Friendly Match Report: PMC vs CMC (22nd June)

PMC met a very familiar CMC side for the second friendly of the year between the 2 sides at St Patricks Secondary School. PMC had a team of 16 players, including Issac's friend Jinwei, who had impressed at our last friendly. As we intended to make use of this friendly to prepare for our next CRC match, the starting line-up prioritized on those who will be available for the 6th July encounter with EBC. Kevin opened us in prayer.

PMC line-up:

Michael

Samuel - Felix - Sheldon - Wei En

Kevin - Kee Min

Justin - Rusydi - Issac

Jeremy Tan

PMC started the match brightly as we were able to contain CMC's wing play and built on to our own passing game from the midfield. Our lone striker Jeremy Tan had caused some problem to CMC defence from his fast and strong pressing up-front and on one occasion, he almost got the ball from CMC's last defender. After 15mins of controlled-play from PMC, CMC seemed to get back into the game and started to launch their attacks from both wings but most of the balls were successfully cleared by our defensive quartet led by the new central pairing in Felix and Sheldon, with Michael making a couple of good saves. At the 25th minute, JZ came on for Wei En with Issac dropped to LB, and Joel also came on for Justin. It was quite an evenly matched game between the 2 sides before an excellent through-ball from Rus found JZ free and he made no mistake with only keeper to beat. After which, Kevin had 2 great opportunities to improve our lead but both efforts narrowly missed the goal. The first half ended with PMC leading by a goal.

PMC made many changes to the second-half line-up:

Michael

Daniel - Kevin - Sheldon - Issac

Samuel - Kee Min

Joel - Jin Wei - JZ

David Lim

PMC again started the match strongly and our second goal arrived very early into the second half when an accurate cross from Joel on the right was met by a tap-in from JZ in the box. CMC made some changes to their attacking trio with the pacy Sam leading the attack. These changes came into effect almost immediately when Sam was able to break through PMC's high defensive line twice and helped CMC to level the score. At the 15th minute, Jacob came in for Joel, Justin came on for JZ and Rus came on for Jin Wei soon after. CMC's third goal came when a back-pass from Justin was robbed by a CMC attacker and he scored from close-range. PMC tried to get back into the game but to no avail. CMC's 4th goal was from a corner where the player was not man-marked tightly in the near post. PMC's final changes were made with Jin Wei came in for Samuel and Shel swapping positions with Kee. There were some attempts to find David Lim up-front but most of the balls were either too far for him to reach or he was being caught offside. At the last few minutes of the game, PMC conceded 2 more and the final scoreline was PMC 2: 6 CMC.

All had a good run-out today and we had experimented some role changes in preparation for our necxt CRC match. Jacob closed in prayer.

CRC2014 Match Report #6: PMC vs COS (15th June)

PMC turned up to face one of the leading teams in this year's CRC with a slightly depleted team, with quite a number of players out injured or away travelling. Nonetheless, the team turned up at Bendemeer Secondary with lots of confidence, hoping for a good showing. The pre-match proceedings were led by COS, a time of praise and sharing of a testimony by Lemuel, who spoke about how knowing God personally had changed his life. 

The PMC lined-up as follows:

Joel

Rusydi - Kevin - Samuel

Kee Min - Sheldon

Damien - Weijie - Jeremy Sin - Daniel Low

Michael

The match started at quite a frenetic pace, given the youthful age of the COS team, and the pace and ability of their players. It was clear that they were confident on the ball, able to spread play smoothly and were confident to attack via the wings or the middle. Not the first time this season, PMC found itself using the 'soak and strike' approach, to pretty good effect, as it kept COS at bay for most of the half, and also created a few chances on the fast break. Match proceedings were quite even in the first half, and COS only managed a breakthrough via the same manner that BNP did a couple of weeks earlier, through a free kick. This time, it was COS' top scorer who rose highest to nod home the goal mid-way through the first half. The resilient PMC team, having made comebacks many a time this season, continued to prod their way upfield. The team's best chance in the first half fell to the boot of Damien, whose free kick was tipped onto the crossbar by the COS GK, denying Damien his first goal of the season. David Sng, who had come on for Joel, also had a number of half-chances to chase, but nothing came out of them. The half ended with COS in the lead at 1-0.

