Match 44 - Defeat

18 mar 2007, a day of try outs for Songbo FC.

Today's opponents are the uncles we played against a mth ago, and we won 2-0 in that match at dunearn field. Today they are asking for another rematch, maybe due to the fact that they cant take it down nicely that they lost to us the other time, hence the rematch!!
Today's stand in capt for the day is robinho, its partly due to the naivety of capt jack sparrow tt he was bluffed into believing trickester robinho that today will be his testimonial match, but it was not!! hence robinho decided to try a new line up to try out ppl in different positions as we had played against the opponents before.

Starting line up are as follows: GK papa soh, LB thief, RB lusty seng, CB fallen comrades and jack sparrow, DMs C cuper and tiger yan, AMC merv-naldo, LM nba star, RM ah-lam,FW robinho.

Today marks the debut of thief after so long as a super sub, it was noted that he cant sleep the night before when he learnt of the news tt he will be making his debut the next day, so he was visibly shaking with excitment before the match.
several players are playing in new position for the first time, notably are the 2 CBs, fallen comrades and jack sparrow. Though lusty seng has been playing at RB for a long time, it is a relatively inexperienced backline, will the defence crumble to the relentless "slow" uncle attacks? we will see abt tt later. c cuper is back to playing midfield after so long as a CB, but its the first time as a DM, it spells the same for merv-naldo who is playing AMC for the first time. Ah lam is playing out of his usual posn as a FW, instead its RM for him. last but not least to top the players playing in a unfamiliar role is robinho playing as FW, who is also the capt for the day, we will see whether he can bring victory back for the songbo fc! on the bench are the normal starting 11 players: looney,zouk chua, ken-ni,AIA agent,toh. TOH???!!! oh yah its marks the return of toh back to the team after a yr long absence, so will his return boost the morale of songbo fc???

Kick off by the uncles, songbo fc lunged into action crying for blood! inspired by king leonadis of 300, every fellow players who watched it are inspired by the spartan spirits! namely fallen comrades wants to change his name to spark-tan! songbo began pressing the uncles with robinho leading the charge from the front. however 5 mins after the match starts, the bombardment from the persian uncle army began terrorising the backline of songbo fc. waves after waves the attack came, notably with no 13 uncle dictating the attack. soon songbo identify him as the main threat and robinho was asked to close him down before no 13 can launch any attack. however no 13 was much too good and experienced to be marked down. The uncles began doing their passing game and rampage our flanks, the inexperience of the backline soon showed and both RM and LM were drafted in to protect the flanks. Both CB were pulled out of posn to cover for the flanks but there wasnt any DM to cover them back, hence there was a noticeable hole in the middle. Gk papa soh was quoted later saying that there were no CBs at all, just 2 LBS and 2 RBS.Once when spark-tan was pulled out to cover lusty seng, his speed was too fast for the uncle and with him winning back the ball, he tried to launch an attack, but uncle on seeing that he cant get the ball, went in studs in at his ankle. This infuriated the song bo fc!! referee only gave a yellow card! it shd have been a red! luckily spark-tan was able to stand up and continue, the indomitable fighting spirit of his led him to continue the game further.

Besides that, papa soh was doing a great job of keeping the songbo fc in the game by making saves after saves, but he almost blunder once when he did a "jose reina". A uncle was closing him down when a ball was passed back to him, he tried to clear but the ball came off the uncle, with danger looming towards the goal, everyone was holding their breath. Luckily for songbo fc, the uncle took several touches before he can control the ball to shoot, and by then papa soh has already run back to do a last min saving tackle, and its a corner~

Whenever songbo can launch an attack, it will break down after few touches, noticibly was the emptiness of the centre mids, headers were all win by the opponents. capt robinho could do nothing more than run arnd like a headless chicken by trying to win the ball back for the team. Tiger yan joined in the attack and once almost break the goal. He lured 2 defenders and gk to one side and with the goal mouth open, he unselfishly square it back for robinho when he can score for himself, but b4 the ball managed to reach robinho, it was cleared! kudos to tiger for unselfishly create the chance. songbo fc won a few corners too, and it shows tt the opponent keeper was not comfortable with crosses, tiger yan threatened to score again with the keeper fumbling, but alas it was not meant to be.songbo fc stands firm to the persian uncles' army attacks, but then the uncles managed to find a small goat path to sneak in a attack from behind to score. Papa soh saved brilliantly from the long shot, but the rebound was put in by a uncle who is bigger size than papa soh~ oh no! 1-0 to the uncles! then the halftime whistle came~

halftime talk: changes were made with tiger yan to be gk, papa soh to partner with robinho. looney out for ah lam, ken-ni for spark-tan,zouk chua for jack sparrow. so now c cuper partner ken-ni as CBs, looney on the right, zouk chua as DM. Its a more familiar backline now. merv-naldo as CM, with robinho playing behind papa soh.

Songbo began the 2nd half playing better, maybe due to the fact that most of the players are now playing in their familiar roles, and with zouk chua playing in his favourite DM role, headers are now won more than in the first half. However, now our LM nba star is visibly shagged and tired. He keep running with the ball to the fence, maybe he was playing SM last night using fence as one of his equipment and hence keep carrying the ball towards it, he might be trying to reminisce last night's lusty encounter~

Papa soh on as FW has 2 clear chances to equalise for the team. Firstly, he was put through on goal by looney's through ball, he took the ball down well on his first touch but his 2nd touch was poor and by the time he got to the ball, the angle was already blocked by the gk and thus he couldnt do much with his shot....damn! The 2nd chance was robinho broke the offside trap and sprang down the right side of the opponents' half, he saw papa soh in the penalty box, and no 13 uncle is blocking his angle to shoot, hence he decided to float the ball to papa soh, papa soh was about to head the ball in towards goal, when.....PREWWWWWW~ the whistle blew! is it an penalty? nooo it was for a offside, it cannot be, 2 defenders were with papa soh, where was the referee looking at? the ref was standing at the centre circle! does he have a hawk's vision to be able to see from so far? fuck off ref!!!

Soon lusty seng signal to the beach for subsituation due to fatigue, today is his do or die match to cement his RB posn, so did he do enough to book his place in the starting 11 in the future? that will be up to capt jack sparrow's decision. On his place is AIA agent, who is bursting with energy,will be playing on the LB while thief moves over to RB. He made a instant impact by linking up well with robinho,playing a 1-2 before he was brought down by uncle RB where he will be through down the flank, its clearly an illegal obstuction but ref didnt blanish any yellow card! c'mon ref wake up pls!! then a change came. nba star is clearly fatigue, it is not sure whether its from his SM activities last night or from the match, his replacement is toh, who marks his return from a year absence.robinho is pulled back to play as LM. Zouk chua is clearly making an impact in the midfield, he is winning headers after headers, it is where the songbo fc is missing the whole morn. but later he was quoted as saying" what lao 30 mins liao, my leg cramping liao, cant run much" so capt jack sparrow has to plan properly how to deploy zouk chua in the future, maybe every 15 mins sub him out for 10 mins then bring him back to the game again, so tt he can substain for the whole match? haha~

soon the killer goal came~ songbo was under counter attack, the attack from our right flank,where the uncle suddenly swing one ball to our left flank, who pass it back to the centre and shoots! bottom right corner of tiger yan's goal...oh no~ songbo down 2-0. tiger yan can do nothing about it.can they come back after this? robinho requested a change with merv-naldo, he partnering zouk chua in the middle while merv-naldo goes to the LM.
but songbo never give up and continue to conduct attacks of their own, the persian uncle army was visibly tired and slower and the young spartan songbo fc was still visibly full of energy. then the break through came. looney got the ball on the right flank, robinho was running in front of him, he releases him who took just one touch and release to toh. Toh do his usual stepovers, switch the ball from his right foot to his left and shoots, uncle CB do just enough to deflect his shoot and its a corner from their right. robinho went over to place the ball for lonney to take, looney whispered to him "go near post", with tt robinho and toh were standing at the near post. Looney whipped in a near post cross, toh jumped into the air to challenge the gk for it and the ball went in! 2-1, songbo fc is clawing back from the brinks of death! a vital lifeline for them!

Quote from after the match, looney said he was shooting from the corner flag and not crossing, and toh said he didnt touch the ball at all, instead it skins against one of the uncle's head and went in. maybe that uncle is bald on the top of his head, and smooth surface makes the ball easily go into the goal~ haha~ songbo starts to fight for the equaliser and the uncles were clearly on the back foot now. The last shot of the game came from robinho. He took a pass from the centre, feigned past one player and shoots! but alas the shot was well too off from the goal and with tt marks the end of the battle of the titans between spartans songbo fc and persian uncles army. 2-1 the final score~

Though songbo fc lost this game, but by aggregate score we still win 3-2! anyway its a match to let everyone try different roles so as to let everyone know that actually not every role in the team is easy to play in. So everyone now will appreciated what others has been contributing to the team, and i hope that this will strengthen the team further and unite the team. kudos to thief for his never give up attitude to play the whole match for the team, and to toh for willing to try to come back to the soccer scence after his operation, it is noted that a year long absence has resulted in a visible tummy on him. A defeat today we face but victory will come again at our next match!

