D2D Sat 3pm League Weekly Round-Up

OPOD News Center – With 3 games left, league leaders Swee Swee 1 FC is in contention to clinch the Division 1 League Title as they edged past bottom table strugglers Mavericks FC 2-1. With a game in hand, both VNPNUS and Zespol FC are trailing the league leaders by 6 points. Relegation is looming for Mavericks FC as they remain 6 points away from safety. STAR CF keeps their survival hopes alive as they drew 3-3 against Tour D’ France. Similarly, AJPL FC is fighting for survival as they clinched a crucial 5-2 win over Schwarz Star FC. They remain 3 points away from safety.

The Falcons crashed to a 2-5 defeat against AJPL in a match many would have expected them to win. The previous time these two teams met, SSFC cruised to a 4-1 victory so this defeat will definitely come as a shock to the team.

Things got off to a bad start when the Falcons conceded a soft goal within the first 20 minutes of play. It got from bad to worse when two more unfortunate goals were conceded, the first, an own goal by Leonie and the second, off a free kick when the SSFC’s defence went to sleep. The Falcons went into the break 3 goals down.

In the 2nd half, AJPL went on to score 2 more goals after the kick-off. With a heavy 5 goals deficit to overturn, the Falcons threw caution to the wind and started having more possession and were creating the better chances. They were duly rewarded when Jason pounced on a loose ball after a corner kick taken by Andy created havoc in the AJPL six yard box. With the clock running down, the Falcons had numerous chances to score more goals when Yen, Kok Hui & Jason missed golden chances to bring the deficit down. There was time though for one more goal and it was admittedly the goal of the match. Kevin, playing as a centre back at this point of the match, picked up the ball in the centre circle and floated a perfect ball across the field for the onrushing Leslie who took down the ball fluidly, turning a defender before smashing the ball past the goalkeeper. The 2 goals were mere consolation though as AJPL ran out victors.

SSFC will play Zespol FC in their next D2D fixture this coming 7th of August.

It was heartbreak all around as the Falcons were denied victory and precious 3 points when a legitimate goal was disallowed by the referee. The reason for the decision have yet to be known.

The Falcons controlled the game for the majority of the match with penetrative plays down the flanks by Andy, Leslie & Salehin providing the Star CF’s defence with much to deal with. Star CF managed to repel much of the Falcons attacks somehow. The Falcons, though, thought they got their breakthrough when a move started by Thava was finished by a header from Melvin after an exquisite cross from the right by Leslie. However, much to the Falcons’ dismay, the goal was disallowed by the referee. The next best chance to score came in the second half, from a free kick on the edge of the Star CF’s box after Yen was bundled over by Star CF’s defender. Kevin shot narrowly wide from the resulting free kick after a tap pass by Andy.

The Falcons will rightfully feel aggrieved at missing out on maximum points after outplaying the opponent for a majority of the match. They will have to look forward to this weekend’s match and hope the result comes right.

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The Falcons scored a precious point after drawing 0-0 in their previous match with Star CF. The team produced a dominant display in possession football, keeping the ball well and spraying passes across the pitch. The only thing absent on the day was clinical finishing and with the chances wasted, it’s no exaggeration that The Falcons could have ran out with a two or three goals victory. Melvin missed the best chance of the match by failing to connect with the ball at the far post after a wonderful cross by Leonie had beaten the goalkeeper. YangSheng had a glorious chance to win the game at the brink but somehow skied his shot well wide of the goal.

Coach Jason was understandingly happy with his team’s display, noting that it made watching the match enjoyable. There was also plenty of movement all around the pitch between his players which was lacking in previous matches. League debutant Hector had a good debut, playing in the DM role and winning almost everything in the middle of the pitch. The defence was not in a giving mode, repelling everything Star CF tried to throw at them with Wei Yang particularly impressive in his sweeper role. Reserve goalkeeper, WhyeMing who sat in for the absent JingXiang also had a good game. Though hardly tested by Star CF’s strikeforce, he did his job well when called upon.

The Falcons will play bottom team, Mavericks FC in this weekend’s round of matches. Last year’s defending champions, Mavericks have been out of sorts this season and find themselves surprisingly sitting at the bottom of the league. The Falcons will hope they can build on this performance and hope to run away with the three points. Pre-match report to follow in the coming days.