The half-time team talk focused on keeping the team focused on pressing for a goal, despite being outplayed technically and tactically by COS. Isaac came on for Sheldon at the half, going to LM, with Rusydi moving inside to AM, and Kevin falling back to DM alongside Kee Min. The early minutes of the 2nd half proved to be another tight affair but after COS scored their second goal, it seemed the floodgates started to open in their favour. This came through a good run and shot by a COS player. Although Michael had parried the stiff shot well, the defence stood rooted at the COS player followed up nicely to place the ball into the net. Following that, COS got another goal through some neat wing play and nice finish. COS' fourth goal came through the route of a direct free-kick, which was rifled directly into the roof to the net. PMC did try to prod away at 4-0 down, and the best chance fell to Jeremy Tan, who ran onto a short pass by the COS defence, and found himself in a one-on-one situation with the COS GK. However, his toe-poke just went wide. The final nail in PMC's coffin came via the penalty spot. Daniel Low's last ditch tackle in the box saw him take out the COS player as well, leaving the referee no choice but to point to the spot. Michael saved well from the COS player, but again, the COS player was fastest to the ball to put away the rebound. 

In addition to the 5-0 loss, PMC players had also picked up 5 yellow cards in the match through some ill-discipline and poor decision-making. There were lots of learning points from the worst defeat of the season, and Sheldon summed it up well by encouraging all to note stop learning to become better players. Samuel closed in prayer at the end of the team-talk. 

CRC2014 Match Report #5: PMC vs BFEC (8th June)

A rescheduled match from 2 weeks ago due to bad weather in unfamiliar Woodlands brought the team to another new ground in SIA sports center at Changi, a full size astro pitch turf much bigger than the typical MOE secondary school fields. As it’s the June school holidays now, depth of the team is severely tested, coupled with last minute withdrawals on matchday itself. A slight drizzle before the game was not enough to cool the hot weather as the sun was blazing almost immediately.

PMC was assigned the ‘home team’ on a ground that BFEC are definitely more familiar with. Being the home team, Maurice led the singspiration followed by a short devotion by Jacob. With the World Cup around the corner, Jacob begin by sharing the infamous goal from Maradonna when he scored with his hands. Scripture from Ecclesiastes 10:1, As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honour. As good as Maradona was with his skills, that ‘handball’ brought labels like ‘cheater’ to his reputation. It is easy for each of us to be tempted and succumb to sin in our everyday life. We should always stay guarded and on the contrary, every little good things we do will actually bring much hope and happiness to the people around us. Sunday was also PMC anniversary, and as Jocob shared, church members went around Pasir Ris to give residents little gifts, smiles reciprocating from the residents are definitely a heartening thing to be felt. BFEC close the sharing with an opening prayer and both teams got together for a photo taking session.

Much adjustments were made to the team as a couple of players could not make it. PMC started a strong team as always:

Joel

Damien - WeiJie - Jem Sin - Daniel

Sheldon - KeeMin

Issac - Tim - JingZhong

Jem Tan 

BFEC kick-off the first-half as PMC chose the side without facing the glaring sun. PMC was able to get into game very fast, dominating the opening 10 minutes and pushing BFEC in their half. The midfield 5 won their individual battle and press BFEC hard, attacking down BFEC on either flanks and exposing BFEC fullbacks weakness. JZ easily outpace BFEC leftback on many occasion and combine well with Jem Tan to manage a couple of early shots. On the other end, Issac is able to twist and turn BFEC's right back, and combining with Damien, they both whip in many early crosses, one of which JZ is able to arrive late at the far post but failed to find the net. Hence it is no surprise that all this pressure and dominance soon brought PMC the first goal. Winning the ball in the middle, Sheldon sent an early ball down the right flank for JZ to latch on. A good first touch and a burst of pace brought JZ into the penalty box as BFEC leftback was left for dead. JZ's cutback managed to find Jem Tan, who sidefooted low and hard into the bottom left corner.

BFEC seemed to have woken up and got into their rhythm of passing play. Their key strength lies in the captain who played on the left flank. Everytime BFEC win back the ball, they would spread the ball down BFEC left flank to find their pacy captain. Long diagonal balls soon became the norm of play for BFEC as they try to play the ball between PMC back line, but PMC defence stood firm and covered all possible angle. Dan was always adequately covered by Jem should BFEC captain sprint past him, and equally on the other side when the long diagonal ball beat Damien, WJ was there to cover. BFEC started to become frustrated and attempted to enrage PMC players on any possible fouls and subsequent stoppages, they would snap at the referees for any decisions gone against them. PMC held off the late surges from BFEC to halftime.

HT: PMC 1 BFEC 0.