*No ratings for this match, as its a "testimonial" match. Overall everyone played well and had fun, so we will look foward to the next match then. Huat ah!!!

*report by robinho*

Match 43 - Win

Match 43 Win

Line-up for the match: PapaSoh (GK), Kenny(CB), C-Cup(CB), Hairy(LB), Kelvin(RB), Crampy Chua(DM), Chongster Chen(CM), Looney(LM), Com Tan (RM), Alvin AM), TigerYan (FW).
Lady Luck shining on Songbo fooballers.
Usual lazy Sunday morning! Team morale at songbo camp is relatively high after a 2-0 win against the old uncles during the last match. We could see everyone from songbo fc coming down to the soccer match late. Relax and happy on the last day of chinese new year seems the whole team has a net gained weight of 20 kgs .The Man utd fans were all on a high after a good win over their arch rivals the Kops. Alas dunno why the joy of the win the strength of their team can easily beat the kops by a couple of goals. But eventually man u only won by a single goal in a match the opponent dominated. This only prove on big thing u dun have to play well to win soccer matches just take your chances N most importantly do visit Thailand for some prayers to ensure lady luck would be by your side. If pools were taken over by Taskin a couple of years back no doubt they would be the top soccer team in Europe. But too bad their chance are gone they would always be pretenders for the coming years.
As usual the Bukit Batok guys are the earliest followed by the Jurong kids and as usual the CCK kids. The Sunday morning traffic in that area must be damn heavy to justify the fact that they r always the latest. As the Jurong n BB kids are all dress up for the big thing they realize something was amiss. A team which used to have 6-7 balls for training are left with only ONE N ONLY ball. The worse thing is apparently the latest ball was a proud sponsor of hairy shipping. This only shows one thing if hairy is not around the guys would be without any balls. Its rumoured that second hand soccer ball fetch a high price in the market. Watch out for your ball next time hairy.
During the usual warm up session this old man from NTU walked towards the opponent and we fear for the worst. Seem like we have to play the game at the ruby field. Morale was going down visibly. The old man walk toward us and told us the field was booked at 930 hence it seems like we have to play it at the ruby field. But as fighters of songbo fc we decided to continue our warm-up routine and play a waiting game. At the middle of warming up papa- soh made a hopeful yet ambitious statement. The game would be postpone n we would get our match on the pitch. True enough the match was cancelled and we know that it would be our day. More ever the opponent lost to us recently hence it would be an easy match. During the warm-up caption Chongster had a bit of problem his first choice fullbacks were not playing the game. He was sitting quietly at the bench trying to tinkle around with the formation. But end day only god know what’s the problem with him. With just limited options his line-up was pretty obvious. Apparently his mind the night before the game was on which ger to hook up instead of the team line-up.
1st half
As soon as the referee whistle gets under way songbo tactics was clear attack down the right flank where “Arron Kwok” is defending. He is the obvious link to attack as apparently arron is more suited for singing and dancing much more then soccer. Com tan had a real good fill on the right side of the pitch as all the balls are just pump and pass to him.But to the disappointment to the team the most he could get out of the so called “comparative advantage” was just a couple of corners. In the fifteen mins Alvin was off the pitch in complain of a blisters. As the game progresses the songbo team was confused and disturbed by the mono tone defender no 8. That fellow shouted commands around the pitch. Even before a goal kick or throw in is taken he would be shouting white ball. Only god know what ups in his head other den that 2 words as the 2 words ‘white ball’ at least occur 50 times in the 1st half. Maybe that is the tactics to distract opponents as it worked well with Kelvin as he miskicked the ball at least 2 times which allows the opponent thru. But with a strong backline of Kenny and C-cup every mistakes make seems not as serious. Maybe the sales targets of AIA is making Kelvin distracted from the match or could be the power of love ***** that make him lose concentration.
But soon songbo ran out of ideas how to attack the opponent as star singer Arron Kowk was taken off for a malay player. But as the saying goes looks may be deceiving. Who says that Malays would be better footballer than the Chinese. No doubt they spend maybe 60-80% of their time on football and guitar they might not be as gifted as some Chinese are. But songbo is lucky the malay fellow seems like spending more time on his guitar than football hence they are still in a fight. But the loss of arron was really too hard a blow for songbo as they cannot find much loopholes in the opponent. As the clock tickle downs the ball just had its difficulty getting near to each other goal. Both defense hold up well as the midfielders neutralize each other. The respective attacks would relatively toothless as the striker just run around like a headless tiger. Virtually everyone around the pitch was just waiting for the whistle to be blown.
During the halftime teamtalk, captain chongster switch on his pre recorded tape which was played over and over again. “Our team can win this game as long as we keep our shape and stay compact. I wanted the wingers to move in to help out the central defence.” But this time round certain names were mentioned Kelvin was asked to get more focus on the match instead of how much he need to sell. The usual mistake of trying to go for 50-50% is totally uncalled for as any potential miss would lead to an opening for the opponents. Tiger yan was asked to put his head on and try to provide some good running instead of wasting all energy. He was also task to mark the keeper during goal kick such that short pass would be make possible. “striker makes up for the 1st line of defense for any team”

2nd half
Songbo warriors move out to the field with the same lineup with thief and merv on the bench. As usual the gather and shouted the huat thing. But this time round something is different thief was not in the rally he went back to his bag to get his “gudu” he got from Thailand to give the luck the team was shouting for. As the match got underway both teams try to stamp their authority in midfield area which was too cramped for football. The fight for headers and the tackles got stronger than ever. Both defenses stand as firm as the 1st half while papa soh was just continuing his pop corns left over from the second half. But as the match moves on the fitness difference of both teams became telling as the white got more possession of the ball while songbo could only try to catch them on the break. In the sixty min the white makes a poor clearance to the middle of the park. With no one near him crampy chua powered in an header down the right flank which com tan broke thru. But com lose out a yard or two over the past 2 yrs. In the past he would definitely be clear thru on goal but this time round the defender managed to pip him to the ball before a good cross could be send in. that was a wake up call for the team as its shows that the game is there for them to take. The next header crampy chua has to make raise everyone eye brown as the previous header won give the team a good chance for a counter attack. But to every teammates except his own expectations he was down with cramps once and again. And it is rumoured that it’s a punters day as the bookies offered good odds for him not to last the whole match. The overwhelming bets left the bookies with a hold on their pockets as crampy chua lives out to his name. it was the 3rd straight match he could no finish.
On came thief for crampy as the whole team has to reshuffle. Suddenly the match took a turn. Within mins of coming on as a sub songbo took the lead. The Gudu thing work all thanks to the hardwork of thief.the goal was good work by tiger yan. Soon songbo was two nil up. Jacky score with a long shot after a lousy kick by the keeper. The opponent start pressuring the songbo defence. But good work from Kenny n chaos kept them away. Songbo eventually scored a third from tiger yan after soon hard chasing.
(sorry for the late report really busy nowadays n forgotten a lot about report)

New Look for our Blog

As the season draws to a close, I thought I would just change the look of our blog a bit to freshen some things up. I'm still experimenting with the colours and stuff so this might or might not be the final look.

Anyway, where the f&^# are the Match Reports?!

Match 42 - Win

Starting lineup - PapaSoh, C-cup, Kenny, Robinho, Zouk Chua, Sparrow, Commando, Ah lam, Looney, Lusty, Tiger Yan. Reserves: Old thief, Kelvin and Mervin

Playing against a group of uncles in the dunearn sec field, it was 'BAO JIAK' on the minds of the songbos. Indeed the prophecy was true. 15 minutes into the first half, Ah lam picked up a loose ball from the opponents and he dribble into the right side of the penalty area. Seeing Tiger in the middle of the box, he squared a pass and Tiger just tapped the ball in. 1-0 up!

35 minutes into the first half, a corner from Looney to Zouk Chua was perfectly executed, and Zouk Chua did well to head in his second goal of the season. 2-0 up!

Second half was kinda boring, so i wun mention anymore here. Final whistle, 2-0 win for Songbo.

Quote of the day: Young players we scared, old players we also scared, then is there anything we are not scared of? In the first place, y should we be scared.

Graduation Trip

Hi all, there will be a NATAS Travel Fair on the 23rd-25th March. Hopefully we can decide on the details b4 that and see if there are any deals at the fair.

