Manic Sunday: Buried 4 Goals Under

So come alive, come alive on Sunday aft'noon. We died a slow, slightly horrible, rather hot, and most unpleasant death on Sunday 16 July. Who would have thought that Tabernacle of Holiness, pontangers(people who play truant) of the most matches, with an impeccable record of 1 draw and 3 losses, would prove to be an Indian team which lives up to an Indian team's expectations?

The learning never stops, and I have picked up something useful amid the chaos and generally disappointing play. I've learnt how to identify Indian churches, that is, by their most singular church names. Church of the Epiphany, Salem Fire, Tabernacle of Holiness, Smyrna Assembly of God, all exotic names for churches.

First of all, we arrived late on scene, straight across the island from Dover to Tampines. There was no time to discuss anything, let alone warm up, and that is just so crucial to winning a match. There was no direction. Once we arrived, we substituted too early and nobody knew their role for sure and the team's tactic or direction. We played well however, for the first half and there was much hope because it ended 0-0. It all went to pieces in the second half however, when Marc had to be substituted out after a terrible collision which left his knee quite swollen. They capitalised with a quick long ball, and broke our offside trap. Through on goal, they made no mistake. From then on, we never recovered. That was right after we missed a penalty as well. From a possible 1-0 lead to being 0-1 down, it takes a courageous team to climb back up, and on the day, we did not have that.

I personally felt really tired; I could feel it in the first half already, and the hot sun beating down on me just made me all the more lethargic. 'Nuff said, this Sunday's match is ON at 1700 hrs, Tampiness Sec again, and this time we'll be there on time. We've got key players pulling out for exams coming straight up in mid Aug, so I don't know how we'll manage to pull through against Frankel and Salem Fire. If life was one big MMORPG I sure would need a level up or two sometime about now.

You keep it goin folks...

Got Money No Hunny

Sorry folks of the tiny town of Soccerland. Match against Calvary was sadly abandoned thanks to the Singapore Sports Council's policy of protecting their grass at all costs. The pitch at Tampines Secondary was booked by the organisers, the people turned up, but nope, you cannot play soccer there because it's wet. It's still far too costly for Singaporeans to ever be any good at soccer.

A light drizzle ruined the day for both teams and the supporters. When grass is wet, the damage it takes is multiplied at least 5 fold. Rumours have it at 10. No-go, said the SSC.

This week's match pits us against Tabernacle of Holiness. It starts at 1515hrs, so please all who are reading this, you are strongly urged to make your way down to Tampines Secondary(gasp! again!? don't you guys ever learn!??! no. aiya booked already la stuck with it) to hopefully support our team. Let not your heart be saddened not, for we'll be there rain or shine.

Real big thanks to all who made it down on Sunday for our "Match of the Season", do stick around and hey, one day there might just be a game on.

thanks :)

Up Against the [e]L!Tes: SJSM 0 - 3 Emmanuel Assembly of God

Long ago, there was a CS clan called [e]L!Tes(which is leetspeak for elites, but of course you know that already) which really used to be quite good. In the same way, Emmanuel AOG were just a class above us. What with veteran towering central defenders, Nigerian wingers and colossal forwards, they really gave us a run for our money. Fortunately, their forwards bungled everything they were gifted with, if not the scoreline would have been rather sad.

Their experienced defenders took our long ball tactic and stuffed it with their clean clearing headers. That basically did it for us. Our lousy ball control and movement in the centre of the park practically meant that only long balls in would work. And since their defenders weren't pansies, we were snuffed out for most of the game. Apart from a clean chance where Nicholas Tiong and Handy got in each others way and bungled it, we didn't manage to seriously pose a threat to the Emmanuel defence. Ben hit the crossbar twice, one through a freekick from the halfway line which flew and flew and flew some more before coming off the top right of the upright, and another just outside the penalty box which beat the keeper but bounced off the top of the upright.

Maverick was outstanding in goal, and he made a point blank save at one point to deny Emmanuel a goal. Apart from that, he showed safe hands with the various other not-so-challenging shots that came in. Thank God for him. May we have better success in our upcoming matchup with Calvary Assembly. For once Heartbeat supporters will be making their way down to Tampines Secondary School to support us wholesale!