BFEC's big squad allow them to make a couple of changes while PMC begin the second half with the same team. It is PMC's turn to face the blazing sun and abit of a relief for BFEC to have the sun on their backs. PMC kickoff and straight away BFEC were closing down very quickly. They managed to intercept and very quickly before PMC could recover, BFEC had a 2 v 2 scenerio down the middle. Jem attempted to rush out to close the angle but was too late in stopping the through ball from BFEC captain that split PMC defence. The ball reached the mobile BFEC striker who calmly slot it past Joel. BFEC continue the high tempo start to the second half, dominating PMC tired midfield and sending splitting balls through the defence. Another such ball found the captain who sprinted past from the back of Jem to collect the ball. WJ make a last ditch tackle to block the shot and clear the ball. Unfortunately the clearance hit a clueless Jem from close and it rebounded nicely to the path of a stalking BFEC striker to put their team 2-1 up. PMC begin the substitution to give some much needed legs in the middle, as Eddie and WeiEn came on for Sheldon and Tim. An injury to Isaac brought injury plagued Jacob, who is still suffering from chest pain in the last game, onto the field moments later. JZ came out for Felix as well as his knees can no longer last the intensity of the game. Soon after, a heavy challenge on Jacob had Jacob sprawling on the floor clutching his chest and medic was rushed onto the field. Thankfully, Jacob is able to shake off the pain after catching his breathe again on the ground.

BFEC continue to make their changes as the heat wear off their players and they were now content to sit back and simply launch counter attacks via their pacy captain. PMC tried to launch attacks on BFEC goal but nothing productive can be make of the front players now. The best effort came from a free kick earned on the right corner outside of the box. It was a territory perfect for a left-footed strike and Damien delivered the free-kick to perfection. Almost too perfect that it beat everyone as well as the goal keeper but hit the underside of the bar. All of us thought for a moment that it was definitely going in, awwed by the flight of the free-kick. BFEC held out the last minutes and referee soon brought an end to a very hot afternoon.

FT: PMC 1 BFEC 2.

Friendly Match Report: PMC vs BNP Paribas (31st May)

The PMC Soccer Team took the opportunity of a 5th Saturday to host BNP Paribas to a friendly match at Hai Sing Catholic School. BNP Paribas takes part in the Financial Institutions League and looked to provide some stiff competition in helping PMC prepare for their next CRC match. Certainly upon arriving at Hai Sing, it was clear that BNP was largely made up of foreign talent, with some huge caucasian players. Nonetheless, the order of the day was to focus on playing to the best of our ability and pass the ball around as much as possible. With a number of players injured, it was also a good opportunity to give some of our potential players a run-out, with Jinwei, Luke and Ryan joining us in this regard.

The starting line-up was as follows:

Jeremy Tan

Isaac - Kevin - Lincoln

Kee Min - Timothy

Daniel Chen - Weijie - Jacob - Daniel Low

Michael

The match started at quite a furious pace, with BNP controlling the ball well and launching attacks via the wings. PMC was happy to 'soak and strike', as it had done well against FMC earlier in the season. Although possession of the ball was in favour of BNP, chances of goal were quite even, with Jeremy Tan and Isaac both having half chances in the course of the first half. The deadlock was only broken when BNP took advantage of a free kick to launch a high ball into the box, where their 6-foot-4-inch midfielder leapt the highest to nod the ball into the net. At 1-0, BNP was happy to play keep ball under hot conditions and held their lead till half time.

Not playing badly at all, the encouragement was for PMC to continue doing what they do best to get back into the match. However, before the comeback ensued, PMC fell behind by another goal, through almost identical circumstances. This time, it was a corner that was played into the middle of the 18-yard-box where the same 6-foot-4-inch midfielder headed the ball into the net, despite Jacob already putting his body on his opponent. Being 2-0 down did not deter PMC, which made a great comeback with BNP fading under the heat. PMC's first goal came in through sheer determination, when the ball was 'pinballed' on the edge of the box, and Joel supplying the final pass to Jinwei, who finished neatly. PMC's equalising goal then saw Jinwei being the provider, weaving down the left wing and threading a nice low cross into the box for Jeremy Tan to chip neatly over the GK. At 2-2, it was all to play for. In PMC's great desire to press for the winning goal, a big gap had formed between defence and midfield. With 5min to go, BNP was able to exploit that gap, allowing their midfielder to run into the space and fire a stiff shot into goal for the winner.

Despite the loss, valuable lessons were learnt in the defending of set pieces and coming from behind. It was certainly a worthwhile experience for all who turned up.

