Playouts vs Barclays 24 May

Match Report by Barclays

Another very good competitive game against Playouts, but unfortunately the same 2-1 score line as the first round. Barclays started relatively well, and on balance probably dominated this first half in terms of possession and chances on goal. A quick free kick from Jason to Gaz down the left, who found Dom’s head nicely……and the rebound fell nicely for Indra to make it 1-0 after around 15 minutes…..Playouts were also putting on the pressure, and a poorly defended corner led to their opener soon after. For the rest of the first half Barclays was rotating subs nicely and a few chances were created with Tony linking up well with Gaz up front. Some good passing from Indra, Heng, and Steven in the middle ensure we kept on top, while Ian, Geoff, Chris and Khalim made sure things were
tight at the back.

For some reason, it was a completely different story in the second and clearly not one our best performances. Playouts seemed to step up a gear, whist Barclays first half energy seemed to melt in the heat despite having plenty of subs. While the effort was generally there, Playouts just seemed to be a step ahead of the tiring Barcap players and were able to carve out a number of clear cut chances. If it were not for some good goalkeeping from Scott and
some sub-par finishing, it could have easily been more than 2-1. That said, Gaz looked threatening as always and tested the keeper with 5 minutes to with a blistering shot that was parried over the bar.

Man of match goes to Ian for a solid performance in the middle, with special mention to Scott who was kept busy in the second half.

Good luck to Playout for their remaining fixtures……

Playouts Vs SCC Tigers 10 May

Playouts met SCC Tigers in a fiercely contested battle, ending the day 4-1 on the wrong side of the scoreline. As Arsene Wenger said later, “it wasn’t a 4-1 game”, but football’s like so.

The afternoon started off well enough, with Playouts streaming in in a timely fashion for a warm-up and a team brief, which we’ve been lacking for the past 4-5 games. The game kicked off fast and furious, with SCC Tigers moving the ball around quickly and giving Playouts no time to settle into the game. Playouts started with a pretty strong line-up with Shaun in goal, Ben Chong GM and Adrian across the back, Geoff Jan Ed and Duns in mids and Raj with Izzy up top. It took us awhile to settle down, by which time SCC were up by 1 goal. The first half quickly ended, and none to soon, for the setting sun was sapping away our juice.

The second half started on a brighter note for Playouts, with Abiel and Zhichun coming in. We started to control play more and saw lots of the ball, while SCC were busy chasing down the ball. Parked in SCC’s half for the opening 10min, we got a deserved break when Izzy’s snapshot slipped past the keeper to nestle in the back of the net. 1-1. The game was evenly contested, despite the physical advantage that SCC held, what with a 9-man strong bench and towering behemoths everywhere in their team. Unfortunately, on one of SCC’s breaks, Ed slipped just at the moment he jumped to head a ball clear, and the SCC giant behind him gleefully headed home. 2-1 to SCC.

The game was still on even at this point, but the lack of subs on Playouts bench was telling, as the tired legs couldn’t quite keep up with the fresh players being introduced from the home team. Abiel had some good incisive runs, and Jansen connected well with Chong on several freekicks to set up a few half chances. Geoff was ever the tireless runner, and Jansen was omnipresent. Dunstan’s lack of match fitness, having just returned from his China sojourn, might have been evident today, but one should never discount our magic Duns anyway. GM was immense in defence, clearing every loose ball, while Adrian had a tough day in the office against some very robust opposition on his flank.

As Playouts pushed forward in a bid to find the equaliser, SCC caught us out on another quick break, with a series of accurate long distributions, ending with a well-taken shot into the top corner. 3-1 to SCC. With little more than 10minutes to go, it was a tough hill to climb. SCC had one last good break, rifling home a shot past 2 defenders and the keeps. 4-1 to SCC. It wasn’t a 4-1 game, but football can be a cruel game.

Man of the Match – Shaun, heroic keeping saved us at least 3 good goals, especially one peach of a one-handed point blank stop. Shaun wanted to play keeper cuz it’s more exciting than striker, and he sure got his fair share of the ball today.

Cheers to SCC for a good game.

