Bulletin

21 July 2010

DSO B 3 vs KUNG FU PANDAS 0

DSO A 9 vs TEAM ASCENDAS 3

A total of 12 goals were scored in this game with 4 bearing the trademark Brazilian Maicon’s goal from the World Cup game against North Korea. Team Ascendas shocked DSO A with 2 goals within 3 mins. DSO A had to get back their game organized quickly and was lucky to be awarded a penalty for infringement in the “D”. The penalty gave DSO A momentum to crawl their way back into the game and score 2 more goals for a 3-2 advantage at half time. An interesting point in the first half was Team Ascendas having 55% ball possession compared to DSO A’s 45%.

The second half started with a bit of confusion with Team Ascendas doing a Liverpool. Not only did they switch players, they also switched the position of their players. It was blind Kamikaze football from Team Ascendas. DSO A scored 4 goals within 5mins. When Team Ascendas decided to bring Ryan back on in the last 5mins, it was a bit too late to make any impact. Team Ascendas could have given DSO A a hard time if they had kept with their first half game plan. But having said that, Team Ascendas clearly showed the weakness of DSO A. DSO A is ever guilty of lapses in concentration especially in defense and this allows goals to be scored against them. And their only defense at the moment is attack.

Out of 12 goals, 6 goals were admirable. 2 long range pile drivers from each side and 4 acute angled squeeze into goal out of the impossible. Kudos to Team Ascendas who scored 3 beautiful goals.

SAIPEM MALVEVENTE 3 vs NANO BOYS 2

This was a game played with fiery passion, electrifying emotions, robustness, plenty of drama and action and perhaps a little bit of comedy as well. It was very much like Netherlands taking on Spain but with Netherlands ending the game with a 1-0 win. That’s how one would describe and summarize this game between Saipem and Nano Boys.

Saipem had no change in their approach to their game. Just like the Dutch, their style and approach sometimes does work and can win games which saw them contesting for top prize in the finals.

Nano Boys did not allow themselves to be intimated by Saipem and played the same physical game at Saipem’s level. This made the game look like the final game in South Africa. The goal difference speaks volumes of Nano Boy’s effort to match Saipem’s hard game of football. Not matching Saipem physically in the game by past teams had been disastrous. Saipem is very capable of taking advantage of the physically weaker teams and unleashing a fury of goals against their opponents.

Saipem had superiority in ball possession but Nano Boys balanced it with a high work rate to keep Saipem at bay. It is worthy to note that Saipem scored 2 beautiful goals and scraped in another which was a very soft goal to be conceded by Nano Boys. If only Nano Boys were more alert and had not lost their concentration on that soft goal, the game would have ended with a draw.

The game ended in Saipem being both very lucky and very unlucky. Lucky because Nano Boys conceded a soft goal the first half. And unlucky because of the way Saipem conceded their goals. In fact it was comical goals with a déjà vu effect. A Saipem player who lost the ball in their own half stated shouting “No…No… No…” which caused confusion for the last man who lost his concentration and allowed Nano Boys to slot in the both goals. It looked like comedy at the highest level. The last man from Saipem stopped to look at his screaming team mate and subsequently lost his sight on the ball allowing Nano Boys to score.

Great game indeed. Well done Saipem and Nano Boys.

Scores - 21 July 2010

Bulletin

14 July 2010

Inspectorate 5: Amkor 2

If one thinks that the results of the recent World Cup is topsy turvy with the underdogs gaining the upper hand, the Ascendas League seems to follow suit. Inspectorate took on Amkor in the opening game of the night. While Inspectorate came for the game with a full squad of ten players, Amkor came with just half of that. Amkor, who are one of the top teams in the table looked far from their normal best. Inspectorate on the other hand turned up the heat for this game. Their passing was beautiful and their teamwork was at its best. Surely there were glimpses of Spain’s passing game. Led by Sharam, Inspectorate went into the break with 4 goals to 1. In the second half, 2 more goals were shared between both teams which resulted in the full time score of 5-2. Did the Inspectors get their groove back? Perhaps the World Cup provided the inspiration.

DSO B 1: Team Ascendas 0

This was the most hard fought game of the night.DSO were pressing for a goal from the very start. This is a team which is strong at the back but weak at the front. Guess they need a clone of Jason to balance things up. Ascendas on the other hand turned up with only 5 players. Time and time again, some games are won or lost by a team’s fitness level. And this is one good example.

Both teams had a fair share of the ball but neither could score in the first ten minutes ending the first half with a score of 0-0. The game carried on in the second half with the same tempo until the 17^th minute where DSO’s “Angle Man” Hock, managed to score from a very tight angle. It is amazing how this seasoned player saves his team every now and then. Ascendas were just shocked with the goal through the run of play. Without sitting back, Ascendas pushed forward for a equalizer but then DSO decided to play defensive and hang on to the score line.

