This is not a match report

That we leave to ali..........

i juz wanna compliment the entire team of playing what i feel was a spectacular team performance.

Eng Siang, for all the insults of being a tee kah and what not. Today he has proved to be a more than able keeper. all his drop kicks were accurate and all managed to reach his intended target. Safe in dealing with the loose ball, he even had the audacity to dribble past an attacker. GOOD JOB boy!!! give praise to where praise is due.

Kiam and Siong are blossoming into one formidable centerbacking entity. Our defence's lack of height in no way being exposed. with perfect timing of headers and exceptional reading of the game. their strikers simply had no chance. Strong tackles and some pretty decent distributing. its great to be part of a back four today which kept a clean sheet.

chan......Mr fatty showing no signs of being held back by that weight gain. ferocious tackling and intelligent support play. Basically i learn how to play fullback by looking at the way u defend. Hardly put a foot wrong the whole day. tho i still can't believe u had a foul throw.... HAHA

the midfield was juz a delight to watch. Hong Keat's delivery was exceptional. tho not choosing to take the ball pass the players, his simple pass open's endless amounts of space.

Amin and Beng are such a compliment to each other's skills in central midfield. Beng being the all action dynamic midfielder winning balls, surging runs and no-nonsense shooting scaring the shite out of their mids. Amin with ever so clever distribution, providing the wings with more balls than a sausage party at MOS. Can i hear andrea Pirlo?

Juff and diyar. If there was anything missing in our play, it was such flair and finess. exceptional ball control and insane wing play. i'm glad i'm not the pityful full-back marking u guys. I'd probably hack u down before halfway line.

Ali seems to be finding his feet again. Altho another match gone without scoring, today he's shown a new dimension to his game. his hold-up play creating a penalty opportunity which he sadly wasted. Nowadays he looks to be slowly regaining his confidence. C'mon, we wanna see the AhLi of old, show them some rocket scorchers please!! And christ sake, shout like a madman for the ball!!!

JJ and JJ... well, din see much action today but they hardly looked out of place... eh manager, are u looking?

MATCH REPORT HOR


Louis Law The Beautiful Wingback

Match Report - Shuai Ji 1 - 2 GNK+

For purpose of simplification, opponents will be called GNK+, as per last match, except this team consist of mainly GNKs with a bit of other races.

Match start with Shuaiji having only 10 men as guest star Amin was abit late, but that's okay, he turned up just at kickoff and got his boots on in no time, and joined in the game.
On paper, this is the best shuaiji team that's been fielded. Formation was a 4-5-1. Keeper Eng Siang retains his No. 1 position. with the return of star-defender-who-never-misses-a-header Siong in central defence, the defence looks very stable. Kiam retains his central defence position after an impressive turnout last match, and also because first choice centreback, Gerald, is away in faraway kangarooland. Louis was shifted to left back, and Chan played his usual position on his right. Midfield consist of Diyar, who's making his debut for shuaiji, Mingxian, Amin, Hongkeat and Derek who's playing abit in front of Mingxian and as supporting striker. touch-ball-den-goal Ah li was playing his familiar striker role. I'd say this team has more than enough quality to cover weaknesses that may exist in individual players.

Prematch view: GNK+ looks strong, physically, but that's okay, shuaiji's never the team to lose out in physical battles. The biggest threat was the weather. Burning hot at 3pm, leaving many of us sweaty after the pre match kickabout.

