MJC

Alright, from now on the posts might be a little longer and more detailed because I started this match (and played for more than 5 minutes), and all the subsequent matches. Now that the season is over, I don't mind admitting that out of all the starters from the MJC game onwards, I consider myself perhaps the least talented player on the pitch. I'm pretty short, can't jump phenomenally well, I'm not the strongest, I'm not very fast, can't head the ball very well, I can't kick very far etc. I'm not trying to put myself down or anything, but I was honestly very surprised that I was going to start the MJC match, which was perhaps the most crucial game of our season: make or break. Nevertheless, I am very grateful to our coach and my teammates in having faith in me.

Throughout the preseason, I believe that the performances of the midfield pairing of Eugene and Hashir had justified their selection as the starting centre-mids, I belief that I still subscribe to. I think the only reason I got a chance to play was because 1. our team is pretty short, and before the arrival of Zenzel and Junliang as fullback, our back 4 didn't exactly impress the opposition 2. the most common tactic among A division teams is to play high balls. While this tactic is extremely unglamourous, experience has proven to me that it is nevertheless effective. Therefore, being a short team, we try to avoid playing high balls, yet have to be prepared to deal with other teams employing such a tactic against us.

Maybe I should talk a little bit about Eugene here. I've known Ong Bak since secondary school, and I've always respected his abilities as a sportsman. Tactically, he draws alot from his experience with basketball, and he has that natural aggression from playing rugby. All in all, aside from his rather poor first touch, I think he's the consumate athlete on the soccer pitch. While many people think that the heart of our defense is our captain Cunzhi, who is tasked to make the last-ditch tackles and crucial interceptions, Eugene's job as stopper could not be more important to us. While Eugene might not be the tallest central defender, I have never seen him beaten to a high ball. His jumping power is second to none in our team, and on a good day he can probably shut down any striker. A hard tackler to boot, Eugene is a one-man wall that repels any ball that hangs in the air. Playing in front of him, I can boast that if Eugene calls for the ball, I can confidently push up to receive the second ball because I know he is going to win it.

As I mentioned earlier, the MJC game was a make or break one for us. We needed to get a victory against MJC in order to keep our qualifying fate in our own hands, i.e. if we were to draw with MJC, we would need ACJC to slip up somewhere in order for us to qualify second in the table, an unlikely occurence considering their relatively easy run-in, they had SRJC, YJC and TPJC left to face. This would be our second and last game at the MJC pitch, a rematch of the last match of the 2006 season, where we held MJC to a goalless draw.

Some background info: there was a fair amount of bad blood between us and MJC. In the 2006 season, we played MJC at Teacher's Network and were losing 4-1 with about 5 minutes to go. The pitch was absolutely awful that day, as it was raining very heavily, and at least one of MJC's goals was scored because the ball just suddenly stopped in a puddle of water. Even though the rules of the tournament call for a match to be cancelled if the pitch is unplayable, which if being water-logged isn't then I don't know what is considered 'unplayable', the match went on. However, 5 minutes from full time, there was lightning. The referee called in both coaches, and explained the situation. My coach offered to play finish the game because frankly, to argue that the match should be replayed with 5 minutes left was unsportsman-like, but it was the MJC coach who insisted on a replay at a later date. So, the match was cancelled with us having been thrashed by MJC. As things panned out, the 2006 team faced MJC on the last match, and events had unfolded such that a victory over MJC would guarantee our qualification while putting MJC's own chances in doubt. There was an implicit suggestion that my coach should field a second string side and play to lose as we had by right lost the first match, a suggestion that caused alot of anger in my seniors. At the end of a hard-fought match, my seniors could not score against MJC and were eliminated when SAJC beat TPJC despite gathering 17 points. When the groupings were announced just after the March holidays, everyone's attention had been drawn to this clash with MJC, and our seniors who came back to give us advice on the season, Donovan in particular, all really wanted us to play our very best against MJC and prove to them that we weren't pushovers. Incidentally, MJC were the only seeded team which we had not played a friendly against (we drew 2-2 with SAJC once, and lost to them 3-2 the 2nd time, we beat VJC 3-0, and drew with JJC 1-1).

