RAIN UNITED
FOOTBALL CLUB
[ Friendly Match - 25th November 2006 ]
It was another raining day. We decided to continue with the game as Jensen was to play his last game for Campaign before departing for the United States.
The game started late as there wasn't enough players for Campaign. Nelson, Anand and Kelvin sportingly played for Campaign.
It was a good game and both teams play the match at the friendliest. Jensen scored the equaliser at his farewell match to end the scoreline at 3-3. Players on both sides exchanged some fun chatting with one another.
I rested Kenny during the first half hour of the second half as Campaign were "complaining" that he is too fast for them. It also gives me opportunity to try out different players. Four players from Rain United stood out in the match. They were namely Pako, Max, Kenny and Dr DongRui, though DongRui and Max started the game shabbily. My man of the match goes to Pako. Nelson was again outstanding in between the posts for Campaign.
The players rating for the game are as follows:-
Nelson Lo (7)
Razzali (Captain) (6)
Dr DongRui (7)
Anand (6)
Kelvin Lim (6)
Kenny Lim (7)
Pako (7)
Cao Yuan (5)
Shang Pei (7)
Thit Lwin (7)
Jia He (5)
Tan Keng Yong (5)
Leonard Tan (7)
Jerome Lo (6)
Thank you
Sabastian
[ Team Rain United Permanant Players ]
After several discussions and evaluations of the players who would most likely be able to form the core-team in Rain United, the team members are as follows:-
Nelson Lo
Anand
Razzali
Professor Yu
Dr DongRui
Randy Zee
Randy Chua
Pako
Cao Yuan
Kenny Lim
Thit Lwin
Lim Jia He
Leonard Tan
Tan Keong Yong
Shang Pei
While I am assessing some players who may be drafted into the team, unfortunately, 3 other players will be informed to play their football elsewhere. May I wish them all the very best.
Thank you
Sabastian
[ Liverpool vs Manchester United ]
We continued with more football in the evening. With the postponed friendly, I decided to pit Rain United's Liverpool and Man U supporters for this training. Though there were not all who were supporters of the 2 teams, I had wanted to test the probables against the possibles.
Knowing that most of the adult players were fans of Liverpool, I had briefed the team performance over the last friendly and had called for Rain United's continuity of attacking football but at the same time, to learn to detach the game. I cited Man U and Liverpool as examples.
Today, I had Kelvin Lim, a AFC "A" License coach who has coached S-League teams like Tampines and Gombak and an International and "real" Tanjong Pagar Football Club experienced, to show Rain United what it takes to play football. Though Kelvin was injured, his football touches and playing experienced was evident.
I decided to create some fun during the game. Wanting to disgust the Liverpool supporters, while we were leading the game at 3-2, on one incident, I decided to shout "Offside" and raised up my hand when there was a clear opportunity for Keng Yong to score his "first" from the rebound while I was playing as a keeper. Keng Yong obligingly stopped play while the disgusted Liverpool supporters were clearly shouting "foul". I reminded them that it was a "Fabien Bartez" act.
I also teased Mr Aw, who was able to save a ball despite taking a short nap at the shelter when the ball went into him. It was the perfect goalkeeper's instinct. Towards the end of the 90 minutes, I had decided to hand the whistle to Anand to blew it to agitate him. Instead he prolonged the game with an extra long.......ggggg injury time and even awarded a last miunte penalty to his own team. I placed the ball outside the penalty box for the kick, and again it was not meant to be. Keng Yong fluffed the penalty kick with my hands on my back.
Anand at this point went towards Razzali, another Liverpool die-hard and threw some "filthy" comments about wanting to get back on me but couldn't. He finally decided to blow the final whistle and gave up! The whistle was never returned. I guessed Anand may have either swallowed it up in his throat or might have threw it away. More will come till we meet again. Razzali was still fuming on Sunday while I was teasing him on the Saturday night's results in the EPL.
[ S-League NTUC Income National Mini Football Carnival ] The Youngstarz put up a credible performance last Saturday. Going into the tournament pitting against top football teams in Singapore, the Youngstarz were clearly the underdogs when the draws were made. The Youngstarz were pitted against 5 previous champion teams out of the 6 teams in their group. 
