Maestro FC Vs Primero FC marred by Referees, Mothers, Sisters

Maestro FC 0 : 3 Primero FC

Match Review by Gerald Tan

Although relegation and pride was at stake, Maestro failed to surprise favorites (and Division 3 champions to-be) Primero FC as 3 goals were conceded. The 3-0 scoreline flattered Maestro as Primero could have easily scored 3 or 4 more, if not for wasteful finishing and some astute "all hands on deck" type of defending. Right from kickoff, Maestro needed to defend deeply as Primero showed just why they were the league leaders, stroking the ball from flank to flank, finding space and gaps in Maestro's lineup. Their passing was arguably the best we have seen all season, even better than the first time Maestro played Primero. For all our industry in chasing and closing the ball, we were really sitting ducks, waiting for  Primero to fire the first salvo. In all fairness, our defending was brilliant at times. Chris, Lau (Dennis' father) held off several one on one challenges and made crucial clearances. On the attacking front, Abhi was a bright spark. He showed no ill effects from a sleepless night (his sister gave birth and he spent the whole night in the hospital) as he made several good runs down the flanks, against a former NFL defender. With insufficient players, several key players took up unfamiliar positions - Captain Guo Xian played at left back and Keeper Gary played upfront and later, right back. Although the odds were heavily against us, the score at half time was somehow kept to 0-0. The score could have been kept to 0-0, if only Maestro had more quality and players to replace tiring legs. Primero made several substitutions in the second half and turned up a gear against a tired Maestro. 3 goals were scored in the last 15 minutes as the Maestro fortress finally gave way. The last 15 minutes also saw the interesting bits of the game. Referees - Perhaps out of boredom with the way Maestro was defending, the main referee started to hog the attention when he chose to argue with Walter just after we conceded the second goal. Rewind to the incident. In the lead up to the second Primero goal, Chris claimed to have been pulled back by the Primero striker causing him to lose the ball. After the goal was conceded, Chris complained to the linesman who failed to spot the foul. There was some commotion between the referee and our defenders and it resulted in Walter asking Chris not to argue anymore. With both teams ready to kickoff again, the referee thought Walter was still arguing with him and stopped the game from resuming. After kickoff, instead of focusing on the game, the referee turned to Walter and said that "You all are sore losers thats why you are losing the match, childish". He also continued to insult Maestro in malay to the Primero players. Both linesmen were no better as they failed to correctly award corner kicks and offsides. One of them was the referee last week against USSR (remember the plus sized referee who failed to sent off the Russian for punching Alan) and he certainly evoked a sense of deja vu with his "excellent" calls.  Captain Guo Xian will be writing to X League to formally lodge a complaint; organiser Morales himself was present to witness the wonderful refereeing on display. Mothers and Sisters - In the lead up to the last goal conceded, our defender Lau claimed to have been kicked in the backside by a Primero player. As usual, the referee did not see the incident. In protest, Lau told the Primero player to focus on kicking a ball instead, or something to that extent. The player took to offence what he said and told Lau (who should be 40 or 50+ at least) to "f" his own mother. In similar courteous fashion, Lau told him to "f" his own sister then. This led to a small melee between Lau and Primero but it was cooled down fairly quickly. It was interesting that the referee remained quiet on this, no action, no talking to the players. In my opinion, for all of Primero's excellent gameplay, their players should learn to control their language. On multiple occasions during the game, they lashed out at our players with vulgarities even though the referee had given them the free kick. Vulgarities have no place in soccer, certainly not those which involve weird physical relationships with family members. X League organisers could look into asking referees to be tight about such undesirable behavior and perhaps barring such players or teams who indulge in colorful language, because many fights start due to such silly comments. With just one more game left to play, it will mean Maestro has completed 4 seasons of X League since its inception in 2011. However, rather than improving with each season, team attendances have been lagging and there are comittment issues within the team. We have also effectively been relegated 3 of the 4 seasons we played in. The AGM next week should seek to resolve the near and perhaps long term future of Maestro.

Maestro shocks high flying BMFS SC

Maestro FC 3 : 1 BMFS SC (Abhi x2, Jeramy)

