next game

vs Nomads-TPJC

1600hrs. Be there by 3pm

CCAB

ALL must come down for the game. Attendance by the yr1s has been horrible. I have only seen 3 of you. where are the rest? Don't force me to make this an issue. Perhaps you should talk to the yr2s before you even conceptualise the thought of trying me.

If you say you are gonna make it for the game, you better make it. If you can't, you inform your batch captain/rep. Your captain/rep will inform me. I will be informed early. This league is for fun, exercise, and most importantly to learn. I don't want to take the fun out of the picture.The batch captains/reps are as follows:

03 - Huzer

04 - Jigar

05 - FangHao

06 - YangWei

07 - Zahir

This team we're playing against is the same team that beat us 3-1 in a pre-season friendly last month. They are a good team. Lets show them that their win was fluke, and that Temasek is the stronger team in green. Tampines, you going down.

-huzer

vs NYP (250606)

Phew! That was our toughest game so far. The hardest we had to fight for a win. I think it was actually a bit more competitive than the tornados game where they scored 2 early goals and then we dominated. This was a much closer game than the scoreline suggests. But in the end we prevailed 3-1.

Facing NYP brought back fond memories for Jigar, Veera and Huzer as they played with the bulk of the NYP team for Indian Association back in 2003. Thats like 3 years ago. Wah so long. So anyway, we knew how they were going to play and who their key players were. And most importantly who their weak links were.

Temasek was missing some personnel, but their replacements excelled when given the chance, giving the captain and coach some food for thought when we name our team for the next game. This shuffling of personnel did affect us at first as we got used to each other, and we took awhile to settle into the game. NYP started off strongly, and after 10 minutes or so, forced a short corner. The short corner should not have been called as the ball had bounced off Robin's stick and not his foot. NYP added salt to the wound by duly converting, the ball sneaking in Teng's near post.

We refused to take that lying down, and from then on, the ball was almost totally in our possession. NYP packed their defence, making it hard for us to penetrate. Consistently bad calls by the umpires did not help matters. We probed at their defence from all angles, and our persistence paid off when we won 3 short corners. The first, Nirmal missed to the right, the second to the left, and with the third, he brought us level. And that was how we entered the break.

Again, NYP started the stronger team, but this time we repelled the early pressure. Slowly we gained the upper hand, and eventually won a short corner, from which Nirmal scored again. We then proceeded to miss a stream of golden opportunities due to bad positioning from our forwards. NYP made life tough for the midfield as well by closing down quickly and not giving us any time on the ball.

We have built Temasek as an attacking team, and it was against our instincts to sit on the lead. We constantly threw men forward in search of the goal to put the game beyond doubt. However, these left gaping holes at the back as the attack-happy halves were not fast enough when tracking back. NYP exploited these gaps to great effect with their swift counter-attacks. One of these attacks earned them a top-D hit which they took quickly. With the defence still disorganised, the ball somehow ended at the back of the net and the referee blew for a goal. Nirmal argued the decision vehemently as he felt that there hadn't been a touch inside the D. The referees convened, and after what seemed like an eternity, they changed their decision and indicated a 16-yard hit to Temasek! (cue vehement protests from NYP instead) This time the decision was final, and Temasek restarted the game with renewed impetus. Eventually we forced another short corner after good play by Fang Hao. Nirmal strode forth to convert, in the process claiming his hat-trick and giving Temasek a two-goal cushion.

Somehow, we still did not want to defend our lead, and constantly had 6 men in attack, including Manish the left half! But by this time, NYP had run out of steam. Robin was assigned to mark their captain, and after that they ran out of ideas as well. The last few minutes passed by comfortably, the only incident being Robin's totally unneccesary green card, which put a blemish on our hitherto spotless disciplinary record.

This win was the sweetest by far as we had to fight hard for it, and with a depleted squad at that.