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Match Report by SCC Tigers

Dempsey was in perfect condition for the top of the table clash between SCC Tigers and Playouts. No rain, plenty of sunshine and a warm afternoon. Tigers had a large squad of 18 and once again thanks to the other 8 squad members who had to sit this one out. Some weeks we have too many, some just enough and others the bare
minimum 11. To the 18 that were there thanks for your patience on the subs rotation and to Naka and GD thanks for coming down to support and making up the cheer squad! Tigers lined up as follows:

Marc G
Matt F Simon T Richard Simon B
Adam B
Yossi PJ Richie P Marcus
Luke

We had a really strong bench with Whibs, Pat R, Kai, Matt S, Jon M, Lucas and Duffs.

The first 15-20 minutes were all Tigers as PJ and Richie moved the ball wide to Yossi and Marcus, Luke’s strength and pace caused the Playouts defenders a lot of trouble up front, Adam stifled any break thru in the
centre and the back four comfortably held of the breakout attacks. I don’t think Marc saw the ball in that period. The breakthrough came on 16 minutes when Luke picked up the ball on the right of the penalty area and advanced into the box. His first shot was blocked but he was first to react and he drove home from a tight angle.

One up and we should have pushed on but this seemed to kick start Playouts who started to find their own rhythm playing some neat football and quickly closing down our midfield. They had a few good counter attacks and seemed to be able to win a lot of 50/50 with there skill and determination. Marc dealt well with the odd long range shot well. The Guv swung some changes, Pat, Kia and Matt S on to try and wrestle control back. Tigers had 2 or 3 chances but the Playouts keeper did well to keep the score at 1-0 at halftime.

2nd half started with:

Marc G
Mike W Simon T Lucas Simon B
Matt S PJ Jon M Pat R
Kai Duffs

It was Playouts who came out firing and for 10 minutes they dictated the game and got a deserved equalizer when we gave away a free kick on the right, the kick was half cleared and the subsequent shot came through the pack and somehow squirmed under Marcs diving body. Tigers then kick started themselves and used the wings
more. After a few half chances eventually on 55 minutes Matt S received the ball wide and he swung over a great cross to Kai who was in the right place to bundle the ball home. 2-1 and we relaxed more.

The Guv rotated Yossi, Marcus back on out wide, Luke in the centre, Richie at fullback! Adam at the back. In what has become typical style of the Tigers we played strongly for the full 80th minute and after both Kia and Duffs went close with headers in the last 10 minutes we closed out the match with a couple of classic goals. The first from a pinpoint cross from Matt S again that found the marauding right back Richie P out wide in the penalty area. His first touch controlled the ball with his right, he made the angle a bit better with a shimmy to the left and then beat the keeper, with his left again, with a great shot. The fourth came as Playouts pushed forward to try and get
back into the game, Adam’s sliced 9 iron clearance was pinpoint enough to skim off a defenders head into the path of Yossi on the right. Yossi’s pace had been effective all game and with the Playouts defenders pushing forward he needed no invitation to drive into the box and finish Benayoun style.

Final score was 4-1, Playouts proved why they are hot favorites for a promotion spot with a very competitive performance. They have good pace, tackle hard but fair and are well organized. Most of all they are a very sporting team with a great attitude and an obvious love for the game. Good luck in the run in guys and we look forward to the rematch at the end of the season. Ref I hardly noticed today so he must have been very good.

Tigers, despite having to satisfy a big squad, were back to playing the ‘SCC Way’ and the rotations never upset the balance of the side or the way we played. All contributed well but special mention to Yossi for his pace down the right, Matt S for some great assists, PJ for getting through 55 minutes! Richie for volunteering to go fullback (or
wide half back as he calls the role), duffs for his defensive duties (something you dont normally expect!) and the rest of the squad for a good afternoon out. MOM however goes to Luke who once again proved a handful upfront and when asked to do a job in centre mid did so with great endeavor.

Playouts Vs Central Park 0-6 mauling

Playouts Reunited crumbled to their second consecutive defeat of the season after a heart-breaking 6-0 defeat to a rampant Central Park. Without 70% of first team regulars, a lengthly one-month and a severe drop in fitness, Playouts was at best, second best.