Match Review by Gerald Tan

Every dog has its day and today was Maestro FC's day. Not that it is this writer's intention to link Maestro to dogs (ala Roy Hodgson and "space monkey") but this victory was nothing short of Maestro coming in as underdogs to shock BMFS SC with 3 excellent goals. In the earlier fixture with BMFS, though Maestro lost narrowly 2-1, this was a team high on confidence after coming on the back of 2 back to back wins, scoring 8 goals in the process and claiming Ironfield United as their latest scalp. Lest we forget, Ironfield thrashed Maestro 5-1. Just to stack the odds further, Maestro only had 13 players, 2 of whom are new players. The regular centreback pairing of Alan, Norris was absent, midfield maestro Hakim and striker Rong An still not fully back to action. Recent matchwinner for Maestro - Dino, was also not available. The team almost lost Calvin too, due to his grandmother being hospitalized but thankfully he still made time for the game. Captain Guo Xian partnered Chris at the heart of defence, with Walter and Howard as the wing backs. Gerald was DM, with Kartik, Abhi, Alwyn and Victor (Alwyn's friend) in the midfield 4. Jeramy led the attack. The pre-match atmosphere was low; the team knew the odds was heavily against them. BMFS had more subs, bigger players who were also skilful. There was no mention of victory, only a good game, to keep the formation tight, with more passing. Right from the first whistle, it was as if divinity's hand was at play, as Maestro somehow managed to control the game. The lack of players meant that the team kept to short passes where possible and everyone seemed to possess iron-lungs to keep closing down on the opponents. This frustrated BMFS as they tried to keep possession and launch attacks but each time they tried, Maestro managed to peg them back and regain possession. The first half ended 0-0 but the tempo was with the Bees. Freekicks, corner kicks and outstanding runs by Abhi down the left flank kept BMFS busy defending. The Bees was relieved at the goalless scoreline at half time and it seemed like everyone was just hoping for the scoreline to remain goalless for the point. Never did we expect to score 3 in the second half. It did not take long for Abhi to start the goal rout. It started from a move from the back as Guo Xian picked up a loose ball, charged forward and launched a beautiful long through ball to Abhi. Abhi was flying down the left flank by then and he latched onto the ball, beat his marker before nicely putting the ball into the bottom corner, past the keeper who came out to block his shooting angle. It sparked hope in the Bees and goal number 2 soon came as well. Abhi again was the scorer, this time he did it himself. Picking up the ball on the left flank , he dribbled past the opponent right back and cut in to a similar position he scored from. Instead of shooting past the keeper, he chose to lob the keeper instead. As the ball went in, the team was rocking and BMFS was rocked! Goal number 3 came quickly again from a set piece. This writer delivered a free kick towards the keeper and his weak punch fell to Jeramy and simply tapped in the ball. It was just rewards for him after putting a good shift upfront closing down defenders. His time off from football did not make him less fit, on the contrary he was fitter than before! "The score is 0-0!" Captain Guo Xian reminded the team as he anticipated BMFS to awake from their slumber. They did score, courtesy of a well taken direct free kick which left Calvin with no chance. At 3-1, BMFS tried to come back into the game but it's too late. Tempers flared near the end of the game when a scuffle involving Howard and a BMFS winger over sportsmanship (or the lack of it). Chris tried to defend Howard from potential punches from BMFS but he too got implicated as BMFS players charged towards them and threaten physical action. Thankfully sanity prevailed and the referee did the needful. The final whistle was met with much joy as the Bees overcame the odds to beat a strong team. The win puts Maestro up the table and further from the relegation battle. These are the moments to savour, certainly at least up to next week when we face our opponents!

High Points

1) Centre pairing of Guo Xian and Chris did well in keeping BMFS away from goal. Walter and Howard also played well
2) Abhi was truly the man of the match. His two goals aside, he was instrumental in many attacks.

3) Jeramy put up a good shift upfront and he pressured opponents to lose the ball on a few occasions. Coming down despite his exams makes his presence a lot more appreciated
4) We have 2 potentially good players to join us - Victor and Mark (Jeramy's friend)

Low Points

1) One of the BMFS player was rather unsporting on a few occasions
2) No clean sheet

What does our weekly soccer with Maestro FC mean to you?

What does our weekly soccer with Maestro FC mean to you?

