Score: 2-2
Scorers: Ben Boo, Roger Bullen
Match report by: Gerald
As the first rays of sunlight pierced the Singapore skyline in the early hours of Saturday morning, one by one the Parkview Penguins arose from deep hibernation and made the long and arduous journey to Tampines Safra for a momentous occasion not to be missed - their first ever football match, against the experienced Ballistiers.
Scorers: Ben Boo, Roger Bullen
Match report by: Gerald
As the first rays of sunlight pierced the Singapore skyline in the early hours of Saturday morning, one by one the Parkview Penguins arose from deep hibernation and made the long and arduous journey to Tampines Safra for a momentous occasion not to be missed - their first ever football match, against the experienced Ballistiers.
The Penguins lined up in a 4-1-4-1 formation against their first ever opponents, the Ballistiers.
The Penguins were up against it from the referee blew the first whistle. Battling against all odds, including the enforced absences of key players such as Glenn Wray and Owain Palmer, the Penguins managed to quickly gel together as a team and put on an impressively spirited display. Even though the Penguins went into the break at halftime one goal down, they never gave up, and showed amazing fighting spirit, none more so than Captain Benedict Boo who scored a vital equalizer in the second half to peg back the Ballistiers, with the assist coming from the tallest player in the field, attacking midfielder Kenneth Teng.
The Ballistiers showed their experience and guile as they took the lead not long after the equalizer. Again, the Penguins would not falter, and the tactical masterstroke of shifting the veteran footballer Roger ‘Bully’ Bullen to centre forward paid dividends as his goal poaching instincts proved the adage that ‘Form is temporary; class is permanent’. Again, the goal was crafted by Teng, who in addition to his 2 assists also put in some excellent defensive work as he assisted Don Lim, who was in the Makelele role, to break up the Balliestiers’ moves.
The amazing stamina and endurance of the Penguins was outstanding, especially as they ploughed through the 90 minutes with the same set of 11 players, whereas the Ballistiers were able to substitute players every 10 minutes, thus themselves injecting fresh legs into their play.
Although it was a draw, we can consider this to be a moral victory for the Penguins. That was an absolutely brilliant debut performance. Waddle on, Penguins!
The Ballistiers showed their experience and guile as they took the lead not long after the equalizer. Again, the Penguins would not falter, and the tactical masterstroke of shifting the veteran footballer Roger ‘Bully’ Bullen to centre forward paid dividends as his goal poaching instincts proved the adage that ‘Form is temporary; class is permanent’. Again, the goal was crafted by Teng, who in addition to his 2 assists also put in some excellent defensive work as he assisted Don Lim, who was in the Makelele role, to break up the Balliestiers’ moves.
The amazing stamina and endurance of the Penguins was outstanding, especially as they ploughed through the 90 minutes with the same set of 11 players, whereas the Ballistiers were able to substitute players every 10 minutes, thus themselves injecting fresh legs into their play.
Although it was a draw, we can consider this to be a moral victory for the Penguins. That was an absolutely brilliant debut performance. Waddle on, Penguins!