1st Half: GNK+ kick off.
1st 15 mins saw shuaiji playing some really committed football, with defence superbly marshalled by Siong. The team was compact and we played calm football, with players exchanging short passes and enjoying good support. GNK+ was closed down pretty well.
First danger situation for shuaiji was when curly hair GNK was given time to float a high ball to their striker, kiam and law did well to pressure him and took the ball away from him. New players were still getting into their stride, particularly Derek and Diyar, who were improving with every step they take.
2nd danger situation for shuaiji was when GNK+ keeper took a dropkick and kiam went up for the header, the ball wasn't headed properly and it looped towards shuaiji's goal. Thankfully Siong was able to hold off the advancing striker and saved kiam further blushes.
Around the mid of the half, curly hair GNK was given a yellow card following a tussle between him and Amin, he was spotted by the ref aiming a kick at Amin, ref did well to award yellow card with a stern warning.
After that incident, shuai ji followed up with some good support play and managed to threaten their goal. GNK+ keeper took a dropkick and kiam, remembering that it's been a long time since siong was beaten to a header, decided to go out of position to challenge for the ball. For the 2nd time in the match he fumbled and the ball was sent towards the own goal. Too bad this time siong was standing too close, and though after a hard chase, did not manage to tackle the striker before he made the shot right in front of the advancing keeper. 1-0 GNK+. kiam's confidence was visibly shattered.
The weather was having its effects on both teams as after the goal, GNK+ were playing at a much slower pace, and covering and supporting on the part of shuaiji was reduced, also still kept at a pretty decent level.
First half ended with Beng trying some joga bonito, juggling the ball around 3 defenders and attempting a bicycle kick, which was quite pretty and on target, but lacking in power. This' what football is about, dashes of joga bonito.

2nd Half: Better play by shuaiji, and some unsporting behaviours by GNK+.
2nd half shuaiji started with some energy regained. kiam was looking more energetic after consuming 2 ferrero rochers and drinking much water, though he complained of a pain in his right foot.
Shuaiji was putting up pretty decent pressure on GNK+ and the ball rarely got out of GNK+ half. The wings were impressive as Diyar and Derek constantly tormented their defence with some fantastic dribbling and running, hong keat was swinging in pretty decent crosses and ah li was showing GNK+ and shuaiji that he's capable of drawing and holding off defenders. Mingxian and Amin rarely put a foot wrong in the central midfield and in my opinion, they were playing as though that area was their grandfather's. wingbacks Chan and Louis was putting in some very exciting wing play and made several manacing crosses that should haf been converted if not for the conservative approach that the strikers adopt. Defence was pushed up till just across the midfield line, effectively reducing the playing field by half, and allow the midfielders to run less.
GNK+ had a corner and the ball was floated to the centre of the penalty area. Derek, in a rare lapse of concentration, allowed normal looking GNK to sneak in to tap the ball in. Probably the team could haf done better warning each other about running men. 2-0 GNK+
Almost immediately after the restart, shuaiji won a freekick at the left wing position. Diyar sent a quick ball into the penalty box goalwards, ala Alonso vs Derby. Derek was on hand to make up for his previous lapse of concentration and diverted the ball into goal with a glancing header. Good goal. 2-1.
Match became more tensed as shuaiji surged forward and flooded the attacking area with manpower, effectively locking GNK+ in the last third of the field. like sharks smelling blood, the wounded tigers played out their best to get the equalizing goal. Ball flying out of the playing area did not break shuaiji's momentum. Thank you Amin for being spiderman and retrieving the ball for us. :) Several penalty claims were turned down. At least 2 clear penalties were denied, with GNK+ using all kinds of dirty tricks to contain shuaiji's play, especially with regards to challenging for headers.
Things turned ugly when GNK+ purposely delayed time as they try to hold on to their much threatened 1 goal lead. Angry words were exchanged. The goal looks as though it's going to come, but it never happened. Ref blew the final whistle, and more angry words followed. GNK+ showing disrespect to the ref. Ref remark was that GNK+ was unprofessional and do not deserve to play football. Wonderful. Hit the nail on the head.