On an irrelevant note: the MJC coach was an exteammate of Cunzhi's at Jurong FC.

The MJC game was to be played on the day before my birthday, a Tuesday, so that meant that we would be training out of school on a Monday. True enough, we were brought to a field somewhere in Novena to train, in the hope that training out of school would bring inspiration to our team. The field was full of clay, and I had to spend 15 minutes cleaning my boots when I got back to school.

The lineup against MJC was this: Timon, Junliang, Cunzhi, Eugene, Zenzel, Yijing, Martin, Hashir, Woohan, Bong, Chaolun

It was a huge boost to us that Zenzel had fully recovered from his ankle injury, and was back in the starting lineup. Tactically, one of our strikers was supposed to hassle the MJC no. 8, their captain, who had played for MJC the previous year. Their captain was a national player, and by all reports, was a fantastic player. Strong, as fast as Bong, as calm as Cunzhi in defense, an individually outstanding player, he was the heart of the MJC team. Furthermore, he possessed an incredibly powerful right foot, one that allowed him to kick goalkick further than anyone in the entire tournament, and one which MJC utilised with every freekick to take a direct shot. We were warned that MJC took all their direct freekicks the same way, with one variation. No. 8 always took a direct shot on goal, but the only variation was whether the two people in front of the ball would either shift the ball right, left, or would just scatter. Our coach also warned us about the danger of quick freekicks by MJC, who had been conceded a goal to us in the cancelled match because Damien had taken a quick freekick while the keeper was arranging the wall. Therefore, urgency in building the wall and delaying the freekick was of the essence.

Another of the danger players was their AM, no. 21. MJC played in a 4-5-1 formation, with their 2 DMs sitting back protecting the back 4. Eugene was tasked with the job of shutting their AM down. Their RW, no. 7, was also identified as a threat, and Junliang and Zenzel were both warned that he might play on either wing. I was supposed to handle both DMs, to press them and stop them from supplying the ball to their AM or their striker, with Hashir supposed to help me out when necessary but largely to keep himself free as an outlet to launch the ball. This was the first game where we received no instruction as to how to attack during the pre-match briefing, and I think for the better, we were no longer playing to our opponents but were trying to establish our style of play on them.

During the pre-match briefing, all my teammates kept telling me to play like Gattuso in an attempt to psyche me up. Gattuso had totally shut Ronaldo down during the 2nd leg of the Champion's league semi-finals. I realise that my playing style was somewhat like Gattuso's, I would attempt to do all the dirty work in defense, and after winning the ball I would just pass it off, and I was not very involved with the attack.

One of the biggest problems our team had faced this season was the fact that we were always a second-half team, slow out of the blocks, we only seemed to really play in the second half. However, our coach warned us that if we did not get straight into the match from the kickoff, we were going to be punished by MJC. True enough, MJC set a very high tempo from the start: their style of play involved playing a quick high crossfield ball whenever they won possession in the midfield, with their wingers having been conditioned to pull wide quickly.

Well enough said, onto the match. During the warm up, as usual, during the long ball section of the warm-up, I screwed up my long balls. I think at the back of my mind I didn't really see myself doing alot of long-balls so it didn't really matter to me. In the huddle, my first huddle, I realised that the most pumped up person was Eugene. Cunzhi would always say a few lines, but mostly instructional and in a cool and calm tone, which he justifies as "passion doesn't last". It's a nice mix in the huddle, with a few very pumped up people, and a few people who are totally calm. I think if everyone is shouting their lungs out in the huddle it's good for energy, but not the greatest for clarity. On a side note, it's my routine to be somewhat silent during the huddle, I like to quieten my mind and just mentally prepare for the kickoff. As we lined up along the side of the field, I was somewhat nervous, and I couldn't even look into the stands to look at my friends, I just kept doing tuck-jumps which would later become part of my routine. Quite amazing how the silliest of things can become part of our pre-match routine, like going to the toilet, or chocolate bars, or red underwear, or "Time is Running Out" by Muse. My pre-match routine involved eating Yong Tao Fu with my standard 6 items, using the toilet, eating a Banana and some Papadum, listening to Muse, and wearing my long socks during the pre-match briefing. I was also the first person down the bus every single match.