Special mentions:

Nirmal - His hat-trick was just reward for his all round play and his constant presence in all parts of the pitch. Was immense for us today. He thoroughly deserves the Nirmal Singh wins his own Man of the Match Award (NSwhoMotMA)
Ahmad - just gets better every game. Why last time don't want to train hard? Luckily NS woke you up. NS = National Service, not Nirmal Singh
Mervyn - for coming down despite JCTs. and maintaining his high standard of play
Shaik - for bluffing Huzer and raising his hopes only to cruelly deflate them
PQ - for coming despite having to book in later that night
Robin - have fun in Brunei
Huzer - happy last week of work
Veera - happy first week of work
All you schooling people - happy studying
Germany - happy winning the world cup
smoke pot - very happy

Top scorers list:

Nirmal - 4

Zarir - 3

Huzer - 2

Azri - 1

note: all are Raffles boys. Come on. Break the monopoly. PQ, Fang Hao and Robin all should have scored. And Yang Wei and Mervyn definitely owe us a few goals. And Jason. Cos he talk so much.

Remarks:

Congratulations to Teng for completing his first game for us, also his first in a couple of years. We would also like to welcome our final import, Edwin, to the team. Edwin is a former national centre-forward who would add some guile and experience to the attack. Our forwards can only learn from him. We now have a strong and experienced core to anchor the team, and a good mix of experience and youth.

-Huzer

next game

Details for the next game are as follows:

vs NYP

1730 hrs. Be there by 1645

CCAB

Note:
Yr1s and 2s are not expected to make it. However, if you can, please do. You can bring your notes to study while sitting on the bench.

We also require a manager. Anyone knows anyone who wants to be manager? Preferably female. Must speak English. Conversant in Malay is a bonus. Interested applicants please call Huzer.

this week's posterboys

announcementz

Guyz and galz, the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is currently shown on ESPN Channel 23 throughout this week. The abovementioned is a tournament involving some of the best national teams from around the world like Argentina, S. Korea, NZ and Malaysia. Please try and catch it. And if your parents don't allow, then watch it when they're not home or quietly in the middle of the night. For the tv schedule, please check the Starhub website.

-Huzer

vs SCC (180606)

And we just keep getting better.

We're on a roll guys. Now to make sure we keep it up. We must keep winning, even without the action bedek yr2s next week. We had a fantastic game, improving on our previous one. We started off brightly and didn't allow SCC to settle down. This time, the early pressure paid off with a beautiful flowing goal. Jigar challenged for the ball in midfield and the ball broke to Huzer who quickly released Mervyn down the right. The rampaging Mervyn and Yangwei combined well, giving Mervyn ample time to choose his pass. He left the defence flat-footed when he squared to Huzer at top-D instead of hitting in towards goal. The unmarked Huzer, running up from midfield (about the only time he ran), gleefully accepted the pass and somehow managed to steer the ball past the keeper (a bit fluke, but skill nonetheless).

Despite the early lead, we did well by keeping up the pressure and got our due reward by winning a penalty flick. Nirmal politely demurred and offered the flick to others. Huzer started to walk to the D to take the flick, but was quickly brushed aside by Azri who was sprinting up from defence (the fastest he ran all day). Azri felt his moment of glory had arrived. He did not disappoint; his trademark sick flick beating the former national keeper.

Halftime arrived as a slight disappointment as it disrupted our rhythm and gave SCC time to regroup. We started the second half with a slight reshuffle, Nirmal taking his standard 2nd half position of centre forward. Our defence coped with his loss better than in the previous game, and this can only give us confidence for those matches where he will be on flight. We were unable to maintain our high tempo game in the second half due to the fast tiring midfield and a tactical change by SCC who waited to attack us on the break. We did manage to maintain the upper hand though, and forced a serious of short corners. What was initially a mistake by the short corner team turned into a beautiful team goal when the push from Huzer reached Jigar who fed Nirmal who in turn found Zarir who faked the keeper and squared to Huzer to tap into an empty goal.

SCC started to up their game after this, and Manish was finally called into action, making save after save and moving off his line quickly to snuff out any danger. Just as SCC seemed to be gaining momentum, Huzer won the ball in the opponents' half and went on an inspired run. He beat a few players but his resultant shot was tame. However, the placement of the shot meant the keeper could only parry the ball straight to Zarir, who finished with panache from 15 yards out, hitting the ball high over the prone keeper. SCC went for broke and only some determined defending and good goalkeeping prevented them from snatching a consolation goal.

