29 June, SINGAPORE: The Singapore Veterans' Hockey Association's 8on8 League Masters has gotten front page news coverage on the Singapore Hockey Federation website. Following the link will take you the SHF's website where you will find the season finale article. http://www.singaporehockey.org/
We hope to garner more publicity and continue our progress as an association.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Temasek wins inaugural SVHA 8on8 title
29 June, Singapore: Temasek won the inaugural SVHA 8on8 League Masters 2009 season title following their impressive but unlikely 3-1 win over the Hollandse Club Blue side. Temasekians had just enough players to start the game and were punished early on as the Blues ran riot straight from the start of the game.
Attacking down the right where their skillful forward Wim ten Hof was a constant threat, the Blues rightfully took the lead after just 4 minutes of play. A neat one-two with Michiel Bouwman tore the Temasekian defence open and Wim had the simplest of jobs to open the scoring.
It didn't take long for Temasek to suffer more misery as their right back Gordon de Souza pulled his hamsting and had to leave. His team played on for the next few minutes with only 7 players until Valdew Singh joined the fray after slipping on a blue top.
But the match was still going the Blues way and Temasek were reduced to defending and playing the long ball and hoping for the best. The best didn't come until the last 5 minutes of the half. By which time, the Hollandse Club Blues had missed half dozen chances and were fast growing agitated with their poor finishing infront of the agile Aidil Idris in the Temasek goal.
The Blues were going to live to regret their generosity as after some good passing movement between the Temasek players, the ball was well fed to Selvakumar R, who had three shots saved by the Blues keeper Johan Vooren before scooping over the impressive keeper towards the Blues goal. The stunned Tjalling Gerus could not do much but to deflect the alreatd goalbound ball into the Blues goal for a huge Temasek equaliser.
Not a minute later another ball from the Temasek midfield wiggled it's way between the legs of Jonathan Price via a faint deflection and found Selvakumar with another chance to score, this time he went for the slightest gaps between Vooren's pads and luck would have it that he executed his attempt to the letter. Temasek 2-1 up at half time.
The Temasekians came out more confident in the second, but it was more of the same, with the Blues all over the Temasekians. However, more poor finishing kept Temasek edging towards the historic SVHA 8on8 inaugural title.
To the Blues credit they kept trying to breach the Temasekian backline and keeper but time and again, good defending coupled with woeful finishing ensured there were no additions to the scoreline. This state of affairs continues until, Ranjit Singh sent a ball forward from deep in the Temasek half hoping for Selvakumar to find it, however, it was always going away from the lethal forward. As it was already evident luck was Temasek's side as an attempted trap by Gerus would end up deflecting the ball right down Selvakumar's line of fire and he didn't need a second invitation, fire he did! 3-1 off Vooren pads, unlucky Hollandse!
With the minutes ticking away, even the midas stroke of genius from the soon departing Bouwman, in the vein of Rembrant, was not enough to impregnate the Temasek goal. Much to the despair of the Blues and the delight of the Temasekians, who rejoiced at the final whistle with an unlikely victory.
Hockey Village People had secured 3rd spot earlier in the evening when they beat fierce rivals Merlions 2-0 in the 3rd and 4th placing playoff.
Temasek's George Edward lifted the League Masters challenge trophy and the top three teams all got medals to show for their endeavour with Stephen Whitton walking away with a Heineken as the league's top scorer on 14 goals.
The 8on8 was such a success this season that next season is set to start in February and run till the end of June.
--ends--
Attacking down the right where their skillful forward Wim ten Hof was a constant threat, the Blues rightfully took the lead after just 4 minutes of play. A neat one-two with Michiel Bouwman tore the Temasekian defence open and Wim had the simplest of jobs to open the scoring.
It didn't take long for Temasek to suffer more misery as their right back Gordon de Souza pulled his hamsting and had to leave. His team played on for the next few minutes with only 7 players until Valdew Singh joined the fray after slipping on a blue top.
