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!
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!
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6 comments:
I thought heaven took pity on Orange and sprinkled precious (or rather gallons) of water on the field of play. NTFA was in total dominance of the match before the downpour and we spectators watching from behind NTFA's goalposts were watching a game being played at a significant distance from where we were located albeit the ball was hardly ever long enough in NTFA's area and its keeper probably did not even pull a single save. I was already offering odds for NTFA to score the first goal as the kept the attacking waves constant. True, most of their shots were wide but at least they had shots whereas Orange didn't. Orange players tend to hold on to the ball until thy kingdom come waiting for the perfect shot to be made at goal. In competitive football, this is going to be a rarity. I am a much inferior football player compared to any Orange players but at least I understand the most fundamental rule in goal scoring at the competitive level. It is about probability. When a player first comes in contact with a ball he may need to struggle and perhaps just have a 40% chance to send the ball on target but if he does so, then the keeper may just have a 10% chance to save a shot on target. However, if a player hesitates and stabilizes the ball, his chances of sending it on target may improve to 90% but he fails to realize that the keeper's ability to save the shot may also improve to say 80%. All being said the probability gap suggests that early shots tend to go wide but also has the best chance of making goal and the matches played in the bpl, italian serie a and spanish primera suggests a lot more goals coming from first timers or one touch football. Please take the shot!!
Well written report and equally eloquent points.
I didn't watch the match but chatting to Poay - who played as top striker - it sounded just as much as an ammunition issue as a shooting problem! He said he had a very quiet (& miserable) time as he never got the ball!
Maybe I should refine the comments. There was no ammunition because Orange completely lacked an efficient game plan on how to load or pile on the ammunition (and yes, Poay has my sympathies because it is true that he hardly had the ball courtesy partly of a clever defensive plan by NTFA as well as failure of Orange front line players to deliver the ball to him). Orange has been in a comfort zone for a long time surviving on very good players who could decide games on their own skill alone. A very frequent comment is that "the opponent is not good and we should win easily". This sense of security may perhaps stimulate some idea that it is invulnerable thus motivating its players but could also backfire as it creates complacency. To be very honest, I seldom see a disciplined ball passing movement of defender to midfielder and midfielder to striker as the ball is more often than not carried by players demonstrating some superior dribbling skills. It works when you play teams that are definately weaker but it is a fallacy to consider any FAP divisional playing team as always the weaker team. NTFA for one is certainly not a weak team though I do feel that on a one on one basis, Orange has better players while NTFA was better coordinated. So it was individual skill versus team effort and the score ended 1-1.
NTFA also adapted well to the changing weather conditions while Orange seem unaware of the impact of weather on a modern football game. When it started to rain, NTFA started sending very highly lofted shots into the goal area to force the goalkeeper to reach for balls that drop like mortar fired rounds. Those shots rained in from significant heights that sometimes the Orange goalkeeper could not have clean catches particularly due to the wet and slippery conditions. The NTFA keeper was standing in a pool of water which made his movement sluggish though he was never made to suffer. Common sense dictates that the reach of a keeper will be reduced if he has to leap from soft ground or a pool of water, so sending highly lofted balls and pushing taller players up front could have been rewarding. Secondly, midfielders should just make powerful volleys towards goal which because of wet conditions, may not be firmly caught, hence allowing secondary or follow through action by strikers to latch on any dropped balls and drive it home (which I believe good strikers like Poay are unlikely to disappoint).
I think in a way Jerome is spot on in his comments. We lacked adventure, cohesiveness in the centre, and creativity as well. So we ended up knocking the ball around when we had it without knowing wat to do with it. I don't know if it was due to individuality or the system (4-2-3-1). But it is an issue we need to address as a team.
However, I need to give credit where credit is due and I felt that altho we were outplayed and out-thought, we were never out-fought as we were our usual resilient selves. But luck & fighting spirit can only take us so far. If we wanna go further.. we haf to play better than we did against NTFA.
Jerome - you're more than welcome to comment on the other Ramblers team on my blog.
http://themostbeautifulgame.blogspot.com/
I'd be very interested to read them because I never hear any analysis of our games and only carry around what's in my head and what I discuss with Fajar.
I am rather disappointed with the performance of both Ramblers teams, more so for the senior squad. At this time, I am seriously considering intervening to try to bring about the revival of the teams (though officially I do not have a position in TAMilan, my interest, concern and care remains the same). I am expecting the teams to address the following macro level concerns and to initiate reforms:
1) Recognisance and analysis of rival teams particularly those that we are about to play against. We do not bother to want to know the strengths and weaknesses of our opponents. We just play them blindly on a adventure of discovery which sometimes goes awry.
2) We do not know the capabilites of our own players and merely stick to the general "so and so" is a good defender or striker or midfielder without a strong reasoned basis and sometimes based just on an artistic impression/disply. What I would want to know is, how fast are the players over the first 3m, 10m or 50m or like who has a rocket start and who can sustain high speeds over a sustained duration/distance. Who is left footed, right footed or plays with both feet? Who plays or combines well with whom or pairs badly with whom? How tall are each of our players and how high can they jump? Some people say that such statistics are meaningless and perhaps so in a game of friendlies but in competitive matches they can decide the outcome. FYI I have secret files on each Social Free which I use to their detriment when I play against them on Sundays.
3) I love watching american football, tennis/badminton doubles, baseball and cricket because they communicate with one another using easily understood signals and signs. How often do our strikers communicate with our midfielders for a course of action? No, the strikers look helplessly to the midfielders with eyes of hope and sometimes despair realising that they are subject to the whims and fancies of the player currently in possession of the ball, worse still if that player plays with a bias or practices favouritism. Put simply, the greatest problem is a lack of understanding and poor communication.
4) We decide 4-4-2 or 5-4-1 or whatever-whatever-whatever without the slightest recognition of our opponents game plan or correct-fit of our own players into such combinations. The senior Ramblers team has slow defenders but yet like to play a high offside line. TAMilan is better but sometimes the identity of the so called last man is forgotten or that last man becomes a forward man.
5) Then there is practically no interest in attending practices and training sessions because these are activities that are too boring. So we want to win matches but don't want to train together to build up a sense of rapport and understanding with each other. This is a fairy tale that is not going to have a happy ending.
Senior Ramblers is going to go down if they do not do something about it soon enough. TAMilan should be able to hold up well in Div. 3 but promotion to Div. 2 looks very shaky. Currently, I cannot see it achieving anything more than a draw with NTFA. Please prove me wrong (begging!).
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