Inspectorate 2: Nano Boys 3

Inspectorate riding high from their earlier win of the night were going for their second up against bottom placed Nano Boys. Both teams had their own tactics and in the run of play, Nano Boys scored first in the 7^th minute. But they gave away a penalty in the 10^th minute through a silly mistake. Inspectorate took advantage of that and converted the penalty to level the score at 1-1 going into the break.

The 2^nd half started and within the 1^st minute Nano boys scored. These guys must have had some form of secret training. They surprised Inspectorate and sealed the game with yet another goal in the 17^th minute which was well deserved based on their team spirit. Suddenly Inspectorate were shocked to be on the receiving end. Though they scored one more goal in the 19^th minute to make it 2-3, the time ran out and the Nano Boys recorded their first win of the season. As for inspectorate, perhaps 2 games in a night proved too much for them? Once again it seems to boil down to the fitness level of the players to make or break a game.

Scores - 14 July 2010

Scores - 07 July 2010

Bulletin

23 June 2010

SAIPEM MALVIVENTE 4: TEAM ASCENDAS 1

Saipem is the most consistent team at the moment in the league. Their attitude towards each game is one to be admired and respected. Saipem takes every game seriously and goes for a decisive win rather than try to scrap through a win for points.

The game started with both teams fighting to assert their play in midfield which is what real football is all about. Possession in the first half was 50-50 but Saipem had a greater appetite for victory than Team Ascendas from the beginning. And it showed within 5 mins into the game when Saipem took a 2 goal lead going into the break. However just before half time, Team Ascendas pulled one back with a shot from nowhere to find the net hence ending with a half time score of 2 – 1 in favor of Saipem.

After the break there was a sudden urgency in Team Ascendas’ play. They took Saipem by surprise and panic was seen in the first 5 mins of Saipem’s game in the second half. Saipem’s game suddenly closed up and was clustered in the center trying hard to defend the constant attack from Team Ascendas. But then just like fireworks, Team Ascendas’ fiery attack fizzled out.

Saipem did not take long to organize to find their rhythm of play. With 2 more goals in the last 10 mins of play, the game ended with a well deserved victory for Saipem.

Interestingly Saipem is the only team so far to be awarded 3 consecutive penalties in 3 consecutive weeks but couldn’t score a goal from the penalty. And this is even after a simple text book demonstration by the referee for the match. The flaw is simply the failure to look up just before hitting the ball to direct the shot into goal. As such, the advice to all future penalty takers is to look up before shooting for goal when taking the penalty. Luck is not part of the equation when it comes to taking penalties.


KUNG FU PANDAS 0 : DSO B 5

Kung Fu Pandas came into the game with an under strength team of only 4 players and no substitutes. DSO B played a very steady and controlled game. An even tempo saw DSO B took a well deserved lead and move the tally to 5 goals at the end. The high point of this game is DSO B’s game control. Keeping ball possession is still the best form of defense and this was a point well demonstrated by DSO B. The other strategy is patient build up, taking time to work the field and find the right space and time to create the move and finishing it with a goal. Well done DSO B.

We have to give credit to Kung Fu Pandas too. This game could have all gone wrong for them and ended in an onslaught by DSO B with a huge goal score. But Kung Fu Pandas were very well organized and defended as a team. The first half score was only 2-0 with DSO B containing them in their own half. With the second half conceding by only 3 goals and with DSO pressing even more showed strong resilient defending by Kung Fu Pandas.


NANO BOYS 2 : DSO A 3

DSO A was really made to sweat by Nano Boys. There was a freak incident in this game that DSO A should be thanking Lady Luck . DSO A’s player back pass went straight into the net for a freak own goal. But the referee was close and watchful to see that the back pass was done from Nano Boys half so technically for a goal to be scored into DSO A’s net it has to be cleared the half way line from Nano Boys direction of play. Thus an assumingly own goal was disallowed. If only the back pass was from DSO A’s half and strayed into the goal. The game could have ended in a draw and it could have been an embarrassing draw for DSO A.

DSO A had a bad night finding no creativity and movements in the game. On the other hand Nano Boys played a very good game. Scoring 2 goals and getting back into the game after missing out a few decent chances showed great organization and adaptability in Nano Boy’s game plan. Nano Boys had a very simple game plan that worked to their advantage perfectly. Holding the line in their own half while waiting for DSO A to bring the ball up and not committing early but sit back to snatch the ball for a quick counter attack was brilliant. The 2 goals scored by Nano Boys have to be given credit because of their patience in defense. The goals were created from snatching the ball from defending against DSO A’s attack and turning it into a quick counter attack. Well done Nano Boys. And lucky DSO A.

Scores Updates - 26 June 2010

SAIPEM MALVIVENTE 4 vs TEAM ASCENDAS 1


KUNG FU PANDAS 0 vs DSO B 5


NANO BOYS 2 vs DSO A 3

Scores - 23 June 2010