Bedok - Myjia FFC revisited Bedok South stadium for a friendly against Bedok South FC on Saturday where the venue evoked unpleasant memories of an earlier fixture where the match was abandon after the referee was spat at by an opposition player.
With the team missing several players, Myjia started cautiously as manager Vincent Low emphasized on keeping possesion of the ball and playing the short passing game.
Captain Vincent Low had a superb game at the back for Myjia marshalling the backline and orchestrating several offside traps as Myjia weathered an incessant Bedok South offensive in the opening 20 minutes.
Stand-in keeper Junxiong kept Myjia in the game on several ocassions in the first half in particular two one-on-one attempts splendidly thwarting the Bedok South forwards.
The Family team, missing several players, failed to impose themselves into the game in the first half and chances were limited to the ocassional set pieces which came to nought. Despite the absence, Myjia academy graduates Wilkin Tan and Ronnie Low played above themselves intercepting and breaking the Bedok South attacked with their tackling.
As the end of the first half loomed, Delvin Ng played a one-two with the improving Eric Low to find himself with a clear sight on goal. With his idol Theirry Henry in mind, Delvin attempted to copy the Frenchman only to mimic the times when he missed the target. Jackson Seetoh then had a superb chance when he was left unmarked in the penalty box but sent his header inches wide when presented with a Kenneth cross.
The score tied at 0-0 at halftime and Myjia were deserving to be level at this point in time.
The old Myjia syndrome came to the fore again when within minutes of the restart, Myjia were trailing after a deflected shot off Wilkin deceived Junxiong and trickled into the net.
Myjia were down 4-0 in the space of 20 minutes by a succession of goalkeeping and defensive blunders, undoing the fine defensive work in the first half. The fingers though should not be pointed at the stand-in keeper nor at a makeshift defence.
Disheartened but not out, Myjia psyched themselves up with their pride in mind. Vincent pushed himself up to the strikers role while Ebenzer played as an emergency centreback. Credits to the tactical switch, Ebenzer grew into the role with authority while Vincent soon supplied an assist for Myjia's first goal.
After missing another shot from a simliar angle, Delvin sped into the penalty box with Vincent intelligently providing a decoy and shieding a defender to create sufficient space for the winger to toe poke a powerful shot into the bottom corner.
The momentum was with Myjia now and after missing a couple of shots, Leong Wai Meng finally did something right in the 75th minute. Controlling a half-cleared corner, the midfielder released the ball wide right to the overlapping Wilkin who atoned for his own goal with a teasing cross which Kenneth soared highest to flick in to the net. 4-2 to Myjia and the pressure mounted on Bedok South!
The Southerners were noticeably edgy and in their typical fashion, were easily provoked and were looking for a fight. Rightly so, the referee produced five yellow cards and on one incident, Delvin was unluckily booked for dissent after being shirt-tugged.
The game was not over as Myjia rained more shots on the Bedok South goal. Kenneth displaying his athleticism and technique, executed a brilliant long range volley in the 84th minute. The goalbound shot though was directed straight at the keeper but at such a pace that the keeper had to acrobatically parry the shot before collecting the second ball.
With the clock ticking down, Kenneth had one last chance with a powerful grounder. Eric just failed to connect after the keeper parried the shot and the ball was eventually cleared to safety.
2-4 the final score on a scorching afternoon and amidst the hustle and bustle of the game, Myjia Online spotted a local scout poring over the performance of the Myjia players.
"The Malay team was not very good and I have with me a record of the performance of the Myjia players," claimed the scout who admitted he is a big fan of Myjia and follows the matches religiously on Myjia Online.
6/23/09, Report by Weuji Hikikomori
Nuptial Bliss: Myjia wishes Xiong & wife a blissful & wonderful marriage while the club awaits another addition to the Myjia Youth Academy.
6/16/09, Report by Weuji Hikikomori
Complacency Costs Myjia Three Points
Tampines - Caretaker manager Eugene Low's first match in charge ended in disappointment as Myjia threw away a two goal lead and conceded two goals in the final five minutes to finish 3-3 with Spansolina City on Saturday.
