In probably our last game before the exams period, Dasch notched up a morale-lifting win over a relatively 'easy' opponent, Marist United (Kenneth's VJC friends). They had no subs, were playing with 10 men (which forced us to do the same, leaving our 3 reserves on the bench to sub in during the game) and seem to be less 'pro' than us (lacking a team jersey). However Marist is quite a decent side and fought well despite going down to our 3 strikes, 2 in the first half and 1 in the second. But despite the opponents' handicaps, it is fair to say Dasch had a good game (after all, we won right?) This match also marked the end of Daniel "Superstar" Ding's run of indifferent form and goal drought as he scored twice (finally..) And more good news was the Westlake pitch had mostly dried up, making it firmer and more playable.. and our victory today hopefully dispelling the rumour that Dasch can only win when it rains (as though our guys waterproof or something).

The match kicked off with the usual disorganised play by both sides, but especially on the part of Dasch, and there was no serious attempts on goal in the early stages. Gradually, Dasch settled down, found its rhythm & came to dominate the game. Daniel was operating as our out-and-out striker, with Cheng Cai, as a withdrawn striker, dropping back deeper to hold up the ball. The midfield of Desmond in the center, with Raymond and Minheng on the wings, were providing the necessary support. In defence was right back Lester, left back Chek Keng, captain Kenneth and manager-player/sweeper Eng Kiat. Our system seemed to be working well. However, we could not convert the chances initially. One instance was when Minheng waltzed his way to the right byline, crossed nicely and found no-one in the box to take advantage.. all the Dasch players seemed to have disappeared into thin air.. Similarly, other chances went to waste..

Marist was depending on the counter-attack at this point, with their big burly right-winger giving the defence a few anxious, bumpy moments. But Eng Kiat and Lester did enough to contain him. Then midway through the 1st half, we finally got it right. A sweeping low cross from the left by Cheng Cai found Minheng on the far right, totally unmarked, and he hit a clinical grounder past the goalie. 1-0 to Dasch and things were looking good... Then Daniel was inspired enough to try an on-target drive later on, which brought out a great save from the Marist keeper. Sub time: Derrick came in temporarily for Lester who was feeling a bit sick, but Lester was feeling ok enough to go in again later.. Shortly after, Dasch was riding high on a 2 goal cushion. A pass (which Chek Keng claimed was by him) into the opponents' box was received by Daniel, and fending off the attention of their defenders, he volleyed in our second goal of the match.. and his first since.. since... er, the exact date is lost in the mists of time. Things were now looking real bright for Dasch...

From there on, Dasch held up as best as it could, with our attacking players Desmond, Raymond, Minheng and Cheng Cai trying hard to finish off the game with a killer third goal. However, Marist finally bit back late in the 1st half, when their low cross got in the way of the unfortunate Lester's hand in our penalty area. Handball and a penalty was awarded to Marist. Their penalty-taker stepped up and unleashed a scorching drive which gave Rui Bin no chance to save. (Hey guys, learn from this chap on how penalties should be taken.). He did however dived the correct side. The last 5 minutes of the half was all Marist's as they saw a chance to equalise and went all out, and Dasch was under intense pressure from their relentless attacks. Probably the most dangerous moment was Kenneth's losing possession to a Marist player who dribbled past him (with the captain desperately tagging behind), into the box, till he was directly in front of Rui Bin... and skied his volley way over the crossbar. However, he redeemed himself when a last minute curling free kick from their free kick specialist caught Rui Bin stranded, but was cleared off the line by Kenneth. Sweet relief... Half time and Dasch was still leading 2-1.

The second half started with Zixin replacing Chek Keng, and Derrick coming in for Lester.. Soon, Daniel restored our 2-goal lead, but I didn't see this goal, cos just before he scored, Chek Keng, after being sub and standing with me on the sidelines, distracted me.. saying something about his "assist in our 1st half goal", and making sure I know so that this will appear in the match report. What lousy timing by Chek. (I take this chance to say I really hope some of you can do the report next time.. so that you don't have to read my biased version all the time.) So, I dunno how Daniel scored his second goal (but I get this feeling it was a sissy tap-in... was it huh?) Maybe those witnesses at the scene of the crime can write in later & we'll amend the report ok? Anyway, it was what we needed, a 3-1 lead which allowed us the luxury of relaxing a bit. Eager-beaver Chek Keng was in (again) for Eng Kiat mid-way through the half. The rest of the second half was rather evenly spilt, with Dasch and Marist struggling to out-macho each other, but neither team managed to score again.

However, the last part of the game was again dominated by Marist... somehow Dasch tends to fade away towards the end of every half. Marist had several great chances which went astray.. With 5 minutes left, Alvan came in - to wild cheers from the capacity crowd - for Derrick at right back, and before long made his (about) only contribution of the game, when he glanced away a swerving Marist corner on the line (but it seemed that ball was going narrowly wide anyway.) The dying seconds of the match produced another classic example of Dasch's dozing off at the very end... when a through ball caught out the entire defence, and the chasing Marist man (with Alvan desperately tagging behind... sounds familar?) struck one which hit the bar and bounced right into the path of his teammate, right in front of our goal. Alvan was closing in to block but it seemed a sure goal for Marist. To everyone's amazement, that guy's shot went wide despite being only a few metres away. And of cos, we were damn grateful the final score was a more flattering 3-1 (rather than 3-2).

The lesson from this is the need for our midfielders to help provide cover when necessary, dropping back into our third of the field when the opponents counterattack. To be fair, this means a lot of stamina and legwork and stress on the part of the midfield men which may be asking too much of them; our defenders should, on their part, remain alert right to the final whistle instead of taking things easy before then. Also, to be strictly honest, Marist was good enough for a draw. They had numerous good chances to score but 3 factors saved us: Firstly, our 'keeper Rui Bin, who pulled off several really excellent saves, diving about the posts to punch away some well-taken shots by the opponents. He is my choice for the Dasch Man of the Match, despite Daniel's well-taken double (& return to form). Secondly, Marist's incredibly lousy finishing.. they did work their way past our defence and produced 4 or 5 clear-cut, close-range chances throughout the match, but somehow managed to volley over the bar everytime. I bet the Dasch players were very glad to see that these opponents were performing more like rugby players than soccer ones. Thirdly, for once, Lady Luck was on our side and we held on to a rather shaky lead, considering the number of close shaves our defence had, and of cos much credit is also due to the unsung heroics of our backline, as well as the luckless, deadly inaccurate Marist strikers. Hope we encounter more of such opposition strikers in our future matches, and let's continue with our winning formula: Hard work, luck and handsome faces. Do keep up our current standard!

Ok, so this is likely to be Dasch's last match before the season break for the upcoming exams in Nov. It's time to hang up our boots and concentrate on our books instead. But let's try to keep fit for the time when the soccer season resumes (should be in late Nov or early Dec). Also... study hard, do your homework, listen to your teachers, eat right, avoid love triangles and most importantly, do have fun with your girlfriends... Let's hope we can carry on our (so far) 3-match unbeaten streak in the new season. And remember, "Humble In Victory" (for those rare times when we win... like this time.) Till then..

Editor : "Alvan, u forgot to mention our half time show: Daniel and Cheng Cai raving about their adventures in Anal Sex."