Tuesday, August 29, 2006

The Beginning of a New Era?

After an early morning downpour that threatened the kickoff, players arrived at Tanglin pitch 3 to miraculously find the venue relatively unscathed by the rain, as if the gods had constructed an invisible shield over the skies in anticipation of our match.

Buoyant over the continued successes of their previous matches, the level of confidence was high in the GYFC camp. Celebrations over the success of last weekend's crunch match carried on long into the week. It's to be noted that several key players were spotted partying late into the night hours before the morning kickoff. The manager would surely express his displeasure at this lack of discipline, if he existed...

Notable absences from this week's squad list include Woon Rooney, who opted out from the squad because he was "not sick", and Vin Nistelrooy, whom many are starting to doubt his existence. It remains a mystery to put a face to his name as the elusive Vin Nistelrooy has yet to be spotted on match day. Player or GY ghost? The fans have yet to reach a conclusion. Another significant absence was Bran (not his real name). Interviews with team mates only drew vague comments like "Biatch!", "what's his secret?", "he's whipped"...

GYFC squad
Starting 11:
Zhi Ruiberto - DL
Benglamy - DC
Jingmie Carragher - DC
Koknavarro - DR
Jun Wei (not his real name) -ML
Jin Nan (not his real name) - MC
Vincenzo Iquainta - MC
Roynaldo - MR
Neo (not his real name) - SC
Pohdolski - SC
Honourable 11th man mention (again): Maxi Rodriguez - GK
Bench:
Hengry
Benson (not his real name)
Weixiang (not his real name)

Venue: Tanglin Pitch 3
Kickoff: 930am (GMT +8)
Referee: Dave's friend
Opponents: Reds

Match Highlights:
An aggressive start by GYFC as the weakness of the opponents' backline was quickly exposed. An intelligent pass by Neo in the 12th min saw Pohdolski shrug off his opponent with what is turning into his signature style and firing a shot into the bottom right corner of the goal from 25 yards out. 1-0 to the GYs!

A free-kick conceded 30 yards out from the GYs' goal in the 32nd min gave the Reds a golden opportunity. A pin point cross into the box caught the GYs off-guard and a Red rose unchallenged to glance the ball into the back of the net with a classy header. 1-1! Game on!

The rest of the half was evenly contested as both sides had their chances. Tactial substuitions by the GYs ensured the fitness of the team was not compromised. The referee blew for half-time with the score tied at 1 apiece.

After the break, players from both sides battled it out in what can only be described as "football like you've never seen before". GYFC's cohort of aging stars had occasional lapses of concentration which gave the fans (2 dogs, 2 kids and their mum) a few scares. Koknavarro had an injury scare late on in the game but after consultation with the team doctor (Koknavarro), concluded that it was minor and could be treated with acupunture.

The match ended in favour of the Reds 5-1.

Morale was surprisingly high in the GY camp after the game. However rumours of spies in the GYFC team were overheard at the press conference after the game. Reporters also noted the absence of the team's physio/lone supporter from last week's game. The tabloids have already begun drawing their conclusions from these significant developments.

Preparations for the upcoming match are already underway with the GYs seemingly not affected by the past match.

Monday, August 14, 2006

Our run continues...

We have won again!!!
Believe it or not, the once-proclaimed-to-be-losers-GYFC has risen from the ashes and broken our 8 game losing streak. Not only that, we are on a roll right now with a 4 match unbeaten run... What a turn of events.
We have now gelled as a team and have gone from strength. Though some attribute it to the new jersey, some say it's the Abdul Malek GK jersey, some say it's because Dave is giving us lousy opponents, it does not matter. Let's just hope that this streak continues for GYFC.

Highlights of today's match:

Final score: 4-2 (2-0)
Handicap before KO: +0.5 (because we have no subs today)
Handicap at KO: 0 (because our opponents looks overweight but the fact is we still do not have subs)
Referee: Dave
Venue: Old Police Academy
Time: 1530
Weather: Cloudy
Supporter/Physio: Suinan's gf. A pretty lady that has been here for the past 2 matches to grace our wins. However, her presence seems to cause some distraction to our centre back SUI Campbell.

Lineup:
Jing Shen (suinan's bro) - GK
CSC - DL
Kok - DR
Weihao - DC
Suinan - DC
Max - DM
Zhirui - ML
Roy - MR
Weixiang - MC
Vincent - AM
Wenxiu - SC

18min 1-0 : Own Goal but our opponent, headed into the net beyond their own keeper. ROYnaldo CLAIMS he put the defence under immense pressure

27min 2-0: Pinpoint cross from the right floats across everyone to the far post. ZI RUIberto heads the ball beyond the keeper for our 2nd goal. Our opponents are utterly humiliated.

51min 2-1: Opponent lets fly from 25m out. Ball goes into the top right corner. Lucky... Nothing but sheer luck.

58min 2-1: Opponent (named Patrick) gets 2 yellow cards in quick succession to get himself sent off. LOSER!!! But being a gracious team, we let them have another player come on in place of him. But only bcos he was a fat ass.

67min 3-1: VINCENZO Iaquinta receives the ball on the left and lets fly a curling shot that the keeper has no chance in reaching. The 2 goal margin is restored.

76min 3-2: Opponent springs the offside trap and bears down on goal on the right. He produces a shot that is just beyond our keeper's reach and goes in off the upright. LUCKY again!!! How lucky can they get? GYFC begins to wonder if lady luck has deserted us and wants us to lose.

83min: 4-2: A moment of magic from VINCENZO Iaquinta as he embarkes on a mazy run down the left, cuts in, and produces a Paul Konchesky effort to beat the keeper. The game is safely in the bag. After the match, VINCENZO claims that he intended to lob the keeper but the team decides that it looks more like a typical POHdolski effort.

Match of the match: It was thought to be a close fight between MAXi Rodriguez (for driving the midfield with his endless energy) and VINCENZO Iaquinta (for his 2 goals) but in the end, it turns out to be dark horse Jing Shen (simply for his commitment to being the keeper for the full game).

Of note: It was highly commendable for CSC and Fabio KOKnavarro to have completed the full match without being substituted (simply becos we had none) or getting carried off the pitch. CSC had a cramp towards the end but it was just a simple cramp, NOT MORE THAN CRAMP.

Our winning run goes on and on.....

Next weekend's fixture might be postponed due to ZI RUIberto and MAXi Rodriguez being on international duty with the Thai National team....

More updates to follow...

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

GY Convocation and a little more.....

The latest batch of GYs has graduated. We have made it...... to Hell....
Little update on some of the GYs...
  1. PRC Edge is a temporary Amercian Edge. He is _!_ing the Americans in Chicago at the point of writing
  2. GYling Goalkeeping skills has upped a level. Latest match report available at www.nomelonsnolemon.blogspot.com
  3. GY Bran has good news to share. Breaking news.
  4. Life still goes on.....

Hope all GYs are enjoying life right now. _!_