Match analysis: Definitely a much improved performance from last game.
Siong did a good job introducing higher level defending to us, I'm sure the defence can grow by playing together more often and familiarising with the tactics that are much more efficient. Chan showed that previous game's performance was one-off and resumed his role as a good supporting right back. Louis was looking more and more comfortable as a defender, and his attacking play was exhilarating to watch sometimes.
Midfield was the star of today's game. Diyar put in a superb debut with a good assist and some mazy dribbling that made a fool of the opponents. Probably was overawed by the physical play, but adapted well as the match wore on. Derek BURNS their defence. Amin was playing as a reliable midfielder and lessened the workload of the ever fierce Beng. Hongkeat did very well and his crossing resembles that of a certain DB7.
Ah li probably could have gotten 2 goals under his belt if not for some luck on GNK+ side. Did well and looks like he can only be better. Touch-ball-den-goal, soon?
Engsiang paid 8 dollars to stand under the sun.
Lost probably more to weather than to quality.

Personal view: I hope we can stick with this team for a long time to come. We can only get better.

Man of the Match: Diyar. Showed us beautiful football ala C.Ron. Drawing defenders to him and making them look stupid. Debuted with an assist.
Chan is worth a mention too with some tireless runs and accurate tackling.

Run of the Match: Derek. Tap and raced (read: BURNED) past 2 GNK+. Heng traffic police not around.

kiam

Play simple. Formation.

We will forever be full of problems up front if we think that the current mode of defense has no problem. Defense and offense go hand in hand and the integration of both is important to have a potent attack while having a stable defense. We will have to look at the missing link between the two... PUSHING UP!

We cannot look at individual player and say that the defense is generally problem free. On the field, skill is nothing compared to positioning and the positional discipline necessary to maintain it. As with some of our previous matches, the defense camped in to keep out ball after ball, but without pushing up, the opponents strolled their way into our danger zone again and again. The whole situation resembles us being in the wrong end of a training session. It is only a matter of time before we collapse. Moreover, midfielders are rendered merely extra defenders and any counterattack is blunted by the lack of manpower (or rather, men with enough energy left) upfront to launch any meaningful counter attack.

Attackers can certainly rely on being more ferocious to pounce on mistakes made by defenders to score. However, that cannot be the only way to score. Ask ourselves: When is the last time we scored a goal through a meaningful buildup? We cannot rely on plain clearances and slack defending in order to score - we are much more than that.

The defense have to push up and provide support, especially in the area of making any spilled ball in the midfield ours, rather than letting the opponents stroll into our park again.

We are also missing out on the simpler things
>Fighting for first ball. Pushing up without doing so is equivalent to constructing a shuttle- run circuit for the defenders. up...down...up...down and no result. Use your balls and brains together when doing so.
>Shouting "MAN ON" or "TURN". Mark that empty man! Intimidate your opponents! Talk Talk Talk!
>Finding space. This is closely linked to your mental strength. Ask for the ball in a meaningful position. Don't think of clearing the ball up all the time just to get that small rest or because you are too tired to think. The opponents will most likely regroup and attack again anyway. Sweat now or die later.
>Covering for one another. Tiring, but i assure you when you play a good game, the tireness will just go away. Made a mistake? Continue to cover! Don't "oei' don't "wha lau" until the ball is out of play. Then we can all whalau together.
>Personal Competency. Fitness ah!!! Where did you go?!
>Teamwork. Listen to each other's (constructive) suggestions. particularly when defending... please listen to goalkeeper even though he is eng siang or benny. He sees everything. Don't argue over small things like we never aged since we first met.

AJS

Fears of A Defender

1) Revolving door. - Defenders standing too close to a strong striker tends to suffer this fate.

2) Knock downs and a fast striker/winger. - Centre midfield did a good job holding the ball and earns an opportunity to pick out a proper pass. Takes aim at big striker(not necessarily fast, but damn strong), big striker heads ball/shields defender, causing him to lose challenge, and speedy gonzalez gets it... hope he miss or the keeper do miracle.

3) 2 on 1 - He shoots? He dribble? He pass?

4) Cocky strikers - a certain cockiness makes the defender rage.. and he commits easily.

5) Dirty tricks - 'nuff said.

Not much a defender fears, but hopefully shuaiji strikers read this and gain some ideas for the next match.

p.s. no defender fears a striker who can shoot hard.
p.p.s. a dirty striker gets dirty treatment. especially from shuai ji defenders.