Thanks Central Park for the thorough lesson on the football field. In doing so, serving as a comprehensive wakeup call that couldn’t have come at a better time. Playouts will hope to bounce back as they face leaders SCC Tigers next week.

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Match Report from Central Park

Central Park came bouncing back after some inept performance in their last game against Barclays Capital by thumping familiar rivals Playouts Reunited 6-0 at Bedok Green Secondary School. Stefan opened the floodgates after just 3 minutes from the spot and added his second and Sharks 4th just before half-time. Aaron found the net twice while Naoki got his name for Sharks 3rd in the first half. The most unlikely name of the scoresheet though was Michael Wong who scored his first ever goal from his goal line.

Sharks injury list look ever increasing with the likes of Kelvin and Vincent out for the game with the former out for the rest of the season with a facial injury. With Naoki back in the team after missing out on last week defeat with a sore ankle, Sharks look for further reinforcements in the form of old rivals East Avenue with Mohammad Yus, Radzly and Azri being drafted into the side for possibly the rest of the season or even further than that as the team look to beef up its team after some unfortunate injuries which has plagued the team for the season. Sharks opponents today however was a pale shadow from their last meeting in March when a whole army of 20 players turned up as Sharks went down 4-2 over at Marsiling Secondary.

Central Park started the game in positive fashion and the early exchanges proved telling as a long punt from Michael was handled in the box after just 3 minutes. Up step Stefan who gave the custodian no chance as he stood rooted from his spot. The goal seemed to spark a little life into a disarray Playouts side who was almost outplayed in every department as Brendan, Yus and Stefan played key roles in the middle of the park to stifle their opposite number. Barely 20 minutes into the game, Sharks got their second after a floater from Zhuoneng, whom was criticised for his inept display last week found Brendan who headed into an onrushing Aaron in the box and the forward made no mistake from close range. Naoki managed to end his barren run with his team’s third when his fluke shot went thru a sea of legs and into the back of the net as Sharks looked convicingly comfortable for the break before Stefan made sure of the 3 points just before the break with Sharks 4th of the game.

Second half saw Sharks making a couple of chances with the number of personnel they have on the bench but the changes doesn’t seemed break any rythmn in the team as they continued to dictate the game. Nonetheless, Playouts as always doesn’t give up that easily as they went in search of the elusive goal to bring themselves back into the game and they had several close shaves with their closest coming off the bar which summed up their day in front of goal. Play however seemed to stall into a pedestrian stage as both teams keep missing the final pass until the 60th minute. A loose ball collected by Michael in goal as he slowly picked it up for the long punt into the opposition half. With his punt almost dead centre, it innocuously flew above the sea of players and as his opposite number began to sense danger, the custodian inexplicably punched the ball into his own net as Michael celebrated his first ever goal and probably his last as well from where he was standing. That seemed to deflate the spirits of the opposition whom before that, was fighting to get something in the game. As the clock ticked by, Asawin who was here just for a game before flying back to Bangkok released Aaron with a peach of a pass and the forward found the bottom right hand corner for his team’s sixth and final goal of the game.

The beaming manager commented, ‘To be winning by such a margin against an opponent who we know on their day could beat anyone, you don’t ask for anything more.

Playouts Vs Old Rivals Central Park (22 Mar)

Playouts met old rivals Central Park in our first head-to-head of this season, and came away 4-2 winners, in what was a tough match against a team we knew to be a respectable oponent. Lionel Kong, in pulling all the right strings in the middle of the park, was the standout choice for MOM.

A record turnout of 20 players on the day belied the fact that half arrived just on the dot, leaving coach Isa, normally late himself but unusally early today, in a fit.

