I am now in crutches

Yup, another pair of legs to walk and I ain't going any faster.

I had a pretty bad fall playing basketball, although I can't recall exactly what happened, but I remembered going after the ball with my fren who was my opponent. He was dribbling the ball actually, and he ran quite fast, so I did my super speedy chase to block him off, but somehow we collided and next thing I knew I was on the ground, clutching my right ankle. Oh the pain was excruciating, it took me a while to stand up and I had to laugh it off to numb the pain off.

Anyway, took a trip at A&E, doc said there was no fracture although he said my ligaments might be pulled pretty bad since I couldn't put my foot down properly without cringing in pain. So an appointment is set for me to go to see a doc at polyclinic.

Now, I am walking with crutches and it isn't easy. Walking with an extra pair of legs really takes a lot of energy. Looks easy but it ain't, now I know how much difficult it is doing simple actions at home. Heck, I had trouble taking my apple juice from the fridge, not to mention the difficulty of wearing shorts. I think I should just wearing a sarong.

Mardan Mamat wins Mercedes-Benz Masters

Go Mamat! You have done us proud again. Singapore's Mardan Mamat has won the Mercedes-Benz Masters Singapore today.

Here's the scores:

274 Mardan Mamat (SIN) 69 69 67 69
277 Varut Chomchalam (THA) 69 73 69 66
278 Pariya Junhasavasdikul (THA) 71 70 69 68, Rory Hie (IDN) 70 72 65 71
279 Lam Chih Bing (SIN) 67 72 69 71
281 Wisut Artjanawat (THA) 71 71 71 68
283 Tanatchan Puaktes (THA) 72 71 70 70, S Siva Chandran (MAS) 69 72 70 72,
Rey Pagunsan (PHL) 68 73 69 73
285 R Nachimuthu (MAS) 74 71 70 70


Next event is at Singha Pattaya Open on 2nd to 5th April. Keep it up Mamat, go for the next one man!

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Do you know you can do this in football?

Yes this is allowed! This kind of shot is actually allowed in football. So why not try it sometime, just to surprise the goalkeeper. :)

The probably the most penalty shots in a match

This is just one too many penalties being done over and over and over and over and over again. So much time wasted on a simple act of just putting the ball into the net. I wonder what the fouls are for re-taking the penalty shots.

Singapore beaten by Uzbekistan 3:7 (World Cup qualifier)

The first 30 mins of the game was really exciting. Both sides showed showed great flair and spirit in going for goal. But sadly, after that, Singapore's defense just came crashing down.

Mohd Noor was excellent in the back, he went for the ball and worked hard in trying to keep the ball away from the net. Baihakki's performance, however, wasn't good. He made a number of misses that cost the game. He wasn't quick and not pressuring the Uzbek's forwards enough. Precious's usual dominance in defense was no where to be seen. We are talking about players who have experienced in European football, tall men like Precious isn't going to instill fear in their hearts. Precious has to work on his speed, agility and aggression. The Uzbek's forwards were fast and more experienced, so definitely the defense has to counter it with quick feet and strong pressure in the next match.

Singapore's midfield's was fairly good to me, saw some good skills from the midfielders even though I feel that they should have been more 'hard' in the game. For the first time, I am seeing players like Wilkinson showing good ball control and skill on the field. His tackling was right on and manages to win the ball for Singapore in many occasions during the match. Being in the right position, at the right time. Wilkinson has improved since I saw him in the last match. His scoring was excellent too.

Singapore's forwards were pretty good. They tried many options to score and never felt like holding back. They went forward and tried a few shots which were denied by the goalkeeper and defense. But still they manage to score 3 goals. Duric's score was an uplift for Singapore, and I hope to see more of him in the next match. Amri always gives his all in every match but I think he needs a little more support. The defense is always marking him and it is proving really difficult for him to even penetrate the line. If he had a partner that would compliment his skill, that would be great, much like how Fandi and Abbas used to play.

Overall, Singapore's defense has to improve a lot. There are weak players at the back which I am sure there will be some change in players. The midfield has to be more hard and keep controlling the game as much as possible to disallow any attacks by the Uzbek's to even try penetrating the defense. Their go for goals, to me, is essential in the next match. Because long shots from goal is always a surprise for the goalkeeper but it has to be with good accuracy and power if there are to beat the goalkeeper.

What I find lacking is set pieces. Singapore has to have to be creative upfront to beat the defense line of the Uzbek's. Today, we saw that the Uzbek's can be scored against. Even though Singapore has lost greatly in this match, we are the only country in the group who has scored against them. I think this reality shows that the Uzbek's can be beaten if we work hard enough.

I did saw the Uzbek's coach looking concern during the match. I think he underestimated Singapore's fighting spirit in the match and their ability to score. Frankly, I think both sides have to work on their defense strategies. Singapore being the one who has to do a lot of work on that aspect.

Singapore beats Lebanon: 2:0 (World Cup Qualifier)

Possibly one of the best games I have ever seen Singapore play. No doubt there were misses and controversial decisions by the referee but hey, which game doesn't have their fair share of that? Quite frankly, I underestimated Singapore's flair and resilience in the game. I thought that it would just be a draw, but after seeing how Singapore played a few minutes ago, I think we have a pretty good chance at the top 2. Quite far fetched it seems but if they progress further and sharpen their weakness in the game, I seriously think we can make it.

Singapore is definitely the underdogs in the group. First time in the world cup qualifiers, our hopes for the World Cup 2010 seems to be near. We lost to Saudia Arabia in the previous game but we did beat Iraq (Asian Cup winners) to qualify. If I am not mistaken, we were the only one who beat them. And their new nike jerseys looks pretty good. Nike sponsored some more! But no names on their jerseys yet :P. Nevertheless, for the next games their play is more important.

Uzbekistan isn't an easy team to beat. Their european style of play is hard to beat but definitely penetrable. Already beating Saudia Arabia, Singapore coach, Radojkov Avramovic, has to do some serious strategy making. I think first of all, we need to keep our momentum and maintain our composure. It's no use getting all too excited only to be over-confident in the game. Counter attacks is essential just like how we saw in today's game. Power and accuracy is a must, and unnecessary misses shouldn't be tolerated, Singapore should sharpen in that aspect. And of course, teamwork!

No one was selfish tonight, I am glad of that. And each shot takers took it only if it was necessary and on target, so not many wasted shots there. Long shots on goal were fantastic, powerful and accurate, eventhough we didn't score with that kind of shots, but it surely got the goal keeper on his toes. With varying shots on goal, upcoming teams will need to be on their guard.

Defence wise, Singapore held up well. Although at the last 15 mins or so, they seem to let up a little. Either there were too tired or out played by the forwards. Either way, I hope they can read the opposing players and position themselves better. But overall, the defence were strong and good.

It was great to see midfielders come up and come down to support the forwards and defenders. Especially in their courage to take shots on goal and defending well to disappoint the opposing team.

Next week against Uzbekistan is going to be an interesting match. I hope Channel 5 plays it LIVE. Today's win was a real boost in the morale of the team and Singapore also. I am truly hoping Singapore qualify. Congratulations Singapore for winning against Lebanon.