Ramblers Triumphs On Penalties

Ramblers emerged victorious and booked themselves a semi-final date with Penang Chinese Sports Club at the USM Stadium this Wednesday by prevailing 3-2 in a tense penalty shoot-out after both teams played out a 0-0 draw.

On a wet and muddy pitch, the referees were reluctant to go ahead with the match but after consulting the managers of the 2 teams decided it would proceed as planned. Injuries and suspension of several players forced management to reorganize the Ramblers line-up with Poay filling in at sweeper together with Puga as his defensive partner, staying in front of stand-in keeper Adrian and pushing libero Chard up to midfield.

The match started sluggishly as both teams adapted to the soft and unplayable conditions of the Teknik pitch, with players slipping and sliding everywhere. The water puddles on the field were making it difficult for our speedy wingers Keon and Ming but proved lucky for the defense as a sloppy tackle from Poay let in the Anak Malaysia striker to drill a shot low pass Adrian. However, to the custodian's relief, the ball got stuck on the water puddle just on the line! Chard came in to clear and in doing so had a brief altercation with their star-striker Mynn whom also slided in to try and push the ball beyond the line. The referee intervened and when order was restored had blown for a free-kick.

The second-half didn't go any better and so it was inevitable that it had to be down to penalties to decide the winner although Chard was sent-off for a reckless challenge. Benni stepped-up to take the first but their keeper guessed correctly and palmed away his effort much to the shock of Rambler's regular penalty taker. Thankfully, Anak Malaysia's first attempt was also off target as their kicker ballooned it inches off the top left corner. Sin and Poay scored the next two just as Anak Malaysia converted theirs. And when Keon missed his, it was a going to be a tense finale. But the overwhelming support of the Ramblers bench for their keeper Adrian reverbated throughout the pitch as players from De'Butterfly and Macallum whom had finished their game also came over to watch. Everyone including those who did not get to feature like Aaron, Au, Tee Oon, Max, Michael and the injured Chris as well as the fasting Man showed great character and had got behind their stand-in custodian unselfishly. And it helped as the rapturous support put-off the takers attempt and Adrian dived correctly to push out his kick. Puga then converted his to the delight of the men in black. And as nerve-wrecking moments go, Adrian then saved the last kick from Anak Malaysia to help send his team through to the semi-finals and ensuring a first feature for Ramblers in a stadium.

Final Result:

Ramblers 0 - Anak Malaysia 0

(Ramblers won 3-2 on penalties)

Come On Guys!

Let's face it. We're just not good enough. I didn't say we aren't good... just not good enough. At least for the moment. I mean, come on, we have more luck hitting the posts and side netting than actually putting the ball where it should be.. in the back of the net! And we've been conceding almost at will!

We've had some great inclusions to the team this season, namely Man and Puga. In addition, we've successfully maintained the squad from last year as well. And nobody can deny that we've played some pretty awesome games this year; Bomba, Tanjung Bungah Rangers, Kampung Makam, Inpro, and the list goes on, every member of the team weighing in with their own contributions. But at the most critical moments, we have always fallen.

And everytime we fail, these are the most common things you will hear:

“The referee was bias”

“We played a good game. Just no luck lar”

“The defence was weak”

“Keeper should have saved that 2nd one”

“He should have put that into the net”

“The tactic was off”

Aren't you sick of the excuses? - Well, I am.

This article isn't aimed at berating anyone. Nor do I want to highlight our shortcomings. Nope. That wasn't my intention. I think we're all big enough to realize that ourselves. But there's also absolutely no point in trying to mask things as they are.

As in any team, we all want to move forward. And we should! This squad has the best potential to accomplish great things. ALL our players will easily walk into any other team, save maybe CRC. Our commitment and desire in games are unmatched, our fighting spirit – unbelievable. No team in their right mind would want to face us. So we should be more than just luckless losers. We deserve better! Much better.

I know that some of you (including myself) might have grievances with management and fellow players about a lot of things. Some don't get enough playing time. Some have issues with tactics. Some are under-rated. Some are played out of position. And some are not played at all! But I believe that management always tries to do their best to accommodate each player's needs according to the situation(s). And sometimes we might not agree with their decisions. I think it happens in every team from Manchester to CCFC. However, we should also bear in mind that they are not perfect and are also subjected to the same mistakes as any other person. Don't you agree? To be fair, Michael's done a fantastic job so far by making sure our schedules are correct, the jerseys are washed, the medical kit is sufficient, and all our players are informed for games (although there were the occasional missing SMS to some players!)

But despite all of that, it is us, the players, who ultimately determines the outcome of a game and the destiny of a club. And this year's Chinese League in September is the best occasion to make that happen; to be Champions. We were semi-finalists last year and ever since then we have only grown in strength. Sadly our results this year reflect otherwise. And although a LOT of people have their own ideas as to why it's happened, we only have ourselves to blame – we win as a team, we loose as a team, doesn't matter if you started, were subbed-in or you stood by the sidelines supporting. The truth is, we lacked the killer edge, we took too long to make that pass, we hesitated in front of goal, we allowed the ball to bounce, and we didn't mark the opponent tightly enough. It wasn't the referees, nor was it the pitch, or the tactics. We just didn't take our chances and we gave the opponents theirs.