An Honest Review by Gerald Tan

Do you love soccer? I first fell in love with soccer when I was in Pri 5. It was the World Cup 94 in the US and I learnt to play the beautiful game in a small field at my school with 5 friends. We imitated Romario's goals, laughed at Valderrama's hair style. The memory of Baggio's penalty miss will forever be etched in my mind. I remember the first thing I did after my PSLE final paper was to play soccer with my friends at the small open grass patch behind the old Marine Parade library.  That was the last I saw them as I lost contact with them. Over the next 4 years,  my passion for soccer intensified. Besides chasing girls, 4 secondary classmates (Augustine being one of them) and me always looked forward to playing soccer during recess, after school or before detention. Homework and studying took second priority. Scoring a goal was more important than getting a good test grade. Everyday when the last school bell rang, we would race to the basketball court to play soccer for at least 3 to 4 hours.  Everything was about soccer, not studying. I was in the second last class (the last class were students retained from previous batch) and each semester, I was consistently placed second or first from the bottom of the class. I remember being terrified at O levels results day because I suddenly realised I did not put in much effort in the past 4 years to study. My soccer buddies will all be going their separate ways and if I do badly, what's my future going to be like? Thankfully I managed to squeeze into a Poly but soccer with my secondary buddies soon became a past. Soccer started taking less priority in Poly because I wanted to focus on studies. I did not want to repeat my secondary school life. I was also in a relationship where my partner became more of a priority than soccer. Occasionally I still played on Sunday, with a bunch of boys from my brother's secondary school military band. That's how I met Guo Xian, Big Eric, Alan, Lil Eric, Jason, Zirong. Those were the days of playing for free on a grass patch behind Mountbatten CC. We played among ourselves, it was the same folks each week. We had no team jerseys, no team name or fancy boots, no pitch lines or goal posts but we were all happy to play together.  From the occasional game, I stopped playing soccer entirely as I placed all my priority onmy poly final year, NS and Uni. Soccer was no longer something I pursued and I didn't even watch any matches or follow any soccer news. This went on for about 5 to 6 years.  All that changed one day in 2008 when Walter asked me to play a match with the same military band players as they were regrouping for more regular games at Katong field at Jalan Tembusu. I wore my old boots (it didnt last the game) and I remember it was nice to see the familiar but older faces again. I started to become interested in the game again as the team decided to become more formal, a team jersey and team logo were made. A website was created to keep everyone updated of the matches. We got a photographer who took great shots of us in action. We got in new players like Norris, Howard, Calvin, Kartik, Alex, Augustine (who is one of my secondary school soccer buddies), Rong An ( I remember being angry at him the first time he played with us because he outpaced me and scored a long range shot), Silas, Firdaus, Jonathan, Chris, Zeng Yi through friends' recommendations and a feeling of brotherhood was slowly built up in the team. Whenever other teams made fun or tried to provoke us, we would stand united together. Not everything was smooth sailing as I remember incidents where we got into fights with china teams, was threatened by malay teams, even a malay referee! We also had our own quarrels and arguments and there were times when our own turned against us, girlfriends, players came and left but regardless, the team still stayed together and besides soccer, friendship bonded us together. It's been about 5 years since Maestro was formed. We have grown to have more new players and some of the original team members have also left. We moved on from playing friendlies on a muddy Katong field managed by a dodgy person to playing on astro turf pitches of an organised amateur league. We beat better teams on our good days, had amazing comebacks from behind, got relegated twice and third place once. Where once we had no dedicated keepers, today we know 3 good dedicated keepers. Technically we are also definitely better than when we first started in 2008. Looking back at my own history with soccer, I am grateful to my brother to have asked me to play on the day in 2008. Without him, I wouldn't have met many awesome people, talented players in the team and more importantly, I wouldn't have regained my love for soccer. Through Maestro, its not just about getting to play on Sundays after a hectic week at work but its about seeing familiar faces every week who come together to play the game. Its also the excitement of preparing for a game, discussing tactics and trying to outskill our opponents. Through Maestro, I am still learning important lessons on discipline, friendship, commitment, communication, respect, passion, time management. I think each of us have our own personal love story with soccer otherwise why are we playing the beautiful game? But what is different would be how much we love the game. There will always be changes in our lives with higher priorities, be it work, girlfriends, wives, families, money, even our physical condition but I hope our love story with playing soccer never ends, be it with Maestro or some other teams.  Maestro is not just about turning up for soccer, it's never meant to be that way. It's about the people in the team, the ones who will stand up for you when you are booed or heckled by others, the ones who will encourage you after you made a mistake, the ones who will give up personal time to arrange for weekly games, buy team jerseys, collect and account for money, organize team outings, write match reviews, manage our website and Facebook, the ones who will put other more important priorities down just so we can have enough players for the week, the ones who will offer you help when you need it outside of the Sunday games. Everyone has a part to play in Maestro, simply because the team is us and we are the team. One day, I know that my time for playing will be up and I have to hang up my boots. As one of the older players in the team, my time will be sooner than many of you. Thanks to Maestro, at least I know that for now, I still love playing soccer and have a bunch of good brothers to join me until that day comes.  PS. Sorry for the emo post. I took some time to reflect and write my thoughts down after the team's recent attendance issues, players leaving. The tipping point for me really was my disappointment at the lack of support or reaction during today's game when our Captain was made fun of by the opponents when he was taking a penalty. I apologize if I was too aggressive to the opponents by telling them off but my purpose was to let them know we are no push overs. If we cannot stand up for each other as a united team, how can we play and win together? If any one is interested, we lost the game. The score was 3-2 to the opponents. We scored from 2 penalties. Guo Xian and Kartik were the scorers. Calvin was arguably our best player as he kept out many goal bound shots. Also doing well was Kartik's cousin Aaron who possess a good first touch and is very calm on the ball. The other downside to the game was because Guo Xian's old injury flared up again due to a late tackle.

30/6/2013 Maestro FC secures quarter final berth of the X Cup

Maestro FC 2 : 2 La Forza (Guo Xian, Chris)

