Same Mistakes Haunts Orange

A disappointing 2 nil lost to Citibank, littered with a catalogue of errors, provided a worrying problem ahead of Team Orange's Division 3 match versus the firemen on Thursday. A poor backpass by stand-in libero Adrian to a hesitant Suresh prompted Man to intervene with devastating result as their striker robbed Man off the ball and slotted it past the helpless Suresh for Citibank's opening goal. Their second came from a set-piece as ex-Ramblers star, Chong, floated in a free-kick to the far post for his unmarked defender to power home a header.

The first half was a dour affair with Team Orange having the bulk of possession and better chances. However, they failed to produce anything out of it and whilst Siang's deflected shot was brilliantly tipped over the bar, Citibank's rearguard stood firm. Derek, Poay and Au bossed the midfield, with Derek outstanding in an anchorman's role. His positional and passing qualities was called to the fore as we were missing the ever-dependable Jason – and he did not disappoint. Wei, who started as the lone frontman in the absence of Heng and Brown, looked lost and isolated upfront as Keon labored almost ineffectively on the left. Citibank also had chances of their own as Lee headed just narrowly wide from a decent cross and their diminutive striker shot poorly at Suresh as he was being pursued by Adrian and Man. Au and Poay both had shots taken from out of the box but unfortunately we could have profited from a bit more accuracy.

The second half saw the introduction of Seng for Keon and Zambri for Au as they continued where they left off – in search of that elusive goal to put Team Orange ahead. But it was ironically Citibank, who was clad in a bright orange outfit, that took the lead from that poor backpass. Adrian should have hoofed the ball clear instead as he was clearly in control over his smaller opponent. But because he failed to do so, Citibank went 1 nil up – simplicity should have been the key. Team Orange responded to that set-back as they laid siege in their opponent's half but were being outmuscled by the very physical Citibank defenders. And as they failed to put the ball past Karthik in Citibank's goal, they pierced our hearts with their second goal off Chong's free-kick. It was a replicant of the goals Team Orange conceded in their games against PSC and NTFA as the opposition player was left unmarked at the far post! Clearly this has to be addressed prior to our match this Thursday.

As the minutes ticked away, Citibank was contend to soak up the pressure and hit us on the counter-attack as our players pressed valiantly to reduce the deficit. However, it was all in vain and when the whistle blew for full-time, the team in orange was clearly happier than the team named after it.

The 4-2-3-1 Formation

For anyone out there who would like to read more about the 4-2-3-1 formation, please feel free to visit the link below or you could just click on the above title:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2008/dec/18/4231-442-tactics-jonathan-wilson

It is a very interesting article from The Guardian and it should shed some light on this formation since Team Orange is actively using it. If you have any comments, do post it up in the "comment" section at the bottom of this page. Enjoy the read guys!

Ming's Magic Show

Orange vs Kampung Makam

It was supposed to be a difficult game for Ramblers Orange as they faced a team from their own division in a friendly match on a sunny day at Penang Free School. With no Heng or W.Brown present, it was left to Michael to strike forward up front aided by an advanced Siang. Derek & Fajar returned from senior Ramblers duty to bolster the spine of the team aided by the brothers Au & Cherk. Ex-KDU student Keon and young Penang player Ming added pace to both flanks whilst Seng and Michael slotted in behind them.

It was a tight first half with most of the play in the middle of the pitch. Kampung Makam proved that they could play with midfielders pulling the ball back with the soles of their feet and moving past opponents but they couldn't cut the strings of our defence. Whilst they could make pretty patterns in the front of their defence, they floundered on the rocks of Cherk and Fajar when they tried to link with their strikers. Chris had no serious shots fired at him whilst their keeper proved to be more active as Ramblers Orange made less pretty patterns but used pure pace to strike back. Ming was in scintillating C.Ronald0esque form as he held off the attentions of defenders whilst running at pace - twice forcing saves from the keeper and the last man - whilst Keon had more open chances from the right but was unable to secure a lead for us. It was up to Michael's replacement, Wei to latch onto a great Au pass and dink the ball above the advancing keeper to give us a one goal lead.

The second half saw us face the sun but allowed us to field a late W.Brown but with all these changes the pattern of the game was still the same. There were even more glorious chances for our strikers with Wei & W.Brown (I think) missing one on ones with the goalkeeper.

However the youngster Ming continued to be Merciless as he obviously benefited from Coach Mustapha's advice to rest for the week. His first goal of the match saw him run from the half way line battle with one defender, jink past another and smash the ball at the near post. His second came from the benefit of Au's block on a defender's clearance - Ming collected the loose ball, raced past another defender and fired another shot past the staggering goalkeeper.

Kampung Makam never gave up and continued to search for a goal. The Ramblers defence was dropping deeper and deeper as the match progressed which allowed them to get nearer our goal. The referee did give the team in red some free kicks around the edge of the box but it was a day of little work for the big man Chris. However they did make him bend over and pick the ball out of the net once after neat build up play on the right saw the ball come to the centre. The onrushing midfielder hit the ball first time and struck it sweetly as it swerved away from the keeper into the far side of the net.