NEW FORMATION.... Part deux

in fact shuaiji has little problems in defence. The biggest problem lies in attack. In the last match the attackers held up so few balls that most of the match was played by our center mids and defenders. I'm even starting to miss mark's presence, at least in him we had someone upfront to fight for the ball (sometimes too literally) unlike in street football where a striker does not always have to score the goals, field football depends insanely much on strikers, even if they can't score goals, at least to hold up balls.

I base my comments solely on the statistics of the last few matches. Beng has been the ONLY person scoring the goals. And more often than not, doing it all by himself , even being assisted by defenders rather than midfielders. We've all seen what Ali is capable of but we've not seen that kind of finishing for many many matches. Its evident that Ali gotta start playing as support striker instead.. beng shifting to lead the attack, zak and ang(hopefully zak plays) in mid and after seeing winger after winger fail in that position, that seriously shuaiji needn't play with any wingers at all.. 2 center mids with two wide-center mids (not wings) with fullbacks pusing the wings..
thats all i have to say...

pls pls pls comment.....
i wanna know wad u think

New Formation??

Our last game saw some impressive performance within our own group of limited talents. Seems like some of us played better in their unfamiliar position, namely, siong and kiam.

Juz some of my personal thoughts, i felt tt wif siong playing at the centre midfield position its giving us much more possession in terms of first ball, 50-50 chance, linking of play wif our defence. As for kiam, he put up a solid centre back performace tt day. Precise tackling and non-hesitant clearance. So im tinking maybe we should give them a chance. Niao can fit in the left back position, though lack of techniques, his persistent realli manage to silence tt small gnk. Law can take over his bro position for the moment aft his acceptable performance tt day, quite sometime since he last understood how to play a position well.

Any suggestions, supports, modifications, unhappiness?? Pls contribute. Ur feedbacks are most welcome and definitely play an important role in moulding shuaiji into a better team.

lots of love

New Formation??

Shuaiji 2 Gian Nen Kias 4

Finally. The long-awaited match. But tis isnt going to be our official commissioning match for the new jersey. Reasons being: firstly, not everyone is present. Secondly, got cocksters come in fancy socks and one in his sexy shorts. And finally, we lost the match.

Description on the opponents:
Gian Nen Kias (gnk), juz by their colour it has alrdy sent shivers down some of the shuaijis. Big ones are strong, small ones are fast, enough to pawn us.

Match report:
Shuaiji kicked off. Before everyone was settled, the first action took placed. Bigger gnk sent a non-threatening through ball down shuaijis' right. Chan, always so dependable somehow allowed the ball to go past him. Shuaijis sensed trouble. Small gnk blessed wif his natural inherited pace from his kind sprinted for the ball. It juz seemed like the ball was definitly destined for the back of the net. Suddenly, Kiam, playing out of his usual position, appeared from nowhere like how spiderman always do, flew in wif a crunching professional tackle. Right at the edge of the penalty box. BEEPP!! A yellow card was flashed. Kiam acknowledged with a grin on his face. Satisfied wif tis winning trophy.

But trouble dint end there. Again gnk pushed down shuaiji's right wif yet another through ball. The gnk opponent took no second thought and made a rather weak shot. But fortune is not wif shuaji. The ball harmlessly went past our recalled-back no.1 Engsiang, goal-bounded. All hopes seemed to be dashed. Suddenly, once again, superhero Kiam appeared. Knowing that he was the final hope, knowing that everyone's dream was pinned on him, knowing that he juz got to kick it out and be a hero again, he disappoint.
Kicked the ball right against the left upright, richocet it off him into the own net. Even spiderman loses his power someday. He was forgiven. Gnk 1 shuaiji 0.

Tensions were high in the shuaiji team. Players upfront were too rigid. Wingers were not doing much running or supporting much in defending. The centre mids were tired n overwhelmed by the speed of the gnk. Shuaijis were juz falling apart. Holding all together was our superhero. No one else was doing the right thing. Good thing gnk were veri complacent. Either that or their stamina were running low too. Not much actions for the rest of the first half.