But the match was still going the Blues way and Temasek were reduced to defending and playing the long ball and hoping for the best. The best didn't come until the last 5 minutes of the half. By which time, the Hollandse Club Blues had missed half dozen chances and were fast growing agitated with their poor finishing infront of the agile Aidil Idris in the Temasek goal.
The Blues were going to live to regret their generosity as after some good passing movement between the Temasek players, the ball was well fed to Selvakumar R, who had three shots saved by the Blues keeper Johan Vooren before scooping over the impressive keeper towards the Blues goal. The stunned Tjalling Gerus could not do much but to deflect the alreatd goalbound ball into the Blues goal for a huge Temasek equaliser.
Not a minute later another ball from the Temasek midfield wiggled it's way between the legs of Jonathan Price via a faint deflection and found Selvakumar with another chance to score, this time he went for the slightest gaps between Vooren's pads and luck would have it that he executed his attempt to the letter. Temasek 2-1 up at half time.
The Temasekians came out more confident in the second, but it was more of the same, with the Blues all over the Temasekians. However, more poor finishing kept Temasek edging towards the historic SVHA 8on8 inaugural title.
To the Blues credit they kept trying to breach the Temasekian backline and keeper but time and again, good defending coupled with woeful finishing ensured there were no additions to the scoreline. This state of affairs continues until, Ranjit Singh sent a ball forward from deep in the Temasek half hoping for Selvakumar to find it, however, it was always going away from the lethal forward. As it was already evident luck was Temasek's side as an attempted trap by Gerus would end up deflecting the ball right down Selvakumar's line of fire and he didn't need a second invitation, fire he did! 3-1 off Vooren pads, unlucky Hollandse!
With the minutes ticking away, even the midas stroke of genius from the soon departing Bouwman, in the vein of Rembrant, was not enough to impregnate the Temasek goal. Much to the despair of the Blues and the delight of the Temasekians, who rejoiced at the final whistle with an unlikely victory.
Hockey Village People had secured 3rd spot earlier in the evening when they beat fierce rivals Merlions 2-0 in the 3rd and 4th placing playoff.
Temasek's George Edward lifted the League Masters challenge trophy and the top three teams all got medals to show for their endeavour with Stephen Whitton walking away with a Heineken as the league's top scorer on 14 goals.
The 8on8 was such a success this season that next season is set to start in February and run till the end of June.
--ends--
Top scorers' chart
Stephen Whitton looks set to win the top goal scorer accolade. However, it's noteworthy that George Edward, Michiel Bouwman and Silvester Selvan have a higher goals per game than him. But in the end, it's the goals that count:)
Final League Table
The Final League table after 12 matchdays has rendered that Hockey Village People will take on Merlions in the 3rd & 4th placing play-off and Hollandse Club Blue will play Temasek in the Grand Finals.
Note: Merlions and Temasek must win the game out right in the 50 minutes as a draw will render Hockey Village People as 3rd and Hollandse Club Blue as inaugural champions.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Ten HOFfing and puffing down Whitton's neck
Wim Ten Hof of the Hollandse Club Blues is huffing and puffing down Stephen Whitton's neck in the goal scorers' chart. Ten Hof overtook his team mate, Pascal Blanchet and moved into 2nd spot, albeit 5-goals adrift of Whitton. With only one game left to play, Ten Hof would need to score 5 times and hope Whitton shoots blanks (insofar as goals are concerned ;)) to win the top goal scorer title. Blanchet needs one more to bag the accolade. Meanwhile, the Hockey Village People man need only hope for the others to fail and will become the top scorer.
Temasek and Hollandse Club Blue secure grand finals slots
Singapore, 16 June 09: Temasek secured their passage to the Grand finals with a convincing 7-1 win over Mucha Hockey. The solid win gave them 11 points and with it ticket to the finals against Hollandse Club Blue who needed only a solitary point against club rivals Hollandse Club Oranje. However the in form Blues won 4-0 and got 11 points to ensure they top the table ahead of the finals. The table topping performance is important as now al they need is a draw in the finals to win the inaugural SVHA 8on8 League Masters 2009 Season title.