Captained by young Lionel that includes a first-timer for Justin as goalkeeper for the Youngstarz, they started the tournament beating one of the favourites in the group by 4 goals to nil. The opposition were overly confident when they drew the Youngstarz in their first match and were seen teasing and laughing when they spoke to the Youngstarz boys. I told Lionel to focus on the game and let their football to give the answers. Lionel rewarded me with the first goal.
The boys took on the CDL champions in their next match and Lionel continued his scoring with the winning goal against them. The final score was 1-0 in favour of the Youngstarz. Maximum points from 2 matches. 3 more to go.
The Youngstarz needed to win at least 4 out of the 5 matches to advance to the knocked-out stage. Apart from Youngstarz, all the teams were Champions and points were the deciding factor in this tough group. Youngstarz went into their third game and continued with their winning streak with a 3-1 win against the team from Bukit Panjang CSC. The Youngstarz had scored 8 goals and conceded 1 at this stage. Lionel had scored 4 goals as an attacking midfielder and had assisted in the other 4. The wins has been least expected.
Up next was Kranji Primary, the National champions. It was touch and go between the 2 teams. Kranji has also won most of their matches convincingly and was on top of the group with better goal average at this stage. The Kranji coach was impressed with Youngstarz in their earlier matches and both teams decided to deploy counter attack play - cautious football. There were plenty of flows. Kranji eventually was the better team. Youngstarz had lost their match by 0-1.
Going into their last match against the International Football Academy, Youngstarz needed a draw to go into the next stage. The International Football Academy were far more superior in terms of size and height. The Youngstarz played a disciplined match throughout. The International Football Academy needed a win to qualify.
The Youngstarz were playing well until Captain Lionel was stretched out, due to a bad tackled from the opposition striker. The Youngstarz team couldn't contain the match and lost their final game 0-1, with a last minute goal scored. The boys were dejected. It was so near and yet so far. They had been knocked out of the tournament.
Nevertheless, both Chris and I were happy with the performance of the team. The boys got together on Sunday morning and worked towards their fitness and teamwork training. They had put behind their loss and were eager for the "Friendship Cup" tournament next Saturday week. Some Rain United members came by to render support to the boys during their training. Thank you guys.
I am so proud of the Youngstarz boys!
[ Postponed Friendly - 18th November 2006 ]
Please be informed that the game against Campaign F.C. has been postponed to the following week / 25th November 2006.
Our training schedule will continue as usual.
Sorry for any inconvenience caused.
Kind regards
Sabastian
[ Starting Line -Up ]
The first eleven for the match against Campaign this Saturday / 18th November 2006 are as follows:-
Leonard Tan - Goalkeeper
Lim Jia He - Right Back
Thit Lwin - C. Right
Dr DongRui - Left Back
Randy Zee - C. Left
Tan Keng Yong - Right Flank
Pako - Defensive Midfield
Razzali - Attacking Midfield
Shang Pei - Left Flank
Cao Yuan -Striker
Kenny Lim - Striker
Professor Yu will be the officiating referee for the match
Razzali has been brief about the line-ups, expectations and punctuality
Cao Yuan will assist with last week's follow-ups
Please ensure adequate warm-ups before the match
Shin-pads are COMPULSARY
Thanks
Sabastian
[ S.League NTUC Income National Mini Football Carnival ]
Event : S.League NTUC Income National Mini Football Carnival 2006
When : Saturday / 18th November 2006 / 8 am - 5 pm
Where : Police Academy (Thomson Road)
YOUNGSTARZ has been slotted with a place in this national tournament. The first round of the matches will be played on a league basis with the top 2 teams qualifying for the second knock-out stage. The 8 teams will be drawn to play one match whereupon the winner will proceed to the semi-finals. The winners of the semi-finals will proceed to the FINALS while the losers will play-off for the third an fourth placing.
All players shall be in proper footwear. Shin-pads is COMPULSARY.
