for half-time. They paid the price for this was a throw-in was controlled by Kee Min, who passed to Jingzhong in the box to rifle in an unstoppable shot to level matters. With the wind in their sails, PMC pressed to take a lead into the 2nd half, but this did not materialise, despite some very positive play in the closing stages of the 1st half.

The same team took the field at the start of the 2nd half, but knowing that changes would be imminent with the sun still beating down mercilessly. Knowing that a 1-1 draw would not be an ideal result, PMC searched for the win in the early stages, this time, leaving FMC to play the counter-attacking game. Both sides tried but failed to make any impact in the early stages of the 2nd half, leading to substitutions being made. Lincoln came off for PMC, replaced by David Sng. Next to follow him off the bench was Joel Tan, replacing the tiring Damien. With PMC defending stoutly in its own half, it gave FMC much time on the ball beyond the half way line and this led to a very fortunate goal from FMC's left back, who launched a speculative shot from distance. The ball cannoned off the PMC crossbar, hit David Lim on the arm and ended in goal for FMC to take a 2-1 lead. Under such unfortunate circumstances, PMC made more substitutions to press for the equaliser, with Samuel coming on for Jeremy Sin and Jeremy Tan coming on for Isaiah. Samuel's impact was substantial as minutes after FMC's goal, he pressured a defender in the box from Rusydi's throw-in, forcing the FMC player to lob his own GK and give PMC the equaliser. At 2-2, it would have been a fair result, with only under 10min left to play. The final substitution came when Weijie experienced double-vision, and had to come off with Wei En replacing him. However, all of PMC's good work was undone in the final minutes of the match when a FMC fast-break saw Daniel Low caught out on the right. With the fast moving opponent entering into the box, Daniel tugged at his jersey, bringing him down. The referee had no option but to award Daniel his 2nd yellow, sending him off, and giving FMC a penalty. FMC's veteran player Brian stepped up and coolly slotted the ball past David to give FMC the 3-2 lead. In the final minutes, FMC had more than another chance to increase their lead, with PMC down to 10 men and with almost the last kick of the game, they scored their last goal when a long ball was not dealt with my the back 3 of Kee Min, Kevin and Wei En, leaving an FMC to score past David in a one-on-one situation.

Although there was a better feeling from the PMC team after the loss (coming from improved communication and effort), the defeat did not mask the fact that PMC needed much re-thinking about its formation and ability to score goals this season, with the current players available.

Soccer Fellowship Report (4th May)

The weather was near-perfect for soccer initially as the sun was hidden behind a patch of clouds. We were pleased to see many players who are involved in the tournament turned up, with the intention of working closer together as a team. A good response to Kevin's previous email by these players. We welcomed 3 new friends into the fellowship.

Jacob led the devotion and shared on Jesus is the answer to the many "why" questions in life. "The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all." Psalm 103:19. Jesus said: "I am the way, truth and life". God has shown us the way to truth and led us to the real meaning of life.

The players were split into 2 teams with the Whites against Other Colours. Since we had 19 players at start, we used the full field for the play. After a short-while, we were joined by 3 more players and it became 11 vs 11. The Whites scored first through David Lim as one of his explosive runs opened the scoring. Choon Heng had previously made a spell of successful interceptions as the GK but was caught off the line this time. The Other Colours looked for a response with 3 marathoners bossing the midfield. The equaliser finally arrived when  Ronnie cut in from the flank and played a nice volley into the net. Soon after, David scored another goal to put the Whites ahead again. Bryan, the Other Colours' lone striker, led the fightback by scoring a brace to bring the halftime scoreline to 3:2 to the Other Colours.

After a short break, the play resumed with the sun no longer in hiding position. The weather by that time was comparable to the blazing hot weather 2 weeks ago. The Other Colours was the more offensive side as the second half started, but the Whites threatened  many times with their speedy wingers David and Marcus. A great solo-effort from Marcus who beat 2 defensive players before guiding the ball into the bottom corner of the net, that leveled the scoreline to 3:3.  Our new comer, Javan, stole the show when a lose ball fell to him and he made no mistake to put it into the net. The final score was Other Colours 4:3 Whites.

Sheldon closed us in prayer by giving thanks to God for the session.