Meanwhile, Hollandse Club Oranje were ousted from the 3rd and 4th placing games following their 4-0 defeat at the hands of the Blues. They will not play for pride against Hockey Village People, who will contest the 3rd and 4th placing game against the winner of Mucha Hockey and Merlions next week.
The finals and 3rd and 4th placing games will be played on 29 June 09. We expect to see all members joining in the celebrations as we bring to a close an exciting 8on8 season of masters hockey.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Hollandse Blues need 1 point to secure finals berth
Singapore, 8 June 09: It was a big day for the top 3 teams but one that Temasek might just rue as poor management caused them to have just 4 players. The grace of Merlions was displayed when they gave them one player in the first half and another lent us his young son. Either way, Temasek went into the break 2-1 up, (the young man's goal did not coun, but Ranjit Singh's brace and Joginder Singh's goal did!)
The departure of Mike Barton from the Merlions's ranks meant the player lent had to return and Chew Meng Siong rightly went to join with his Merlion team mates to Temasek's ultimate detriment.
Playing with only 5 players, namely, the brave Aidil Idris in goals, the valiant Fred Martens in midfield/defence, the everpresent Kanan Packrisamy in midfield/attack and courageous Ranjit Singh everywhere else with the compliment of Gurupal's son in the gaps, Merlions galvanised and destroyed Temasek in the 2nd half.
Scoring 4 unaswered goals, courtesy of Eric Tan 2, Gurupal and Richard Ng the Merlions claimed an important victory and look odds on to make the 3rd & 4th placing game.
The day's other game saw the top notches of the league lock horns. Hollandse Club Blue and Hockey Village People met in what was a quasi semi-finals. The Blues settled faster than the 2 teams and made their advanatge show afetr just a minute and forty two seconds, Wim Ten Hof scoring following a penalty corner.
Village People started to get their act together following the set back and made many attempted to draw level but they were denied by either a steady Han van der Broek in the Blues goal or stift defending from Hans Peter Sluiser in the heart of their defence.
Stephen Whitton was marked out by Marcel Aggenbach and that nulified Paul Ridley's excellent passes from deep in the People half.
Alan Banister and Dave Misso worked tirelessly in the People midfield with Tim Barkem despite being pre-occupied with the 5-meter rule put in a good shift for the Villagers.
Speaking of good shifts, Paul Blomendal's robust play is noteworthy as was Balbir Singh's similar vigour in tackling in the previous game.
Ross Taylor would have wished he had a better game especially since Ten Hof managed to score once more in the second half after Pascal Blanchet added one and with a subtle pass set up Jonathan Price to add to his tally on 3 goals to give the Blues a convincing 4-0 win. Fred Martens turned out for the Villagers to get them up to 8 and Martin Painter despite saving a few crucial shots on goal would have thought to be capable of keeping in the least 2 of the 4 goals out.
On top of all there was some exceptional moves from Joeri Gianotten in partnership with his Blues team mates and the Villagers added their own sleak moves but the day belonged to the Blues.
We enter Matchday 10 next week with Mucha Hockey taking on Temasek (the latter needs 8 points to secure their finals spot) and Hollandse Club Oranje doing battle with Hollandse Club Blue (Orange need to secure maximum points to stay in the hunt for third spot, whilst Blues need only one to confirm their spot in the grand finals). See Table below by clicking on it
The departure of Mike Barton from the Merlions's ranks meant the player lent had to return and Chew Meng Siong rightly went to join with his Merlion team mates to Temasek's ultimate detriment.
Playing with only 5 players, namely, the brave Aidil Idris in goals, the valiant Fred Martens in midfield/defence, the everpresent Kanan Packrisamy in midfield/attack and courageous Ranjit Singh everywhere else with the compliment of Gurupal's son in the gaps, Merlions galvanised and destroyed Temasek in the 2nd half.
