Cashew nuts!
For those who didn’t come because of certain commitments, yeah, we lost 5-0 ):
But as all other matches, I think we should take this in our stride and use this as a lesson learnt to improve ourselves. After all, this was for experience right?
Anyway a guess I wanna voice a few opinions, whether they are welcome or not. I’m probably one of the lousier players and I admit it so I’m not exactly in the best position to make comments, but heck, I’m gonna make them anyway.
Today started out a good day, although we were missing a few of our key players, we came out strong and forceful, weaving through their defense on a few occasions and getting close enough to get a good shot. Unfortunately, we dint make them. I think it looked as if we were giving them chance. O.o So they got a really stupid first goal in. not much we could have done about it, the defenders were doing their job and closed down on him pretty tight. I guess it was just being at the right place at the right time. So that was the first half in general. Everybody was still in the game and the score was 1-0. (p.s. this was as I remembered it, feel free to correct if you find anything wrong).
Now the second half is something to talk about. Injuries all around, vulgarities, fatigue and worst of all goals. Note the score so you would know what I mean. The defense started loosening up, the mid-fielders started slowing down and the strikers could have taken a water break. I think I heard Kovan saying that he still hadn’t touched the ball like 10 mins into the game. So that was pretty much it, keeper took the ball and pumped it up(1), midfielders couldn’t connect with the ball so the opponents picked it up and more or less strolled in till Daryl, Kovan(yes I said Kovan, he actually had to pull back to cover up!) or Ying Lun stopped them in their tracks(2). Then they would pummel the ball down the sides and we kept possession till the defense bulldozed us down(literally). Then they would whack it down for their midfield to pick up then wander in, resulting in a shot, 1, or getting tackled, 2. so other then the few bursts of energy, we were kept camping in our own half. Darn.
Defense: okay, Ying Lun was super in the first half. I guess. Very aggressive play, saving us from further humiliation. Daryl was also around to clear off any loose balls. But the others were kind of on off. We had quite a few poor clearances. Tip: time our kicks properly so the ball goes high and straight, if possible. We had some low clearances and some that went sideways, which went straight to the feet of the opposing strikers. Now that was scary. In this kind of situations people are expecting you to clear and have already moved off, leaving the goal wide open for them to take a shot. I guess we could try to work this out by realizing that it is the Midfielders job to connect with the ball. Defenders try to stay back and watch for the stray ones.
Another point. In defense, positioning is very important. Don’t just think that because you are in front of the striker so you have cut him off. If he notices that you have opened up a gap for him, you are done for. Make sure that you are always between him and the goal. I think that would help a lot.
Midfielders: hmm, today was a day of injuries so I guess you guys, were not really in a state to run. Unfortunately, running is all your position calls for. Make sure that you keep your stamina high because you never know when you might need that burst of speed. I guess if you want a rough gauge, think under 10 mins for 2.4, I think that shouldn’t be a problem for you guys but keep trying to improve on your stamina.
Another thing, I don’t think midfielders are there for getting close up for shots, that’s the striker’s job. Unless you want to take a far shot, I suggest you make the appropriate passes to the proper people for the job. (sorry guys, guess I kind of hogged.) its not much point trying to dribble through the whole defense when you know that there are people free. So remember, pass!
Strikers: Okay so I admit, the cashew nuts did play rather rough, so maybe you should start to bulk up? I don’t know, but one thing is sure, this was where we played our best, even though it wasn’t enough. We managed to thread in passes around their box, but our finishing was horrible. Remember guys, we’re here to score goals, if you don’t shoot, who will? Take a shot at every opportunity. If you miss, heck, at least you made the defense work. If you score, yaye! Everybody loves you. It’s a win-win situation, must as well go along with it.
Keeper: I believe Jun Jie has put in a lot into this game, we made some pretty good saves and I think his effort is commendable. However, the point of a keeper is because he can use his hands. We must make use of this advantage to its fullest potential. Go all out for the ball! Dive! Roll! Screw the striker! Whatever, the priority is to get the ball out of the zone. Do that and the game is ours.
Goal Kicks: I love the dropkicks! Well done, compared to the measly keeper on the other end. However the spotkicks were a different story. It seemed that on the end of every spotkick, the ball would just bounce once, untouched, into the chests of the opposing midfielders, leaving us with a mad scramble back to defense. Now I guess its okay at first but after a while it gets pretty irritating. Midfielders! Make sure you are in a position to get the ball! For a while, Ying Lun did the job for JJ, which was fine, but we can’t always rely on that can we? Midfielders this means more running for you but after all, its your job.
Free kicks: now we all know that this is Jeremy’s thing. No one else can do it like he can. So why not let him take the shot? If it’s on the left, tip the ball to the side so that it clears the wall, giving Jeremy the clear shot. If it’s on the right, don’t go for the goal, bring it into the box for the strikers or pass out the right for Jeremy. Don’t go whacking the ball into the keeper.
Freethrows: the referee was lenient on this area. We had a few incidents where the people were complaining about foul throw. We really need to work on this. Get the rules correct so that we can work on this.
Corners: another headache. Few of us can kick high and far enough to make it lethal. I suggest that we just pass it to some one nearby because he’ll be in a better position to do just anything, be it a pass of a shot.
Now I’ll just make some comments on the individual performances, if I’m wrong, I sincerely apologize. But if it’s true, I hope that you’ll make a little bit of effort to think through it. Remember, a little effort is still some effort.
4.Zi Han- was actively present along the wings, tried to break through the defense. Obviously not his day tho, still trying to get used to pitch soccer. Needs to work on stamina.
5. Terence- look out for your postitioning, make sure that you dun give the striker an open goal for a shot. Make sure you stick to your man and cut him off.
6. Zi Xiang- tried to make a few breaks, guess this is where speed would pay off. If you can work on that then we will be able to get a few shotss in via through passes.
7. Shawn- always remember ur position. Dun drift too far away and make sure you don’t leave a whole in ur wake.
8. Daryl- good clearances and commendable effort. Make ur clearances fast so that the strikers dun catch up with you.
9. Reuben- left early before the action began
10. Jeremy- creative player. Off form because of injury. But still able to make impact on the field.
11. Ying Lun- excellent replacement for CB. Did the necessary tackles though some were rather aggressive. Keep ur cool man.1
2. Jun Jie- made a few good saves, just when we thought all was lost. Keep it up
14. Kovan- made an effort to break through, remember though, there are other people in the field so soloing may not always be the answer.
16. Kamil- good runs in the first half, MIA second half due to injury
20.Andy- great improvement from previous meetings, went in for the ball and ran to cut off the opposition
21. Jethro- holds on to the ball for too long, does unnecessary tricks at high risk. Must pass more
Lastly, I think we sould all be open to I little criticism. Of you got something constructive to say, by all means go ahead! We wont improve unless we start to point out our mistakes.
I guess this is all I wanna say. Keep it up guys! Remember, the sky’s the limit!
Cheers!
Jethro
