MATCH DAY - 11032001

SUNDAY FC 6 - OPPONENTS 1

PLAYERS : 3 - Jeremy ; 4 - Ryan ; 7 - Sirong ; 9 - Hong Pin ; 10 - Choung ; 14 - Chuwen ; 15 - Daryl ; 17 - Almeric ; 24 - Selvam

IMPORTS : Damien ; David

GOAL SCORERS : Damien ; Daryl (2) ; Choung (2) ; Almeric

MATCH REPORT by Ryan

The Sundies started their first match of the season on a winning note as they defeated Ryan's lecturer's team 6-1. One would really have to dig real deep into the team's record books to see when was the last time we ever won on such a large margin. It has also been a long time since we ever won on our first match after a long break.

Time to cut the crap and get back to the match. We started with Selvam as keeper, Hong Pin, Chu Wen, Yap and an import, Ryan's friend David who played as sweeper in place of Fairoz, who was on Guards Conversion Course. The midfield was made up of Damien, Ryan, Kelvin and another import, also Ryan's friend, Shaun. We have the familiar pair of Choung and Daryl as strikers.

We started the match on a cautious note, after we were totally run down by a group of 'oldmen' the last time we ever played anyone that was near that age group. But we grew in confidence after we grabbed an early lead when Damien sneaked in behind the whole opposition defence to tap in a long throw from Daryl. The goal also seem to spark some fire in the opposition as they go in search of the equaliser. Unfortunately for them, our defence, marshalled by NTU's IVP team captain, David held its ground and was brilliant. Even when David lost the ball, there was the ever presence of Hong Pin, Chu Wen or Yap to cover the ground, thus leaving the opponents no choice but to take aimless shots at goal.

We took control of the match soon after and looked to increase our lead. Daryl, who was creating chaos in the opposition defence got his rewards when he burst through the right and unleashed a powerful shot to the keeper's near post which was too hot to handle and the ball rolled into the net. 2-0. The opponents were still undaunted pursued for a goal in return but soon realised that they not only have the defence to cope with, they still had the reflexes of Selvam to beat when they do get a shot on goal. The opponents almost scored when a shot was deflected towards goal by David. But from out of the blue came Selvam to pull off an outstanding save and held on to the ball like there were glue on his gloves.

The second half saw Almeric took his usual position on the right with Kelvin shifting to centre midfield. It was the same story of the defence frustrating the opponents and the strike force of Choung and Daryl creating havoc for the opposition. The floodgates opened up when Daryl latched on a long clearance from Ryan, bursting through the right again and sensing the keeper off his line, release another stinger which flew into the net, leaving the keeper helpless. Choung, who had a rather quiet first half, finally made his presence felt, firing a long range effort from outside the box into the left corner of the net to make it 4-0. That goal also draws shouts of 'he just can't score a simple one', signifying Choung's habits of missing easy chances but putting the hard ones in!! That goal also killed off the opponents hopes of any recovery as the Sundies took full control of the match. David, who must have felt quite bored, decided to search for greater challenges. He dribbled the ball from his own half, took on half the opponent team, found his way into the opponents box, unfortunately went in search of more challenges as he chose to take on more defenders instead of shooting at goal, thus more defenders closed in on him and cleared the ball away.

The inevitable fifth goal soon came. Almeric raced down the right and crossed the ball in. The crossed missed Ryan, but found Choung who scored his second with a simple headed tap in goal. Does this signify the end of the 'simple goal drought' for Choung? Anyway, at 5-0 up, complacency soon sets in. The opponent found space on their left and their player exploited it. He held off his challenger and shot a powerful shot which hit Selvam and rolled into the net to score a consolation goal for the team. To round off an excellent performance, we scored our sixth goal. The keeper failed to hold on to a direct free-kick from Daryl and but managed to parry the follow-up by Ryan, only to see Almeric slotting the ball into the unguarded net.

A big win at last for us, and hopefully it will spur us on to greater victories ahead.