Scoring 4 unaswered goals, courtesy of Eric Tan 2, Gurupal and Richard Ng the Merlions claimed an important victory and look odds on to make the 3rd & 4th placing game.
The day's other game saw the top notches of the league lock horns. Hollandse Club Blue and Hockey Village People met in what was a quasi semi-finals. The Blues settled faster than the 2 teams and made their advanatge show afetr just a minute and forty two seconds, Wim Ten Hof scoring following a penalty corner.
Village People started to get their act together following the set back and made many attempted to draw level but they were denied by either a steady Han van der Broek in the Blues goal or stift defending from Hans Peter Sluiser in the heart of their defence.
Stephen Whitton was marked out by Marcel Aggenbach and that nulified Paul Ridley's excellent passes from deep in the People half.
Alan Banister and Dave Misso worked tirelessly in the People midfield with Tim Barkem despite being pre-occupied with the 5-meter rule put in a good shift for the Villagers.
Speaking of good shifts, Paul Blomendal's robust play is noteworthy as was Balbir Singh's similar vigour in tackling in the previous game.
Ross Taylor would have wished he had a better game especially since Ten Hof managed to score once more in the second half after Pascal Blanchet added one and with a subtle pass set up Jonathan Price to add to his tally on 3 goals to give the Blues a convincing 4-0 win. Fred Martens turned out for the Villagers to get them up to 8 and Martin Painter despite saving a few crucial shots on goal would have thought to be capable of keeping in the least 2 of the 4 goals out.
On top of all there was some exceptional moves from Joeri Gianotten in partnership with his Blues team mates and the Villagers added their own sleak moves but the day belonged to the Blues.
We enter Matchday 10 next week with Mucha Hockey taking on Temasek (the latter needs 8 points to secure their finals spot) and Hollandse Club Oranje doing battle with Hollandse Club Blue (Orange need to secure maximum points to stay in the hunt for third spot, whilst Blues need only one to confirm their spot in the grand finals). See Table below by clicking on it
Whitton gets a chasing pack in the hunt for goals
Just 3 more weeks and games are running out for the top scorer to be named
Latest results
Just 3 more weeks and we are done this season. 6 more games, 300 more minutes of hockey and an inaugural champion would be born.
Monday, June 1, 2009
The dust has settled & produced these Remaining fixtures
After the conclusion of the first round, each team has to play another 2 games to decide which 4 teams will go to the play-offs. 1st, 4th and 5th will play against each other with 2nd, 3rd and 6th doing the same. At the end of these games, the top teams with the highest points including those earned in the first round will contest the grand finals which will decide the champion and the 3rd and 4th placed teams will contest 3rd and 4th. We would like the 5th and 6th placed teams to join us for the prize giving ceremony that evening too if they would be so kind. Having seen the fixtures, I am glad to announce that all teams can still make it to either of the play-offs. Please see below for the remaining fixtures.
Note that for the play-offs, the team with the lower league place must win the game to claim victory. i.e. if the game ends in a draw at full time, the winner of the game will be the team with the higher league position prior to the game.
Whitton continues to bang them in
Stephen Whitton has continued to bang the goals as his double header last night allowed him to score 4 goals and give him a resounding 6 goal lead over his nearest rival Pascal Blanchet. Is there more goals in this man?
Temasek lead table after end of first round
Only 1 point seperates the top 3 sides and that's testament to the strength of the league and the teams involved. Temasek secured top spot at the end of the first round of games and have two more to secure their spot in the league finals. You need to first be in that final and then win it to be crowned League champions. Exciting times ahead.
Updated Complete set of Fixtures
We have just 4 match days left in our 12 week long league. Please click on the schedule below for the new complete set of fixtures
Friday, May 29, 2009
Fringe Events notice
We have 19 of our members that have put down their name to play in the League this season. We were accorded Divsion 2 status, which in itself is testament to the manner in which we have conducted ourselves last season and are continuing to do so this term.
