match preview

salaam

guys, im back.

next, the game on labour day... initially, the opponent was supposed to be my bro's team. but they couldn't make it. so he got another team... then he said he wanted to watch the game, so he asked who's playing, then he went: "AH? dat team's good, u know!"

sufian23: they're very good ah?

bro: ok lah, they won tournaments before..

sufian23: street soccer or field?

bro: field...

this was supposed to be a warm-up game!! now it's become a tad challenging... looking at the number of players out:

confirmed travelling squad:
zaki, farhan, fir, dayat, shai, hasan
returning from injury:
zarir, myself
half-fit:
abu

tentative:
saidon, khai, ashrof, syarif (if he wakes up)

long-term injury:
nasir

int'l duty:
adib

exam duties & others:
hatta, dedi

the rest no replies yet.

dats a lean squad we've got... esp when abu sez,"It would be good if we have subs cos i died on sun playing the whole game".

so here's a low-down to avoid a potential wash-out..

we're playing at 11am, (if it doesnt rain), so the weather cld work against us, but it could also work for us. if they're dat good (i trust my bro's scouting reports), then we'll probably have to run less to outlast them throughout the game lor.

probably wait for a mistake here and there, cos im imagining one of our old games played at mango when we were almost totally outpassed and played monkey the whole game. c'mon guys!

if during the game, they can really do that, and u sense a potential outpouring of goals, here's a chance to flash some of hidden professional talents by slowing down the pace of the game... yup yup.

niwae, hopefully, just hopefully they're not that good arr... hahha

sufian23

Emeralds do it the hard way.

Recording a win on a hard fought match played on a hard surface, the Emeralds only made it difficult for themselves on a terribly hot Sunday afternoon against their blue-jersey donning opponents.

The match started off at a frantic pace with BSRI looking to defend from the front as strikers Firdaus and Syarif harassed defenders and forced them into committing numerous errors and generally making nuisances of themselves.

BSRI should have been up by two goals within the first 15 minutes had it not been for wayward finishing by Syarif after doing all the hard work and running. It seemed that the striker's lack of confidence(and fitness!) in front of goal, after missing out on several games earlier in the season due to a mysterious chair-ridden condition that made him sit in front of his PC into late nights, was apparent as he soon missed another glorious chance to put BSRI ahead when his weak effort was cleared off the line by a defender after good work rounding the goalkeeper with his speed.

His strike partner, Firdaus, did not have Lady Luck on his side either despite concerted efforts to keep himself on-side against a defence that was determined to play so high that would put JC girls who have their skirts hemmed up high be ashamed of themselves.

Nevertheless, BSRI was holding up the play well in the middle of the park with stand-in defensive midfielder Hasan reveling in his new role as he scurried and huffed his way around the field, breaking up the opponents play and halting any attacking momentum that threatened to build up. In fact, so effective was he that he allowed his fellow midfielders the time and space to launch attack after attack but the stubborn defence of their opponents held firm and the score remained 0-0.

In defence, debutant Zameer Aziz, after much hype surrounding his position as President cum Captain cum Quartermaster of his Malaysian medical college football team, lived up to the billing as he gave a no-nonsense, solid performance at the back along with fellow defenders Adib, Ashrof and Zarir. Even the goalkeeper Sufian was assertive in his penalty area and did not look likely to concede a goal.

Both teams went into the half-time break with nothing to show for their efforts but things were about to change in the 2nd half. A surprise visit by long term injury player, Sufian Hanafi, seemed to raise BSRI's team spirit and coupled with the "citrus elixir" that Hanafi concocted especially for the team seemed to re-invigorate the tired legs of the players.

A shuffle in the team line-up saw Zameer partnering long time friend Farhan in the middle of defence and despite belief from an infamous sports pundit, Balbir Singh, now on the run from Singapore sports officials, who said that two Indians (or in their case half Indians) in the middle of defence is nothing but trouble, the duo were commanding in defence and they allowed for the fresh legs of Zaki and Adib to maraud further up the flanks to contribute to the attack in search for the opener. And it soon came when a beautiful cross from Ridzuan from the right was met with the head of Firdaus who planted the ball beyond the keeper and BSRI finally got the breakthrough that they sought after.

It was not to last however as again the ground proved to play a major bane to goalkeeper Sufian and his defenders. An ambitious and seemingly innocuous long ball played to BSRI's penalty area took an unfortunate bounce that caught the defence unawares giving the opponents the perfect opportunity to steal a goal back and it was all square again as the score was tied 1-1.

BSRI is never a team that gives up and a masterclass substitution by team manager, Adib, who brought on Zarir in place of Ridzuan saw the former contribute the decider with his first few touches. After being allowed acres of space by the opponent's defence, Zarir blasted BSRI back into the lead with a well taken shot on the right that the keeper could do nothing about. 2-1 to BSRI.

More substitutions were made and BSRI kept pressing for the goal to kill off the game but time however was not on their side. The match ended with the score at 2-1 and both teams can take pride in their performances given the "hard" conditions that they were made to put up with by playing on a hot stuffy Sunday afternoon and a pitch that resembled the dune wastes of Afghanistan.

BSRI:
Abu Sufian, Zameer, Adib, Ashrof(Zaki), Zarir, Hasan, Shaiful, Ridzuan(Hidayat), Khairul, Syarif (Farhan), Firdaus
Special Guest Appearance: Sufian Hanafi




- Disclaimer from the author
Syarif: I'm bored and since I'm bumming I might as well contribute a write up for the last match. Be aware that the views represented in the report are solely my own and does not neccessarily reflect the perspectives of everyone at BSRI. DO NOT BOTHER to correct me if I have any grammartical errors because i'm l33t li3k th4t. Anyone caught copying my report whole sale and posting it on any other website to claim as their own will get a good hide beating from me. Thank you.

Hey guys...


Tampines West CSC will be organising a 7-a-side soccer tournament on the 17th and 18th of May 2008 (Saturday and Sunday).


Venue is at Mango Field, opposite Temasek Polytehcnic. Each team is allowed to register a maximum of 10 players. Registration fee is $50 per team.


The rules and regulations as well as the time the tournament will take place on the two days will only be made known to us at a later date.


Prizes:
1st - $500 cash + medals
2nd - $200 cash + medals
3rd & 4th - $100 cash + medals


So for those who want to take part, pls sms me the following details:
1) Full name
2) DOB
3) NRIC No.
4) E-mail Address
5) Contact No.


RSVP by 1st May 2008. Pls help me disseminate the info to those who seldom visit the blog.


Thanx guys. I'll c u guys on sunday, for those who can make it for the game.

Amazing

I'm pretty sure you guys have seen this lots of times.. =)




Amazing run matched by an amazing commentary.. =)

A New Layout

Well, it has been almost a year that the blog's been set up. So, a little change may be nice.

FYI,

Before:


After ZaRiRazZification:

Last but not least, I'm leaving you a comment from Derby boss Paul Jewell on Cristiano.

"He's six-foot-two, brave as a lion, strong as an ox, and quick as lightning.

If he was good-looking, you'd say he has everything."

Wow. I'd do anything to learn how to say things like that. Genius.