Below are the fares: (Taken from travel fare brochures on 4th Mar 07)
ASA
   3/4D Taipei + Hot springs     fr$508
   3D Bali + 1N Free             fr$388
   3D Saigon / Hanoi             fr$298
   
Dynasty Travel
   3D2N Bangkok                  fr$238
   3D2N Bali                     fr$328
   3D2N Taipei                   fr$528

CTC
   3/4D Hong Kong                fr$298(Public Holiday Special Dep: Apr 5,6,28,29 May 30,31)
   3/4D Macau Gateway            fr$288
   3/4D Taiwan                   fr$458
   3/4/5D Bangkok/Pattaya        fr$198
   3D2N Hard Rock Bali           fr$368
   
SA Tour
   3D Bali                       fr$348(2 To Go)
   3D Thailand                   fr$198(Bangkok / Phuket / Chiangmai / Koh Samui)
   Star Cruise
      3D2N Redang                fr$219(or Malacca KL)
      3D2N Weekend               fr$309
      4D3N Penang/Phuket         fr$369(or Phuket/Langkawi)
      

The aboves prices are what i get from the brochures... Some may have promotions that come with it. There may also be some places which i did not include. Any enquiries pls find 1 day meet up, we gather all the enquiries and go to the place to ask.

Match 41 - Defeat

21 Jan 2007. Disaster day for Songbo FC.

A long break since Dec seems like a degrading cum disillusioned cum slacking period for some of our team mates. First to note, Captain Sparrow....he was sick, from reliable sources, he was clubbing and partying on Wed till he dunno what is his mother's name. He was spotted as energetic as a raging bull on the dance floor, a far cry from the sick and weakly image he appear on Sunday. Squeezing breast, drinking alcohol, he was doing what he was best in that night. Though he kenna road block, he was given a stern warning only. Judging from his past profiles, he wun give it a damn after 3 mths. He apply for an Att C on Sunday, but he got the energy to still play street soccer on Friday. He drinks but get sick, so whose fault? He can do watever he wants.
For now, i shall mention Captain Sparrow first, the rest will be highlighted later on.

Our match is 11am. We arrived early for our game at Blk 367 Yishun. But to our disappointment, the pitch was wet and muddy. We knew it was gonna be a tough game. This time, a bad new surfaced. Our Commando Tan was having a stomachache upon arrival. And the nearest coffeeshop is abt 600-700 m away. Soon after him, Tiger Yan and LustySeng both had the urge to shit too. The stomachache affected them mentally and physically.

Line-up for the match: TigerYan(GK), Kenny(CB), C-Cup(CB), NBA Star(LB), Kelvin(RB), Zouk Chua(CM), Com Tan(DM), Looney(LM), Mervin(RM), Ah Lam(FW), PapaSoh(FW).

The match began, there were no noticeable chances in the first few minutes. The opponents were obviously better at the wings, judging from the number of times they attack from the left flank. Low crosses were delievered into our centre but all were well cleared by our 2 centre backs. Our PapaSoh had a great chance in the 10th minute. A bad clearance saw him getting past their last man and had only the keeper to beat from 18 yards. But a weak shot allowed the keeper to collect it comfortably. Songbo had 2 spot kicks won outside the penalty box, and Looney was the taker. Without much efforts, he sent the ball high up to the air beyond the reach of the goalkeeper. The kind of quality will put even the best International Rugby player to shame. Great shot, but Looney forgot that he is playing soccer, the goalpost below is his target and not above.

Due to the wet pitch, our players esp the DM had difficulty controlling and passing the ball well. Their foot were often submerged into the mud and they had problem running, let alone dribbling the ball. Battle in the midfield started to show signs of overpowering, the opponents had a greater share of the posession and they were fast enought to release it to the flanks, bypassing our DMs. They were playing 2 strikers in front and it leads to Zouk Chua being deployed deeper to defend against them. As a result, theres a man lesser to battle for the ball and closing down on the opponents. Even Ah Lam dropped deep from his supporting striker role to help out. Fortunately, there were Commando Tan and Zouk Chua to cut out the opponents.

Songbo hardly had any possession and clearance was not far enough to reach PapaSoh. Even our left flankers had little chances to dribble down the flank and cross a good one in. Winning headers from goalkicks and drop kicks were totally outbeaten. In the 30th min, the opponent lay a through pass into the centre of the box, Kelvin was close to the player and he raises his foot to tackle the ball, with minimum contact, the opponent was drama enough to fall to the ground and won a penalty. It was obviously a soft penalty, and the decision came largely due to the ongoing protests of the opponents that they were being mistreated. The referee was more worried he cant collect money from the opponents rather than being firm and fair to the game.

80% of the matches that Tiger Yan was keeper for the whole game, there is a penalty for him. A ridiculous statistic that needs attention and soul searching to all. Tiger Yan was totally beaten as he chose the wrong direction and 1-0 to the opponents. A goal down, Songbo decide to push the defence line higher to catch offsides. The opponents were not stupid to fall for the trap, they lay the ball to their wingers rather than their strikers which poses a problem for the defence, but luckily there is Tiger Yan to sprint forward and sweep away the ball. Not long later, Tiger had a one to one encounter with the opponent just 6 yards outside. But a great Peter Schi dive blocked away the shot. The match ended not long later.

During the half time talk, Captain Sparrow pointed out some mistakes in the team and declared to play in the 2nd half. 2nd to note.......Zouk Chua. He was virtually punctured and claiming his legs were numb after the first half. Never had this happened before, bcos Zouk Chua always claim his 70% fitness is more than enough to win anybody. From reliable sources, Zouk Chua was rumoured to be 'STANDING' the whole night. It could explain the weakness of his legs on that day. Mervin was subbed for LustSeng and Kelvin changed to the right wing. Sparrow on for Zouk Chua.

The start of the 2nd half was better. Defence was tighter and flow was better. Header for the enjoyingballs was much improved due to the presence of Sparrow. Sparrow had a good spot kick on target but the speed was quite slow to beat the GK. Another noticeably phenomenon was from PapaSoh. He keep standing in offsides positions, be it attack or spot kicks. He claimed the move was to drag away the defenders but as Zouk Chua mentioned, " U keep using the same move, people know ur pattern already, they just bo hiu u and carry on their game. U must try out different stances to catch them unaware." By standing in an offside position, all he can do is pray the ball touched the defenders and appear near to him. But that situation never came true.
3rd to note.......LustySeng. It seems like he is better in his Fantasy Soccer than on the field. We can never see the smug look every week he top the fantasy league on the field. He is a person that is damn xia lan and confident. It will be good if he can behave that on the field.
Robinho came on for C-Cup. Robinho learning from previous experience, he did not dribble in his own area. Though the only downside is he has difficulty wacking the ball hard and high.
Songbo continue to play offside trap, but the opponents began to trap us back. Balls are being laid to the right winger, beating LustySeng time and time again and causing trouble for Songbo. The second goal came not long later. A miskick by Robinho saw the ball rolling towards the corner line, Tiger Yan sensing danger and does not want to concede a corner, run towards the ball and wack it away with his left foot. To his horror, the ball travelled comfortably to the legs of the opponent and he made no mistake putting into the net.

Tiger Yan could not take it and began his 'hair dryer' kao peh skill, ranting everyone on the field. Not long later, Commando Tan had a serious stomachache AGAIN! He had an emergency sub. Songbo are getting tired and they try to get a consolation goal back. Few minutes later, a cross from the left flank deliever to their striker, and though Robinho went forward and raises his leg to try block his angle. But the opponent fake him and smash the ball under Tiger Yan arm into the near post. 3-0 up to the opponents.

Songbo continued to make attack and not long later the referee blew for the final whistle. It has been a long time since Songbo lost a match. Pitch plays a part and fitness too. We are kinda rusty on the field and we are unable to field the best 11 on the field. So lets take this defeat as a good lesson to learn.
We must keep learning and reflect ourselves, if not even we play another 100 games, we learn nothing. Lets improve both physically and mentally.

Match stats: Tiger Yan(3pts), Ah Lam, Commando Tan, Zouk Chua(6pts), the rest (5pts)

Happy New Year! - 2006 in review

First up, a very Happy New Year to all SongBo members! Hope you all had a great time ushering in the New Year. I didn't though....lost my iPod Shuffle...damn it.

In this post, I thought I would just review our soccer stats in 2006 for all to see. You might find things that are interesting and some that are not encouraging.

Total Matches played: 21 (150106 - 171206)
Games Won: 12
Games Drawn: 7
Games Lost 2
Goals Scored: 54
Goals Conceded: 28
Clean Sheets: 7
Biggest Win: 6-0 (Match 29 & 34)
Biggest Lost: 1-4 (Match 31)
Form (Earliest to Latest) : WWDWD DWLWW DLDDW WWWWD W
Best Win Streak: 5 (Match 34 - 38)
Worst Lost Streak: 0

That's the stats I have for 2006. You might have noticed we have drawn quite a lot of matches; 7 out of 21. This might be a stat we want to improve on. To be fair, we only threw away our lead at HT to draw the game in 2 of the matches (out of 7). We have never lost a game when we were leading at HT in 2006. That's an encouraging statistic.


On a seperate note, I might be starting a project with Tiger Yan to produce a CD that contains the archive of all our photos that we have taken throughout the years. When the project kicks off, I would like all SongBo members to assist us by sending to us their photos, if any.