Au did ask me to push up in the second half but I was reluctant to do so as his older brother Cherk had dropped deep as he sometimes does. I felt that if I had pushed up, I would have left a 15 yard gap in front of the defence which a good team like Kampung Makam are liable to exploit with their intelligence. Whilst I realised that this left the space further ahead a bit open, I was willing to sacrifice it for the sake of providing an extra man to shield the defence. The right midfielder certainly gave Max no cover in the 2nd half for instance which saw me shifting over to the right a lot.

I felt it worked well - Kampung Makam made little headway in our defensive third whilst we managed to puncture their defence six times. However we had to settle for just half of those clean cut chances taken and a final score of 3-1.

Weekend Friendly Result

Versus: Vasco da Gama
Time: 5.45 pm
Venue: PFS
Result: Team Orange 0 - Vasco da Gama 2

Team Orange Cops an Equalizer Against Penang NTFA

A pulsating FAP Div.3 match versus Penang NTFA was abandoned as the whistle blew for half-time with the heavens pouring down heavily, reducing the field to a giant pool of water. At that stage, Team Orange had copped a goal to drag themselves level against their more fancied opponents. A brilliant corner from Ming was somehow put into the net by NTFA's defender and we were grateful for the goal as they had dominated the match with little to show for it.

Team Orange faced a true test of their credentials as dark horses in this year's FAP Div. 3 by coming up against the very experienced and very slick Penang NTFA. Penang NTFA had played in many cup competitions and once appeared in the M-League and judging from the M-League emblem still showing on the side of their sleeves, they were sending out a clear warning that they meant business. And as soon as the whistle blew to start, they got down to it. Our midfield trio of Darlington, Jason and Kugan was being run ragged despite their best efforts to contain the centre of the park whereas Poay, who was starting as our lone striker, was left isolated up front. Ming was our only lively player as he seemed to revel in the pressures of a high-stakes game. But it was not so for our other winger, Keon, as he looked jaded and out of ideas as their right-back bullied him repeatedly into submission.

NTFA was keeping a close watch on Darlington as he continously ran into 2 opposition players closing him down everytime he got the ball. However, with the control of the game in their hands, it was surprising that they lacked any bite in the last quarter of the pitch as they were limited to shots outside the box that were going wide. It was true that they were peppering our goal with shots after shots but the defensive quartet of Sin, Adrian, Chard and Max did well enough to snuff out the dangers as Chris was hardly tested, only getting his gloves dirty with the occassional routine catches.

But not for the first time, we lost concentration in the defence as NTFA's gangly No. 11 found himself totally unmarked at the far post and he squared a pass to his striking counter-part to poke the ball home into an empty net. It was deja vu all over again as the goal was eerily similiar to the one we conceded against PSC just a week before. A floated cross from the left as the defence pushed for off-side seemed to caught Max off-guard as he failed to spot the striker lurking in just behind him and left us chasing the game from then on.

Then heaven's gate started to open, and with the onset of heavier rain also came a dose of good fortune. Yet before our goal, Darlington served notice of our resolve and fighting spirit by curling a free-kick from the edge of the area inches wide of the left-hand corner. And next came the equalizer as Ming curled in a ball to the back post from a corner, and as their defenders watched flat-footed, Jason powered a header towards goal that was somehow directed into the back of the net by their defender to tie the game.

With the rain pouring down heavily, both teams had a hard time getting a stranglehold on the game and when the referee blew for half-time, we knew the game would be called-off as the pitch was now turning into a pool!

Weekend Friendly Result

Team Orange 3 Vs. FBN 2
Venue: PFS Field
Date: 4 April 2009
Time: 1730hrs.

PSC sinks Team Orange... AGAIN!

PSC proved to be our bogey team yet again with a resilient 2-1 win over Team Orange that has taken their record to 4 wins out of 4 against the same opposition.

2 goals from 2 corners proved fatal as (Manager) Michael pulled one back late in the game for a nervy ending. An unmarked header from their lanky striker and a cool tap-in from Alan the Croatian was enough to seal their less than deserved victory. But a win's a win any how you put it.

Team Orange played the entire match with a make-shift defence that had Aik, Michael, Adrian and Au running the back-line in the first half and ended with a defence that had no one taller than 5"6' as Seng, Sin, Adrian and Tee Oon took over in the second half. But despite the mix-and-match, they performed admirably and limited PSC to just a few half-chances.

Keon and Brown missed a hatful of chances which they should have tucked away comfortably. Among those was a one-on-one in the first half that Keon managed to fluff with only the keeper to beat. While our midfield was disorganized in the first half, they clicked into gear in the second and had the PSC defence under a lot of pressure. Jason anchored the midfield with his usual industry and power just like Michael Essien does for Chelsea while Ming, Brown and Keon was our focal attacking points.

But the damage was already inflicted in the first half from a lack of concentration and if we are to be challenging for silverware this year, we have to take games like this as a lesson and make sure it never happens again.