Match Review by Gerald Tan

The fairytale of winning the inaugural season  of the X Cup continued for Maestro as the Bees ousted fellow challengers La Forza out on another penalty shootout. It was the second successive penalty shootout win for the Maestro, building on their first win against ACE Galaxy. The win was however marred by poor refereeing as the Bees ended with 1 less player on the pitch. Not much was known of this second round opponents La Forza, but the Bees were up for the match, fully aware that overcoming La Forza would see them play a potentially mouthwatering quarter final against Newton Heath FC (which is arguably the best team in the X League). With regular / key players like Rong An, Yang Shan, Joel, Augustine, Walter all out, Maestro only had 12 players for the Captain and Vice to tinker. The formation of the day was 4-5-1, with Jonathan returning to the Bees during his winter break from Australia . Gerald also made his return at centre midfield after being out of the game for 1 month due to injury. The referee assigned for the match was a no-nonsense referee, as he stamped his authority clearly before the game by declaring his refereeing calls were all final. He would be the man at the centre of a sending off controversy. Right from kickoff, it was clear that La Forza's dangerman was their Captain number 3 who played upfront. His quick movements caused the Bees a nervy start to the game as he played cleverly between Alan and Norris. The defensive pair however soon tightened up the defence and with the Maestro midfield pulling the strings through Hakim and Jonathan, number 3 slowly failed to get sufficient delivery to him. The match was calling for a goal, but with both teams solid at the back, the battles were confined to the midfield. Freekicks were given aplenty by the referee and Maestro benefitted from one such opportunity. Direct from a free kick outside of the box, Gerald floated a straight cross into the penalty area and it found Chris who brilliantly timed his jump to head in the ball from mid range. Not even a last minute headed clearance from a La Forza defender on the goal line could stop the ball from going in. That lifted the spirits of the Bees and it ended that way in the first half. The second half saw La Forza push further up with an additional man playing in the hole behind their strikers. Play became scrappy, possibly due to the increasing heat and tired legs from having insufficient substitutes. Maestro conceded a free long range freekicks and each time, La Forza came close, just grazing the crossbar. It was third time lucky for La Forza as they hit back with an equaliser from their third freekick awarded in the second half. La Forza's long range free kick (which seemed like a routine catch) found Calvin wanting and he was lobbed and failed to tip the ball over. Sensing a win, La Forza pushed even harder but once again Maestro went ahead, this time via Guo Xian. Having come close just minutes earlier from the left flank with a good turn shot that just went wide of the goal, Guo Xian was put through on the right flank and he did not disappoint as he shrugged past his markers and shot past the keeper. 2-1 to the Bees! With just 15 minutes of play time left, tempers started to flare up as La Forza accused the Bees of wasting time with some injuries. Vulgarities were meted to the Bees with no action from the referee. The referee himself accused Maestro of being too soft. During one instance, he told Maestro not to play football since our players cannot take physical contact. The referee spoke in malay as well, and it seems that he was berating the Bees together with the malay La Forza players. Despite both Maestro Captain and Vice Captains speaking with the referee, he failed to listen to any reasoning and said that his calls were all right. This was when controversy struck, as the referee sent Norris off with a straight red card after Norris simply commented that the referee seemed biased. With 1 man down, Maestro tried to close up the game but failed to when La Forza scored with another long range shot. This time, Calvin was wrongly placed as the ball swerved and dipped just below the top left corner. Maestro then went on desperate defending mode and held on until the penalty shootout. Calvin then made amends as he made several brilliant saves from La Forza penalty takers. La Forza's keeper himself was excellent, making many saves too but missed when most needed as Jonathan tucked in the last penalty of the game to put Maestro through to the next round. It was a tense penalty shootout, just take a look at the sequence: 1st Penalty - La Forza misses (Calvin saved), Guo Xian misses (hits top right post) 2nd Penalty - La Forza scores, Kartik misses (keeper saved) 3rd Penalty - La Forza misses (blast over), Hakim scores Sudden Death 4th Penalty - La Forza misses (Calvin saved), Alan misses (ala John Terry) Sudden Death 5th Penalty - La Forza misses (Calvin saved), Jonathan scores! The Bees went ballistic after the win as a quarter final berth beckons. If Newton Heath were the next opponents, Maestro would require key players like Rong An, Yang Shan, Hakim, Alan, Norris, Guo Xian to be around. The X Cup dream is certainly not impossible and at least our dream now continues.

High Points

1) Guo Xian's goal was very well taken. Was not easy as he had to hold off a very good left back

2) Kartik was energetic throughout, at one point, he latched onto a brilliant one-two from midfield and outsprinted La Forza for half the pitch before being denied a goal by the keeper

3) Abhi tormented the right back for most of the game. It must be commended; they placed 2 markers on him but he still managed to give them the slip many times.

4) Norris and Alan's defensive partnership is tight!
5) Jonathan's sweet home coming penalty
6) Calvin's villain turned hero performance

Low Points

1) The referee was quite unprofessional
2) Does the X Cup come with linesman? Why not, when we are paying $150?

2) Insufficient players once again

Maestro FC put 7 past against an inexperienced young team

Maestro FC 8 : 0 Silas' Church Team (Guo Xian, Gerald, Norris, Howard, Abhi x2, Hakim x2)