Ok that's all for now. Enjoy your holidays. 6 point lead for Man Utd and 2 goals for Ronaldo woo hoo~!

Pic of the Season....Must See!

A Wolf waiting to dine. Look at his face!

A meal well served.

SongBo FC

Match 40 by Capt Sparrow

Starting lineup: Tiger, Seng, Sybian, Chaos, Kenny, Quan, Sparrow, Jackie, Ah Lam, Tan WJ, Papasoh

The 2nd match of the new season…The team’s morale is high cos we started our season well..Once again, the opponents were courtesy of Mr Tay’s lobang and coincidentally happened to be Kenny’s frens whom we were supposed to play soon. Donning a Brazil lookalike jersey, the opponent looked dangerously good and technically gifted. However, Songbo was not to be daunted as they had managed to stifle a superior team just last week and were hungry to conjure a win in this match. The pitch was in a very bad condition, seemed like a mud bath and anything could happen in this conditions.

First half
The match started on a cautious note for both sides but it was evident that the Brazil opponents were technically better than South Korea Songbo. There was a secret weapon in the Brazil side in the form of a ‘Long thrower No. 18’. Time and time again, he managed to utilize his long throws to create a few problems for our defence but our resolute defence held firm.

As the opponent’s defence line was held high up, there were numerous times which our strikers namely Papasoh and Ah Lam got behind them. However, these chances often turned into some wayward crosses to nobody or harmless long shots.

The miss of the half came in the 30th min. From a cross, Papasoh did well to plant a header goalwards but the gk reacted with a stupendous save. With the ball stuck nicely in the mud in the 6 yard box, Captain Sparrow could only strike the ball over the bar. Later, he admitted that it was easy to score than to miss from that distance. It was a horrible miss and there are no excuses from missing from there. Instead of lifting the spirits of the guys as a Captain, he made them demoralized with that miss. He would have to bury his head in the mud to save himself from the embarrassment. Miss of the season??

Songbo missed another glit-edged chance later when ‘Fletchee-upgraded to Beckham’ made a good run down the right and with a vision like Zidane and execution like Beckham himself sent a beautiful cross to the unmarked Ah Lam at the far post. Facing the gk one to one and having even the time to shave his beard, Lam planted his shot wide of the right hand post. Omg! Songbo was beginning to have doubts if this is gonna be just another poor day.

Another highlight of the half was Tiger screaming at Brazil’s striker when the striker left a trailing leg after he has garnered the ball. ‘You better know what you are doing!’ was what Tiger screamed into his ears and it almost made him deaf and peed in his shorts. Well done Tiger by intimidating the opponents and showed that we are no pushovers.

Halftime Talk
Overall, Songbo performed well in the first half esp the defence. Altho the attack was guilty of missing some clear chances, they also did well in their off the ball running. The instructions were ‘stick in there with the performance and the goals will come’. The half saw some changes; Tiger moving outfield with the reliable Papa back in goal and Quan moving back to defence and Merv and Tongkat Huang introduced.

2nd half
Once again, the half started cautiously for both sides with Brazil dominating the bulk of possession due to their superior techniques. But Songbo was looking dangerous on the break with good running from the attackers.

A good move down the left saw Songbo winning a corner. From the clearance off the corner, the NBA star with his brand new Nike blue swinged in a perfect cross reminiscence of the real Ronaldo and Tiger, with superb anticipation connected with a diving header and sent the ball into the net! Well done! 1-0!

Songbo’s spirits were lifted and they were playing with some gusto now. Brazil seemed to be ignited by the goal and also lifted their tempo. After a string of passes by them, they managed to break clear of our defence and fortunately Papasoh was there to parry the ball but he received a knee onto his head similar to what Cech got to break his skull. However, the injury was not so serious and Papasoh was able to carry on with the game.

The game was swinging with both sides having possession and creating chances. Songbo knew that a second goal at this juncture would be able to kill off Brazil. With a good through ball, Ah Lam made a great run down the left and with a delicate touch, he rolled the ball perfectly to the on-rushing Jackie who put the ball into the net to double Songbo’s lead! 2-0!

The rest of the match saw Brazil trying the hearts out to break Songbo’s defence but it was well marshaled by Papasoh, Quan, Kenny, Seng, Tongkat Huang and Sybian. Tiger was also anchoring the midfield well with his tigerish tackles. In attack, Lam and Jack kept the opponents busy with their intelligent passing and off the ball running. Well done, it was truly a team effort. These kind of matches really make me, as the captain, very proud of the determination and teamwork shown by all the guys. Even tho we may be demoralized in the 1st half, we kept creating chances, have self belief and in the end, the result reflected our team spirit. Excellent job! Merry xmas and lose your virginity this festive season!

Man of the match: Tiger Yan

Ratings:
Papasoh 7.5
Seng 7
Sybian 8
Tongkat Huang 7.5
Chaos 7.5
Kenny 8
Quan 8
Tiger 8.5
Sparrow 7
Merv 7
Tan 8
Lam 7.5
Jack 7
Hong 7

As I said, my ratings for you guys are determined by the expectations and levels of individual players. I would like to specially mention Kelvin and Hong for showing the team spirit which truly bind us together. Hong, just had his Lasik, came down and aided the team even after being ‘shoot’ by me. Kel, tho he was late in the 1st place, showed exemplary attitude at the end of the match even tho he was not involved in the game. These are the kind of attitudes and characters that will bring the team far. Long live Songbo!

Where the f@#$ is the Match Report?

No, this is not another Tiger Yan post. It's by me... just a gentle reminder to that *someone* who is supposed to post the report.

Anyways, for those who need a refresher, below are the details for this Saturday:

CHRISTMAS / ALVIN'S BDAY BBQ

Venue: Alvin's 5 Star Chalet
Time: 1830 Till Late
Price: $10 for the food
Other: $10 gift for the Mystery Gift Exchange
Bring a female partner with you if possible
$5 gift exchange for the ladies

Match 39 - Draw (By LustySeng)

Match 39 – Draw By Lusty

Starting Line up : Tiger Yan(GK), Seng(RB), SaBian(LB), Chaos(CB), Kenny(CB), Quan(DM), CaptainSparrow(CM), Ah Lam(AM), Mervin(LM), Fallen Comrades(RM), Kelvin(CF)

This is our 1^stmatch after our 1 month season break. First of all, our opponents are always late. Seriously this problem must highlight to Mr. Tay although we dun need to pay any money for the referee as this might compromise our chance of using the field if there are other teams around just like our last match of the season. Though the unexpected Robinho arrived at the grand stand, he is obviously more interested in looking at girls and making sure his eyesball din drop or blur vision rather than supporting his comrades.

First Half

Kick off. The opponents started off brilliantly controlling the possession with spraying some short passes and long balls overrunning our midfield. We are constantly under pressure however our strong defense was able to contain their attack. And our first chance of the match finally came to much prevail.. A long ball from midfield into the opponents’ penalty area and the GK somehow or rather give away the ball, maybe he is thinking where to go party with his gf after the match. Kelvin picked up the loose ball and passed to Captain Sparrow and laid to the advancing Ah Lam. He made no mistake placing the ball to the bottom right hand corner with GK standing rooted to the ground. What a goal!! 1-0!!!

After this goal, we are more confident in taking our opponent heads on. The opponents are a lot technically stronger than us; they have taken control of the whole midfield leaving us to defense desperately. However, their long ball tactic seemed to be ineffective against us. They hardly threaten our defense and our Tiger yan by that time may have already shaven finished his moustache. The opponents are too confident with themselves and dribbled the ball too long even frustrating their own teammates. Due to this weakness, here come to our 2^nd chance of the day, our midfielders able to tackle back control of the ball, counter attack by lobbing the ball to the right freeing Kelvin and he sprinted along the byline and crossed the ball in. The GK was fully beaten and the incoming defender touched the ball letting it into the goal. 2-0!!! Nice cross by Kelvin and great pressuring on the defender by Mervin. Total 2 shot 2 goals!!

Second Half

After the break, the opponents changed their tactics to short passes and attack our flanks, which captain sparrow has highlighted during the break. They probably think that attacking through center is difficult especially our in love Quan keep cutting off their supplies of long ball from their midfielders to their strikers. At the beginning of 2^nd half, we did well to contain them. There were even several opportunities for us to increase our score line. Alvin had fed quan from the right hand side outside the penalty box, then Quan unleashed a thunderous shot aiming the bottom left hand corner. However it was inches wide, too pity not to be back of the net. Kelvin also had the chance to make it 3-0, he was again received a long ball at the right beating opponents’ off side trap, he cut into the penalty area. He had option to cross to Mervin waiting at the far post, but he decided to give it a shot and the shot was awfully wide. What a waste!!! He should have done it better than that.

After missing a few open chances, it was to be proven to be costly. Same thing, we are again constantly under attack. However, again Quan was able to obstruct their flow of attack a number of times. Maybe that is the power of love behind him. Huang being substituted for Mervin abt ten minutes into 2^nd half.