Second half took off wif the gnk starting the ball. Once again, before everyone was settled, action tooked place. And once more action came from the gnk left. Neat passing btw two of them and off came the shot. Travelling wif enough height and velocity, a threatening one. Hearts paused as all looked on the ball. Keeper, Eng siang, one who is always weak wif high ball, not to mentioned high ball wif speed, somehow pulled off some magic from his gloves and palmed the ball. Wonderful save!! But..."TIANG!!!" Eng siang was brought back to earth. Before he could react, the ball was put into the net wif an audacious shot by gnk. Somehow he was left alone in the box, unnoticed though its daytime. No high fives for Engsiang for that great save. Heads were down. Dejection was spelled on all those in reds.

The third time the same procedure took place. Shuaiji kicked off again. Midfield were battling harder tis time round. Shuaiji knew that they juz got to get a goal back but passes were not string more than 5times. The reflections from gnks' teeth suggested that complacency had got over their head.

And maybe because of this the gnk keeper was feeling bored and thus decided to have more time on the ball. However tis was spotted by Beng. Like a cheetah preying on his prey, Beng edged forward slowly. Suddenly a burst of energy pushed Beng forward on the ball. Panicking, gnk keeper tried to kick the ball away. But all was too late, wif a flick off the boot of Beng, he hooked the ball over the flapping hands of the keeper before kicking the ball into the net. 2-1, 1 more to go. Perserverance, determination. Beliefs that a comeback was within reached.

Shuaijis began to feel the urgency. Everyone was pushing harder and fighting for balls. Siong, the engine room of the team, was exhausting every bit of his energy. Even Louis was pushing the attacks, winning tackles. For once, action was on the other side of the field. A gap was spotted by Kiam, a through ball was sent, Ah Li latched onto the ball. 1-on-1. Unfortunately before he could pull the triggle, a nudge from behind by one gnk knocked Ah Li off his balanced. The shot went narrowly past the post. Good effort, could have been better. But this signalled a positive sign for Shuaijis. It seemed like a draw was no longer a dream.

Before long, all hopes were dashed. Every money betted on Shuaiji to pull off a draw was lost. A mix-up in the defensive line. Everything happened very quickly, confusion were everywhere. The ball was at the back of the net for the third time. 3-1.

Time was running out, energy was running low, concentrations were lapsing. Limited with juz one sub, Shuaijis knew that they could onli start to absorb all the bombarments from gnk. Shots after shots were fired. Either they went wide, or they were saved or blocked off. Attacking chances for Shuaiji became very limited. Then this rare chance came. A high through ball was sent from the middle. A run was made behind the gnk defenders. An hesitating keeper vs a determined striker. Shuaiji pulled another goal back. 3-2. A consolation goal.

However everything dint end at that scoreline. A freekick was given at the edge of the box. Gnk simply wanted to take advantage of this last opportunity to broaden the scoreline. A shot was went through Shuaijis wall, goal bound. Eng Siang once again pulled off a remarkable save,once again it was not enough, once again the ball rebounded off the cross bar, once again the ball fell to a gnk who went unnoticed in the bright sunlight, and finally once again buried the ball into the net.

Final whistle was blown as Beng made a final shot from the kickoff. 4-2, gnk won. Not an auspicious start with the auspicious colour.

Though Shuaiji ended up on the losing side of the card, some positive areas were observed. Left back Kiam played an ou xiang centre back role. Crunching tackles, wonderful anticipations. Law did realatively better in that role this time round. Biggest surprise would be Eng Siang. Someone who managed to pull off many saves which seemed impossible for him before today. Secret training is it???

However many areas of improvement needed. Someone got to revised a fitness plan for Chan. Commitment level got to increase in most players. Tackles got to be harder. Communications need to be improved too.

Man of the match. I nominate myself but i vote for Kiam. For his crunching bone breaking tackles. Im glad his on my side.