Match Review by Gerald Tan

Maestro FC's experience in playing together taught Silas' church team a footballing lesson as the Bees put 8 goals past them. Nevertheless, Silas' church team showed good resolve and potential to do much better if they can get the hang of playing together as a team. Playing on a natural grass surface after being seasoned on astro pitches did not stop the Bees from putting up a good performance. Once the game started, it was clear that Maestro would dominate the game. Midfield maestro Hakim was back in action as he dictated the midfield game play with some wizard-like, silky skills as he orchestrated the Bee's attacks. It did not take long for Hakim to get onto the score sheet as he smashed a shot from just outside of the penalty area past the small opponent keeper Matthias. From then on, the floodgates opened as Abhi and Augustine tortured the left and right backs with some intelligent runs down the flanks. After getting his "zeroing" accurate, Abhi got onto the score sheet with 2 well taken goals. The more memorable one was when he rampaged down the left flank and took a right footed shot after cutting the ball back. 3-0 to the Bees.  Besides lacking the finesse and technique to mark out our wingers, the opponents were inexperienced in marking out central players and this meant that Maestro's midfield had acres of space to find passes and play through balls. This also boosted the Bee's confidence in holding the ball and making short passes. Even Walter who was playing in centre back could be seen charging through the centre into the opponent's half on a few occasions. Norris who was playing upfront to stretch the opponents' defence benefited from this as a close exchange of passes put him through one on one with the keeper. Norris' good finish meant that it was also game over for Silas' church team but the match was just 30 mins old. The last goal of the first half came from Gerald after Maestro was awarded a close range free kick for a back pass being handled by the keeper (another show of inexperience). Kartik and Guo Xian were tempted to blast from close range but because Gerald was placed 1 metre from the goal with no one marking him, they played an intelligent chip to him and with a simple turn and tap in, it was 5-0 to Maestro. The second half was a better affair for Silas' church team as they put up a better fight and could have gotten one or two goals if not for poor finishing. Silas himself had a wonderful game as his aggressive closing down helped to stem some Maestro attacks. With the game threatening to go into a lull as Maestro controlled and passed the ball around, Guo Xian's goal resumed the goal rout as he scored after some good passing outside of the opponent's box. It was nothing short of well deserved, after Guo Xian played in almost every position in the game (defender, midfielder and striker). Shortly after, Howard got a goal courtesy of a direct free kick. His shot was just nice and lobbed over the short opponent keeper who was just outside of his line. But the goal of the match must belong to the resident wizard Hakim. He notched up his second and Maestro's eighth and final goal after he was put through one on one with only the keeper the beat. Instead of shooting hard, he chose to shimmy and waltz his way past 2 defenders before wrong footing the keeper and tapping the ball in. That brought back memories of the Paolo Di Canio years at West Ham as he was famous for the same type of shimmy technique. 8-0 to the Bees and it was a right scoreline, given the inexperience of the opponents. While the opponents were not at their best, much must be said about their enthusiasm and determination, especially their support for their keeper Matthias as he made 2 great saves to prevent the scoreline from hitting double digits. With more practice, this team has potential as they do have 2 or 3 good physical players to lead the way. For the Bees, this game was a good opportunity to practice some passing and motivate us into thinking "can we play like this in our league games".

High Points

1) Paul came back from China for a month, his first request was play for Maestro. Such enthusiasm for the game is commendable. He also played relatively well.

2) Kartik is really a live wire in the recent games. He has improved in holding the ball and is displaying some good technique in moving the ball into the opponent's box

3) Jeramy's willingness to play keeper when we had no keeper. This game was one where he had nothing much to do but he was still all smiles.

4) Silas for organizing the game with his church team. Played excellently as well and should play like this against our opponents in future.

5) Small Eric has improved as well in recent games. Anyone notice that his heading and clearing of the balls is getting better?

6) Playing on real grass, nothing beats the smell of grass and color of mud eh?

Low Points

1) Timeliness for games has been on the decline. When Guo Xian arranges for a 3pm game, players should come 30 mins to 15 mins earlier, to do warm up and practice. 

2) Weather concerns. While I feel that it is fair to be concerned about the weather, do spare a thought for your fellow team mates who make their way to the game and also the organizer. If players decide to not come because of the rain or the mud, then the team will be short of one player. In the past, we played at muddy Katong, with no changing room but we still had a good attendance every week. Have we become too pampered by astro fields?

27/1/2013 Maestro FC Vs Tsubasa FC Match Review

Maestro FC 3 : 0 Tsubasa FC (Guo Xian, Rong An, Kartik)

Match Review by Gerald Tan

In a typical smash and grab fashion, Maestro secured the first X League win of 2013 against high flying Tsubasa FC. The win boosted the Bees' chances of avoiding relegation and halted a morale sapping winless streak which saw the Bees losing by large margins over the last few league games. The last time the two teams met, it was a rainy affair which ended up in a 2-2 draw. Rong An was the hero that day as he dragged Maestro on par with a superb equalizer from the left flank. Under sweltering heat this time, Rong An again got on the score sheet, helping the Bees to go 1-0 up. Running onto a through ball from Kartik, Rong An got ahead of his defender and lobbed the ball over the oncoming Tsubasa keeper. After a lengthy absence from Rong An, his goal sparked off great celebrations and it was just the tonic needed to get the Bees stinging again. A rejuvenated Maestro almost came close to a second goal, through Jinde's long range shot which went just inches wide of the crossbar. Tsubasa on the other hand looked weary, from the scorching heat and lack of substitutes. Their advances were limited by a tight Maestro defence and midfield; Jinde and Eugene holding up the midfield while Chris and Norris did an admirable job of marshaling the offside line. Upfront, Abhi and Kartik were leading the offense from the flanks and did well to get down the line on a few occasions. The Bees held onto the 1-0 scoreline comfortably till the much needed half time. Captain Guo Xian warned the team to hold off the aggressive play as the tempo of the game was threatening to erupt into an unwanted melee and cards galore. "Get one or two more goals early, then we can close shop" was the Captain's advice. Guo Xian's team talk might  have been prophetic in nature as the second half played out exactly as his instructions. Shortly into the second half, Guo Xian finished off a volley deflected by Chris into his path. Cries from Tsubasa for offside but the linesman was in charge all the time, his flag was never raised.  History repeated itself again when Abhi's cross was deflected by a Tsubasa player into Kartik's path. Offside, called the Tsubasa players. Unfortunately, the referee kept his whistle in his pocket while Kartik finished off neatly beyond a hesitant Tsubasa keeper.  With the 2 goals requested for, it was time to close shop. However, it was no easy feat to close shop against a determined Tsubasa, especially when Lil Eric got his marching orders for a second yellow card. Maestro talisman Rong An also limped off with severe calf cramps, leaving 10 determined players to keep the clean sheet. The team switched to a 4-4-1 formation and parked the bus for the remaining 15 mins of the game. Tsubasa was determined to score and they rose to the challenge, launching waves of attacks through the flanks, the middle with 9 to 10 players camped in Maestro's half.  However credit to Maestro who remained focused on keeping a clean sheet. Jonathan in particular did well along with Abhi to track back deeply on a few occasions against Tsubasa's No. 7, who was the key outlet for attacks. The defence line was excellent, as they played the offside trap very well. Calvin turned hero on 2 occasions when he bravely saved 2 goal bound shots. It was not all one way -  Tsubasa almost lived to regret leaving 1 defender in their own half as Augustine went close to scoring the 4th goal. As the lone striker, Augustine run onto a long ball and found himself one on one with a retreating keeper. With defenders closing down quickly, he could only muster a low shot which was comfortably saved.  3-0 to the Bees and it was a well deserved victory, one which was long overdue. May the victory spark off the revival needed to avoid relegation, continuing next week where the Bees face the mighty Aramis FC.