(customary) Special mentions:

Manish - for playing his best ever game as keeper. His dominant performance in the second half proved enough to grab the Nirmal Singh Man of the Match Award (NSMotMA) from Huzer, who must surely be wondering what else he must do on top of his 2 goals and an assist to win this award. Temasek captain Huzer gamely commented that he was proud of Manish for winning the award, and that the performance of the team came before any individual honours
Huzer & Zarir - for good teamwork and understanding, and for the mutual assists. Also for Zarir being extra fit to cover up for Huzer's lack of match fitness
Terrence, Cheng Liang & Harven - for playing extremely well once they came on, especially considering their lack of match experience. Provided the legs for our fast tiring midfield
Raf - for continuing the girls' winning streak and for remembering to take photos (hint hint meihui)
Veera - for coming down to support us despite the jetlag
Yazid - for making a surprise appearance to help watch our bags

We would like to welcome Teng to the Temasek Hockey family. Teng is a veteran keeper who brings a wealth of experience to the team, and this could only be good for us. A shame that Manish, who was finding his feet as a keeper, has to become an outfield player. Again.

-Huzer

Temmmaasseekkkkk!!!

U all do remember how that famous Riise goal that he piledrived into the back of Barthez's net with the commentator screaming" Rrriiiiiii----Ssssseeeeeeeeeeeee!!..oh my goodness".. well now is the time to shout temasek whenever we score a goal!!! coz we have managed 7 goals in the last 2 games... which is basically our best games for goals ratio like ever!! and to top it all off... we played good, fluid and simple hockey....

i guess in a way.. our league game began agst ova.. the earlier friendly vs tornadoes was just a friendly.. haha.. come on even Man U loses games in the first league game of the season to chelsea..

U know what.. Man of the match.. i was tryin very hard not to say it but could not help it.. coz i think this was one of my best games as a keeper.. i captained the goal and ruled the defence.. played the ball when i had to.. saved the ball when i absolutely had to.. and ultimately put it in a performance that earned me the Nirmal Singh Man of The Match award..."applause"...

some how.. i feel we are goin places.. its like we are slowly but surely pressin on the accelerator pedal and movin forward with every game.. the next major obstacle is not the.. distance from home to ccab.. but the distance from the centre line to the goal line of the opponents goal.. coz well my goal line is sealed and secured.. no one dare enter..

well.. Temasek guys and everyone who had to do with temasek hockey set-up.. these four goals is for all four of our coaches that helped us from the beginnin along the way..kadir, dj, singham, coach z.. And the clean sheet is for coach Nirmal Singh..He marshalled the defence without a single flaw.. aided by the well capable keeper ... anyway.. Keep it going guys..

p.s. tip for aspiring hockey keepers.. play soccer first and then join hockey.. it helps..

-Manish da Man

notificationz

Next game:

vs SCC

1500 hrs. Be there by 1415.

CCAB (where else)

Note for keepers:
Better be there or you will play the nxt game without ball guard.

Note for girls:
Anyone wanna be our good luck charm aka manager for the game? We want you cos when having a girl as our manager we have had a 100% winning record. Do your part. Sign up here (as in under comments).

Notes for everyone else:
Please collect from ZAP.

