8/2/2009 Match Review and Photos

All photos courtesy of Chris Lau(www.chrisjhpixels.com) & Dawn Album: http://s333.photobucket.com/albums/m392/maestrofootballclub/Training%20Kickabouts/8%20February%202009%20Training%20Match/

Match Review by Gerald Maestro FC took to the fields for the first time in 2 weeks with the biggest turnout ever! A total of 21 players turned up, sufficient to form 2 team(albeit 1 team with 10 men)The match was between the gold and blue of MFC. Captain Walter and Vice Captain Eric took the opportunity to pit MFC's best attack against the best defence. At the same time, certain tactics were used for each team, with some players adopting new roles in the team. For example, Cross played the first half as a winger, Jonathan and Gifford paired up as strikers and Chris Lau as Goalkeeper. The pre match proceedings were carried out by Silas, who led the warmup and some light ball passing drills. By then, the players were all itching to take the pitch and they got their chance soon after Walter announced the division, with Alan being the Captain of the Gold Team and Eric being Captain of Blue team.

The match got underway and it was clear that the Gold team was controlling the first half. Guo Xian showed no lack of match sharpness as he drew first blood, racing past a static defence to score the first goal. Chris Tan got his name on the scoresheet by heading in at the far post during a corner. Guo Xian then helped himself to a 3rd soon after. If the Blue Team was down, they were certainly not out. Jason pulled one back just before half time with a goal which saw him drift past half the Gold Team. The second half began as how the first half ended, with the Blue Team slowly exerting their pressure on the Gold Team. Blue Team midfielders Benjamin and Jason did well, holding up the ball to bring Jonathan, Gifford into attacking positions. Calvin also terrorised the right flank, troubling the Gold Team's defence with his pace and mazy runs. Not surprising, the Blue Team managed to pull 2 goals back to set the score at 3-3 with Gifford among the scorers. The Gold Team continued to push on to find the match winner with Augustine, Guo Xian and Chris Tan all missing good opportunities. The winner did eventually come, but from an unlikely source; Gold Team's Alan took a shot which deflected off Blue Team's Walter for an own goal. Though the game ended in favour of the Gold Team, it was a match where there was more at stake than just a win. The match showed us some good performances from some players like Augustine, Silas and Wee Hian and helped to build some team spirit and understanding among players. Also, some new tactics were tried with relative success. As Captain Walter has put it "The new season will start in March, I hope we can continue to train like this in the future." Certainly the future of MFC will be brighter at the rate the training is going. High Points 1)Wee Hian and Alan's defending was a 5 star partnership 2)Augustine and Silas showing more agression on the flanks 3)Gifford getting his first headed goal 4)Calvin's pace and good crossing (No wonder he is on selection trial with Woodlands Wellington) 5)Walter's far post corner kick tactic which resulted in a goal 6)Blue Team's impressive comeback from 3-1 down Low Points 1)Punctuality is a problem for most MFCians 2)Potential injuries to Silas and Jonathan suffered during the game 3)MFC players still need to improve on passing and increase confidence