The two wingers had somewhat of a torrid time this game. Woohan told me that the LB was the best he had played against the entire tournament. Fast, strong and good in the air, Woohan was not able to 'burn' him with sheer pace as he had with other fullbacks. While Yijing achieved a greater amount of success against the RB, the field was not suited to dribbling with its bumby surface, and the RB had a tendency to go in hard from behind. Aside from moments of brilliance, our wingers were largely subdued by their fullbacks during the first half.

Up front we were really struggling. Chaolun played the whole match with a fever, and everytime a substitute came on we were all expecting Chaolun to go off. Bong was virtually non-existent in the game, I'm not sure whether he was trying to mark no. 8 or not, but in either case, he had little impact on the game. On the other hand, our defense was also doing remarkably well against MJC's offense. Their vaunted no.7 was tussling with Junliang every time he got the ball, but aside from winning a few free kicks because Junliang kept using his hands when he jumped for a ball, he was shut down by Junliang. Their left winger had no chance against Zenzel, and Eugene kept the AM quiet for the first part of the first half. Soon, they were forced to make a subsitution, with their CM no. 10 coming off (I think he pulled his hamstring after high-booting Hashir's head), and their AM dropping to the midfield. I think Hashir and I had an excellent game, and even though I gave away a number of fouls, none were in a highly threatening position. I remember one sequence where I controlled the ball and drew my man in, and released it to Hashir, who delivered a sensational diagonal ball for Woohan. The game basically see-sawed in the first half, with neither side gaining the ascendency, with two excellent defenses neutralising one another. I achieved my personal target of going into the half with a clean sheet, as I fully expected to be substituted for Bowen. However, to my surprise, I was sent back onto the field for the second half.

Some of the refereeing calls in our game was quite ridiculous. Most blatantly would be the foul on Junliang on our right flank, where either their centre-back or their left-back went in high and late, yet escaped a card. Furthermore, I remember the referee threatening to send in total 4 different players off for tussling/jostling, Eugene and Hashir from our side and no. 7 and one more MJC player on the other side. But I'm also pretty sure that MJC would have their fair share of gripes with some of the referee's calls, and who am I to complain, I must have committed 8 or more fouls and escaped without a booking. The closest I came to getting carded was when I slid in for a tackle after we had just cleared a ball from one of MJC's set-pieces, and even though I am absolutely sure I got the ball cleanly, the referee blew for a foul. I was so enraged that I smacked the ground in frustration and the referee called me back to ask me to calm down :(

The half-time team talk was quite positive, with our coach urging us to continue with our performance and to maintain our level of play in the second half. It was incredibly hot in the first half and as usual, this was to our advantage as we could clearly see fatigue seeping into the MJC players. The MJC captain uncharacteristically mis-kicked a couple of goal kicks, a sure sign of fatigue, whereas for our side, our coach's plan of rotating goals kicks between Cunzhi, Junliang and Zenzel kept each of them fresh. Yet another example at how depth helps relief the burden on one player.

At some point during the game, Zenzel succumbed to cramps and had to be substituted out of the game. He was replaced by Jeremy, with Junliang switching to right-back. I think this was the pivotal moment of the game, as it marked a period of sustained pressure from MJC, which had a flurry of freekicks, throw ins and corner kicks. Earlier in the game, Eugene almost scored an own goal when he flicked a cross backwards that hit our goal post but thankfully went to safety. However, we would have no such luck this time around. We were unable to deal with the high ball cleanly and one of the MJC players beat Jeremy to the header and nodded it towards our goals. Unaware that Cunzhi was behind him and in a better position, Eugene stretched for the header but could only send it backwards and sideways past Timon who could only claw the ball into our goal despite being at full stretch. It was a horrible goal to concede, and of all people it would be Eugene to score the own goal, the hero so often turned villian.