High Points

1) Rong An on his comeback, the team missed his goals and he obliged with a beautiful lob

2) Jinde held the midfield well and combined with Kartik, Abhi very well on a few occasions

3) Safe hands Gary and Calvin did well to keep a clean sheet. Now how should they spilt it?

4) Determined, aggressive and focused gameplay throughout the heat

5) Clinical finishing which was sorely lacking in the past few games

6) 3-0, clean sheet, 3 different scorers and no serious injuries, what's there not to be happy about?

Low Points

1) Lil Eric's dismissal

2) The heat - sunburn anyone?

Maestro in Relegation Battle

Maestro FC 1 - 4 Stallions United FC (Hairul)
Match Review by Guo Xian

The general feeling of all is that MFC didn't really deserve a 4-1 spanking by the joint league leaders as it wasn't particularly a poor performance from the div 3 strugglers. Stallions took their chances well when/where it matters and scored three inside the first half an hour to settle the match.

The match was well over when late comers Norris and guest player Hairul enter for some remaining minutes in the first half. MFC started the match with 12 players under the gloomy weather. MFC nearly didn't have the eleven to start the match as most players were unavailable due to a variety of reasons, but the team is also blessed with a few COMMITTED PLAYERS who came for the match despite having events before and after the 3pm league match.

MFC started the match with the traditional 4-2-3-1 formation - Calvin being the keeper, a severe lack of defenders see Eugene playing at CB and Augustine at RB. GX and Kartik made up the back four. Gerald, the destroyer, played alongside another guest player Eugene Lim, with Hakim in the playmaker role flanked by Abhi and Joel and spearheaded by Jeramy upfront.

With a lack of players and the rain getting heavier, MFC knew it was going to be a long day ahead. MFC suffered a  further setback early in the first half when wing wizard Joel suffered an injury to his forth toe which probably look as big as his first toe now. Looks like a serious injury. Please get well soon Joel!

MFC has been warned before the match that No. 7 of stallions united will be the key player of the team. It is no coincidence he is currently the league top scorer and MVP. Despite the best efforts of all defensive players, the player was involved in almost all Stallions attacks. Eugene Lim put in a great shift and Gerald, as usual, committed his tackles hard to prevent the player from advancing.

MFC got a taste of this player early in the first half when he totally owned the left flank. An early corner conceded led to the first goal when Calvin spilled a routine catch and the rebound was bundled over for a one goal deficit. Stallions' second goal soon followed when No.7 was fed with a through ball and with a bit of trickery, scored his team second with a thunderous shot. The match was over when he fed his fellow forward, who was in an offside position, to score his team's third. By then, MFC was deflated and Capt GX introduced Norris and Hairul, who was MFC's only threat and bright spark throughout the rest of the game.

The half time team talk was all about damage limitation. As comeback kings of the league, the instruction was to soak the pressure and look for a goal through counter attacks. There wasn't any major incidents in the second half as the game was played under minimal visibility with the downpour making playing football difficult.

The second half saw a more familiar line up. Walter was installed to his RB position and together with GX and Norris, were tasked to keep No.7 quiet. Other notable changes were Yangde replacing Calvin as keeper and Jeramy playing at the right flank.

Hairul continued to display his silky touches and close control as he came close to breaking the deadlock for MFC. A free kick won just outside the 18 yards was dispatched beautifully into the top corner, leaving the keeper no chance. He nearly scored MFC's second with a clever turn which would have change the dynamics of the match. It was not to be as the keeper made an outstanding save to make up for his earlier blunder. That proved costly, as Stallions scored their fourth and final goal. Yangde made a wrong decision to come 30 yards out from his goal to make a clearance. No.7 (again) had an easy task of lobbing Yangde, who until then had a good game with a few accurate passes to the frontmen.

