Match Updates For 3 Matches (15th Aug - 29th Aug)
Mavericks 3 - 1 S-Team
Scorers: Darran, Leon, Chao Xing
Assist: Leon, Jerome
MOMs: Jerome
A visibly younger S-Team was sent to face off with the Outsiders in this hot afternoon. Team Mavericks, desperate to shake off their erratic form of late, signed 2 new players Shi Jie and Leon to beef up the squad thinned by injuries and commitments.
Perhaps it was good fortune that for S-Team to exclude one particular Thai striker (who was remembered to terrorized the defence as easily as "God-like" Kee Siang kicking water soccer with the Indians). Because throughout the game, Mavericks had been the more dangerous side.
However, instead of the Thai, S-Team had a particular no. 11, who continuously (and shamelessly) exploited the goody O'Clement's kind nature (who had refused to use his body to outmuscle him despite pleas from the fans) down the Outsiders' left flank. Though no.11 was particularly fast and agile, his stamina soon gave way to the blistering temperatures of the afternoon.
And it was to be Mavericks' day as they grabbed the first goal through Darren (a wonderful solo-effort from the right). New signing Leon (for an undisclosed fee) and Chao Xing later on both scored from outside the box to seal the win. S-Team later on clawed one back after a somewhat dubious refereeing decision as Seng Yew was allegedly fouled by the attacker just before the goal was conceded.
Clarence, seeking his first goal for Mavericks, was unlucky to have his first two 2 efforts denied by the post. The disappointment on his face was evident after he sent a third attempt well-wide after being set up by Chao Xing inside the box.
But the man of the moment was wing-forward Jerome, who had the best performance of the day. His relentless run-ins from long balls especially in the second half were particularly dangerous and the tired S-Team defenders simply couldn't contain him.
Post-Match Interview
The correspondence caught up with Chao Xing after the match and asked if the star players were missed.
"They were definitely missed. Prior to this match, some players were worried that we would not be able to cope with the opponents without them. We were starting this game without stars like Amir, Khai, Chuan Ji and Kee Siang (late knee injury). But I didn't believe that we would definitely lose the game, and I'm glad the players believed in me and duly delivered the goods. And it is through their absence that we confirmed the team's tendency to over-rely on individual quality to either win or to use the lack of it as an excuse when we lose.
And I guess Arsene Wenger shared a similar view, 'I believe in working in our job, creating connections between the players. I believe in what makes football great. It is a team sport, a collective sport. You can win because you are more a team, or because you have more individual talent. What is interesting for me is the team ethic. It is when sport is about the team that I like it.'
My point is simple. It is possible to win through a focus on team effort rather than individual talent and many of our opponents have already done that against us in matches that "we think we shouldn't lose". Passing, though fundamental, is the key to what I hoped to achieve. Vary our style of passing. Widen the possibilities. It's easier to pass to the nearest player or one you think has the best individual quality (who is less likely to let you down). But it makes our play predictable. We have more than one good dribbler who can penetrate defences in quick counters. And they are no doubt fast and good, and they have been the main attacking options for our team.
Yet with good passing we can counter-attack even faster, and create more options. And my focus has never changed, I still believe that our centre midfielders are the key to our playing style. To win a game, we aim to control the game first. And to control the game, a good partnership among the midfielders is required. But problem is, our centre mids have also the highest "turnover rate" every game..
Finally, I observed that our passing has improved over the last few games. We are slowly achieving what I mentioned. Especially in the last game. The first half performance, as I quote Clarence, was a joy to behold. We were severely lacking defensive and attacking options. Despite the depleted squad, the core of the midfield was still there. The midfield had a hard time but at least it's 3 players sharing the workload. Compared to the previous match against HCJC, our usual midfielders were missing and the makeshift midfield was virtually non-existent. Even though we had Kee Siang, the poor guy was overworked and we lost the match."
Other news..
Mavericks 1 - 2 HCJC
Scorers: ?
Assist: ?
MOMs: ?
One match with a forgettable scoreline and already forgotten details. Both sides didn't play well in this fixture. And Mavericks must have sorely missed the services of Wei Jie as the makeshift midfield was unable to contain the opponents. But the HCJC team had the superiority in its passing game. Whoever was responsible for scoring and assisting the only goal for the Outsiders, please own up!
Mavericks 4 - 0 Rantau Rovers
Scorers: Chao Xing ('15), Kee Siang ('26), Darran ('65), Chin Yuen ('74)
Assist: Faizy, Darran, Amir
MOMs: Wei Jie
Vengence was on the agenda as the team sought to recover from the shock loss to the Indons in its previous meeting just some weeks ago despite having led twice before conceding goals in succession. Utillity man Chao Xing broke a goal-drought to open the scoring for the Outsiders, while cultured midfielder Wei Jie was devasting in his passes that cut through the Rantau defence like knife through tofu. Despite a few defensive errors and his trademake "aiyah!", he had done well enough to earn the MOM for this match. Notable displays were also put up by Chin Yuen, Faizy and half-time substituite Amir, who was unlucky not to have put his name on the scoresheet.
