Senior Bullets endure two postponements to finally beat Sembawang Sec

22 Feb 2013


Pre-match briefing



Mother nature spared the B Boys from Bowen and Sembawang Sec another match postponement this afternoon as the Bullets’ last match of the first round was finally completed without interruption. The Bullets put on a commanding display without several key players to beat Sembawang Sec 3-0 and secure a place in the next round of the competition.

The Bullets were not their usual self in the first half an hour, rushing their passes and conceding possession too easily for Coach Lim’s liking. Fortunately for Bowen, Sembawang lacked the quality to penetrate when it mattered. Although the Sembawang boys  were closing down the spaces like mad men, a momentary lapse of concentration in the 33^rd min from the central defenders allowed the ball to linger dangerously outside their own penalty box and Bullets striker Muhd Asyraf needed no second invitation to hijack the ball from their feet and plant the ball past the keeper for the Bullets’ first goal.

Left winger Muhd Rafid was brought on soon after to penetrate from the wings and he put on a masterful display with the cross that resulted in the Bullets’ 2^nd goal. His pass in the 38^th min across the goalmouth reached right winger Muhd Akhsan who directed the ball out for Asyraf to score from just outside the penalty box.

The Sembawang boys lost a bit of hunger in the 2^nd half and the Bullets gradually took control of the proceedings. A nasty collision between Bullets defender Royce Chua and goalkeeper Danial stopped play but it could not stop the Bullets’ 3^rd goal. With 5 minutes left to play, striker Karthik played off the shoulder of his marker and latched on to an Akmal’s through pass, before adjusting the ball to his right to fire past the Sembawang goalkeeper.

With the win, the Bullets will now participate in the draw for the quarter finals which will see 2 groups of 4 teams each vying for the top 4 positions in the north zone. Without doubt, those fixtures will throw up tougher opponents and more difficult challenges for the Bullets.

Bowen	3-0	Sembawang
Asyraf 33’, 38’ Karthik 75’
	Substitutions
	Rafid for Yasar 35’ Aizan for Akhsan 60’ Kenneth for Arsyad 70’ Hazim for Karthik 75’

Junior Bullets crash out of zone competition

14^th Feb 2013

 

The junior Bullets suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of Woodgrove Secondary this wet afternoon at the Anderson Sec grounds. The 3-2 loss means that they are virtually out of the competition.

 

Needing just a point to qualify for the quarter-finals, the Bullets got a deserved lead in the 6^th min when a drop kick from the Bullets keeper was half-cleared by the Woodgrove defence, leaving Brendan Tan with an easy task of side-footing the ball into an open goal. It was an appropriate tonic for the rest of the game and the Bowen boys continued to dominate most of the possession against a nervous Woodgrove side.

 

However, the game was temporarily stopped due to a lightning warning alert which held up the game for half an hour. Straight off from the re-start at 17^th min, a Woodgrove throw-in dropped invitingly for a Woodgrove midfielder to launch a harmless high ball towards the Bullets’ goal. It would have been a routine catch for the Bowen goalkeeper, Muhd Fazrin, but to the horror of his team mates, he somehow helped it into his own goal.

 

At 1-1, the Woodgrove’s belief in getting a win received a big boost. 8 minutes into the 2^nd half, they earned a free-kick unnecessarily conceded in the Bullets’ half. Woodgove no. 9 man then launched the ball over the Bullets wall and over Fazrin into goal. 4 minutes later, Woodgrove struck the killer blow with a goal tapped in after a goalmouth melee.

 

The Bullets threw caution to the wind and deployed 3 strikers. Then skipper Aloysius Lee gave the Bullets renewed hope in the 52^nd min when he blasted an unstoppable shot into goal from 25m out. The Bullets went on the offensive, creating several chances which were thwarted by the excellent Woodgrove custodian. One shot hit the crossbar and another was pushed away by the goalkeeper.

 

With the loss, the Bullets’ only hope of progressing is for Anderson Sec to do the impossible job of overcoming Serangoon Sec in the last match of the group. It was indeed a disappointing end to the Bullets’ promising season.