Another disappointing result for SSFC as they fell to a heavy 0-3 defeat against Tour D’France, chalking up their 5th defeat in the league. As the league is approaching its climax, The Falcons are lying 3rd from bottom are are dangerously close to the 2 relegation spots. Current 7th and 8th spot teams, AJPL FC and last year’s champions, Mavericks FC are 3 points behind SSFC but both still have 2 games in hand. If results don’t improve in the coming matches, The Falcons will see themselves relegated to Division 2 of the D2D Saturday 3pm League.

Questra Challenge Cup (Jun 5-6 2010)

SSFC came out as the Silver Finals runner-up in a 2-day affair held at St Wilfred’s Sports Complex. This is team-manager Brandon’s first silverware, and hopefully the first of many, that will go into his trophy cabinet – after 6-years of hard effort in nurturing the Super Falcons.

Already winners in their own rights, the host’s invitation of the Falcons was very much a strong sign of good faith in SSFC’s overall footballing credentials, both on and off the pitch. This invitational was also a good chance for the coaches to experiment with tactics as well as give players, both old and new, a run out to gain experience and match fitness.

Though it was a tournament held in friendly, sporting spirit, the 2-days were no easy feat for any of the 8 teams. SSFC is honoured to be involved in this weekend tournament, with exposure to quality teams from several prominent amateur leagues. Besides SSFC, pooled into Group A were also host and defending champions, Questra Vipers, highly-rated ESPZEN teams Greats FC and Eastern Vale FC.

The opening match for SSFC saw us snatch back a precious one point from Vipers – opponents that we have yet to triumph over in EFL. A goalkeeping howler from the Vipers’ custodian – fumbling a challenging cross from Rongshan – rescued a draw for the Falcons after conceding a well-taken goal in the 1st half. The subsequent game against Greats FC, a formidable opponent from the competitve ESPZEN league, resulted in a 0 – 1 defeat. In the final game for Saturday, only a last-gasp stop from Eastern Vale’s keeper denied Siva and thus SSFC a chance for victory, with the match finishing a goaless draw.

That meant a spot in the Silver SemiFinals on Sunday, where we beat Vipers Social courtesy of Siva’s solitary goal. In the Silver Finals, mistakes from the Falcons gifted away 2 goals and despite a penalty won and converted by Isa, SSFC went down to a much-improved Eastern Vale FC.

Regardless of results, it was still a worthwhile weekend spent as the team gained valuable experience, playing time that will add to the pre-season preparations for the Super Falcons as the 2nd half of their football calendar resumes.

OPOD News Center - AJPL held VNPNUS to a 0-0 draw over the weekend in spirited display. While they may have been slain by lesser teams on other occasions, AJPL are proving to be the bogey team in Div 1 having upset last season’s champions Mavericks FC and now depriving the current leaders of 3 points.

Zespol FC finally found their first victory of the season, winning 4-2 against Star CF. Mavericks FC lost out 2-0 to Tour D’France while Schwarz Star FC won 3-0 over Swee Swee 1 FC maintain their 4 spot on the league table.

In Div 2, Coca-Cola Singapore Sports Club tore Thunderveluboomqiesi apart as they romped to a 6-1 victory and put to bed their disappointments of the last 2 weekends. They remain 2 points behind leaders Team Goat, who also won comfortably against Serangoon United, to lead the table with 12 points.

Team Orange and Kamago’z played out a 2-2 draw and while it’s still early days, both teams will need to string some results together soon to have a shot at promotion.

Report & Photo taken off footballopod.com

It was a heartbreaking debut for the boys as the team kicked off their debut in the D2D 3pm Saturday League with a heavy 4-0 defeat against a rampant VNPNUS.

The team were dealt a footballing lesson as they found it hard to cope with their opponent’s route one football, finding difficulty in handling the high balls into their penalty area. Chances for the team were high and few as the opponent’s were quick in closing down spaces for the team to play their brand of possessive football. The small and uneven pitch didn’t help matters either.

The boys will hope to pick up after this defeat and promise the fans that they will be stronger for the next match.

After a disastrous performance that resulted in an 8-0 defeat a fortnight ago, Schwarz Star was up against Rul United at Kent Ridge Secondary School. Kick-off was delayed by 30 minutes as neither sides had a match ball with them. Despite the delay, it did not dampen the spirits of players.

The Schwarzians in yellow kicked off the game and it didn’t take long for the first goal to come. A mistake by Whye Ming saw him drop the ball as he landed after a successful catch. The opposing striker, still lurking around him, pounced on the loose ball and blasted it into the back of the open goal.