4-1 the final score and MFC slide down into the relegation zone with 5 points in 6 games. It was a score which did not really truly reflect the game. Stallions took their chances when it matters and MFC could have done better with the goals conceded, particularly the first and fourth goal. Until all our players stick together and are available to play some part in MFC's quest to attain a better position in the league, we have to be contented with just playing football on a Sunday afternoon.


Captain GX caught up with ex-vice captain Gerald to give his view on the match.

GX: What are your thoughts on today's league match against Stallions United?

Gerald: Credit to the players who played today. I felt we performed decently, with some good attacks especially the Kartik, Abhi, Hakim combination down the left flank. Hairul should have gotten a hat trick and Jeramy a brace as well. Credit to Eugene as well, having been played out of position at centre back for the first half, followed by a good display at centre midfield. The downside was that we were not strong enough to repel Stallions' attacks, especially from their No.7. Stallions' main threat seems to come from their No. 7, who really can score, close down and assist effectively. He reminds me very much of Rong An and I would reckon that the scoreline would have been closer if Rong An had played.

GX: MFC has lost two consecutive league matches and three overall. What do you think can be done to stop the rot?

Gerald: Our form has been dismal and it hurts to see us languishing near the bottom. We don't deserve this. However, we have ourselves to blame - schoolboy errors, missing key players, short of players, lack of aggression and drive to do well in games and most importantly, lack of attacking threat (no disrespect to MFC strikers). We need to stop the rot, we need to up our game play, have our key players like Rong An, Alan, Hakim, Thomas play more regularly. Maestro might need some new additions as well, given we have players like Jonathan, Big Eric and likely Jeffrey who will be out for long periods. Jin De and Eugene (the new Eugene) seem like quality to me so hopefully we can have more like them, in defence and attack.

2/12/2012 Maestro FC Vs USSR United Match Review

Maestro FC 1 : 3 USSR United Match Review

Match Review by Gerald Tan

Maestro FC slumped to a disappointing 3-1 defeat as old foes USSR United turned the tables on a confident Maestro team. Despite the best efforts of the Bees, it was a game of two halves as USSR were hungrier, with Lady Luck shining on them. From past experiences with USSR, this game was never meant to be pretty. With their tough, long ball style of play, Maestro Captain Guo Xian geared the team up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with specific emphasis on wing play and speed. With an eye on set pieces, Guo Xian also briefed the Bees on positional play for corner kicks.  USSR's winless streak, the return of Player of the Year Hakim, the Captain's pre-match brief further fueled the already confident Bees to go for the win and the Bees started better of the two teams. Early on, the Bees would go onto spurn and regret 3 clear scoring chances. Abhi made the most of his pace as he drifted from the left flank into the penalty box but was let down by a poor finish. Likewise, Gerald pounced on a loose ball outside the penalty box but his strong shot lacked accuracy. Perhaps the best missed chance fell to striker Jeramy. Abhi had drifted into the penalty box again, and he squared the ball to Jeramy who scuffed what should have been a simple tap-in. It was all Maestro for the first half as USSR played aimless long balls around and did not threaten. With half time score at a deadlock, USSR was possibly the happier of both teams. The Bees' gameplay seemed to work but a spark of inspiration was needed to find a way through the Russian wall. So often  Maestro star striker Rong An could be counted on for a spark of inspiration, but his absence today meant that Maestro needed a new hero to step up. The second half saw Maestro push further forward, with Hakim pulling the midfield strings and dictating play. In a dominant 10 min spell, USSR's defence had to be at their best to repel Maestro's attacks. Surely it was a matter of time when Maestro would score.  Sadly, the match swung into USSR's favor after Maestro conceded a soft deflected goal. The Maestro defence had deflected a shot but the deflected shot somehow evaded keeper Brian as it looped in at the far post of the keeper. It was scant reward for Maestro's effort and the players were shellshocked. It was however not unpredictable as USSR had by then turned up the pressure on Maestro, having scored twice earlier, only to have them called off for offside. 1-0 ahead, USSR sensed the game for the taking and they committed 3 upfront to pressure the deflated Maestro team. Their change paid off as 2 more goals were scored. 1 via a penalty after a USSR striker blitzed into the Maestro penalty box and had his heel clipped from the back. The third goal was a result of poor defending as the USSR striker nipped the ball from Wee Hian who tried to shield the ball. The ball was squared and a simple tap-in later, it was 3-0 to USSR.  Captain Guo Xian switched to a 3-5-2 formation and that put a buoyant USSR on the back foot.  USSR suffered a late scare when Joel got one back for the Bees after he received an excellent cross field ball from Hakim and finished with a smart low shot from the right penalty area. It could have been 3-2 if not for another good chance gone begging from Jeramy. He had shrugged free from a USSR challenge and found himself free with the keeper to beat from an acute angle but he could only shoot straight at the USSR keeper. The referee's whistle signaled the end of any miraculous comeback and the team was visibly distraught and deflated after the defeat. It would have been great if Maestro had won but if there were any lessons to learn from this game, it was for each Maestro player to ask themselves how can they contribute to the team, what are the areas to improve on, how can the team support them, how can we change our undesirable behaviors if any.  No more excuses, no more "its not my problem" or "i have no issues" mindset. We need to play as a team, we need to support each other, we need to play our best, put in a good shift all the time and most importantly, we need to change what is undesirable in our performance and behavior.  The Captain and Vice are there to help you. Talk to them, share your concerns with them and once we get all these performance and behavior issues out of the way, Maestro would be a better team.