Soccer Fellowship Report (25th May)

A combination of time of the year, weather and injuries meant that only 8 players turned up for this session of Soccer Fellowship. Ronnie shared on the topic of 'Why We Need to Pray and Why It Is Important' during devotions The players played using small goalposts and had a decent run-out despite the small numbers. 

Reported by: Ronnie Liew

Soccer Fellowship Report (10th May)

Following last week's win in the league, PMC soccer community turn up in large numbers in confidence of more wins to come in the coming league games. As the players stroll into now our self-proclaimed 'homeground" HSC, talk was all on last week's game, as those who missed out on that game congratulate each other and discuss about all the goals, all the assists, what could have been more if not for the misses.

As the guys gear up, devotion was shared this week about our life goals and plans. Scripture in relation was taken from Exodus 3, whereby the story of Moses was shared. We see God giving Moses the goal He chose for him. We all know that Moses had fled Egypt, and settled with his family tending to his father-in-law's flock in Median. After leaving Egypt for 40 years, he probably would have forgotten the earlier events in Egypt, and his goal is probably just to retire as a farmer. Yet, God call out to him to return to Egypt to free the Israelites. This was not Moses's goal, but God's goal. Moses's reaction to God's goal for this assignment shows his humility and humanity. He questioned, " Who am I that I should go to the Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" And yet, God still used him. God did not merely give Moses the specific goal. He defined the plan, the needed steps and skills, He provided Aaron to help Moses. God knows the goal is useless without a plan. So he told Moses where to go, to whom, for what purpose and how to eventually celebrate the victory. Often we forgot God knows everything about us, our past, present and future. We question God and point him to our flaws. We don't see the victory God shows us when He presents His goals. We need to understand a goal is the destination, the plan is the journey. The goal will be clear and unlikely to change, but the plan will be fuzzy and will have several possible paths. That is why its essential to continue to listen to God about the journey's details. Any obstacles we meet are merely learning stations that teaches us to lean on Jesus. We need to stay focus on Christ and let Him lead, for He knows the way, we don't! Our life goal is to glorify God. It gives the context for all we do and is the reason we do everything. To achieve these goals, we follow plans, which are part of our "sanctification" journey to become like Christ. And as we carry out plans, don't be surprised when conditions worsen before getting better. Always reach out to God to confirm His goals for us and to give us wisdom as He guide us through our challenges! Devotion was concluded whereby I shared the few cross-junction in my life; the path and dilemma to choose after O-levels and midway through university days.

Soccer was then preceded with about 8 a-side on a half-field, the reds-yellows versus the other colours. 10 minutes in, a couple more youths joined our kick-a-bouts and we switched to a full match field size, with goal scoring only in the 6-yard box. Goals were plentiful throughout the session, with wei-en especially getting a lot of them as he takes full advantage of the no offside-rule. Key soccer highlights were on how the PMC competitive players were able to practise their play in their respective position. Jem and WJ were in defence for the Reds wherein much defensive work was carried out against a very strong attack 4 of JZ, YJ, Shel and Jacob. Other exciting work noted was the potential shown in some of the youths who have been attending soccer fellowship with this soccer community for awhile now. Isaac and friends sure show good athletics and touches, and i'm sure in time to come, these young football enthusiasts will develop to become very good footballers. Everyone had a good 2 halves run-out under the hot afternoon sun, and the session ended promptly at 5pm.

CRC2014 Match Report #4: PMC vs FMC (4th May)

Scorching hot weather greeted both teams as they arrived at Hai Sing Catholic School for a showdown. PMC players were cautiously optimistic, as we were playing on our home turf against last year's 4th place team. However, as the CRC fixtures would have it, it was FMC designated as the home team, even though they had to travel all the way from Commonwealth to our backyard. PMC's pre-match anxieties were heightened when no one was able to contact Rusydi before the start of S&S, which started without him, leaving him ineligible to play even if he had turned up later. A quick change of the starting line-up was needed once S&S was conducted by FMC. 