Scorers: Darran, Leon, Chao Xing
Assist: Leon, Jerome
MOMs: Jerome
A visibly younger S-Team was sent to face off with the Outsiders in this hot afternoon. Team Mavericks, desperate to shake off their erratic form of late, signed 2 new players Shi Jie and Leon to beef up the squad thinned by injuries and commitments.
Perhaps it was good fortune that for S-Team to exclude one particular Thai striker (who was remembered to terrorized the defence as easily as "God-like" Kee Siang kicking water soccer with the Indians). Because throughout the game, Mavericks had been the more dangerous side.
However, instead of the Thai, S-Team had a particular no. 11, who continuously (and shamelessly) exploited the goody O'Clement's kind nature (who had refused to use his body to outmuscle him despite pleas from the fans) down the Outsiders' left flank. Though no.11 was particularly fast and agile, his stamina soon gave way to the blistering temperatures of the afternoon.
And it was to be Mavericks' day as they grabbed the first goal through Darren (a wonderful solo-effort from the right). New signing Leon (for an undisclosed fee) and Chao Xing later on both scored from outside the box to seal the win. S-Team later on clawed one back after a somewhat dubious refereeing decision as Seng Yew was allegedly fouled by the attacker just before the goal was conceded.
Clarence, seeking his first goal for Mavericks, was unlucky to have his first two 2 efforts denied by the post. The disappointment on his face was evident after he sent a third attempt well-wide after being set up by Chao Xing inside the box.
But the man of the moment was wing-forward Jerome, who had the best performance of the day. His relentless run-ins from long balls especially in the second half were particularly dangerous and the tired S-Team defenders simply couldn't contain him.
Post-Match Interview
The correspondence caught up with Chao Xing after the match and asked if the star players were missed.
"They were definitely missed. Prior to this match, some players were worried that we would not be able to cope with the opponents without them. We were starting this game without stars like Amir, Khai, Chuan Ji and Kee Siang (late knee injury). But I didn't believe that we would definitely lose the game, and I'm glad the players believed in me and duly delivered the goods. And it is through their absence that we confirmed the team's tendency to over-rely on individual quality to either win or to use the lack of it as an excuse when we lose.
And I guess Arsene Wenger shared a similar view, 'I believe in working in our job, creating connections between the players. I believe in what makes football great. It is a team sport, a collective sport. You can win because you are more a team, or because you have more individual talent. What is interesting for me is the team ethic. It is when sport is about the team that I like it.'
My point is simple. It is possible to win through a focus on team effort rather than individual talent and many of our opponents have already done that against us in matches that "we think we shouldn't lose". Passing, though fundamental, is the key to what I hoped to achieve. Vary our style of passing. Widen the possibilities. It's easier to pass to the nearest player or one you think has the best individual quality (who is less likely to let you down). But it makes our play predictable. We have more than one good dribbler who can penetrate defences in quick counters. And they are no doubt fast and good, and they have been the main attacking options for our team.
Yet with good passing we can counter-attack even faster, and create more options. And my focus has never changed, I still believe that our centre midfielders are the key to our playing style. To win a game, we aim to control the game first. And to control the game, a good partnership among the midfielders is required. But problem is, our centre mids have also the highest "turnover rate" every game..
Finally, I observed that our passing has improved over the last few games. We are slowly achieving what I mentioned. Especially in the last game. The first half performance, as I quote Clarence, was a joy to behold. We were severely lacking defensive and attacking options. Despite the depleted squad, the core of the midfield was still there. The midfield had a hard time but at least it's 3 players sharing the workload. Compared to the previous match against HCJC, our usual midfielders were missing and the makeshift midfield was virtually non-existent. Even though we had Kee Siang, the poor guy was overworked and we lost the match."
Other news..
Mavericks 1 - 2 HCJC
Scorers: ?
Assist: ?
MOMs: ?
One match with a forgettable scoreline and already forgotten details. Both sides didn't play well in this fixture. And Mavericks must have sorely missed the services of Wei Jie as the makeshift midfield was unable to contain the opponents. But the HCJC team had the superiority in its passing game. Whoever was responsible for scoring and assisting the only goal for the Outsiders, please own up!
Mavericks 4 - 0 Rantau Rovers
Scorers: Chao Xing ('15), Kee Siang ('26), Darran ('65), Chin Yuen ('74)
Assist: Faizy, Darran, Amir
MOMs: Wei Jie
Vengence was on the agenda as the team sought to recover from the shock loss to the Indons in its previous meeting just some weeks ago despite having led twice before conceding goals in succession. Utillity man Chao Xing broke a goal-drought to open the scoring for the Outsiders, while cultured midfielder Wei Jie was devasting in his passes that cut through the Rantau defence like knife through tofu. Despite a few defensive errors and his trademake "aiyah!", he had done well enough to earn the MOM for this match. Notable displays were also put up by Chin Yuen, Faizy and half-time substituite Amir, who was unlucky not to have put his name on the scoresheet.
posted by xInG at
10:20 PM
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