 

Bowen 2 -3 Woodgrove

 

Substitution

Muhd Irfan for Markus Lam 31’

 

Yellow Card

Josiah Phua  40’

A mature 2nd half display sees the Senior Bullets crush Siling Sec

4^th Feb 2013

The Senior Bullets earned a well-deserved 4-nil win over Siling Sec this afternoon at Marsiling Sec field. But they were made to work extra hard as Siling Sec fielded an unorthodox 5-man defence to thwart the Bullets attack from the wings.

In the first half, the Bullets were not their usual selves, conceding unnecessary corners and free-kicks which allowed Siling to create chances from dead ball situations. Siling nearly scored in the 24^th min when Siling’s main striker rose unmarked to nod the ball over the crossbar. In open play, the Bullets also looked nervous and were not able to retain meaningful possession for long.

The 2^nd half saw Bullets dangerman Muhd Afiq restored to the line-up, taking the place of Rafid Khan. The change had an immediate effect as 7 mins after the restart, Afiq’s floating free kick across goal was nodded into an empty net by Muhd Asyraf.

The goal calmed down the Bullets and they began to bring the ball down and play on the ground. Afiq proved to be the talisman again as he slalomed his way past his marker and unleashed a looping ball over the stranded Siling goalkeeper for the Bullets’ 2^nd goal.  Encouraged by the goal, Afiq demonstrated a piece of great individual skill in the 60^th min when he danced his way past 4 defenders in the penalty box but his finishing was too tame to trouble the goalkeeper.

Chief striker Karthik then got his name on the scoresheet,  glancing a header against the crossbar and over the goal line in the 70^th min. It was his last contribution in the game as the Bullets made two changes to rest players for the last game on Wednesday. Asyraf put the final nail in Siling’s coffin with a shot that bounced in front of the goalkeeper and into goal. This was after a superb tackle by Muhd Azfar who won the ball in the middle of the park and relayed it to Asyraf.

The 4-0 win puts the Bullets in a good position to qualify for the 2^nd round of the competition. All they need to do is to register a win on Wednesday against Sembawang Sec.

Siling	0-4	Bowen
		Asyraf 47’ Afiq 68’ Karthik 70’ Asyraf 80’
	Substitutions
Muhd Afiq for Rafid Khan 40’ Muhd Yasar for Karthik 74’ Muhd Aizan for Muhd Afiq 74’ Muhd Hazim for Muhd Arsyad 77’

Junior Bullets held to 1-1 draw by resilient Serangoon Sec

31 Jan 2013

The C boys Bullets almost pulled off a famous victory over their nemesis, Serangoon Sec this afternoon but had to settle for a draw after coming back from a goal down.

Both sides met at the same stage of the tournament the previous year and were understandably cautious during the first 15mins of the match. The Bullets, however, created the better chances, with captain Muhd Danial pulling the strings from midfield. Serangoon Sec were quick to realise this and gave Danial the rough treatment on a few occasions, causing him to get cautioned by the referee for retaliation in the 24^th min. 5 mins before the end of the first half, a corner from the right by Aloysius Lee was volleyed down by Danial towards an open goal, but the ball bounced off the ground and over the crossbar.

Serangoon Sec  took a shorter time to settle in the 2^nd half and with a rare foray into the right side of the field, they opened accounts. The Bullets defence, which was doing so well before the break, were caught napping as a cross was allowed into the penalty box. An unmarked Serangoon striker needed no second invitation to send a pot shot beyond the flailing arms of goalkeeper Muhd Fazrin.

It was a shock to the system for the Bullets but the Bowen boys quickly regained their composure to dominate play. Serangoon’s ploy to stifle skipper Muhd Danial with a man-marker almost worked but Danial’s industry and inventiveness was too hard to handle. In the 38^th min, he danced his way past  his marker and was brought down by a covering defender 25m out. Danial took the free kick and sent a swirling shot over the Serangoon goalkeeper. The ball dropped into goal off the goalkeeper after hitting the underside of the crossbar. It was game on and the momentum was on the Bullets’ side.

The Bullets dominated the rest of the match but failed to score another goal to snatch victory. The Seranggon boys, though, could heave a sigh of relief after surviving a late charge by the Bullets.

Serangoon	1-1	Bowen
		Muhd Danial 38’
Yellow Card
Muhd Danial 24’