Combined pre-match team photo of FMC and PMC

After S&S, the PMC team got organised and lined up in the following manner for the match:

Jeremy Tan

Jingzhong - Kevin - Isaac

Sheldon - Kee Min

Daniel Chen - Jeremy Sin - Daniel Low - Samuel

David Lim

There were many 'firsts' in the above line-up, due to some players being away and Rusydi not turning up, but the mood amongst the players were positive, looking forward to a good result. It was clear from the outset that PMC was up against young, fast and direct opponents. In the first 10min, PMC was already defending wave after wave of attacks from FMC. PMC's 1 or 2 balls in FMC territory were from some counter attacks led by Jingzhong. On one such quick breakaway, a 50-50 ball was challenged by Jingzhong, which left the FMC player on the ground, likely from how he fell. He was not able to play any further part in the match, making FMC field its only substitute for the match. 5min later, it was PMC's turn to lose its first player. The fast pace of the game and heavy defending caused Daniel Chen to limp off. Justin came on in his place, moving to RM with Isaac moving down to LB. Somehow, this series of changes stabilised the team, and even though the approach to counter-attack was the same, the results were very different for the rest of the half. One early big boot from David Lim started things going at about the 20min mark. The long ball was allowed to bounce by the FMC defence, and Jingzhong was first to it in the box, volleying the ball past the stranded FMC GK for PMC's first goal. Being ahead for the first time this season encouraged PMC to defend stoutly and counter for the next goal. All these came after the 25th min, when David Sng had come on to replace Jeremy Tan. The 2nd goal came from a quick breakaway after defending. An early ball from Sheldon found Jingzhong racing down the left, who beat the defender and planted a firm shot that the FMC GK could only parry into David Sng's path, who made no mistake with the put away. The 3rd goal came in similar fashion, but the roles of scorer and assistant were reversed. This time, the early ball from Sheldon was to David Sng, who crossed low into the box. Jingzhong was there to hold off the defender and slot the ball through the FMC GK's legs to put PMC 3-0 up before the half. There were some close shaves in defence before the break, but by and large, PMC had played well to take the lead at halftime. 

The second half team-talk focused on playing the same way and not sit back. The team went back on the field, unchanged to continue pressing for more goals. However, within the first 5min, PMC had to make another enforced change, with Kevin pulling his back and being replaced by Cheng Qian. FMC was committed to getting back into the match and posed a threat, mainly from the right flank. On one occasion, a shot by the winger stung the fingers of David Lim, who reacted well to tip the shot over the bar. The match result was put beyond doubt when Yi Jun (having replaced David Sng), crossed early to Jingzhong, allowing him to sprint and beat the GK with a low shot to complete his hat-trick. There was even a 4th goal for Jingzhong, when Cheng Qian played him in again through the middle. His shot went into goal and came out of the side netting. The referee, Shah, inexplicably waved play-on, despite protests from everyone, including FMC players and COS players warming up behind the goal, who witnessed that it was legitimate and tried to tell the referee so. Nonetheless, the disallowed goal did not dampen PMC spirits, being 4-0 up. However, a clear area of improvement was the lack of discipline in the final 10min, when too many players decided to abandon their positions in search of personal glory. This left gaps in the defence, allowing a speculative effort from an FMC winger to sail into goal, robbing the PMC defence of a well-deserved clean sheet. 

The match ended 4-1 in favour of PMC, its first victory in CRC2014. This was certainly an encouraging result, given the unavailability of key players and last minute changes to the team. Certainly having played together all season has helped to bring the team to a higher understanding of one another and this bodes well for the upcoming matches. 

Soccer Fellowship Report (26th April)

It was absolutely beautiful weather as a large group of players turned up for Soccer Fellowship this Saturday. The call to rally players from the Soccer Team to do some training finally paid off as 14 players from the Soccer Team turned up, with friends and other Soccer Community regulars to make up 20 players in total for the day. Before play started, Ronnie shared devotions, encouraging all to turn to the assurance of knowing God and trusting Him, as so many uncertain things happen in the world that we cannot understand, e.g. sinking of South Korean ferry. 

 Ronnie sharing devotions before the start of play

Play started after the 2 teams grouped themselves, with the dark colours (DC) against the light colours (LC). In an unplanned way, the LC seemed to have more of the central players from the Soccer Team, and the DC had more of the wide players, which made for an interest contest of styles. With 20 players, the team took on each other full field, without GKs, scoring only from inside the six-yard-box.

The LC started much more confidently, keeping ball and passing it around to good effect, while the DC did most of the chasing. It was no surprise that the LC scored first, but the scorer was perhaps the surprise, as it was Michael, playing as the lone striker, converting the put-through by Kevin. From there, the LC scored another couple of goals before the DC pulled one back before half-time.

The DC certainly were more composed after the break, keeping the ball much better and having lots more chances, with David Lim and Yi Jun finally involved in some good link-up play. Another couple of goals were scored by both sides before free play stopped.

