Canning FC - A Fresh Start Of The Year

Canning FC (CFC).

Last Sunday, on the 6th of January 2008, Canning FC played its first match of the year. After playing 25 matches by winning 14, drawing 4 and lost only 7 matches last year, we ended the 2007 season with quite an impressive record. As the new season began, we were determined to win our first match of the year. It was indeed an interesting match, probably one of the many great matches that we will remember throughout the year. Losing 1-2 in the first half and the team which was filled with winning enthusiasms after the half-time break, fought back with a never-give-up attitude which ended the intense match with an amazing win of 7-2.

It was a cloudy evening when both sides arrived at the DR Park field at around 5pm. The field was not in a good condition as heavy rain stormed through the area earlier, leaving the pitch wet, muddy and with patches of water. The opponent was a malay team, called the Orange FC which was printed on the back of the players' shirts. They looked very confident prior the match as the team players warmed up in sync with discipline. They even had training kits to be worn while warming up and changed to their team jerseys when the match began, how wealthy. The team looked like the favourites to win on the eyes of the spectators as some of the CFC players looked young and small in body sizes. As the referee arrived as well as the late players (including me hehe), the match kicked off.

CFC Futsal Team During Kosmo Xfresh.fm Tourney.

First Half
CFC was playing with a 4-5-1 formation. CFC had a star-studded team with Tai Hau aka Peter Schmeichel (my friend who i asked him to join us recently as CFC had no GK) as the goalkeeper, Dr. Basel aka Gael Clichy guarding the left-back, Ah Kwek-Quek aka Tal Ben Haim guarding the right-back and the 2 solid top defenders of CFC, Wai Lune aka Alessandro Nesta and Syed Meerah aka Jamie Carragher as the centre-backs. The left-winger was a newly recruited member with fast paces, who was called Prakash aka Florent Malouda while the right-winger was an imported chinese player who was on trial with the team. Controlling the midfield for CFC were Calvin Kong aka Xabi Alonso, the shorty skipper Ivan Teh aka Gennaro Gattuso and Alexander Lim aka Michael Ballack. The lone striker was Salinder Singh aka David Trezeguet. The opponent seemed to be playing with a 4-4-2 formation.

The first half kicked off with both of the teams struggling hard to pass around on the wet pitch. Several short passes and through balls were interrupted by the patches of water, which put a halt to the moving ball. CFC's attacking strategy was to attack on the wing most, particularly on the left side. On several occasions, Prakash tried to beat the opponent's right-back and most of the time he did but always failed to send the ball to the middle successfully. There were some chances for CFC, created by long balls and through balls but they were mostly denied by outrageous offsides. Nonetheless, CFC opened the scoring first with a fluke goal by Sal. Prakash assisted the goal by passing from the left to Sal who was in the middle of the penalty line. Sal made a very weak and slow shot but the goalkeeper failed to catch the ball and let it passed through his legs, what a sudden and shock goal for CFC! Sadly, CFC failed to hold on to the lead as the opponents put on pressure to CFC by launching fast counter attacks on the wings. Wai Lune worked very hard to keep the opponents at bay by making a lot of pin-point sliding tackles. However, Orange FC equalised from a corner in which CFC defenders left one of the players unmarked, allowing him to head in a free header at point-blank. CFC was struggling hard to play on such a wet pitch but still created a few chances where Sal and Prakash made some shots wide. Calvin Kong wasn't at his peak form as he failed to stop and control many incoming passes, due to the slippery condition. Right before half-time, Orange FC again counter attacked on the left side. This time the crosser sent in a curling ball to the middle which was punched away by Tai Hau. The ball didn't go out or far away from the goal but it landed on the right side of the post where the Orange FC striker made a jumping kick to score the second goal at point-blank again. Wai Lune was quite furious with the goalkeeper for not punching the ball away hard enough but it was difficult for Tai Hau as well since he didn't put on his gloves and the ball was definitely slippery.

Futsal Team During Ipoh Futsal Tourney.