We have set a modest target of finishing in the top half of the table with a place in the semi-finals a bonus.
Some of you gentlemen, will cross swords with our SVHA League Lions and I hope we give you a sound beating for choosing to play for another team. You know I say that in jest.
In light of this announcement, our league team has been invited to play a few friendly games, one on Sunday at 12noon (ouch) at Hockey Village and another on Tuesday at 9pm at CCAB.
As a reward for reading this blog spot, I like to offer those of you members who are not on our league team to put your name down on the standby list for both games if you would like to play.
If I don;t get enough responses from the league players you will be activited,sounds good and fair?
Please reply on the blog spot or to me via email kanan1071@yahoo.co.uk
We have set a modest target of finishing in the top half of the table with a place in the semi-finals a bonus.
Some of you gentlemen, will cross swords with our SVHA League Lions and I hope we give you a sound beating for choosing to play for another team. You know I say that in jest.
In light of this announcement, our league team has been invited to play a few friendly games, one on Sunday at 12noon (ouch) at Hockey Village and another on Tuesday at 9pm at CCAB.
As a reward for reading this blog spot, I like to offer those of you members who are not on our league team to put your name down on the standby list for both games if you would like to play.
If I don;t get enough responses from the league players you will be activited,sounds good and fair?
Please reply on the blog spot or to me via email kanan1071@yahoo.co.uk
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
5 weeks left for league conclusion
The Hollandse Club Oranje are currently 6th and thus will play on Matchday 10, i.e. 15 June 09 @9pm and Matchday 11 i.e. 22 June 09 also @ 9pm. They will find out who their opponents are after Matchday 8's games. Please watch this spot for updated fixtures. Gentle reminder, If you are in the top 4 after 1 June 09 games, you will play on 8 June 09. For Hollandse Club Oranje and the 5th placed team, they will play on 15 and 22 June.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Hollandse Blue regain lead of 8on8
Hollandse Club Blues regained the leadership of the SVHA 8on8 League Masters 2009 Season following an impressive 14-2 win over Hollandse Club Oranje in the Dutch derby. Wim Ten Hof starred with a 5-goal performance, his very first goals of the season.
Whitton extend lead at the top of the goal scorers' charts
We are pleased to add another 7 players to the list of goal scorers. However, Stephen Whitton produced two more moments of sheer determination as he snatched what turned out to be consolation goals against Merlions in a 3-2 reverse. Pascal Blanchet continues to trail Whitton, albeit two goals adrift now.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Team Profile: Hollandse Club Oranje
The Hollandse Club Oranje is the made up of in the main players from the club's Division 2 ranks. Still finding the stamina to last the entire 50 minutes in the league, the Oranje display unmistakable fighting spirit and teamwork.
Looking out for each other's back and letting the umpire know their thoughts is amongst their evident trademarks. Nonetheless, you won't find better hockey pals after the game than these bunch of beer and hockey loving guys.
Playing in Orange as their first colours and blue as their second, the Oranje is headed by Sander Scheepens and Olaf Kwakman. At the moment they are the table proppers, but something tells me that they are going to embrace the maxim "the only way's up" with both hands.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Matchday 6 delivers game of the season thus far
18 may 09, SINGAPORE: It was always going to be exciting to see Hollandse Club Blue take on league leaders Hockey Village People. The hot favourites for the inaugural League Masters took on the most consistent side respectively.
The Dutch started the game with a bang as they moved the ball very nicely and had two shotson goals both expertly saved by Martin Painter in the People's goals. At the other end, Martin Snijder was hardly tested in the opening exchanges.
The Blues were pushing real hard and got the breakthrough after 6 minutes when Pascal Blanchet weaved his way into the People's "D" and layed the ball off to an unmarked Jan Hordink to put the Blues 1-0 up.
