T-Net Club Premier League 2011 Day 1 Round Up

The morning rain cleared up in time for the T-Net Club Premier League to go on as scheduled. Many familiar faces like Ghanisheelan of Geylang West, Muhd Ridzwan Bin Katerman of Bukit Merah, Syed Ahmad Naqib of Bedok and Amir Bin Zalani of Sembawang returned to the league this season, but the first day of competition belonged to several new faces like Geylang West’s Gary Tan, who now tops the Golden Boot Race with 5 goals and Muhd Amirul of MacPherson, whose silky skills seem to make him the natural heir to their star player last season, Muhd Fadizwan.

We review the performances of the teams yesterday:

Ang Mo Kio
With only one 16 year old as the oldest and two 13 year old players in their rank, Ang Mo Kio showcased a very young team in the league. And what a baptism of fire it was for them; having to face both Geylang West and Sembawang on their debut. Even then, they managed to compete well despite the one-sided score line. Muhd Zulfiqarl’s composed performance at the back helped to repel many of the attackers that their midfield failed to stem. Their final standings in the league this year will depend heavily on his performances during the rest of the season.

Bedok
Bedok’s route one football earned them a draw against last season’s runner up, Bukit Merah. Syed Ahmad Naqib’s pace and tireless workrate continues to bother defences, and as long as their defence keeps out the goals, Bedok is always capable of nicking a few goals from the nippy Syed Ahmad Naqib. The T-Net Club Premier League witnessed the return of “journeyman” Muhd Fadli aka Nani, (who has now represented three different clubs throughout the five T-Net Club Premier League seasons) albeit in the unfamiliar role of Goalie. His performance at the anchor of the defence will be vital if Bedok wishes to finish amongst the league leaders.

Bukit Merah
Bukit Merah will look to improve on their finish last season, but their season took an unexpected early stumble when they only managed to draw their first game against Bedok. Muhd Izzudin bossed the midfield very well with support from Ng Zi Yuan on the flanks, but their failure to convert their possession into goals allowed Bedok to launch several quick counter attacks. Their defence were clearly bothered and questions will be asked of them the next time they face a speedy strike force. Last season’s star, Ridzwan Bin Katerman struggled in attack, and his heavily bandaged knee seems to suggest that injuries are slowing him down. Nonetheless, they still remain one of the favourites to win the league title after they out-battled Marine Parade in their second match.

Geylang West
Last season’s Les Invincibles, continued their dominance of the league, despite an overhaul of their team. Only Ghanisheelan s/o Vijayakumar remained from the team, but the team’s silky performance against Ang Mo Kio and MacPherson suggests that they are still the team to beat this year. Last season’s Golden Boot winner, Muh Hazzuwan is not in the team, but they unearthed a new gem in the current league’s top scorer, Gary Tan. Assured in playing possession football, Coach Wahab has managed to keep his team playing the Generasi way despite the many changes.

MacPherson
Another youthful team, MacPherson will heavily rely on Muhd Amirul, who has to fill the enormous shoes of past legends like Muhd Fairuz, Abdul Razip and Muhd Fadizwan. His silky skills allows him to hold up the ball in attack to give his overworked defence some breather, but he will need to trust his teammates more, especially when they sprint up to support him in attack. They were on par with Marine Parade, before they were dismantled by the class of Geylang West.

Marine Parade
Marine Parade remains a very solid team, but they clearly miss their bullish playmaker Muhd Hyder. Muhd Luqman Bin Rifpin’s industrial displays allowed Marine Parade to outnumber MacPherson and Bukit Merah both in defence and attack, but he needs Muhd Hyder’s passes to set him up in good attacking positions. They were desperately unlucky to concede an early goal to MacPherson before equalising with a late goal. Their 2-0 loss to Bukit Merah failed to reflect how close that game was. With a little bit more flair, the team would be heavily fancied. Rumours abound that Muhd Hyder will return next week, and opponents will be keeping their fingers crossed for otherwise.

Sembawang
It was a fruitful day for the boys in blue as they nicked 6 points yesterday. Unruffled in defence, and industrious in attack, Sembawang showed good balance in the team to share top spot with Geylang West. Goalie Muhd Yushamil was almost beaten by a peach of a shot from an early Taman Jurong attack, but he recovered from that early shock to put in a unfussy performance in goal. He allowed his midfield to build up attack after attack. Last season’s top scorer, Amir Bin Zalani was largely wasteful in front of goals, but Fadli Bin Alias produced several lung busting runs down the left flank and scored 2 goals ala Gareth Bale. But questions remain of their temperament when they meet the big teams in the league.

Taman Jurong
Taman Jurong sits at the bottom of the league, just 2 goals under Ang Mo Kio. They were well disciplined and well organised. And it was no shame that they lost to the top 2 teams in the league (according to the league table), Geylang West and Sembawang. Many teams will struggle against those teams, and with those fixtures out of the way, they will look to gain some points against the other teams. Ruban Kumar and Muhd Salman will do well in the league.