New gloves, new boots, new experience

“Whatever you do, don’t tell Raphael anything about our formation or players!” This was the strict instructions given to the players as the BIG game loomed. Raphael is playing for the opponents. Chin, Wenchong and I were determined to field a decent first eleven on the pitch before the big KO. After “chopping and changing” the formation on paper, it was decided that Chin will keep goal while Dave play in central defence, even though Dave is a goalkeeper. Chin was very serious about this game and even bought a pair of Italia gloves for this outing.

Talking about formation on paper is a total different experience when it comes to actually lining the players on the pitch. First of all, we don’t really know their individual strengths and weaknesses. Our team, in white, took on a complete new look on the pitch as Dave, Chin, Peter and Wenchong reshuffled the formation after some serious prep talk with some new faces.

While Raphael’s team get ready, our boys did their warm-up. As time was running short, the Red team decided to kick-off with only ten men. This “dangerman” aka Raphael was running all over the place for the first ten minutes, trying to make up for the numerical disadvantage. U.N.C.L.E turned up with his new boots, new socks and shin guards. Kelvin, U.N.C.L.E, stood by the side, watching the game unfold. Our players had their own styles. People like Simon, Wenchong, Peter and Patrick look up before they released the ball while Rongming just charged forward like a bull.

In the 15th minute, Wenchong broke the deadlock and open the account for the White team. At the other end, Chin performed some heroics as he stood firm in between the sticks. There was an occasion where he made speedy recovery to make up for his mistake of passing the ball to a Red team striker. At the half-hour mark, Rongming made it 2-nil - a looping ball that left the keeper no chance at all. But Raphael pulled one back for the Red team right after that, winning a 50-50 ball on a one-on-one situation against Chin.

Our “reserves” turned up and soon they have their own ideas and formations about the match. Everybody was shouting instructions to Steven every time he received the ball, and his expression always turned from gleeful to pressure in every occasion. By everybody, I mean people both on and off the pitch. It wasn’t long that he came off the pitch to make way for Kelvin as left-back.

Up front, Rongming sent the ball into a tree and U.N.C.L.E. had to play monkey to retrieve the ball. As some of the players get tired out, Rongming bagged his hat-trick, scoring his second and third goals in similar fashion. The score now read 4-1. Paul Sng, who was playing with a twisted ankle, made way for Alvin. Minutes before the break, U.N.C.L.E entered the fray but the referee blew for half-time before he even had a touch of the ball!

Trailing three goals, atmosphere at the Red team was sombre as Raphael reorganised his team. Chin wanted to change our formation to 4-5-1 as we are winning. But Alvin, judging by the opponents was against it. (Could it be the mentality of Liverpool versus Man United?)

The mood couldn’t be more different over at the White team. Our players all sat down at the pitch, some trying to catch their breaths while others had a kick-about with Ryan and Reyna. Paul decided to call it a day and wasn’t featured anymore in the second-half. Raphael came over for a while, to say hello to some of the players he hasn’t acknowledged. But was his act serious? He could have walked over with the intention of “spying” on our tactics and new strategies. No doubt this was a friendly game, but some of the players were really serious about this match.

Second-half. A hand-ball was given and the No. 9 from the Red team made it 4-2 from the spot. The Red team rained attacks down flanks. U.N.C.L.E. stood to his task, and with Chin already beaten, he cleared the ball off the line to prevent the Red team from staging a come-back! With so many players up front, Daniel took on the Red team’s entire defence and sealed the win for the White team at 5-2.

After the final whistle, Raphael came over and there were hand-shakes between and within teams. For some, this was a new experience, playing with strangers. For others, this is a memorable outing as we almost couldn’t kick-off due to pitch availability and weather. For me, it was the seriousness that the boys put into the game with their new gloves, new boots, socks and definitely new experience in conjuring formation out for a football match.