To their ultimate credit, The Villagers kept their nerve and were chipping at the Blues defence patiently with Paul Rdiley a constant launch pad of long ball inspired attacked. Stephen Whitton the intended target for most if not all these long balls, was also in a personal battle with Blanchet for the league top scorers' billing. Both players were on 6 goals a piece before this game.
The reason why I mentioned this now is because Whitton moved clear ahead following a defensive slip up by Tjalling Gerus at the Blues backline and Whitton hit the ball so hard past the hapless Snijder.
As you would all know, when trouble comes it usually rains. And within a minute, the Villagers were 2-1 up. Whitton played a neat one-two with David Rego and the latter slotted the ball elegantly past an onrushing Snijder.
The Blues were close to cumbling under these sustained pressure but the leadership of Hans Sluiser and the mercurial skills of Joeri Gianotten the Blues managed to stay in the game and went into the break a goal down.
The Villagers were delighted with their shift and yearned for similar energy in the second period.
The second half got off and it was similar to the first where the Dutch took the early initiative. They were rewarded yet again for their attack mindedness as Gianotten whizzed his way into the Villagers' "D" and powerd a flick into the top right hand corner to make it 2-2.
Although the goals dreid up after that, the game was end-to-end stuff and was an excellent showcase of Masters hockey.
The teams were rather pleased with their efforts and debutant, Tim Way for the Villagers was highly influential, not bad for a guy who has not paid up his membership fees :)
Next up 25 May 09:
8pm: Mucha Hockey v Merlions (Hollandse Club x 2 umpires)
9pm: Hollandse Club Blues v Hollandse Club Oranje (Mucha & Merlions to umpire)
The Dutch started the game with a bang as they moved the ball very nicely and had two shotson goals both expertly saved by Martin Painter in the People's goals. At the other end, Martin Snijder was hardly tested in the opening exchanges.
The Blues were pushing real hard and got the breakthrough after 6 minutes when Pascal Blanchet weaved his way into the People's "D" and layed the ball off to an unmarked Jan Hordink to put the Blues 1-0 up.
To their ultimate credit, The Villagers kept their nerve and were chipping at the Blues defence patiently with Paul Rdiley a constant launch pad of long ball inspired attacked. Stephen Whitton the intended target for most if not all these long balls, was also in a personal battle with Blanchet for the league top scorers' billing. Both players were on 6 goals a piece before this game.
The reason why I mentioned this now is because Whitton moved clear ahead following a defensive slip up by Tjalling Gerus at the Blues backline and Whitton hit the ball so hard past the hapless Snijder.
As you would all know, when trouble comes it usually rains. And within a minute, the Villagers were 2-1 up. Whitton played a neat one-two with David Rego and the latter slotted the ball elegantly past an onrushing Snijder.
The Blues were close to cumbling under these sustained pressure but the leadership of Hans Sluiser and the mercurial skills of Joeri Gianotten the Blues managed to stay in the game and went into the break a goal down.
The Villagers were delighted with their shift and yearned for similar energy in the second period.
The second half got off and it was similar to the first where the Dutch took the early initiative. They were rewarded yet again for their attack mindedness as Gianotten whizzed his way into the Villagers' "D" and powerd a flick into the top right hand corner to make it 2-2.
Although the goals dreid up after that, the game was end-to-end stuff and was an excellent showcase of Masters hockey.
The teams were rather pleased with their efforts and debutant, Tim Way for the Villagers was highly influential, not bad for a guy who has not paid up his membership fees :)
Next up 25 May 09:
8pm: Mucha Hockey v Merlions (Hollandse Club x 2 umpires)
9pm: Hollandse Club Blues v Hollandse Club Oranje (Mucha & Merlions to umpire)
Oranje the 8on8's Jekyll and Hyde
18 May 09, SINGAPORE: Matchday 6 of the SVHA 8on8 League Masters 2009 Season saw no break through for the Hollandse Club Oranje. The Dutchmen found the going hard once again as they drew blank the third time in four games.
