B Div Bullets off to a flying start in the 2nd round

29th Feb 2016

In a parched and uneven surface at the Woodgrove Secondary School pitch this afternoon, the Bowen B Div boys pulled off a morale-boosting 4-1 win over their host in the 2nd round of the NZ Football Competition.

Bullets Zamani asking for the ball from Josiah Phua (left)

The victory did not come easily as the Bowen Bullets had to fight tooth and nail for most of the match before Woodgrove gave up the fight. Both teams employed a cautious approach for the first 10 minutes as they tested the waters. Bowen took some time to get used to the bumpy turf while Woodgrove were overly tentative in their attacks.

Bullets midfielder Brandon Tan closely watched by his opponents

Fortunately for the Bullets, Woodgrove also had issues to resolve in defence. 21 minutes into the first half, Bullets striker Aizal gathered the ball in the Woodgrove half and slipped in a through ball to midfielder Muhd Hisam who was cutting in from the right. With just the goalkeeper to beat, Hisam did brilliantly to slot the ball into the goalmouth to draw first blood.

Bullets congratulating Zamani (No.8) for scoring the 4th goal

5 minutes later, the Woodgrove defence was caught square again when it let a long goal kick from centre-back Harith Aniq to sail over them. Aizal was alert to get to the end of the kick and lobbed the ball delicately over the Woodgrove keeper for Bowen's 2nd goal.

Bullets H.Aniq (No. 3) heading the ball away from a corner kick

In the 2nd half, Woodgrove reshuffled their attacking personnel and it proved successful in reducing their 2-goal deficit in the 47th minute. A swift Woodgrove cross from the left was delightfully headed past Bowen keeper Desmond Ong into goal as Bowen was left stunned.

Bullets right-back Ithar Nur Iqmal bringing the ball up the field

Unable to recover quickly, the Bullets allowed Woodgrove another good chance in the 54th minute. Bullets midfielder R Sharveen lost possession of the ball in the centre of the park and it was put through to Woodgrove main striker who failed to compose himself when face to face with keeper Desmond, desperately toe-poking his attempt wide when it looked easier to score.

Bullets Sharveen (blue) bustling in midfield

The miss seemed to be the turning point of the game as Bowen recovered to take control in midfield. They scored the crucial third goal in the 67th minute when Hisam's good run from the right to the bye-line created chaos in the Woodgrove defence. As Woodgrove hesitated to clear their lines, Aizal sneaked in to win the ball and netted his 2nd goal of the match.

Bullets skipper Benny Tan executing a dangerous high kick

If the third goal knocked the stuffing out of Woodgrove, the fourth goal in the 71st minute completely deflated them. This time, it was substitute Ithar Nur Irfan who worked his way into the Woodgrove penalty box from the left. After getting past two defenders, Nur Irfan's cut-back was intercepted by a defender. However, the resulting clearance was weak and fell to the feet of Bullets Muhd Zamani who created space for himself before unleashing an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box for a 4-1 scoreline.

In the other 2nd round Group B match, Woodlands Secondary School defeated Marsiling Secondary 4-0.

Bullets starting line-up

Bowen Starting Line-Up	Jersey No.
ONG JIAN HAO DESMOND    off 57’	1
MOHD SHAKIR B SIRAJUDEN	2
HARITH ANIQ B AZMAN	3
BENNY TAN TENG SOON	4
ITHAR NUR IQMAL B ABDUL WAHAB   off 53’	13
AIZAL MURHAMDANI B AHMAD   goal 26’, 67’	9
R SHARVEEN RAM	11
JOSIAH PHUA YONG QI	6
MUHD ZAMANI B MD ZAMRI   goal 71’	8
BRENDAN TAN LEON KEAT   off 69’	15
MUHAMMAD HISAM B ROZIMAN     goal 21’   off 78’	12
Substitutes	Jersey No.
KEITH  WONG JIA FENG  in 57’	20
MUHD TAHALIF B ABDULLAL J   in 78’	5
TANG GUAN YU	19
ONG JUN YONG TERENCE	16
ITHAR NUR IRFAN B ABDUL WAHAB  in 69’	17
MARCUS WONG JIAN YUAN   in 53’	14
MUHAMMAD IRFAN B MAZLAN	10