After the Chinese League, some players might leave for better playing time, others might have job commitments, and there are those who would be furthering their studies. By fate, we were brought together as a team and we definitely rocked the status quo – CRC were shocked, Inpro were beaten, Kampung Makam had a real fright. So I say we put aside our differences and ego, learn from our mistakes, swallow our pride, and fight as a TEAM for that cup because this year might be our last as an original squad, and we sure as hell deserve it. I hope that everyone will stay on for this tournament for Penang might never see a better team than this one for a long, long time to come.

Results

Chinese Super League:

Opponent: Macallum

Date: 16 August 2009

Venue: Penang Free School

Time: 5pm

Score: Loss 0-2

Mixing Young & Old

Penang Sports Club vs Ramblers Orange

There was a surprise in store for Ramblers players as there were quite a few teenagers making their debuts for 'the senior team' after playing several rounds for the 'junior team' Jit Sin School. The most intriguing partnership was in central defence with playmaker Pei sitting at the back with a youngster whose name I've forgotten (many apologies). With other youngsters featuring at left, right back & goalkeeper, it was an experimental backline but with the match only being billed as a friendly, Michael was happy to give the Jit Sin boys a run out against an experienced line up.

Ramblers started very well with Jason and Derek forming a solid partnership in central midfield, frustrating the opposition with intelligent positioning and decisive interceptions. Ramblers scored to put the black shirted players ahead - with justification but then the injury that changed the game - the left back went down and struggled to continue. He was taken off, a central midfielder was put on with Derek moving to left back. Mustapha identified this as the moment where the game changed and I wouldn't disagree with him!

I got this lovely set of stud marks from Jason 30 seconds before our goal but
unbeknownst to me, I gave him his own set in the 2nd half!

Penang Sports Club then managed to find a bit of freedom in midfield and started to break into the attacking third which they previously failed to do. It wasn't long before an equaliser came - from a bad catch from the goalkeeper. A high ball was lofted in towards the far post, the young man caught it but with the wet conditions, the ball dropped out of his hands when he landed and trickled over the line. The second goal we conceded came from a bad clearance as a ball whipped in from the left was half cleared by Pei's partner - straight to their deadliest striker, Alan - a mere 18 yards from goal. The third goal (and probably nail in the coffin) came from a bad decision by Derek as he tried to step up to play Ah Tong offside. When the yellow flag didn't go up, the experience of the striker made sure the left back paid for his lack of judgement.

The second half saw a reshuffle with many of the substitutes given a run out and Derek partnering 'Vision' in midfield. They and Jason (and later 'Makelele') all linked up well in a 5 man midfield with there being many neat passes between them. The best combination saw the youngster and Derek playing a one two allowing the latter to hit a first time shot past the PSC keeper - straight into the middle of the post! The lanky midfielder also had the second best chance of the match when a great cross from the left found Derek alone on the penalty spot. Sadly he couldn't twist his head enough to steer it into the side of the goal and out went the second best and last chance of the match for Ramblers. Despite all their hard work to put pressure on the back four, the black team struggled to create any notable chances in the last 20 minutes.

This was possibly because the backline had a lot to cope with! Penang Sports Club created a lot of chances stretching the defence and were playing their own combination of passes in front of our defence. We were fortunate to get away with just one goal in the second half.

However it was a great workout in fantastic drizzly conditions and more importantly a time to blood some youngsters. They were impressive - they could control and looked extremely comfortable on the ball, they looked for simple passes, they were athletic and worked hard when Ramblers didn't have the ball - basically all the attributes Derek wished all his KDU players had! It was obvious that they had played together and trained well under Eric for several years. With such potential, Ramblers Orange could be strong for another few years yet.

(written by reporter Derek)

Penang Sports Club 1 vs 4 Ramblers Orange

Missed chance

Ramblers missed a great chance to consolidate their 3rd place position when they allowed FBN to come back from 3-nil down to tie the scores at 3-3. Starting with only 8 men on the field, FBN looked to be in for a mauling by Ramblers, but the all-blacks somehow failed to capitalize on the numerical advantage and FBN held on until they had a full 11 players on the field. By then it still seemed impossible that FBN would provide any kind of resistance especially when Heng scored a brace, Poay bamboozled their defence for his 9th goal of the tournament after a fantastic lay-off from Wei, and Keon had rattled the bar!

But Ramblers looked complacent and FBN pulled a goal back when a shot from out of the box flew past the outstretched arms of Rambler's stand-in keeper, Chard. And they added another just after the break as a fightback was now seriously possible. A simple strike after their forward was left totally unmarked in the centre of the defence gave the custodian no chance and reduced their deficit to 3-2. Ramblers were now feeling the heat as they tried desperately to wrap up the game but found heavy resistance through FBN's towering, hulking foreign import manning their defence!

Then against the run of play, FBN scored again as their striker lobbed Chard from the edge of the area to tie the scores at 3-3 after some slack defending. Ramblers then responded by pushing just about everyone forward in an attempt to secure a win after all the good work in the first half had been undone in the second. But try as they may they just couldn't get the win they needed going into the last match this coming Sunday against high-riding Macallum.

Final Score:

Ramblers 3 - FBN 3