All Youngstarz boys must report at the field by 0730 am. Rain United members are encourage to come by to support the Youngstarz team. It will be a good opportunity to learn tournament proper, to understand how football is being conducted at standards and a chance to see some of the Ex-National Football Coaches guiding their teams. Those who wants to come along can contact me.
Let us hope our Youngstarz can do well for themselves. It will also be a good tune-up for their next tournament in the "Friendship Cup" next Saturday and the "Emperor's Cup" to be held in Kuala Lumpur from 15th December to 17th December 2006.
Go for it BOYS !!!
[ Friendly Match - November ]
When : 18th November 2006 / 5 pm
Where : CCK Pitch (Home Ground)
Who : Rain United (Red) vs Campaign F.C. (White)
Score :
Campaign wants "revenge". They have recalled most of their first team players for this re-match. I am confident we can do even better than our last. Let's gear ourselves up and improve our teamwork.
The Player's for the game are as follows:-
Leonard Tan
Thit Lwin
Jia He
Dong Rui
Randy Zee
Pako
Razzali
Tony
Shang Pei
Kenny Lim
Tan Keng Yong
Anand
Professor Yu
Nelson Lo
Randy Chua
Gan Poh Leng
When : 19th November 2006 / 8 am
Where : Limbang Open Field
Who : Youngstarz Under 10
Our youngstarz will be training for the Friendship Cup Tournament to be held 25th November 2006. For those who are interested to come by to kick around and to have extra practice, please feel comfortable to join me. I am sure the Under 10 boys will feel encourage too.
Let's have fun !!!
[ Our Friendly Match Last Evening ]
Before our game, Razzali asked. "Why is it that it's always pouring each time we have a match?". "It must be RAIN United!!". My replied to him. "This is a test. A test to endure and to overcome all difficulties with the rain coming as blessings in disguise". As for the RAIN team, it is uniting and playing together as a whole.
The team got together. Though we were not conditioned to play in the wet pitch, it was by far the best performance we had had so far. Not so much on the scoreline, I had observed that there were more unity in the team into the game and players are beginning to blend together There were encouragement on the field, the players played and worked as a team, good gamesmanship, FULL marks to all !.
The opponents were fraustrated with our tough but no rough approach. Two players, one from the opponent and the other from our team claimed that I "kelong" the game midway through. I had wanted to stop the game. I was fearful of ugly incidents. The opponent's team manager stepped up and apologised on behalf of his young player. He also spoke well of the team's discipline and gamesmanship. I would not officiate a game that reflects on bad characters. To me, that's the most particular issue when choosing the type of team opponents before arranging a match. It's a straight philosophy to me. No proper team organisations, I would not accept any friendlies. I would also discouraged my own players to play football this way. Cultivating good discipline is something that we will have to live on for the rest of our lives - whether in our sports, academic, military, career or family lives. I asked Razzali to choose the colour of the card for his comments - Yellow or Red. He doesn't want any. We had a good laugh. I knew he was doing it for the team.
I started the same team of defenders who deserved to be in the first eleven. I knew it was a gamble but their discipline for the team had told my heart to overrule my head when making the decision. I was impressed with them. They will feature in my first eleven for next week's game. Max was my "Man of The Match". The defenders will get better. Randy Zee, a veteran who has previously assisted with the Tampines S-League team called me in the night and put special mentioned on delightful players like Max, Pako and my "Lau Da", Ah Long. Anand made the same comments after the game too. I told them that this is only their half pace.
I am also thankful that I have a friend in Professor Yu. I see him like my image, but of course he is the brainier sort!!!. He is passionate for the game. He lends his vocal to the team when in play. Despite injuries to both his knees, he came by to support and even assisted in officiating the second half. Professor Yu told me that he will continue to render support for the team. Football has brought friendships together. However, I still gave Professor Yu another "red card" for playing with injuries. However, I can't seem to understand why I am always giving Professor Yu red cards each time I see him. To me, he is like the backbone of the team. It will be good to see more of the players who would think of the team as their own. They will be helpful in assisting to keep the team going. I sincerely find it tough juggling between work business and organising football actively. Are there any volunteers out there? Feel comfortable to speak to me.