Our nightmare finally came. There is a well taken corner kick to our center of penalty box and the opponent bulleted the ball without being marked. At this time the always prone to concentration lapse Seng is unable to clear the ball away, and the ball went through beside his hip. 2-1…

The opponents made it 2-2, again it was Seng’s fault as he was unable to trap the incoming deflected cross from the left probably, letting the ball row to the opponent’s leg and he wasted no time shoot the ball aiming the near pole. Tiger yan was able to block the shot however the ball went through his hand and row in. Even his grandmother can save that shot. Poor defending from Seng and poor goalkeeping from tiger yan.

To add to our misery, we have conceded a penalty by Quan, a late tackling from the back. And the striker made no mistake finished it off aiming the bottom left from the spot. It was Tiger_Yan 3rd penalty in his career. We also have occasions of miscommunications between the centre backs and Tiger yan, resulted in collision between them. Which nearly cost us another goal, luckily chaos was able to do a goalmouth clearance. And then Tiger yan begun his saliva –mouthing scolding on Kenny, as he is still on the floor moaning in agony. So pity on him.

Although, we lost our lead and being overtaken, this had not dampened our SongBo spirit. We keep on battling. Finally our hard fought chance came.. It all started from a throw-in by Seng from our own side of field to Kelvin then he passed to Sparrow, then Sparrow flicked it to Tan setting him through on the right. Then Tan squared it to Ah lam and he wasted no time cross the ball in and Sabian was at the far post to pick up Ah lam’s cross and tap the ball into the empty net. 3-3!!! Soon the match ended.

Considering the fact that this is our first match after the season break, this result would consider acceptable. Hopefully more matches will be coming on so that we can improve our game play and match fitness as well.

Man of the match: Quan

Rating: Tiger Yan(GK) 6

Seng(RB) 5.5

SaBian(LB) 7

H.Weijie(LB) 6

Chaos(CB) 6

Kenny(CB), 6

Quan(DM) 8

CaptainSparrow(CM) 6.5

Ah Lam(AM) 7.5

Mervin(LM) 6

Fallen Comrades(RM) 6.5

Kelvin(CF) 6.5

Goals: Ah Lam, Own goal, Sabian

Assist: Captain Sparrow, Kelvin and Ah Lam respectively

10 Dec - Season start

Hey fellow Songbo brothers,

its time we gear up and prepare ourselves for the coming 10 Dec match. Fitness dropping is a major problem, after weeks of studying. Lets gain back some fitness before we play our opening match. We are gonna extend our 5th consecutive win and set a record. Woohooo!!!!

Chaos is coordinating with a Hall Team for a match. Lets hope it turn out to be true. We are really itchy on the legs liao. Nothing less than a win.

Match 38 - Win

Starting Line up: Junbin, Chao, Kenny, Sabian, Kelvin, Jackie, Mervin, Weijie, Rujia, Alvin, Yanshou


Knowing our match 38 on 5 Nov 2006 was the last match of the season, everbody was in high morale and slept well the night before except 2. One was the ever reliable Chaos, he appear in NTU looking like just sleep for 2 hrs though he affirm to us that he slept after he got home after watching soccer at RJ hse. The other was Quan, the high profile stunner lately. From Murtabak power to zouk chua to Attend "C" 5 hrs before the match, now he is in trouble wif love life lately.

From reliable sources, though Zouk Chua claims to watch the Newcastle match until 3am, but he slept at ard 5 plus. So.... wat was he doing from 3-5am? Nobody knows but our paparazzi knows. He was rumoured to be toking to Cai Lee ard that time. While he is happily in love, he seems to forget the time and that explains the "Steam Steam" look he has at NTU. Juggling with exams, girls and soccer is really a chore for him, and to add worse to that, he become suspicious of his team mate, Tiger Yan. It all started when Quan accuse Tiger of having a past wif Cai Lee, which he strongly denied and our sources has confirmed that. Quan has no grounds to be suspicous and we guess it must be due to the lately stress and commitment he is undergoing.

Back to the match, Songbo FC arrived at NTU on time, but they were not the first. Another team of Vietnamese and his opponents were at the stadium waiting for the match. We sent our diplomat , PapaSoh, to smoke them of moving to the field below. But instead, they smoke us back saying they booked the field too, diplomacy failed! It was close to 9am but though we had full attendance, our opponents were late and we had no choice but to move to the field below.

When its about time for kickoff, our Captain Sparrow named his squad. OH SHIT! He left out Zouk Chua to the dismay of everyone. The only noticeable change in the line up was Tiger Yan assuming the role of striker. The pitch was relatively shorter and smaller, Songbo FC knew they were in for a tough time.
Kick off, the opponents started furiously with hard tackles and speedly one-two pass. Songbo was certainly struggling to find their rhytmn of the game back. Though we gave them a few scares in the early part of the game, it was the opponents that gain the upper hand. With our ever reliable Chao missing clearances, pressure was mounting on Songbo. A wake up call was given to them with 'Juventus' running down the left flank against Sabian, but that NBA star upon seeing PapaSoh moving forward, he iterally stop running and 'Juventus' simply wack the ball into the top corner of the goal. 0 - 1, Songbo was down a goal.

This goal certainly woke Songbo up. They began to spread out their flanks and deliever long balls forward to Tiger Yan. Tiger Yan had a great through on goal minutes after but was off balanced by the opponents and the ball flew over the bar. They continue keeping the attack flowing and the effort paid off when Sabian's looping pass travelled into the top right corner. GOAL!!!!!! 1-1 , Songbo was full of confidence. Soon after that, Looney intercept a pass and dribble into the centre. Just when everybody tot he was going to do monkey tricks and hold on to the ball for strikers to shave their moustaches, he release a chip over the last man for Tiger Yan to chase. Tiger Yan races clear with the last man smelling his smoke, the GK ran forward trying to cover his angle but he hit the ball pass him and POOOM! The GK knocked onto Tiger Yan and the referee gave a penalty straight. The opponents had no complaints.

We were looking around who had not scored a goal before, but Robinho and LustySeng were both on the bench. What a waste! No choice, Captain Sparrow call on PapaSoh. PapaSoh was calm with the ball and kick the ball to the left and scores beautifully. The keeper was quite close to saving it. 2-1
2-1 up but Songbo was still hungry especially Tiger Yan. His wait finally paid off when Ah Lam release a short pass to him from the left flank, and with his back facing the goal, he turn and shoot..... 3-1! The ball flew blast into the top right corner. Tiger Yan finally got the chance to celebrate his 'Cisse Style' and shrug off the rumours and gossips surrounding him due to Zouk Chua.

During the break, everyone was high in morale and captain did not point out much mistakes to his team. Everyone was laughing and pretty relaxed, a rare sight in Songbo dressing room. Zouk Chua came on for the missy Chaos.
After the break, the opponents seems to have made significant tactical changes and approaches to the game. Songbo had a hard time again, they were facing possesion problems in the centre mid and flanks kept penetrating. Capt sparrow and commando tan was struggling to deal with the extra person they deploy in their mid, at the flanks the wingers were abit fast for Looney and Sabian. Songbo does not have much chances to carry out their passing game and long balls cant fly pass their last man. Looney was clearly showing signs of lapse of concentration due to overnight foreplay with his girlfriends.
A cross field pass from the left flank flew past Zouk Chua and accurately to their 'botak' player and all he need is 2 touch to send the ball past PapaSoh. The angle was very tight and PapaSoh cant do anything. 3-2

Captain sparrow decided to change Kelvin for Robinho to settle the defence. But it was disaster after that. Not long later, the opponent deliver a same cross field pass. Our Robinho was watching the ball as if he was looking at Fiona Xie breasts. When the ball flew past him, then he realised that was a soccer ball and not a breast. But it was too late and by that time, the same 'botak' player received the ball and from the same angle, he shot past PapaSoh again. 3-3
Papasoh was extremely furious with the equaliser, he slammed the ground and reprimand Robinho. It was a clear mistake from him.

Morale was low and football was hard to play especially with the opponents keep reminding the referee how many fouls we had committed against them. Sabian was awarded a yellow card due to multiple fouls and of course some nagging from the opponents. Weather was hot and Tiger Yan had some talk with Mervin to vent his frustrations while Commando Tan was groining in pain on the ground. Tiger always tok in a rude manner but Mervin was clever not to bother with him and get back to the game.

