When you turn up for a Ramblers Orange friendly, you never know who is going to turn up - for the starting eleven or the opposition! You just receive this sms from Michael asking you to confirm your attendence and then you see what happens. So when I turned up on Saturday, it was a relief to see that Ramblers were warming up properly by playing 'monkey' because there was a slight dread of fear when I saw the opposition - the first division team and hard tackling nuts that are Timoran. (We will feature in Division 3 this year.)
However we should have nothing to fear from the team in black. After all our last game against them ended in 2-1 loss but we were not outplayed a month ago. It was only individual mistakes that cost us that game and the team were focused on a positive result this time round. And this time we got it!
However we should have nothing to fear from the team in black. After all our last game against them ended in 2-1 loss but we were not outplayed a month ago. It was only individual mistakes that cost us that game and the team were focused on a positive result this time round. And this time we got it!
Jocelyn modelling the bibs that Ramblers wore. A return to the team's root colour yielded a victory of equally sunny disposition.One of the best first half performances from Ramblers Orange since I joined the team allowed us to go into the break with a one goal lead. The midfield trio of Jason, Derek and debutant Sukor gave no time at all to their two centre midfielders which forced them to go wide. However Keon was working overtime to deny them space on the left whilst Wes Brown ripped the left back to pieces several times on the right. If only he had crossed or shot accurately, Orange Ramblers might have been three goals to the good at half time. But Wes Brown made no mistake with his head after Heng's free kick was pushed out by the goalkeeper. The team might have killed him if he had missed most five yards out! Cherk came close to doubling our lead from the opposite side with a long free kick that bounced off the bar.
Timoran found Wes Brown's weakness (defending!) and attacked down his side much to Max's consternation but to the senior man's credit, he buckled down and launched some crunching tackles. Cherk and Fajar were also playing well in defence (the latter somehow ending near the opposition's corner flag during an attacking move!) but Kugan was providing anxious moments for the management and supporterswith his lack of contact on Timoran's diagonal balls. There were 3 swings of the right boot, 3 misses of the match ball and fortunately 3 lack of shots by Timoran strikers but it was a note of warning - the game wasn't over.
However coming into the half time break, we knew we had done a good job - it was a matter of the rest of the squad doing the same in the 2nd half as the substitutions rolled on. Sukor's debut could have featured 2 assists as he displayed accuracy and swerve with his crossing from the right - Heng's bullet head flew wide of the near post whilst nobody was able to connect with the 2nd cross several minutes later.
But with the orders and midfield discipline of Derek off the pitch, Timoran slowly moved the ball through midfield with more fluency. As Sukor neglected his central midfield role and Siang being caught upfield, Jason was soon finding himself with a lot to do. Fortunately he had the rock solid KDU central defensive partnership of Fajar & Kugan behind him. The tall man displayed a solid Vidic-esque performance in the second 35 minutes after a nervy first half with man of the match Fajar looking as usual like the ball was glued to his foot. Our goalkeeper, Chris, had very little to do - he had to catch the odd long through ball but all in all, it was a surprisingly stress free game for him.
Surely the most underrated player in the Ramblers Orange squad, Michael, also gave Timoran no room to maneuver at left back whilst Tee Oon found himself exposed with Wes Brown's wanderings on the right. It was from this position that Timoran gave us a reminder of their quality - a curling right foot shot pinged off the upright - and it was also a reminder for us to finish off matches when we have the upper hand. Playing well and losing is the same result as playing badly and losing after all.
Timoran found Wes Brown's weakness (defending!) and attacked down his side much to Max's consternation but to the senior man's credit, he buckled down and launched some crunching tackles. Cherk and Fajar were also playing well in defence (the latter somehow ending near the opposition's corner flag during an attacking move!) but Kugan was providing anxious moments for the management and supporterswith his lack of contact on Timoran's diagonal balls. There were 3 swings of the right boot, 3 misses of the match ball and fortunately 3 lack of shots by Timoran strikers but it was a note of warning - the game wasn't over.
However coming into the half time break, we knew we had done a good job - it was a matter of the rest of the squad doing the same in the 2nd half as the substitutions rolled on. Sukor's debut could have featured 2 assists as he displayed accuracy and swerve with his crossing from the right - Heng's bullet head flew wide of the near post whilst nobody was able to connect with the 2nd cross several minutes later.
But with the orders and midfield discipline of Derek off the pitch, Timoran slowly moved the ball through midfield with more fluency. As Sukor neglected his central midfield role and Siang being caught upfield, Jason was soon finding himself with a lot to do. Fortunately he had the rock solid KDU central defensive partnership of Fajar & Kugan behind him. The tall man displayed a solid Vidic-esque performance in the second 35 minutes after a nervy first half with man of the match Fajar looking as usual like the ball was glued to his foot. Our goalkeeper, Chris, had very little to do - he had to catch the odd long through ball but all in all, it was a surprisingly stress free game for him.
Surely the most underrated player in the Ramblers Orange squad, Michael, also gave Timoran no room to maneuver at left back whilst Tee Oon found himself exposed with Wes Brown's wanderings on the right. It was from this position that Timoran gave us a reminder of their quality - a curling right foot shot pinged off the upright - and it was also a reminder for us to finish off matches when we have the upper hand. Playing well and losing is the same result as playing badly and losing after all.
Football just isn't about Messi Magic. A long scar from the Butterfly team is now joined by a stud mark from a Timoran midfielder. However these probably weren't as bad as what Sukor got - a frontal kick to the groin! OUCH!
Overall it was a performance that members of the management team could be well satisfied with. A quality team beaten and outplayed for most of the 70 minutes & a solid defensive display from all who patrolled the back line, it only lacked a killer goal and more midfield discipline in the 2nd half. Pei, who represented Timoran today, must have wished he was wearing an orange bib! With Keong, Adrian, Arson, Ming and Wei missing from the matchday squad, the future bodes well for Ramblers - if they can continue to sustain this level of performance.
(written by Reporter Derek)
.JPG)
No comments:
Post a Comment