The game commenced with a blend of youth & experience, and age & wide-eyed wonder – the youthful ones brought the experience, while the aged ones watched on in wonder. Zhuang in goal; Adrian, Guoming, Lian, King across the back; Jerry, Lionel, Jansen, Ed and Han in mids; Shaun up top. The first half was a cagey affair. Play was generally scrappy, and neither team took their chances, which were few and far between in any case. Central Park had a free header go wide, much to our relief, while Playouts had a couple shots tucked away into the tree-lined boulevard behind. Or at least figuratively speaking. The breakthrough finally came when the Sharks’ keeper handled a backpass under pressure from “ho-ho-ho-ing” Lionel Kong, and Lionel duly dispatched Han’s layoff from the indirect freekick into the mouse hole to the keeper’s left. 1-0 to Playouts going into the break.

The second half saw Isa making a bunch of subs – Kong (CM), Shao(LB), Lester(S), Weiming (LM), Haoyi (RB). The result was that most of the old legs were happily seated on the bench, while the energetic, young rabied rabbits were let loose on the pitch. Not long after, Jerry’s long throw from the right bounced over the Sharks’ defence to find Lionel lurking, and he greedily tucked it home, sticking out his lapping tongue in celebration. 2-0. By now, Playouts were playing with some confidence, manifested in one-touch passing and quick layoffs, just about in the style of Arsenal. As Han quipped, this was Playouts’ “Development” squad in action – they were “developing” the senior Playouts and teaching us a thing or two about football. Soon after, Shaun took a good early pass and contrived to let 17.5sec pass before finally taking a shot and scoring to make 3. Somewhere during the half, Weiming even had time to cross from the left wing (gasp, a cross? from the left??) for Shaun to dive-header into the proverbial stands.

By now, we thought we had the game in the bag, but CP had other plans. On one of their increasingly frequent attacks, their nifty winger/striker stole a goal to start a comeback fight. Thankfully, Lester gave another mighty roar and popped up with one goal to restore the margin. Sharks’ nifty winger/striker dude later capitalised on a loose ball to loop-shoot the ball over our keeper into the top corner for a tense finish. The final whistle was blown shortly after, thus concluding the contest for this 90mins. But we’ll be seeing Central Park soon again for Round 2, or Round 4 might we say.

Circus moments in the game:
1) Ageing squad players Jansen, Edwin, Scholes, Shao, Adrian, Giggs, Chong, Han, Neville, Zhi, Isa sitting outside looking in; exuberant youngsters Lionel, Jerry, Shaun, Lester, and company running the show where it matters.
2) Adrian Yeap clocking 4.7km during this match, with 3.5km mileage stolen while taking throw-in’s on the touchline.
3) Coach Isa instructing Haoyi to warm up, and indeed he does – by warming up a cigarette.

Thanks to Central Park for the game, which, as is usual with you, was played in a competitive and sporting spirit. Till the next match, good fun and good fate.

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Match Report from Central Park:

Central Park capitulated against old rivals Playouts Reunited on Sunday as they went down meekly at Marsiling Secondary School with 2 goals from Aaron Huang, a mere consolation.

The match started with Sharks shorn of a whole slew of players and could only muster 13 for the game but they got off to a good start when Heng Li could have given his team the lead, only to miss a delicious cross from Lasser in the opening exchanges. Then on, things were on the downhill as the opposition controlled almost every aspect of the game as Sharks were put on the backfoot for almost the entire half of the game. It took a turn for the worse when Jorgensen had to limp off the game and shortly afterwards, Brendan rolled his ankle in the space of 20 minutes. With not much option on the bench, the Sharks made use of the players that is left and it didn’t help matters when the opposition took the lead after Michael and Yi Quan was caught in an uncanny situation and they converted the freekick from inside the area. The pattern of play seemed all to similar for the remainder of the half but the opposition were unable to increase their lead as Sharks looked to a very long 2nd half.

Several positions were switched at half-time but before Sharks could make any inroads to the scoreline, a mistake by Lasser giftwrapped the opposition with the 2nd goal. That seemed to be the cue as Playouts ran rings in Sharks half as the defense were caught napping on several occasions with stand-in sweeper Charlson unable to control his backline. It was 3 midway in the second-half before Aaron pulled a goal back but whatever comeback the Sharks was having up their sleeves were quickly extinguished when yet another howler from the defense make sure of the points for Playouts. Aaron however made the scoreline respectable when he found the custodian off his line to notch his 2nd goal of the game.