Personally, I guess I lack that fighting spirit and I was deflated after letting in a goal after defending stoutly for so long. But I guess here is where I would like to credit the players around me, for their indomitable spirit, especially Bowen. Before the match, I told Bowen that my goal was to play so well that I would keep him out of the game, and true enough, he came on for one of the strikers while Si En replaced Hashir to freshen up the legs in midfield. I asked Bowen after our season whether he had always believed that we would win the title, and without any hesitation, he told that he had always known we were going to win it. I swear, that boy is only good for 2 things, scoring goals and believing in the players around him, and that's more than enough.

Bowen started the move, and finished it. He held up the ball in midfield, and after eluding his man with his favoured stutter step dribble, he switch the ball wide to Junliang. Junliang, playing in his familiar RB role which he plays for Young Lions, brough the ball up and tried to feed it through to Sean who had pulled wide. However, through some luck, the defenders cut out the initial pass but the rebound fell straight back to Junliang, who made no mistake with the second pass. With his speed, Sean was able to cut the ball infield and shield it from any recovery tackle from the Meridian LB, and looking up, he cut the ball back to an unmarked Bowen, who sent the ball into the roof of the net and made us believe in miracles once more.

From then on, it was all RJC, and the only thing that stopped us from winning was the clock, and having equalised too late into the game, there was simply not enough time to score the winning goal. When the referee blew the final whistle, although we were slightly disappointed at not winning the match, we fought hard and proved our mettle to MJC, earning applause from the MJC crowd and the respect of the MJC players, who we hopefully manged to establish cordial relations with. One MJC player shook my hand, and told me that they would meet us in the finals, an act of sportsmanship which really got us rooting for MJC during their semi-finals with SAJC. While I would like to point out the MJC centre back, who in his zeal to protect his last man (his captain), had a tendency to step on our strikers' feet, I feel that MJC played us hard and fair, and while we would have liked to have won the match, a draw was a fair result.

At the end of the match, we sat down in in the middle of the MJC field, awaiting the result of the SRJC-ACJC game, as we felt that SRJC represented the last meaningful obstacle to ACJC and their qualification. We saw Mr. Low and Mr. Kadir chuckling to themselves, and even though we later found out that ACJC had won SRJC by a single goal, I think that even then they always had tremendous belief that we were going to qualify. We had finally managed a second-half perfomance in the first half, and although fate was no longer in our hands and prospects of qualification looked bleak and dwindled with each ACJC victory, we knew that we had to secure the last 6 points to even stand a chance at qualification.

During the warm down, I recall asking to speak after Cunzhi, Hashir and Bowen had their turn, as I felt that this might be the last meaningful time I had to express my appreciation for the people on the bench who had supported us throughout the match and the tournament, as well as for Weijie. I will never forget Darrell's words to me at halftime, where I was feeling completely exhausted having played like I was only playing for one half. He told me that I was playing for each and everyone of us, and to never forget that. Ironically, the game where I thought I would only play one half ended up being the only game where I played the entire match. I felt that I played the best soccer of my life in the first half against MJC, winning every tackle I went in for, winning my fair share of headers, even distributing the ball sometimes.

During the second half, I picked up a loose ball and due to a poor first touch, pushed the ball a bit too far away. I saw an MJC player start to sprint to that ball, so I lowered my head and sprinted faster than I have ever sprinted in my life for that 50-50 ball, getting there a split second before the MJC player and passing it off to Bowen. Although in hindsight, the referee might well have played advantage as Bowen was in an excellent position, the referee chose to book the offending player, an action which will become VERY important later on. From that tackle alone I picked up an abrasion at the back of my left thigh the size of my hand as I was tackled on the sandiest part of the pitch. By the end of the game, I had cuts on my left and right hand, my left and right elbows, my left and right knees and my left thigh. I had given up my body for the team, getting winded in the process after blocking a freekick by MJC's captain, which hit me squarely in the solar plexus, an impact loud enough for the supporters in the stands to hear. He hit that shot harder than I've felt anyone hit a shot in my life.

Credit to the MJC crowd by the way, their cheer of MJC Boleh could be heard clearly from the 13th floor of the HDB block opposite the school where our J1s were filming the match. Timon also said that it was the first time that a cheer affected him.