Second Half
CFC had a team-talk during the break which gave a boost to the team morale. Three changes were made, Ah Kwek-Quek came off for Jason Tay aka Michel Salgado, the imported chinese player was substituted with Justin aka Ze Roberto and Sal who was not on form, came off for Chris Conrad aka Thierry Henry. With no desire of losing the first match of the year, CFC players came on the 2nd half with great passion and determination to win. This was when the goals kept coming and things got more interesting. Crowds started to gather to watch the exciting match. Just minutes after the start from the break, Jason Tay received a ball from 22 yards out of the goal. He made a lob into the penalty box but one of the defenders used his hand to block the ball while challenging for the aerial ball. Obviously, the referee pointed to the spot without hesitation. Alexander Lim, who was inspired by the recent penalty goal Ballack scored during the match against Fulham, stepped up to take the penalty with confidence. Without any mistake, he shot past the keeper to the left-bottom of the goal, similar to the goal that Ballack scored. By getting the equaliser, CFC team chemistry went up a level. Chris Conrad, was the super-sub of the match by scoring a hat-trick for CFC. Chris' first goal was a professional header to the goal's right side, resulting from a nice cross by Justin on the right. Alexander Lim made a precise long ball from the near half-way line that found Chris breaking the offside trap and slotted in his second goal. Chris completed his hat-trick after he stole the ball from the opponent on the left side and made a perfect grounder-shot to the right side of the goal. Orange FC was stunned after CFC managed to make the score 5-2 after just 70 minutes. Calvin Kong was totally not on form that day when he wasted 2 chances to score from a 1v1 situations and on another occasion Calvin Kong was attacking on the left side but he failed to send a cross to Alexander Lim, who was left unmarked in the middle. CFC's skipper Ivan Teh substituted him out for Nyin Cheong aka Martin Demichelis. Ivan Teh and Dr. Basel also came off for Alan Goh aka Richard Dunne and another imported chinese player who was also on trial with CFC.

Champ of Kejohanan Futsal Kelab Sukan Komuniti Dun Teja 2006.

Orange FC tried to attack as much as they could but their efforts were always stopped by the 2 CFC's solid center-backs. Wai Lune made a lot of precise sliding tackles whenever he had the chance while Syed was too good in reading the opponent's play, often intercepting the ball when the opponents tried to dribble past him. Syed did not fail to include his name to the score sheet as CFC won a free-kick, around 28 yards on the left side of the penalty box. Freekick specialist, Alexander Lim took the free-kick with a Lampard style, which was by sending in a curling cross into the penalty box for the teammates to head in. True enough, the ball curled in at a right height and angle and Syed headed the ball with power, which saw the ball hit the back of the net. At this point, Orange FC was devastated and the players were too eager to get a goal, causing them to lose focus and concentration on the game. It was on the 90th minute injury time, CFC made a last attack from the right. Justin sent in a strong cross to the middle but the Orange FC's goalkeeper dived out to punch the ball. Luckily for Alexander Lim, the ball rolled slowly to him just at the line of the penalty box and he blasted in to the left-bottom to make the final score 7-2. The referee blew the final whistle right after the shocking and depressing Orange FC restarted the game. Both of the teams' players shook hands with smiles on the faces and congratulated each other for an intense and exciting match. Orange FC walked home in disbelief while CFC celebrated with joy, satisfactions and 3 points for the start of the year.

CFC Early Days When Jerseys Were Not Made Yet.

Well for me personally, it was indeed a memorable match for me. I was really satisfied with my performance that day, giving myself a proud high rating of 9/10 haha =P. Scoring 2 goals and providing 2 assists made me felt so happy that i had done something for the team. What i'm happy most is that i knew Ballack really inspired me a lot. After watching him came back to play for Chelsea, he made me want to play football more. When he scored the penalty against Fulham, i actually told myself if there was a penalty during my friendly match, i would definitely take it even though i don't take penalties for the team. I was shocked that God decided to award a penalty for me that day (thanks!!!) haha. When i took it, i just wanted to take it like how Ballack did, not thinking about whether it would go in or not lolz. The free-kick was another happy moment for me. When i took it, i just thought of how Lampard usually took free-kicks from this situation and angle. His free-kicks are creative and brilliant, sending a curling cross into the penalty box which at the same time, aims for the far post of the goal. This means it will have 2 chances of scoring, either the teammates head in like how Syed did, or if everyone misses the ball, it will go straight into the back of the net. I was really impressed with my free-kick, which was at the right angle and height and Syed was good too to get the header on time. Wow i just can't forget the incidents hehe.

I Have To Say This Again, Ballack Inspires Me! =P

Anyway, i should say all of the team players had really shown great performances that day and a lot of efforts were put in. We made great passes, kept possession most of the time and scored amazing and professional goals. We can prove that our multi-ethnic team which has a mix of chinese, indian, malay and even mamak players is capable of producing wonderful and interesting football. It's sad that we can't train together regularly due to some players who are busy with works and studies, but it's surely great that as an underdog team most of the time, we are able to win teams that train regularly and even teams that play in the current Ipoh's Division League.


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