The manager commented, ‘This has to be the worst turnout for the team. We were clearly missing so many players out thru injuries and personal commitments and those that come in, just didn’t have that extra zest in them. The defense and midfield today was in shambles and they did little to protect Michael in goal. Overall, the team has to play better than what was on show today and the only way is up.

Playouts vs Barclays – 15 March 09

Geoffrey Swee pounced deep into normal time to clinch a dramatic 2-1 win for the Playouts at Bukit Timah Field.

Both sides were left to rue missed opportunities in a generally dismal affair in the first half when real chances were few and far between.

Edwin Lim had the pick of them – the ball was headed back across the goal and he stretched for the ball to put it agonisingly over the bar at the end of the first half. Maybe he wanted to add on another playout of the day to the list after thinking that the match was at 1pm! Any candidates for a new captain?

In the second half, it started off the way the first half went until Barclays scored. It looked like it was going to be a bad day for the Playouts when from out of nowhere, Kong took a long range shot and it ended up at the bottom left of the net. 1-1, game on!

Barclays searched in vain for a late winner. Instead, the decisive blow came when Lionel found Geoffrey at the edge of the box with a defence splitting pass. Having received the ball, he took forever to take his shot. Meanwhile, Isa was screaming for a pass from him, getting ready to punch Geoffrey if he did not score. Finally, he took a left foot shot. GOAL! What a way to come back from a lengthy lay off.

Looking forward to another tough game against the Barclays. Cheers!

MOM — Zhuang

– by Geoffrey

Playouts vs Benedetto (8 Mar)

This game had all the makings of a potential banana skin league game. Faced with a highly physical team hungry for their second win of the season, Playouts were made to work for, as outstanding stand-in goalkeeper Zhuang put it, a “hard fought victory”.

Faced with a worryingly recurring shortage of players, Playouts were once more down to their bare bones. Both teams started tentatively – Playouts with an eye on conversing energy, and Benedetto sussing the Div 6 champions out.

Playouts launched high balls into the opposition penalty area with the intention to test their keeper. It paid off in the middle of the first half with a well-taken goal via a layoff header that formidable defender-turned-makelele Chong smashed into the net.

The half time break provided a welcome retreat from the sweltering midday sun. Playouts came out of the break with aplomb. Manager-turned-Ruud Isa scored with virtually his first touches of the game, bundling the ball into the net after the opposition keeper dived to save his shot.
A few minutes later, the Benedetto defense failed to clear their lines and matured and successful-in-life rugby maestro-turned-football magician Renhan scored from 2 yards out. 3-0 and the Playouts went to sleep.

The game, by now, had been reduced to a start-stop match overflowing with bad tackles, screaming and telling-offs by the Referee. In the last 15 minutes, the physical nature of Benedetto’s game paid off as position-jostling during a corner kick resulted in a penalty. Zhuang had no answer to the penalty.

The game looked to turn from bad to worse as ever-youthful centreback Guoming was forced off with an injury and Playouts were beginning to lose their shape and composure. Thankfully, with some stoic defending and poor finishing, the scoreline remained 3-1.

It was a good, hard-earned 3 points that the Playouts of yesterseason would’ve thrown away. Chins up for the game against Barclays next weekend! Thanks Benedetto for a good game and all the best for the upcoming fixtures.

MOM — Zhicong

A World of Difference: Playouts 3-1 Madcats

Despite the strong finish in Season 1, Playouts fielded a depleted team for Season 2 without Play(out)er of the Year Daryl or Golden Boot Dunstan. One time star play and free transfer Raja Kluivert turned up with a busted ankle while Season 1’s best buy Israel was sidelined due to “prior” commitments. With the first match against old foes Madcats who had initiated Playouts to the rigors of Division 6, it was never a sure win. Madcats fielded a strong side with dangerman Number 7 and their right wingers who had previously caused problems for Playouts’ defence.