The game was ending soon, but no one was giving up. Songbo was fighting to the max. A confusion in the centre mid saw Tiger Yan stealing the ball away(with a bit of handball) and dribble straight to the keeper. He muscles past the last man and upon seeing the keeper charging forward, he clip the ball above him and scores. GOOOAL! 4-3
Tiger Yan was mad with joy, Songbo spirit were lifted up. Opponents were devasted and they had lost their momentum. Songbo capitalised on their low morale and forced them to make mistakes again. A poor clearance from the opponent delivered to Captain sparrow near the penalty area and he had ample time to aim and blast a long shot to the bottom left corner. GOOOAAL! 5-3

Captain Sparrow had the chance to celebrate his 'Tim Cahill' style again. Seconds after the goal, the referee blew for final time. YEAH! Songbo FC extend their wining streak to 5 matches making it a record and a 7 unbeaten run. They were close to drawing again.
Its a pity LustySeng cant be used in the game, from reliable sources Captain Sparrow was too shag and confused to sub Lusty into the game. It marks a great moment for our season break. We shall now keep our fitness in shape to prepare for the start of our season.


Morale of the story: Dun ever be complacent, and dun mess up a soccer ball for Fiona's Breast.

Songbo Diving Expedition

Warriors of the Songbo FC,

Due to popular demand, I'm organising a Diving course for all of you. Because of the monsoon season, Tioman and Rendang is undivable. Phuket will be too expensive, certainly more then $800.

I would suggest we dive in local water. Our southern islands provide some good diving sites. (Heard people say, i never dive there before)

The cost of the basic dive course will be $280nett. (Include equipment)

Please sign up under 'comment'.

Manager's Championship Table

Alright the moment that some of you have been waiting for. After a blistering 9 weeks of Fantasy Soccer dogfights, it's time to see who's been leading the table for the Manager's Championship Table. After intense tabulation of scores, the results, sorted in descending order, are as below:

Mervin	91
Hweequan	88
Seng	79
Tan Weijie	72
Alvin	69
Raymond	67
HuangWeijie	62
Junbing	59
Yanshou	59
Rujia	58
Suichao	49
Kenny	48
Kelvin	19

The points are awarded as such: 13 points for 1st place, 12 points for 2nd and as follows. 2 players having the same points for the week gets same points (if 1st spot is a draw, 3rd place gets 11 points while the 2 1st gets 13 points). Kelvin has such a low total because he started 4 weeks late. More updates and tidbits from Yahoo! Fantasy Soccer to come...

Match 37 - Win (By Captain Sparrow)

Hmm.. I realised that writing of match report is not as easy as it is made out to be. Kudos to Mervin for making the great efforts to have contributed constructively to most match reports thus far. Papasoh too for his sole ontribution. And Tiger who is always trying so hard to either motivate his teammates or point out their strengths and weaknesses. Well done bros, thanks for keeping the team together!

Match report – Match 37: (Lineup: Junbing, Sybian, Binghong, Kenny, Sweechao, Weijie, Jackie, Yanshou, Rujia, Alvin, Kelvin)

Thanks to our efficient PR manager, Kelvin, we managed to have a match against his so-called ‘ba-ka’ navy friends. From the physique and warm-up of the opponents, it was evident that match 37 would be quite an even and tough match. Most of the players have bigger build and they even have 2 Indians! Tough match ahead..Another point to note was that the referee for this match is not ‘Collina’ but a Chinese Mr Tay who was strongly recommended by Tiger.

The match started cautiously for both sides. The early stages of the game was played in the middle of the park. Soon, Songbo began to stamp their authority on the game and dominated the possession. A good move down the right involving Robin Ho and Fletchee saw Alam putting the ball just wide after connecting with the cross. Looney and Fletchee also tried swinging crosses into the penalty area but to no avail. On another occasion, Kelvin played a poor pass across the goal to Titant after clean through on goal. Once again, Songbo could not turn their domination into convertion in the early stages of the game. And they did not apply much pressure on the keeper who appeared to be the weakest link in their defence. Crosses were going astray and play was broken down in the opponents penalty area.

Frustrations set in and shouts and criticisms can be heard from within the Songbo camp. As the game wore on, the Navy guys began to come back into the game and created a few chances of their own. From a corner and a resulting poor clearance from Sparrow, one of the Indians tried a speculative shot on goal and the usually-reliable Papasoh let a bouble tricked him and the ball trickled into the goal. 0-1.

The rest of the half saw the game being battled mostly in the middle of the park and the lack of any clear chances for both sides. Sparrow was praying for the half-time whistle to arrive sooner so that Songbo can reorganize and he can give the team a good dressing-down for the lack of support and encouragement for one another.

The referee blew for half-time and Sparrow asked for more support within the ranks and the players to enjoy their soccer. We should not surrender our 3 game winning so meekly to an evenly matched opponent.

The team trooped out for the 2^nd half, hoping to gain an early equalizer back first. The team was playing better but there was still not much headway made into the opponents goal. A tactical switch was then made. Tiger was to move up to the striking position and Kelvin back to fullback and Robin in a unfamiliar defensive midfield role. The switch started to pay dividends when the physically stronger Tiger began to irritate the opponents defence with his robust moves. Looney and Flecthee were also starting to make better runs down the flanks.

In one move from the left, Tiger beat the defender to the ball and laid a perfect pass to Sparrow. With one touch of the ball, he took the ball past the defender and the second touch was placing the ball into the back of the net. Its Tim Cahill’s celebration time! 1-1.

The spirit and morale of the team raised substantially and there was an air of optimism that a winner can be achieved. However, the teams were still evenly-matched and chances were few and far between.

Another switch saw Robin moved to the RM role and Fletchee back as the d-mid. Songbo began to have a more settled feel to their play. A through ball down the right saw Kel sprinting to the byline. With Tiger shouting for the ball verociously, Kel attempted a cross aiming at Tiger. As Ladyluck would have shine on Songbo, the cross turned into a top-corner shot which totally caught the keeper off guard. 2-1.

At this point, Mervin was substituted into the game at the expense of Ah Lam to give him some match time for his efforts for making it to the match after his duty. (This part is inserted by Mervin - "knn rush down to the match not even a mere mention of my name where got such thing one?!")

Songbo has turned the game around and they definitely are more comfortable in guarding a lead then chasing one. 4 wins on the trot!

Well done guys! Although there are still lots of room for improvements, lets just hope we enjoy our game and keep it going! Now for match 38!

Shhh....rumours (By Captain Sparrow)

Before I go into writing this match report 37, let’s indulge in some gossips prior to this match. I shall not specifically mention names due to sensitivity of issues. Firstly, Match 37 saw the eleventh-hour pullout of a player from the traveling squad due to ‘exam reasons’ he cited. To be exact, the Captain received notification of his pullout 3am on the night before the match which was around 5 hrs before the match kicked off. Most of us are students or at least before so I can perfectly understand and accept the reason of exams for not being available. However, there were too much coincidences in this case which made it very fishy. There are 2 school of thoughts or possible rumours regarding this. Firstly, there were talks that the player was not able to face his teammates after the team he supported managed only a goalless draw with a bottom-placed team (which coincidentally is a team another teammate supports) at home in the EPL. He was said to be so affected by the result of the match that he was not able to concentrate fully on revising and thus pulling out at the last minute.

The second explanation seems to be more likely. His disappearance from the team bus coincided with the fact that on the previous Friday, he just brought out Miss Credit Card-Swiper to meet the gang for a session of kopi. The funny thing was, the player was still very enthusiastic about playing the game on Sunday through the tone of his SMS he sent to his captain during the week. He also seemed to be able to make it for the game from his body language during the kopi session. Thus, there were rumours that he slipped out of his home on Saturday night either for a quickie or wat with Miss Credit Card-Swiper and as a result being not able to make it for the team.

Which explanation do you guys go for? Something to ponder over the weekend…

Another issue was the MSN nick of a player, Mr Politically-correct, after he couldn’t make it for the same match on Sunday. His nick was relating to a comment that how the world is strange. When quizzed by Mr Tiger and Mr Sparrow online, it seems that Mr Politically-correct has got some probs of his sex life with his relatively new gf. However, he refused to divulge further after being probed by the 2. As the Captain of the team, I just wish that every player has a perfectly healthy sex life, be it firing blanks or live firing. But I just hope that the sexual life will not affect a player’s personal life which in turn will adversely affect the performance on field. Therefore, for any players who has problems with their sex life, pls feel free to look for me with ur partners. I believe that, with my knowledge and experience, I will be able to provide valuable advice and ensure good performance both on and off the field.

Disclaimer: The issues discussed above are by no means representative of the stand taken by the team. It purely reflects the in-depth thinking and concern of the writer with regards to the team. Any character who bears resemblance to anyone is plain coincidental.

Match 36 - Win (By Captain Sparrow)

Hi all,
Captain Sparrow here. I have to admit that I was in Z*uk while Tiger was watching Man U lose to Copenhagen. Sorry abt tat! The match report for match 36 is long overdue.

Match report – Match 36 : (Lineup: Yanshou, Kelvin, Kaiseng, Kenny, Hweequan, Weijie, Rujia, Alvin, Jackie, Mervin, Junbing)

This was the 2.5 times that we were playing against my Indon frens team. The 1^st 1.5 times had ended in statlemate between us. Thus, the outcome of this match was to be eagerly anticipated. Prior to the start of the match, intelligence reported that the Indon team that appeared at NTU was only close to 50%. Several of their key players did not appear on the team sheet. The instructions for the match was easy: Play simple, keep the ball on the ground and convert our chances.