A long time coming

It truly is the start of a start. It's been a long time coming and finally we have done it. Hopefully, this will give us the confidence to improve our gameplay and aspire to achieve victory in the upcoming games as well. With added firepower,we have finally won. Haha. Finally after 4 years, i could really shake the opponents hands after the game and say it truly was a good game. Most of the time, i would be cursing and swearing on the inside. Haha.. Jokes aside, it was a much improved display against ova although some might say the opponent was rusty and that played a part in the final outcome as well. Nonetheless, as they say, 3 points is 3 points. Finally we r no longer the bottom team in the league table. Although the shf website seems to hate us as they still have not updated the table..haha. Next up we have scc this sunday in the sweltering heat at 3pm. Hope this is not a factor in deciding the type of game we play.
Personally i hope to improve on my play as it seems like being in ns seems to worsen your physical fitness. Have to run more..haha n help my defence..haha. Personal moments here.. it seemed like the last game i was playin a forward cos i was so high up the field.. Our defence was impregnable while coach was present but once he switched positons, it seemed like we became shaky again. Our forwards really need to take the ball into the d n shoot much earlier. It seems like we always delay n try to find the perfect position b4 we pull the trigger. We have to exploit any openings. There has been many such instances where we play so well but lose the ball too cheaply in the final third of the pitch cos we rush our play. There is no hold up play or respite. It seems like we want to break forward and surge thru at every opportunity. We need to pass the ball around n make our off the ball movement more obvious cos we still look too rigid in our play. Cant wait for this weekend's game... we must achieve 4th place..haha. Azri's n my dream...hopefully there wont be keeper drama like the last game.. read my lips manish..haha

Jigar

vs OVA (110606)

The boys in green have finally done it! We won our first ever game as a club. And truth be told, the 3-0 scoreline was an injustice to us as it could have easily been double that. But lets not detract from our performance.

This was our first morning game, and coming in the first weekend of the world cup, there was a genuine fear that some people would not be able to make it / wake up in time. Unfortunately, that was proven true, and we found ourselves without a 'keeper an hour before the match started. After some frantic and intense negotiation, we managed to secure the release of Muhammad Zafir on loan from his mother for the duration of the game. This boost to our morale was further supplemented by the fact that the OVA keeper was late for the game, and they had to play the first 2 minutes with a kicking back.

We started at a high tempo, and conjured our first opportunity on goal within the first 2 minutes, with PQ missing the ball by a whisker. A very thick whisker. That set the tone for the rest of the half, with Temasek in almost total dominance but not a single goal to show for it. We had some intricate play on the right flank and a few nice switches to the left. Yet incursions into the opposition D were few and far between.

Entering the half-time break, there was a genuine concern that Temasek would come up short once again. A rollicking by the effervescent Coach Nirmal ensured we would push on in the second half. We knew the attack had to start converting its chances. Jigar and Huzer also had to buck up after an unusually subdued performance from the midfield duo.

We started the second half picking up right where we left. Pouring forward every single time we had possession, the opposition was swamped by an irrepresible tide of green. Haha.. swamp and green. The irony. So back to topic, a short corner was won early in the half, and Nirmal imperiously strode forth to convert it with ease. More good play followed, with Zarir having a good shot from top-D stick-saved by the keeper when it looked like nothing but a goal. Zarir did get his just reward in due course, tapping in after some determined play by Robin and Yang Wei, and scoring a short corner via a deflection of a defender. Perhaps feeling certain of victory, Temasek took its foot off the pedal, and almost paid the with OVA finishing the stronger team, winning a few short corners and forcing a save (finally) from Zafir.

Temasek looked good in possession, moving forward at every opportunity and defending in numbers too. However, we still looked a bit rushed when attacking. We must learn to be a little more patient and to move the ball around a little bit more, before moving in for the kill. Still, it was a well-deserved win a long time in coming, and we should savour this moment and build on it.

Special mentions:

Zafir's Mum - for letting him come to make 1 save
Zafir - for making the effort to come down and help us out. And saving me from playing keeper
Nirmal - for injecting confidence into the defence, allowing the midfield to pour forward to and help the attack
Zarir - Yet again the focal point of our play, albeit this time from a more advanced position. Thus he did not influence play as much as against the Tornados, but gave us a finishing touch instead. He wins the Nirmal Singh Man of the Match Award (NSMotMA)
Mervyn - a solid performance at left half, providing us with unexpected attacking impetus from what should be our weaker side
Terence - for being the only Yr1 to make it so far, and for putting in a committed display when called upon. Did not lack the confidence to take a player on. Perhaps a "Theo Walcott" for us?

And guys / girls. C'mon, don't be shy. Leave a comment or two, especially if you can't make it. A tagboard will be appearing on these premises soon.