The game started hesitantly with both sides squandering chances upfront. The breakthrough came in the 20th min with a scrappy clearance from Madcat’s defence that failed to clear the penalty box. Geoffrey pounced on the chance to direct the ball towards goal with a light touch, seemingly out of the reach of the nearby Madcat Defender. But Edwin Lim took no chances and “helped” the ball into goal with a high right foot. Thankfully no whistle was blown for offside and it was Playouts 1-0 Madcats.

The scoreline was helped along by Madcat’s leftback. Lian sent an impressive goalkick deep into Madcat’s half. Under no obvious pressure, Madcat’s leftback took the ball on an awkward bounce and sent a long backpass to his keeper. Backpass turned out to be an impressive lob and the ball arced over the helpless keeper into the goal. Playouts 2-0 Madcats and it was just 35mins into the game. As the saying goes, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

Halftime talk was meticulously planned out. 5 mins of casual banter 5 mins of business. The second half started in the same manner. Playouts could not find an opening despite many forays into the opponents half. Madcats came close when a long ball was sent over the heads of the Defenders. Madcat’s right winger latched onto the pass quickly, sprinting clear of his marker (name shall not be revealed here) and left the entire defence backpedaling frantically. Fortunately, his shot spilled across the face of the goal for a harmless goal kick. Lian, spitting out the dirt from his mouth, took the lackadasical defence to task. The sidelines too were howling for blood.

The near-goal injected Playouts with a fresh sense of purpose. Lian sent a rare goalkick down the left flank. Bringing the the ball down quickly, Shao turned and picked out Kong (who was directly infront of him) with a simple pass. Not even bothering with his usual twists and turns, Kong powered his way through 2 Madcat defenders to put himself through on goal. With a simple flick, the ball went into the back of the net. Just like that and it was Playouts 3-0 Madcat.

One thumping shot from Madcats stole the clean sheet that the Playouts defence arguably deserved. Everyone stood still as the ball rebounded out of the penalty box, falling to the feet of a lurking Madcat player. Despite Chong’s increasingly desperate cries for Kong to close down the shot, he (and everyone for that matter) stood rooted to the spot, a spectator to the unfolding drama. A quick shuffle of feet and the Madcat player unleashed a powerful shot to the right of the keeper who, to his credit, tried to get his fingertips to the ball. A touch of class from Madcats for a well deserved goal. Final score: Playouts 3-1 Madcats.

Man of the Match: Left/Rightback Shao secures his position with a stellar performance =). To borrow a quote from Kenny “my vote to shao for man-of-the-match. instead of leftback he should be called leftflank. up and down, attacking, making supporting runs, marking, clearing, kicking opponents – did them all with the stamina only a triplet possesses.” Lets hope he continues in this vein for future matches.

Playout of the Day: Marcus’s completely honest retort “Huh, I didn’t even pass the ball to you” in response to Geoffrey’s comment that he felt more comfortable now that Marcus and Kenny were playing in the middle. Marcus proclaims to all on the pitch that Kenny will be marking their number 14..well done

Quotable Quotes
“Ref, we only shoot on target” – Edwin, in response to the Referee telling the girls sitting beside the goalpost to watch out for the balls

“Pls dont mark me, I dont get any balls anymore” – Madcat Number 7, to Adrian in response to the repeated calls to mark Number 7

“and change… 1, 2, 3, 4…..” – Israel, the youngest player on the team leading the inflexible oldies on a proper stretch routine

“I will definitely play more this season” – Marcus’ statement captured here for the record (there is no escaping now)

- By Shao

PLAYOUTS REUNITED 2 – 2 CENTRAL PARK

Comebacks require a blend of physical strength and mental resilience, a capacity to make something, however improbable, happen, and the ability to ignore the previous openings that produced nothing. Playouts Reunited did just that, twice coming from behind to snatch a draw that might just be a catalyst to promotion at the end of the season.

At the beginning of the first half, both teams were in doubt whether the game would last the full 90 minutes. Had lighting struck, I don’t think the game would have lasted the duration. However, it did not strike twice; the slick astro-turf and gloomy skies were made for football heaven.