Bowen C Boys complete preliminary round with convincing win over Naval Base

23rd Feb 2016

NZ Inter-Sch C Div Boys Group C : Standings
	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
Bowen Sec	5	5	0	0	16	2	14	15
Yishun Sec	4	2	1	1	6	9	-3	7
Orchid Park Sec	4	1	2	1	7	11	-4	5
Fuchun Sec	4	1	1	2	3	4	-1	4
Pei Hwa Sec	4	0	2	2	2	2	-2	2
Naval Base Sec	5	0	2	3	6	10	-4	2

The junior Bullets top Group B of the NZ C Boys Football Competition with a perfect record of 5 wins and no losses after they cruised to a 3-1 triumph over Naval Base Secondary School this afternoon at the Serangoon Secondary School field.

Bullets Muhd Asyraaf combining with Brandon Chua

It was a match between the top and bottom teams in the group but after 4 minutes, it was hard to tell which was the top or bottom team, especially if the score of Naval Base 1 and Bowen 0 were any indication.

Bullets striker Muhd Yusri assisting on the left for Bowen's equaliser

The Bowen Bullets who were favoured to overcome their less fancied opponents were too generous in letting Naval Base main striker too much room to run onto an overhead punt. The attacker gleefully lobbed the ball over Bowen goalkeeper Muhd Taufiq after outrunning the Bowen defence.

Bullets defensive midfielder Matin inviting a challenge for the ball

It was the first time that the Bullets were behind in any 1st round match but they stayed calm and pressed for the equaliser. They did not have to wait long when Bowen won a free kick on the left in the 7th minute. Striker Muhd Yusri took the kick and launched the ball onto the head of defender Shah Sharizan who glanced the ball beyond the reach of the Naval Base keeper.

Bullets central defender scoring Bowen's 2nd goal with a header

In the 2nd half, the Bullets maintained the momentum from scoring the equaliser, dominating possession and keeping Naval Base in their own half . With the Bowen defence regaining their focus, all that was left was for the attackers to do their stuff. In the 43rd minute, Shah scored a similar goal to the earlier equaliser when he arrived late in the penalty box to turn a corner kick by Bullets midfielder Muhd Zulhilmi into an empty net.

Bullets midfielder Muhd Fareez trying to find team mate Muhd Zulhilmi on the right

Matin netted the third and final goal in the last minute of the match when he received the ball from the left and turned inside to unleash a rising curler into the goalmouth.

Bowen Bullets starting line-up

Bowen Starting Line-Up	Jersey No.
MUHAMMAD TAUFIQ JUMAAT	2
RAEIS B MOHAMAD NOOR AZRIN	3
SHAH SHARIZAN B JUMASLAN   goal 7’, 43’	4
ELHAN AKMAL B SAHRIL	5
MUHAMMAD AQIL RUSYAIDI B RIZAN  off 22’	15
MATIN UZAIR B MOHAMAD NAZRIN   goal 59’	6
MUHAMMAD FAREEZ B JAMALUDDIN	7
MUHAMMAD ZULHILMI B RAMLEE	8
BRANDON CHUA MING SEN  off 57’	9
MUHAMMAD YUSRI B SELAMAT   off 49’	10
MOHAMMAD ASYRAAF B MOHD FAROZ	12
Substitutes
EMMANUEL DOO	1
VALLAMSETTI NITIN SAI   in 49’	11
MUHAMAD HAMIZAN B KARYAT	13
NAVIN KUMARAN S/O GUNASEKARAN  in 57’	14
FARIHIN AIMAN B ZAINON RAHMAN	16
MUHAMMAD ARIFFIN B SAHDAN     in 57’	17
NOORSHAM SHAH B AZLAM SHAH  in 22’,  off 57’	18
LOO KOEI	19
KARTHIKEYA S/O PAKRY SAMY	20

Junior Bullets deflower Orchid Park 6-1 to secure place in last 8

18th Feb 2016

Bowen Bullets huddling before the match

The junior Bullets earned their place in the quarter-finals of the NZ C Div Boys Football Competition this afternoon at their home ground with an emphatic 6-1 victory over Orchid Park Secondary School.