There are positive signs about Rain United which has been commented by opponents that we have played. The veterans had also enjoyed playing together and am positive that this team has what it takes to go further. Thus, let us continue to train harder and enjoy the game as a whole. Let's fight healthily for our slots. As mentioned, in Rain United, there are no stars and no one is guarantee in the starting line-up. There are many consideration factors when integrating the players.
Keep up the good work guys!
[ Friendly Matches - November ]
When : 11th November 2006 / 5 pm
Where : CCK Pitch (Home Ground)
Who : Rain United (Red) VS Serangoon Gardens (White)
Final Score : 2 - 2
Some friends from the game against Campaign contacted me to arrange for the friendly. The Serangoon Garden team players will be made up of friends who work and play regularly during their weekends. Though we may see some familiar faces, let us give our opponents respect and do well for ourselves. Please be reminded to play the game with the highest level of gamesmanship. Anyone found not wearing proper gears will not be allowed to play.
The Players' RATING are as follows:-
Nelson Lo (7)
Razzali (7)
Anand (6)
Professor Yu (6)
Dr DongRui (6)
Randy Zee (6)
Pako (7)
Thit Lwin (8)
Tony (6)
Jia He (6)
Randy Chua (6)
Leonard Tan (6)
Kenny Lim (6)
Shang Pei (7)
Tan Keng Yong (6)
Gan Poh Ling (7)
All players are advise to be punctual.
Good luck!
[ Our First Year ]
Rain United ended the first year with mixed sentiments. I would like to put comments for improvements.
We should be thankful to Mr Aw Boon Leong who has been supportive in allowing us to use the pitch. Mr Aw has also given us guidance during some of our training and football matches apart from spending time to maintain the field on Saturdays - all by himself. I have always asked myself. Will there be any willing volunteers if help is needed on this ?
It was good to see some of the ex-guys coming by for football again. Apart from the lack of match and physical fitness as evident from their laid-off, they possessed some of their football touches. I certainly hope they would continue to utilize their football to maintain a healthy lifestyle and understand that football is also a form of stretching and maintaining discipline.
For good sake of football and to exercise self-respect, I would suggest that keen football enthusiasts who come by to our training, to keep me inform on their weekly participations. Anyone who is not prepare to keep up the expectations are adviseable to play their football elsewhere. There will not be a place for those who do not comply. On punctuality, I would expect team members to come by for training or friendlies at least half an hour before training resumes.
I have put behind the ugly memories of the "USB" episodes. After making official a police report and sending out letters to the family, I certainly hope that there will not be any repeat of such incidents.
I was invited to nurse a hairline fracture and though watching all the trainings and friendlies with itch, I have appreciate some friends whom have shown their concerns. Mr Aw may have branded me "crazy", but he is also seen attending to the field with an injury too. We have termed it "passion".
Some have asked me to sit out of the game permanantly, some imitates my limping, some have laughed at me, even a doctor vaguely apologised to me before he "accidentally" pushes me from the back when we met at the supermarket. It makes me feel even more determine and stronger to come back to the game.
The quartet team of the defenders well marshalled by Max, Randy Chua, Jia He and Dr DongRui, with young Justin Junior as goalkeeper have became the "FIRST" group who has managed to keep a clean sheet without letting in any goals during last week's practiced game. It has been a first for us. Congratulations and keep up the good work. You have done the impossible and unbelieveable. It is not all about the opponents' strength, but the displayed discipline that you have put up.
Finally, I hope the team will progress better with better teamwork, understanding and co-ordination to play better football for the new season. I intend to inaugurate the team to jointly participate in the espzen business league 2007. Playing the game with good teamwork, discipline and respect for one another, I hope to take the team to another level.
It is neither winning or losing, nor whether one is good or bad, if we train hard and play together as one, we will always keep learning. Impossible is nothing ! Life never comes easy. You can't put up a team to play tournaments, matches or even friendlies without training. This will not happen in Rain United.
Cheers guys!