Playouts, plagued by the curse of the ‘after match team talk’ at Adam Rd, saw another miserable turn out of twelve players. As Renhan aptly put before kick-off, ‘Lets do this for the twelve of us.’ Fired up by Renhan’s war cry, Playouts started the first half wanting and fighting for every ball. Dominating proceedings in the first fifteen minutes, Playouts, however, were more than guilty of wasting their fair share of half chances to put the game to bed – a worrying habit in the last few games.

Central Park, having braved the storm, came out to play and got a goal against the run of play when Playouts failed to clear their lines and according to injured centre-back Tze Chong, tried to play with too much class. Shao’s square pass got intercepted which was then finely finished past midfielder, centre-back, keeper Guoming.

Playouts regrouped and pressed on, but were largely limited to long-range efforts from Kong, which for some strange reason were all balloons. With the shackles firmly on Isa-the bullet-Gan and Renhan, Playouts went into halftime a goal down.

Second half and manager Tze Chong, stabilizing the backline, moved goalkeeper Guoming to centre-back, Zhuang to keeper and Ryan Gomes to right back. This allowed Playouts to concentrate solely on the equalizer. Renhan’s header was cleared off the line, followed by a scramble in the six-yard box and Isa Gan denied by some good goalkeeping. As the match wore on and more and more of the game was being played in Central Park’s half, Playouts finally found the equalizer, winning the ball in the middle of the park, a quick counter-attack with the ball ending up with Geoffrey and what a Swee shot he let loose from outside the penalty area. Top corner. 1-1. Game on.

They say a team is at its most vulnerable after scoring a goal. And true enough, only a minute after equalizing, Playouts overcommitted players forward in search of the winner and got punished by a swift counter-attack, which left Guoming and Shao against both their strikers. Turning Guoming inside out, the striker slammed the ball past a helpless Zhuang. 2-1 to Central Park. Again, with their never-say-die spirit, Playouts won corner after corner and would have scored if only Guoming hadn’t closed his eyes while challenging an open header six-yards out. As the clock trickled down to the final minutes of the game, Playouts did not lose hope and finally got their reward for the pressure on Central Park’s defense. Edwin, moved into his ‘round hole’ position, proved his worth by unleashing an unstoppable left-foot shot into the top left corner that left the keeper rooted. Frustration that was built up by the referee’s constant nonsensical decisions, Edwin decided to celebrate with that arrogant ‘I do this in my sleep’ gesture.

It could have easily been a lost for Playouts, however it was a good result taking into consideration the injuries and absence of playoutsers including danger man/playmaker Daryl Gomez. This felt like three points to Isa-le sulk-Gan and so should the rest.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Renhan – Led the line well, flicked headers on and for creating a Ronaldinho chance in the 1^st half forcing a save from the keeper. Also had an effort cleared off the line.

PLAYOUTS VERDICT: Injuries and other commitments are impeding them; Tze Chong is struggling to find a settled side or a winning formula. Their line-up changes by the game, with Chris the latest man sidelined. Newcomer Ryan Gomes provided glimpses of his talent, first in the centre and then on the wings, but the absence of Daryl Gomez in attack was telling. With remaining fixtures against the top four, they will need more performances like this in order to achieve promotion this season. Hopefully this will be the end of their recent slump.

PLAYOUT OF THE MATCH: Shao’s square pass that led to Central Park’s first goal – back to the basics for defenders (NO SQUARE PASSES IN DEFENCE, SAFETY FIRST)

MOAN OF THE MATCH: From a Playouts POV, the refereeing could have been better to say the least. Also Isa Gan’s attempt to get himself sent off every time the opposition keeper gets the ball; his extra 50 cents as Renhan put it.

Playouts versus Central Park (Div 6 Match 5) 4-2 win

playouts reunited vs central park
man of the match: Shao
scorers: tze chong, daryl, kong (2)

another weekend, another hard fought victory. played (out) once again on a hot sunny (sun)day, the match erupted into a frenzy 10 minutes on with the playouts conceding an early goal. no matter though, as they were quickly back into the game with 2 quick shots. half-time 2-1 to the orange.
 
kickoff again under the sweltering heat saw a repeat of the same, with the opposition scoring first before 2 goals from the kong threw the game without doubt back on track. 4-2 final score - credit to central park giving the playouts a good workout.