-Huzer

visuals

Check it out now

funk soul brother

The start of a start

After readin huzer's post, i was laughin my socks off and wanted to get into the act as well. hopefully this is not just initial enthusiasm. Personally for me, this love affair with temasek hockey is strange considerin my batch no longer study in the school but have still managed to keep in contact. unlike veera's n huzer's batch..haha. no more rayner, john, commando wee liong, wooden stick malaysian pro chin ling. wadever his name la..haha. memories are still strong. from singam to mr bala to coach nirmal, kadir n dalgit to that weird man who came down and told us stories of how he played hockey previously n wanted to coach us when he was free. haha. remember neil gettin scolded n being branded as a attitude player..haha. Hope neil n yazid join us next season..haha. hopefully they read this.. it seems like as though every batch that joins temasek hockey has their own story.. haha.
Anyway, our game against tornadoes was ironic in the sense that some of us actually trained with them n were invited to join them.. the game was frustratin in the sense that we played so much better yet conceded 2 stupid goals.. if only the triple shot we had against them had gone in, then perhaps we could have nicked it. Haha..hopefully we score soon n listen to this whoever that is readin this...let's do the peter crouch dance if we score..haha. that will be cool. The upcoming game against ova should be another cracker.. mornin game so maybe different luck.. derrick injured his arm..god knows how..so he'll be out for a week n will miss this game.. so we need another winger.. maybe we can take inspiration from the world cup..

Jigar

vs Tornados (040606)

I hate losing, and the last game was no different. I felt a loss was harsh on us, but we can't expect to win if we don't create chances. But there were many positives that could be drawn from the game. Mainly our performance in the second half. It was very cohesive and fluid, but unfortunately we lacked the penetration upfront. This is something we'll have to work on in our later games.

Special mentions (so special everyone is mentioned):

Ahmad - congrats on completing your first full game.. shag right?
Zarir - for taking control of the game and looking cool while playing the game.. He wins the Nirmal Singh Man of the Match Award (NSMotMA)
Mervyn & Jigar - who had solid games in midfield, combining well with the wings, and together with Zarir won the Nirmal Singh Midfield of the Match Award (NSMotMA)
Manish - redeeming himself by saving the deflection/lob from top-D
Sex - for making some good short-corner run-outs. Actually I wanted to call him Yi Heng, but putting Sex will increase our hits by people looking for porn on google (i.e. Derrick, Yangwei and Jason).
Azri - for a wonderful Oscar-worthy dive (again)
The whole team - for shouting in unison when the Tornados' long corner was rising
Rafidah - for being the team photographer.. though please note that no "team photograph" was taken
Huzer - for actually coming on time, winning the coin toss (at least we won something) and playing through terrible searing pain for the sake of the team.. his sacrifice was inspiring not to say the least.
Veera - for not being able to play the game but able to play after the game, and for going to Germany during the World Cup but not watching football.
Yr1s - for being so tired after the bbq at Huzer's house they couldn't make it
Zafir - for studying

All of those who can't make it for the next game, please leave a comment in the previous post. Cos we need to know if we'll have at least 11 players. Cos we want to win. Yup.

-Huzer

Home of Announcements

G'day all. This is where we'd be posting the fixtures, match reports, pictures etc of the Temasek Hockey Alumni team.

As you should know by now, we're playing in SHF Div 3 Men's tournament.

Our first game was on 040606 against Tornados. We lost 2-0 through shotcorners. Though we had no substitues (only 11 were present) the guys pesevered and came close to scoring thrice, only to lose out in finishing.

Both goals were scored in the 1st half. We came back strongly in the 2nd half and put Tornados under relentless pressure. Unfortunately, we did not take our chances and paid for it. For a team that had played together for the first time, we did exeptionally well. Temasek Hockey can only improve from the past.

NEXT FIXTURE:

Sunday 11 June 06

Temasek vs OVA

0930hrs @ CCAB (meet 1 hour in earlier)

-Please refer to this blog for all information regarding the fixtures and what not... Kindly contact Huzer (91860868) or post a comment in this blog as to inform us of your attendance for the next fixture atleast 48hrs in advance. Thanks.

-Veera the Valiant