1-0 down but Schwarz Star fought hard and reclaimed a goal from a corner. Peter’s corner into the 6 yard box was met by a wild swing from the opponent, sending it past his own keeper.

Half time soon arrived with the scoreline tied at 1-1. Coach Jason took the opportunity to deliver his message at half time and the sides re-emerged for the second half.

Schwarz Star looked more goal-hungry than their opponent and was quickly proved by Yang Sheng, who was making a return after a long layoff due to his NS commitments. Receiving a brilliant throw from Yun, he controlled it and spun around his defender, before lashing a ferocious shot from metres outside the box at goal. The keeper got a touch on it but it wasn’t enough to stop the ball from going in off the base of his left goalpost.

With the lead, the Falcons took the game to their opponents, bombarding them with waves of attacks. The Schwarzians thought they got the third when a corner in was met by the rising Satnam, who headed it towards the bottom left corner of the goal. However, a timely intervention by the opponent cleared the ball off the line.

With the amount of pressure applied on the opponents, the arrival of the third goal was never a doubt. A through pass from Melvin played Peter through the defence and the keeper was the only player between Peter and the goal. Peter went for the low drive past the keeper but was stopped by the keeper’s outstretched hand.

However, as luck would have it, the ball bounced up into the air, and all Peter had to do was to get his head to it. He did, and the ball trickled into the back of the net, giving the Schwarzians a 3-1 lead with a third of the half to go. It was a much welcomed goal, as the Falcons looked to bounce back with a win after a dismay performance last time out.

The match had its last piece of action when a penalty was awarded to Rul United after a trip in the box. The pressure was mounting as the penalty taker was at the spot, with Whye Ming doing everything to put him off. The referee blew the whistle and the penalty was saved by Whye Ming down his left side.

The Falcons were relieved but it didn’t last long as the referee blew for a retake, citing that Ishak had entered the box before the kick was taken. The retake was taken by another player, and he made no mistake with his effort, sending Whye Ming the wrong way.

3-2 was the score now and it was all to play for with just a couple of minutes left in the game. Schwarz Star defended as a unit in the dying minutes to secure the hard-fought win, and it was welcomed by the team as the end of an eventful February drew near.

EFL Qualifying Division
SSFC 4 – 1 MDIS
5pm, Boon Lay Secondary School

Two goals each from vice captain Muhammad Farhan and former POTQ winner, Muhammad Noorazmy secured an emphatic victory for SSFC, as they beat MDIS, 4 -1.

This is Coach Kenneth’s first game in charge after a December hiatus and it was a perfect gift for him, as well as SSFC members. There were odd moments of déjà vu at the ground where the Falcons triumphed over Dong Shin. But our opponents were no pushover.

MDIS – made up of students from Singapore’s better-known private, non-profit, educational institute – were full of exuberance as they kept the Falcons well occupied at both ends. The MDIS lanky centre backs were blasting balls deep out, twice into the school compound. Up front, their speedy strikers were building up a pacy rhythm as they danced perilously close to scoring.

But with the return of experienced ‘enforcers’, P.H. Ong and E. Donohue, there was that steel to disrupt their flow. Conversely, at the other end, it took some guile from SSFC to unlock a strapping MDIS defence.

The two scorers combined for a clever set piece play that brought the opening goal. Corner taker Razmy passed to Farhan who received at the left edge of the penalty box. As an opponent rushed into a tackle, the midfielder shifted the ball to his left and with his weaker foot, drove it through a throng of bodies, into the bottom right corner.

Razmy poached his first goal soon after, as he swooped onto an aerial assist and lofted it over the goalkeeper. Farhan’s 2nd goal was a long range drive from 30 odd yards out, in a successful attempt to catch the keeper off his line. 3 goals in 45 minutes – not since the Dong Shin game have SSFC felt so relieved of pressure early in a game.

There were some nervy moments though as the MDIS’ strikers chase for half-chance almost paid off. Mix-up and mis-kicks saw the ball roll on for a 1-on-1 with SSFC’s goalkeeper. But credit to Yun whose timely interventions, through dives and parries, ensuring a clean sheet at half time.

Perhaps having the notion that there is nothing else to lose, MDIS stepped up their efforts and scored from the 1st corner they earned in the 2nd half.

SSFC’s fourth goal came after a throw-in with the goalkeeper deceived by the flight of the ball; and possibly taken aback at the audacity of the effort. Razmy’s opportunistic cross-shot at the left side of the attacking third guaranteed the Falcons their 3 points.