Playouts vs Gogooryo (Div 6 Match 3) Win 5-0

Written by Tan Boon Hai

The blue skies and the cool breeze were signs of the match to come. After an ill-fated start to the league, Playouts bounced back with a valiant performance to win their second match and in this third match, the guys were all ready to gain another 3 points in the bag.

Due to the Ulu-ness of Punggol, a number of teammates threatened to live up to our team’s name by arriving late; in fact there was a particular man who refused to check his street directory even when he got lost!! Talk about stubbornness… But in the end, the referee gave us a favor by coming late too, but guess what? That was the only favor we got from him that day, if you know what I mean.

Finally the match got it started. Maybe due to early match jitters, the team was engaging in largely scrappy play. Names were called, commands were given from almost everyone, but nothing seemed to work. We were largely camped in our own half during the first 15 minutes, but in true ACSian spirit, an opportunistic pass led to Edwin being freed to roam in the left flank. Our captain then brought the ball to the edge of penalty and whipped a low, menacing cross across the goal; and there arrives our top marksman, Isa, who coolly slotted the ball in mid-air to the bottom right hand corner of our opponent’s net, classic pass, classic finish, classic goal!!!

Apart from sub-standard refereeing, nothing much can be said till around the 40^th minute, Playouts gained a corner. The ball was floated to the far post, and due to some professional ‘harassing’ of the goalkeeper in the six yard box, confusion reigned among our opponents and everyone missed the ball! And just as the ball was headed toward goal, the last man of Gogooryo attempted a ‘Maradona aka hand of god’ move to palm the ball away! A penalty definitely, and of course, any self-respecting footballer would know that was a red card offence committed by the defender but just when the whole team was expecting the player to be sent off, the referee dished out a yellow card!!! Incredible or I would say, incredulous, decision!!!

But as true sportsmen, the team kept our cool, and Mr Jonathan Kong stepped up to take the penalty. The whistle blew and as expected, our midfield maestro sent the goalkeeper the wrong direction and we got our second goal!

The first half ended shortly after and we went back to our dressing room. Captain Edwin lashed at the team to remind us not to lose our cool at the decisions made by the referee and his lashing worked wonders.

Playouts went into the second half, focused on keeping our cool and to increase our goal average, uhhhumm, difference, I mean. And in a matter of minutes, a superb play involving a long floating pass from Jonathan found Dunstan at the right flank. Superb first touch and speed displayed by our right winger enabled him to have the time and space to find Renhan sneaking at the other side of the penalty box. A pinpoint cross was delivered to him and our ever reliable striker trapped it down, and with eagle’s eye vision, saw an opening and slotted the ball beyond the goalkeeper’s reach and we had our third goal!!! We were up 3-0, now playouts were on a roll.

But the best was yet to be! It was in this match we found our Ronaldhino when in the 60^th minute, we had a free kick about 40 metres away from our opponents’ goal. And never in our wildest minds would we expect the next thing happen. Captain Edwin, with his lethal left foot, struck a powerful cross, oops I wanted to say shot, towards the top right corner of the net. The ball eluded every single person and we got our fourth goal!!! Edwin, our Ronaldhino!

Now everyone was enjoying the action, and of course, our star winger Dunstan refused to be left out of the party. In about the 70^th minute, Darryl got the ball in the opponents’ half, he passed the ball to Dunstan, who was lurking around the edge of the penalty box. With the goal in his mind, Dynamite Dunstan was focused. He trapped the ball, lifted it up the ground and with his eyes fixed on the ball, coupled with his superb goal instinct, he volleyed the ball. The ball went over the goalkeeper, dipped down and we got our icing on the cake, our fifth goal!

All it needed now was the referee to blow the whistle and he promptly did that 10 minutes later and our opponents’ misery ended. Playouts once again lived up to their fearsome reputation with our task accomplished, 3 more points in the bag and goal average pulled up and goal difference increased. Good job, guys!