• If you are within range and you can see the goal – shoot! It’s okay to miss and, if you don’t shoot, you’ll never score.
• Follow your shot. Goalkeepers often drop the ball, so make sure you are right in front of them if they do.
• If you can’t get a shot in, try to pass to someone who can. It’s just as good to help someone else score a goal as it is to score one yourself.
• If the other side get the ball, you are the first line of defense. Work hard to win the ball back.
• When it’s our goal kick, stand in a place where you can get the ball. Don’t just hope the ball will come to you.
• When it’s the other team’s goal kick, get to the ball before their players do. Watch the goalkeeper – where are they going to kick the ball?

The Falcons takes on bottom club Mavericks FC in a bid to build on last week’s impressive performance. The match will provide an excellent opportunity for the team to pick up 3 points as Mavericks FC are in all sorts of trouble in the league. Being last season’s champions though, Mavericks FC cannot be discounted and must not be taken lightly. The Falcons will have to keep on their toes to prevent any upset in this already topsy-turvy season.

The Falcons will be deployed in their 4-1-3-1-1 formation for the second match running. The team executed the formation almost to perfection in the previous match and will hope to do the same this weekend. There will be a slight change in the starting personnel with WhyeMing starting ahead of JingXiang in the goalkeeping department. Dennis will step in to replace Thava, who is unavailable for this match, in central defence and Salehin will take over Kelvin as left back. Hector will hope to build on his impressive debut last week in the DM role with YangSheng, Andy, Leonie in the middle of the park. Melvin will come in and will play slightly behind the main striker, Siva. It’s gonna be a great match!

Substitutes: RongShan, Rueben, Kelvin, Leslie, Remi, JingXiang

Kick-off: 1500hrs

Venue: Damai Secondary

Weather Forecast: Late morning and early afternoon showers with thunder

What do you think of this invitational’s significance to SSFC’s reputation / organisation qualities?

The branding of Schwarz Star is definitely significant with Brandon having done an excellent job to ensure such achievements. The team’s name will go far and be recognised as a strong brand down the years. There are also steps in place to enhance this and make SSFC more valuable.

The tournament saw us up against quality teams from other prominent amateur leagues. How does SSFC measure up to these other teams?

There is not much known about local teams in Singapore but i like what i saw and the other were good. Schwarz Star is a team that is also well known amongst local teams. Our standard is up there with the others. But the players must realise and acknowledge in order that in order to match up with these teams.

How do you think the team fared with regards to your playing objectives?

I was on the look out for new players and fringe players to add value to the team. This was a chance for some of the players to show their value and contribution to the team also. I participate in competitions to win. Unfortunately this objective was not met.  However Jing Xiang, Thava and Rong Shan definitely showed the array of their contribution and have added value to themselves.

Any other positives, such as the overall experience, to take out of SSFC’s participation in this invitational?

It’s the first time SSFC has lifted a trophy. It is a proud moment. Albeit a silver finals. It is still a trophy. As i told the players, it could be their one and only chance in football to ever win a trophy. I definitely don’t see any chance for myself winning any more trophies as a player; each victory in my past is valuable. My players must realise that each game they play, for their professed love and passion for football, any game or trophy could be their very last.

How far away is the team from readiness to resume pre-season training?

In spite of its good reputation and that the players are good players in their own right, SSFC is still a considerable distance away from being a truly competitive team in the local scene. There is nothing wrong with that as there can only be one champion afterall. However, the players need to push their level of commitment and determination in order to be a noteworthy force on the pitch.

Any hints on the plans for the next half of the season for SSFC?

There will be structured and intensive programs to clock the individual players’ ball hours. Plans are in place and the details will be ironed out fairly soon.  All these is done for players to undergo a common platform for training. To gain progression in this aspect of their lives and to have a bond with the team.

Apologies on those trying to access our website for the past few days. Seem we had a server error but it’s fixed now.

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.

The Falcons return to action this weekend with a match against current 3rd placed team, Tour D’France. With Tour D’France putting 3 goals past SSFC the last time these teams met, The Falcons will go into this match as underdogs. They will however hope to spring a surprise and steal all 3 points from the inconsistent Tour D’France who succumbed to a 6-1 drubbing by Swee Swee 1 FC in their previous match.

Dennis & stand-in-skipper Weiyang will form the backline with a rampant Leonie on the left to provide overlapping runs down that side of the pitch. Kevin will fill in at right back slot to provide much needed experience. Wan will marshall the area ahead of them and will be expected to break down the opponent’s plays and pick up any loose balls in the area. Brothers Yangsheng and Yangming alongside Andy and Leslie will run the middle of the park and all of SSFC’s attacking plays will have to flow through them. Upfront, Siva will make his D2D League debut and will bring with him his lethal touch which has been missing in The Falcons plays recently. Fresh from his goalscoring forays in the recent Questra Challenge Cup, not many will against him scoring on his league debut.

Substitutes: Satnam, Yen, Rongshan, Leon, Fernando

Kick-off: 1500hrs

Venue: Punggol Secondary

Weather Forecast: Late morning and early afternoon showers with thunder

After a long hiatus, the Falcons Arena is back in operations after the pitch has been relayed.

Training therefore will resume again this Sunday, 13th of June. All players are to report at the Arena by 1645 HRS. In the event of bad weather, all players will be notified by 1545 HRS latest.

See you guys on the pitch!

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.

With the Falcons missing a match in this week’s schedule, it gave ample opportunity for the teams below them to rack up some points and do some catching up. Zespol FC took full advantage, beating inconsistent AJPL FC to leapfrog over the Falcons to 4th spot. VNPNUS did their title credentials no harm by beating arch-rivals Mavericks FC to open up a 6 point gap at the top, edging Swee Swee 1 FC with Swee Swee playing one game less.

The Falcons will return to action this weekend, pitting themselves against current 3rd placers, Tour D’France. The Falcons were beaten 0-3 the last time these two teams met in one of their, if not the most forgettable performance in the league to date. The team will look to put things right this time around and hope to clinch maximum points to help them maintain their current mid-table standing.

More pre-game report on the match as we get closer we get to the matchday itself.