This was when the Soccer Team took the last 15min to work on some build-up drills and also attacking/defending from dead-ball situations. The session ended with the Soccer Team composing and taking the photo below to enter in the CRC2014 Facebook contest.

'Blues Parking the Bus'

CRC2014 Match Report #3: PMC vs CBC (20th April)

The PMC team was full of confidence as it made its way to Anderson Secondary for the 'must-win' game against CBC. Even missing 6 first-teamers did not rob PMC from knowing that it could end the match with its first victory of the year. An almost full team of 17 players turned up, with 'injured' supporters Weijie and Daniel Low on hand to cheer the team on. Samuel from CBC led both teams in the Easter Sunday S&S before team shots were taken and the match ready to kick off.

PMC lined up in the following manner for kick-off:

David Sng

Isaac - Jingzhong - Rusydi

Kevin - Sheldon

Eddie - Jacob - Jeremy Sin - Andy

David Lim

PMC started the match brightly, obviously the hungrier of the 2 teams. Some crisp passing was seen down the flanks for Isaac and Rusydi to have quite a number of touches. The first chance of the match fell to Jingzhong with a low cross from the right, but his stiff shot was off target. It was clear that CBC's method to counter PMC's swift play was to opt for Route 1 football, constantly pumping balls high and deep into PMC's half, allowing their lone forward to chase. These long balls were easily cleared by Jacob and Jeremy, until a speculative high ball was left by both Eddie and Isaac on the left, allowing the CBC winger to find his way down the flank to deliver a speculative cross-shot which spun in the air to deceive David in goal, putting CBC 1-0 up against the run of play. As fluky as it seemed, it wasn't the first time this season that PMC had been caught out by such a goal, and clearly the message to clear the ball quickly and decisively from their own half had not sunk in. PMC's response was positive, continuing with its focus on getting the balls to the wings quickly to create chances. On one such attack, a 50-50 ball played into the box was met by Jingzhong faster than the onrushing CBC GK, who took Jingzhong down quite robustly. This was just one of the many physical challenges that CBC players made in the first half. The referee pointed to the penalty spot immediately and Rusydi calmly stroked the ball into the bottom corner of the net to bring the match to 1-1. For the rest of the half, it was all PMC, trying to take the lead, but to no avail. With 15min of the half remaining, David Sng left the field for Lincoln to come in at RM and Rusydi pushing up to CF, but that change only brought a few chances which were not put away.

The second half began with one change- Daniel Chen coming on for Eddie at LB. Daniel's ability to play long balls certainly contributed to PMC's constant pressing of the CBC goal, but there was little breakthrough. Yi Jun came on 10min after the restart as CF, and although there were a number of good exchanges with Rusydi and Jingzhong, his one chance saw him blast the ball high from just inside the box. Frustration was beginning to set in as the final ball was just not there for PMC to put away. On CBC's part, their long ball game was producing a chance or two, but fortunately for PMC, even when its defence hesitated, the CBC forward was not sharp enough to score. A couple more changes took place, with Joel replacing Andy at RB and Maurice coming on for Kevin with some slight re-shuffling. Whatever PMC threw at CBC was not enough at the end of the day, and it certainly felt like it was 2 points lost rather than 1 point gained after the draw. Nonetheless, the team had not played badly and will live to win another day. Jacob closed in prayer after the post-match de-brief.

Thank God It's Good Friday...

Good Friday this year, comes in the midst of a number of tragedies that continue to show us the uncertainty of world around us. From the mysterious disappearance of MH370 to the South Korea ferry disaster, unpredictable tragic events shock us and leave us saddened at the loss of life, even if do not grieve in a personal capacity.

Good Friday is a reminder that amidst the uncertainty we see around us, there is hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, who promises to us that "There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens" (Ecclesiastes 3:1). This may be hard to see or feel when we look around us at what is going on in the world, but hope in Jesus Christ is born out of taking a step of faith. In the Bible, Jesus reminds us that if we place our hope in Him, He is preparing a home for us in heaven (John 14:2-3) and that He will never leave us or forsake us. The only way to gain access to a life of hope in Jesus is to:

A ccept that we are sinners in need of forgiveness

B elieve in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins

C ommit our lives to Him

(John 3:16)

The prayer of the Soccer Community leaders is that today, all of us will look to Jesus for hope and new life and know that Good Friday is only good, because Jesus died on the cross for our sins. May we all recognise that He is the only one who can give true hope in the world, and can be our cornerstone through all of life.