Bowen midfielder Matin orchestrating the play

The Bowen boys surprised Orchid Park with intense surges up the field right from the whistle and forced them into submission in the very 1st minute when Muhd Zulhilmi crossed from the left for a simple tap-in by skipper Muhd Yusri.

Bowen centre-back Raeis turning away in joy to celebrate his stunning goal

3 minutes later, an intended long clearance by centre-back Raeis from the centre circle sailed over the Orchid Park goalkeeper and into the goalmouth for Bowen's second goal.

With 2 goals down within the 5th minute mark, Orchid Park were left stunned on the pitch and Bowen continued the onslaught with an excellent effort in the 14th min from Yusri who registered his second goal with a swerving shot from just inside the penalty box.

Bullets Muhd Fareez attacking down the right flank

The Bullets did not lift their foot off the pedal as they scored again from a corner a minute later. Midfielder Fareez provided the corner kick that Bowen striker Brandon Chua volleyed home outside the near post.

Shah delivering the ball for Bowen's 5th goal

Brandon got his name on the score sheet again 5 minutes from the interval, this time scrambling in the penalty box to head the ball through the Orchid Park goalkeeper's grasp off a free kick by the ever-reliable Shah Sharizan.

Two-goal striker Brandon (in bib) terrorising the Orchid Park defence

The intensity went down a notch in the 2nd half as Bowen began to cruise through the match while Orchid Park woke up from their daze to defend more stoutly. They only conceded one goal in the 2nd half when Yusri helped himself to a hat trick in the 43rd minute. His right-footed free kick outside the penalty box was charged down by the Orchid Park wall, giving him a second attempt with his left foot. This time, the shot drifted past the keeper and nestled nicely in the bottom right netting of the goalmouth.

Skipper Muhd Yusri about to register a hat trick with this free kick

Orchid Park scored a dubious consolation goal four minutes later off a direct free kick from the left. A lone Orchid Park player stood just in front of substitute goalkeeper Muhd Taufiq as the free kick was taken but referee deemed the player not interfering with play when the free kick sailed over Taufiq into goal.

Orchid Park about the score from a free kick

Bowen Starting Line-Up	Jersey No.
EMMANUEL DOO   off 45’	1
RAEIS B MOHAMAD NOOR AZRIN	3
SHAH SHARIZAN B JUMASLAN	4
ELHAN AKMAL B SAHRIL   off 57’	5
MATIN UZAIR B MOHAMAD NAZRIN	6
MUHAMMAD FAREEZ B JAMALUDDIN	7
MUHAMMAD ZULHILMI B RAMLEE   off 50’	8
BRANDON CHUA MING SEN goal 15’, 25’	9
MUHAMMAD YUSRI B SELAMAT  goal 1’, 14’, 43’	10
MOHAMMAD ASYRAAF B MOHD FAROZ   off 55’	12
MUHAMAD HAMIZAN B KARYAT   off 30’	13
Substitutes
VALLAMSETTI NITIN SAI	11
MUHAMMAD TAUFIQ JUMAAT  in 45’	2
MUHAMMAD AQIL RUSYAIDI B RIZAN in 55’	15
NAVIN KUMARAN S/O GUNASEKARAN	14
FARIHIN AIMAN B ZAINON RAHMAN  in 30’	16
MUHAMMAD ARIFFIN B SAHDAN    in 50’	17
NOORSHAM SHAH B AZLAM SHAH	18
LOO KOEI	19
KARTHIKEYA S/O PAKRY SAMY in 57’	20