High Points

1) New player Jin Teng joining in for a first half stint. More time is needed for him to blend in but this writer has a good feeling.

2) Guo Xian's effort in educating the team on formation and corner kick positional play. The corner kick one is especially useful and should be practiced.

3) Return of Hakim and his silky smooth on the ball performance.

Low Points

1) To concede in the way we did for the first goal killed off all motivation. The team was visibly affected as the defence went MIA. Trust between keeper and defence must be rebuilt.

2) Kartik's late challenge on the USSR keeper was uncalled for. We should always try to play fair and  acknowledge when we make a poor challenge.

3) USSR's poor disciplinary record in the X League must be monitored. 2 red cards in the past 2 games plus a barrage of yellow cards in our game. Also, time spent by USSR on arguing with the referee on a few occasions led to start stop play.

4) The first 3 chances in the first half should have put the Bees out of sight. We need to be more clinical in finishing.

28/10/2012 Maestro FC Vs Budak Pondok Match Review

Maestro FC 1 : 2 Budak Pondok

Match Review by Gerald Tan

Despite a spirited performance, Maestro once again failed to win when it mattered most. Rewind to the relegation decider in the inaugural X League season where a victory against Arima Singapura would have seen Maestro avoid relegation. That day, 13 players turned up, without the regular impact players such as Rong An, Hakim. Maestro got whipped 4-1 that day after taking the lead through an audacious Howard goal. Today, history repeated itself as 13 players turned up for the X League Season 2 first runner-up decider against perennial nemesis Budak Pondok. Maestro needed a victory to end the season in second place. However, the absence of impact players Rong An, Hakim, along with regulars such as Augustine, Thomas, Alan, Chris meant that the task was made tougher. With 1pm afternoon temperature at an incredulous high, Maestro had to work hard against Budak Pondok who played a mix of long and short passes. The game was played out at a moderate pace, with both teams trying to break the deadlock through counter attacks. With sporadic attacking threats, there was little opportunity for either teams to score, outside of Maestro's one chance to break the deadlock. Against Arima, Howard unexpectedly scored one of the best goals we have seen. Against Budak, he had the chance to turn hero again after being put through one on one with the keeper to beat. It was not meant to be as his semi-pass/chip/shot attempt was dealt with comfortably by the keeper. The flashpoint of the first half centered on the referee's inability to control the game. 2 incidents proved that - the referee failed to penalize 2 awful tackles on Kartik and Abhi. The first was a trip from the back on Kartik when he was running down the left flank unchallenged. The second incident was a late tackle on Abhi just outside the penalty box. No yellow cards were shown in both incidents. At least the tackle on Kartik reaped a free kick; the one on Abhi was waved for a goal kick even though the linesman had raised his flag for a foul. The final justification of the referee's inability came when he showed this writer a yellow card instead for protesting a Budak Pondok foul throw. The half ended all square with no goals though it was likely that Budak Pondok could steal the victory as they had another 7 or 8 key regular players waiting to come on. Focusing on the task at hand instead of envying their bench, Maestro started the second half the livelier of the two as the midfield capitalized on a few stray passes to counter attack. Guo Xian had a great chance to give the Bees the lead as Jonathan's through ball found him unmarked with only the keeper to beat. The shot though went astray. However, it did not take much longer for the deadlock to be broken. Guo Xian's free kick hit the cross bar and when this writer was felled by a poor high boot tackle from a Budak Pondok player in the penalty box. Guo Xian settled the nerves as he placed his penalty shot neatly past the keeper. With 15 mins to go, Maestro was in the driving seat while Budak Pondok was clearly shaken, leading to some internal shouting between the Budak players. Maestro sat deep to defend but tired legs and the hot weather found the Bees wanting in their tackles and defending. Budak Pondok capitalized on this as they got their equalizer courtesy of a shot inside the penalty box from a half cleared. Demoralised, Maestro tried to rally the attacks for a winner but to no avail. Another half clearance found a Budak player just outside the box and he hit it nicely enough for Calvin to let slip between his hands. The competition was over by then and soon the match too. Second place would have been possible and Maestro were clearly more than justified to finish runners up. After all, the Bees had a superior goal difference, some virtuoso performances against Sparta, Vipers, Atlas, Coast West and FC Rovers plus credible defeats to FC Grampus, Budak Pondok. However, just like what happened at the relegation decider against Arima, the absence of players, especially impact players failed to help the Bees achieve a good finish in the league. This should not be seen as the fault of the absent players but it shows that Maestro needs to have greater strength in depth instead of relying on a few players every game. The current crop of players also need to improve on their skills as well to match all our opponents.

High Points

1) Kudos to the 13 players who came all the way North West for this match. Special mention to Big Eric who came after finishing his marathon.

2) Guo Xian put in a good performance upfront; with a team built around him, Maestro could do better

Low Points

1) Poor refeering

2) Attitude of some Budak Pondok players were not nice, they seemed more interested to complain or tackle hard instead of enjoying the beautiful game

3) No water from the water cooler + super hot weather =  death??
4) The second goal could have been prevented