The match started on a positive note for our team. The guys were confident after back-to-back wins and seem to be enjoying the game in the early stages. The team dominated the game but could not turn the possession into goals. Frustration starts to set in and it was not helped by some calamity goalkeeping from Tiger who almost let in a simple goal from a high bounce.

Captain Sparrow was trying hard to motivate the team and prevent complacency from setting in but he was not able to settle into the game himself. However, the break through came after a fine move down the right. The cross came in and upon hearing a shout from behind, Mervin made a brilliant dummy. Sparrow got the ball under control with one touch and put the ball into the net with the next. 1-0.

The rest of the 1^st half saw Songbo having a couple of decent chances but was unable to put it away. Simple square passess were missing and instead, cross-field passess were attempted on a frequent basis.

Soon, ‘Collina’ blew for the break. During the half-time team talk, Sparrow gave the team a good dressing-down for being complacent and not taking their chances well. The target was simple, anything less than a 3-4 goal win will be deemed as a failure.

The team came out of the break, with renewed enthusiasm and purpose. The defence was more compact and Tiger was showing much more assurances. The midfield was trying to open up the opponents’ defence and helping the strikeforce create chances. Songbo doubled its lead within a short time.

Papasoh, deciding that a simple shot on target will be able to beat the inexperienced keeper, converted a shot after good work from the attacking midfielders. 2-0

Soon, Jackie got into the act. He placed a good shot just above the keep from a free kick. That goal brought him to the top of Songbo’s goalscoring charts, overtaking the injured Alvin Toh.

The major talking point of the match came right after that. Sparrow, usually composed and clear headed, conceaded a silly penalty. He was tracking back at the same opponent who clipped his ankles just minutes earlier and used his hands to shove him when he was in the penalty area. Altho the opponent did not fall to the ground, ref felt that it was clear enough to give a penalty. It was harsh but that serves as no excuse for the stupidity and rashness shown by the captain. In short, it was simply uncalled for, with the team in such commanding position.

The taker placed the ball to Tiger’s right, who was unlucky not to have saved the kick after getting the direction right. 3-1.

Thereafter, Songbo was subjected to more pressure and it seemed that the opponents would be able to get back into the game after the silly mistake by Sparrow. However, determined defending and assured goalkeeping ensure Songbo’s lead was not cut further.

A solo effort by Jackie on the left followed by a shot to the keeper’s near post which he should have parried restored Songbo’s 3 goal lead.

Papasoh got his second for the day by planting a firm header into the goal. 5-1. Game, set, match.

The match was one sided but Songbo laboured harder than they should. This was certainly not helped by the reckless behaviour of Captain Sparrow. I would like to use this opportunity to apologise to the team for the moment of madness. As I said, if it was any other player who had committed the mistake, he would have gotten a real thrashing from me. It would have been a clean sheet if not for me. Let’s hope everyone learns from this and not repeat the mistake.

A 3^rd win on the trot. Songbo is well into the end of season flourish.

Players' Report for match 37

In case you all are mistaken, this is a report on the players performances and not match report. The one is should be doing (not Mervin) is no where to be seen, maybe we can find him somewhere in Zo*k, M*S, or St James Power Shit. Since he is not free, i shall post something in the middle of watching Man U vs Copen to ou brothers.

Junbin - GK skills is always there, now left forward role to work on. Generally, he lack abit of fitness to really sprint for the ball. Finishing is not a prob to him, provided he has fitness left at that time. Captain shld design his role on the field if he is playing alongside wif ah lam. If captain din do that, fuck him pls.

Chao - Strong in clearing balls and know where to position himself well. Is not afraid to close in on opponents to fight for the ball. Heading is okay but can be better if he pull his head backwards and thrust it forward when heading the ball, the ball will bounce off faster. Has a big body, shld try to use it more to shield away opponents or disbalance them. Cant really stretch his legs vertically up to clear balls like wat kenny does, it helps alot for awkward situations.

Kenny - Do what u are doing right now. You are on the right track. Maybe can try giving the ball a planned direction everytime u clear. Try to dribble the ball upwards if u have the space.

Hong - I say a few here. the rest leave it to captain to zua. Shld try to learn how to whip stationary ball higher, i dun mean freekicks that type. Tackles try to be precise to avoid unnecessary fouls. Train ur vision, cos u cant seem to know where ur mates are when u get the ball.

Tan - same prob as hong, need to train how to wack balls higher. Solve the problem of mis kicking the ball using ur left leg. Short passes and vision is there.

Jackie - Did a great job in holding the ball, so that forwards and midfielders can chit chat and shave their moustaches. Has very poor vision, dunno where their team mates are, cos eyes is always on the ball. Has good ball skills but shld put them to good use. Shld prove urself u are still improving and not one that has reached his end.

Thats all folks, cos its time to sleep now.

How to post

Today, I received some feedback that many do not know how to create a new topic. Here's how:

1) Go to http://www.blogger.com/home and login if you're not logged.

2) Once you do that, you will reach a page where you'll arrive at the control panel where you will see a list of all your blogs that you are affilated to. Click on "Songbo FC".

3) From here on, it should be pretty self explanatory.

Hope to see more contributions from our "Contributors".

Goal Scorers' Report

In addition to the report, I think it's time to give an update on our scorers' list:

Alvin Toh - 18
Jackie - 18
Alvin Cai - 11
Rujia - 11
Kelvin - 8
Yanshou - 7
Mervin - 7
Sybian - 4
Junbing - 4
Tan Weijie - 2
Kenny - 1
Swee Chao - 1
Hweequan - 1

No goals yet for Songbo FC: Binghong, Kaiseng and Huang Weijie.

Match 35 - Win

Firstly, I don't think anyone would mind if the match report was written in English that is not near perfect. If that's the reason why no one else would wanna write the match report, then I don't think there should be complaints if the match reports don't come out. Back to the report.

Match Report - Match 35: (Lineup: Junbing, Suichao, Kenny, Xebiant, Kaiseng, Yanshou, Hweequan, Jackie, Mervin, Alvin, Kelvin. Subs: Binghong, Rujia)


Match 35 commemorates the return of our teammate "Robinho" Binghong. After sailing the 7 seas, he will rejoin the team for a couple for months before he resumes his stint as a sailor again. With the only win in their last 5 matches coming from the previous game, a morale-boosting 6-0 win, Songbo FC would very much want to keep the good work going and get back to their winning ways.

The haze problem didn't affect the teams much as they trotted down to the field as if no problems would arise from it. Even though visiblity was slightly impaired, the PSI reading was still healthy enough for a game of soccer. The referee, "Colina" Eric, got the game underway. As the teams started to exchange passes and attempted to breakthrough, it wasn't long before they found out that their opponents were, in fact, rather evenly matched. Weaknesses were hard to spot, until a rare attempted on goal by Songbo FC gave away the opponent's weak spot; their keeper. Several drop kicks made by the keeper didn't even clear the halfway line, enforcing the impression that their keeper might just be the difference in the 2 teams today.

Though evenly matched, Songbo FC had the better of opportunities as they were awarded several free kicks around the danger zone. However, Songbo FC's free kick taker, Jackie, could not get a single free kick on target. Even team captain Rujia failed to make it count when he stepped up to have a go at one. Even though Songbo FC's aim was clear; that is to test the keeper, no clear attempts were given to them as the opponent's defence was effective and organised.

A strong defence is certainly what Songbo FC's backbone is. Out of 34 matches played excluding this one, they have only seen 13 matches that they had conceded more than a goal. A solid GK is a part of any good defence and Songbo FC's GK Junbing certainly showed what a difference the GK can make when he singlehandedly stopped his team from going behind. A lapse in positioning allowed the opponent to thread a ball into the space between the last man and the GK. The striker went through into a 1-on-1 with Junbing and shot the ball to the keeper's left. With amazing agility, Junbing dived to his left and parried the ball away. Leaving opponents and teammates alike stunned. With a performance like that, Songbo FC knew they had to repay their keeper with the obvious; score a goal and take the match.

As the second half got into midway, Rujia decided it was time "Robinho" Hong made his comeback. Slotted into right back, Binghong was playing his 1st match in several months. However, with his first control of the ball, it seems that he was still playing less than a week ago. True to his "Robinho" style, he dribbled, step-overed and shielded the ball around his opponents. The referee blew for the foul when 1 of the opponents hacked him down. The free kick won was probably more important than he ever imagined.

Up stepped Jackie, whose free kicks hasn't really been accurate for the match. For his goalscoring records in Songbo FC, no goals in the last 5 games is really a barren run. With a vendetta in mind, he sent the ball high into the area. The ball's flight flew straight to the keeper, within a jumping catch range. However, this crucial mistake came at the wrong moment for him, he misjudged his catch and tipped the ball into the back of the net. After a hard fought game, a goal was finally scored and Songbo FC went into delirium. Jackie was certainly claiming the goal, and with it, he equalled the goal scoring record of 18 goals for Songbo FC, bringing him on par with top scorer Alvin Toh, who is still weeks away from recovery.