Myjia started the match in a spirited mood with an almost full strength squad barring Eric Low, Vincent Low, Chan Mingchun and Ng Yong Chun who is on loan to FC Hanoi.
The first real attack of the match from Myjia in the 15th minute resulted in the opening goal, such is the dominance of Myjia that it was only a matter of time before the family team opened the scoring.
Jerry Lim, once again impressive for Myjia, floated a deep freekick into City penalty box which caused mayhem when Delvin Ng darted in from the blind side to clip the ball past the keeper. Delvin fast rediscovering his first season form for Myjia was a constant menace for the City defence and that goal will have done wonders to his morale ahead of an energy sapping examinations week.
Myjia's suspected concentration level surfaced again after the defence decided to pass around the penalty area before finally presenting Spansolina their equaliser.
Totally against the run of play, the stunned Myjia players awoke from their slumber and launched the offensive. Leong Wai Meng was beginning to get into good positions in the City box and when two legitimate penalty calls were turned down, the referee finally got one decision right when Wai Meng was pulled from behind after receiving the ball inside the penalty area.
Up stepped Wai Meng for the resulting penalty and the midfielder made no mistake slotting the ball home into the bottom right corner from the penalty spot.
2-1 to Myjia and for all the possession, the Family team failed to increase their lead as both teams trooped in after 45 minutes.
Team tactics were reshuffled during halftime by Eugene Low and the introduction of Jackson Seetoh down Myjia's left flank soon provided the impetus for Myjia's attack. Jackson's close control and flank play provided Myjia with the width and chances were building up rapidly.
Chia Junhao missed an absolute sitter when put through one on one with the keeper and the off-colour striker's shot ricocheted off the keeper's leg's for a corner.
Several corners were taken and aimed for the head of towering defender Lucio but the attempts failed to find the target.
Lanky striker Ronnie Low was providing good decoy and support for the Myjia midfielders to push forward and when another corner was cleared weakly by the City defence, Wai Meng stormed forward to take charge of the loose ball and belted home a stiff grounder from just outside the penalty box to give Myjia a 3-1 advantage.
Myjia was in total control of the game and passes were sprayed around with confidence and poise. Eugene Low showed good touches and glimpses of his footballin brain as he continually linked the midfield and attack with his short passes.
By now, the smell of complacency was beginning to fill the air as the passes begun to get sloppy and Myjia were eventually punished for their arrogance with two quick goals in the final five minutes of the game following two defensive errors from Myjia.
The stats were not available but it certainly appeared that Spansolina City had scored 3 goals from only their three real attacks in the game.
Myjia on the other hand though superior in every aspect of the game, had nothing but one paltry point to show for their total dominance.
Complacency resulting in conceded goals is fast becoming a regular theme for this Myjia team.
6/3/09, Report by Weuji Hikikomori
SPANSOLINA START MIND GAMESBoon Lay - The mind games have begun after the fixture list revealed Myjia's next opponent - Spansolina City United FC.
Spansolina playerArzish tagged ontheir website set.i wanna beat the team with a website.my-jiajiajiajiajiajaijaijai while Calv demean Myjia's logo by suggesting the Spansolina is way nicer.
While such cockiness is often the result of misguided optimism, the local bookies have made Myjia the favourites for the game by starting Myjia with a 2.5 goals handicap.
What the odds suggest is that the bookies are tipping Myjia to win by 3 goals and that the basis is on Myjia's much-improved form over the last month.
A 5-0 trouncing was followed by a 3-3 hard fought draw while Spansolina's last match was a high scoring 5-5 draw.
Coupled with the fact that Spansolia's last five matches yielded 1 victory, 1 draw and 3 losses, while Myjia record was 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses, it becomes obvious why the odds are on Myjia to win.
So, if the bookies are right, Myjia fans could be in for a treat on 13 June at East Spring Secondary.