With a goal up in their favour, Songbo FC began to lock down the opponents as time ticked away. The entire defence worked in sync to give the opponents nothing to take away from the game. A sigh of relief came as the final whistle blew. 2 wins in 2 games after a miserable run of 4 games without a win. Hopefully, this is a sign of better things to come.

Where is the match report? KNN

Nowadays pple getting more and more busy, no time to reply blog, no time to write match report and no time to view blog. KNN, wat is the world coming to! Those who did not reply and view blog, u know who u r and we ALL know who u r. I am also a busy guy, but i do spend time writing blogs and reply blogs. Wat no time is purely excuse.

Pple are getting more n more buey steady as they grew older. I dunno why some pple are like this, maybe even till the day i die, i also wun know. As i always say....

THEY CAN DO WATEVER THEY WANT LAH!

Match 34 - Win

Hey brothers of songbo fc, i have arranged an Bao Jia team for us to slaughter this coming sunday. They are employees of Koei International and Lucasart. They are just a bunch of old men that starting playing football together lately. Stamina and teamwork wise, i dun tink we will lose to them.
They may be old, but we are not gonna give them face, if we cant win them 5-0 and above, we are not considered good enough. We must have hunger, motivation to do better and not afraid to make mistakes. SOCCER IS A JOY, ENJOY!!!

Some opinions from me after sunday training:

• Penetrating thru central is difficult, prone to offisides and easily close down by defenders. More appropriate if we r counter attacking.
  
• Having 2 stikers in the penalty area, create stress for defenders. Not only we have one more player to win ball inside, but also we keep the 2 centre backs occupied.
• Jackie is best at being the left flank, he can whip strong crosses from the left and also cut in and shoot with his right foot. He will be more focused and he can run lesser. i believe he realise that.
• attacking is very easy, we can cross in from the flanks, whack low balls perpendicular/diagonal into the penalty box or cut back to the centre mid to shoot

Mervin, u may not be able to whack strong crosses or high crosses into penalty area, but as Commando Tan has said, first time u cant, second time u cannot, third time u couldn't, the 4th and 5th time u definintely can do it. Dun stop trying, u can do it one day. Find the key to wack hard balls, and u will be a more versatile player.

Seng, u have realised if u dun move, the enemy wun move, just like how u shut out jackie. What worrying u is fast running player and essien-type player. U may need to work on speed and strength at the moment.

This post is just my opinion, i hope everyone can say out their pros and cons in this blog, for other brothers to see and understand u more.

I shall start with mine first.

Pros - strong, uses physical strength to slow down players, tackle in hardly and ability to take long shots. Can hold ball well.

Cons - rarely slides, not good in dribbling, can wack long balls but not pinpoint and accurate enough. Too defensive minded, likes to make funny noises. Cautious, likes to confirm can make the pass well, then start pass, tats y tend to hold ball for long.

I welcome other brothers to add their comments on me, but what u r going to do now is to write ur own pros and cons. Simple.

Gear up for Match 32

Hey fellows Songbo warriors, its time we get serious and give the very best this sunday. Whats important is not winning, its learning and getting better, stronger after each match. Playing with referee plays a big part in changing the way we usually play. But we are learning and evolving from amateurs into semi professionals. Dun bother the results, this sunday is the time for us to give the very best.
I know some of you are frustrated by ur poor form, but form is something that can be explained by science. Eating murtabak, drinking teh till 5-6am and resting for 2-3 hrs, dun give u good form. Drinking Long Island, Vodka, tiger or watever fuck, eat and sleep and surf porn, dun give u good form. Everyday meeting girlfriend, holding her hands and thinking of ur next fuck session, struggling to wake up on sunday morning, dun give u good form either. Rushing project, meeting cais, red lion gang from the east, sleeping late b4 the game, dun give u good form either.

The motive of this post is to pysch everyone and give their best for the coming game. Watever i mention above is purely fabricated and does not refer to any living being.

Gossip: A strange phenomenon occurs to songbo FC for the past few weeks. Their performances is closely linked to the form of Liverpool FC, the not so strong but famous club. When pool lose, songbo lose, when pool luckily win, they draw, when pool win big, too bad songbo FC dun have a match.

Match 30 - Draw

Match Report - Match 30 (Lineup: Junbing, Kaiseng, Hweequan, Suichao, Kenny, Mervin, Yanshou, Rujia, Tan Weijie, Jackie, Kelvin. Subs: Sybian, Huang Weijie)

Songbo FC's 30th match came more than a month after their last 90mins of football. With the match confirmed at literally the 11th hour, the turnout was still surprisingly strong with only Alvin "Ah Lam" Cai missing due to work commitments. The opposing team was one that Songbo FC had played, and won, before. However, it was a tough game as the opponents had good skill and Songbo FC was, at that period of time, top of their game. It was thus difficult to predict the outcome of this match as anything could happen.

With Tan Weijie in the starting line-up, Skipper Rujia decided to place Hweequan to partner Suichao in defence, with Yanshou dropping back to a defensive midfielder role. The rest of the members were in their familiar positions. As it has been quite a break for Songbo FC from match sharpness, Rujia had only 1 instruction at the start; play tighter, safer.

The game started off with a good weather and the best possible pitch in NTU. The early stages of the game can only be described as scrappy, as both sides tried to bring the game into their control. Chances on goal leaned towards Songbo FC, with Kelvin missing a good chance 1-on-1 with the keeper and Tan Weijie hitting the side of the post. The controversial moment came when Rujia got a firm header towards goal from a cross. The shot beat the keeper completely but not the post. The ball was deemed by many Songbo players to have crossed the line before the keeper scrambled it into his arms. However, the referee took a 2nd look at it, no goal.

The tables of fate then started to turn against Songbo FC. A good pass saw the opponent got control of the ball inside the penalty area. A shot was pulled off and it was brilliantly parried by GK Junbing. However, it fell kindly for "Bar ka" Toni, the opponents' centre forward, and he made no mistake planting the rebound at the back of the net. 0-1 to the opponents.

The rest of the half saw Songbo trying to make a comeback. Frustration began to set into the team and instructions began to fly everywhere. When a Songbo player touched the ball, many instructions were passed to him which only served more confusion than instruction. The problem was evidently revealed when Yanshou was given acres of space to have a blast at goal. With everyone screaming at him, he hestitated for too long and gave the ball away. With that, he blasted at his teammates for the muddle caused. Half time whistle came with no changes in the scoreline.

The half time talk was exactly what Rujia had been waiting for to get some sense into the team. Reinforcing the fact that the team consisted of friendships built over the last 10 years, he made it clear that the team played like nodding acquaintances in the 1st half. The team was self-imploding and had to be stopped before we completely self-destructed. Rujia then made a "tactical" switch by fielding Junbing as a support striker and Yanshou in between the posts.

Junbing immediately made an impact on the field. His attacking instincts and ball control skills were evident as he began to start attacks deep into the opponents' half. His first chance at goal came not too long after the match resumed. With a good look at the goal, he misfired his shot just wide of the post. A sign of things to come, perhaps. Songbo FC then took a hit when central defender Hweequan was injured in a tussle at the edge of the penalty box. Deemed unable to play any further, Sybian took to the field as left back with Kenny dropping back into the central D. Fresh from the bench, Sybian made an important contribution as he did some good work on the edge of the penalty area before slotting it to Junbing, who made no mistake this time in sticking the ball in the corner of the net. His 3rd goal for the team and no small feat as he spends almost all of the time between the posts. 1-1 and it's all square again.

Mervin then left the field with an injury sustained at the end of the 1st half and Huang Weijie was in as the right back with Kaiseng moving up to take Mervin's place. A resurgent Songbo FC started to lay siege as the goal had brought them new confidence. They could have gone 2-1 up with the amount of chances created but the finishing touch just wasn't there for them today. In the end, they had to endure a bombardment by the opponents near the end of the game as fatigue set in and the defence was repeatedly exposed. It was then the opponents' turn to experience some poor finishing of their own.

In the end, the match ended all square at 1-1, with neither side able to convincingly stake the claim on victory. The lesson for the match was plain for Songbo FC to see; in the field, there can only be 1 leader at all times. Conflicting instructions only serve to, well, create conflict. Instead of reprimanding their own teammates everytime they made a mistake, they should learn to encourage. Enjoy the game.

Yahoo Fantasy Soccer

Once again, the EPL season is about to begin. Time to resume our Yahoo! Fantasy Soccer fever. The league has been created and the details are as follow:

Name - Songbo League 06/07
ID - (removed for security purposes)
Password - (removed for security purposes)

Login now and create your team!

P.S. Any new rules to this season's game? Still pay $1 other than Top 3? Please comment.