The Oranje were supreme in the first half where their disciplined defensive endeavour led by Sander Scheepens and backed by the in form Johan Vooren in goals denied the Temasek men time and again.
Ranjit Singh broke through a number of times but elected to shoot where perhaps a pass would have been better. Nonetheless, the talented striker made up for not scoring in the first half in the second period.
His strike partner, Kanan Packrisamy was woeful in front on goal as well. He missed a good chance in the 10th minute but he too made up for his error in the second half.
The skillful Paul Kroonenberg was partnered well by David Liem and the duo did keep the ball well away from the goal long enough to give their defence a much needed breather.
Rik V and Gerard Veneman also took their turns in defence and served their team well much to the disgust of the Temasekians.
The introduction of Temasek manager George Edward did not change things much. More misses, shots instead of passes but all was to change cum the second 25 minutes.
It took Temasek just 2 minutes to open the floodgates as a rare moment of lapse by Vooren in the ORanje goal allowed Edward the chance to pounce and put the Temasekians ahead.
A neat one-two between Packrisamy and Manjit Singh down the right flank saw the former push past Vooren to make it 2-0 two minutes later.
Then Edward added one more, Narendran J doubled his goal tally for the season and Ranjit Singh bagged a brace to erase all first half errors and give Temasek a comanding 6-0 win.
Although the Oranje has never gone into half time trailing another team in all their matches, it's also noteworthy that they have never gone into the break ahead too.
They are back in action next week on 25 May 09 in the Hollandse Cub derby. They take on the mighty Hollandse Club Blues and hope that they deny the Blues the pleasure of a much needed victory.
The Oranje were supreme in the first half where their disciplined defensive endeavour led by Sander Scheepens and backed by the in form Johan Vooren in goals denied the Temasek men time and again.
Ranjit Singh broke through a number of times but elected to shoot where perhaps a pass would have been better. Nonetheless, the talented striker made up for not scoring in the first half in the second period.
His strike partner, Kanan Packrisamy was woeful in front on goal as well. He missed a good chance in the 10th minute but he too made up for his error in the second half.
The skillful Paul Kroonenberg was partnered well by David Liem and the duo did keep the ball well away from the goal long enough to give their defence a much needed breather.
Rik V and Gerard Veneman also took their turns in defence and served their team well much to the disgust of the Temasekians.
The introduction of Temasek manager George Edward did not change things much. More misses, shots instead of passes but all was to change cum the second 25 minutes.
It took Temasek just 2 minutes to open the floodgates as a rare moment of lapse by Vooren in the ORanje goal allowed Edward the chance to pounce and put the Temasekians ahead.
A neat one-two between Packrisamy and Manjit Singh down the right flank saw the former push past Vooren to make it 2-0 two minutes later.
Then Edward added one more, Narendran J doubled his goal tally for the season and Ranjit Singh bagged a brace to erase all first half errors and give Temasek a comanding 6-0 win.
Although the Oranje has never gone into half time trailing another team in all their matches, it's also noteworthy that they have never gone into the break ahead too.
They are back in action next week on 25 May 09 in the Hollandse Cub derby. They take on the mighty Hollandse Club Blues and hope that they deny the Blues the pleasure of a much needed victory.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Team Profile: Temasek
One of two franchise teams that were created for the SVHA 8on8 League Masters 2009 Season. Managed by George Edward, the Temasek boasts 40 plus players with some a few shades shy of 40. Currently littered former Singapore ex-internationals, Temasek have the potential to beat any team in the league and on their bad day lose to the same number of teams. The dust has not settled and the team will take time to gel like all new teams and Temasek will eventually feature premanently in the 8on8 league masters. Playing in Blue and white as their change strips, Temasek are looking to spring some surprises in their pursuit of the inaugural 8on8 title.
Team Profile: Hollandse Club Blue
The red hot favourites for the title, Hollandse Club Blue is made up of 30 something players with in the least Division 1 experience. Some of their players have played amongst the highest league in the Netherlands and bring a brand of hockey to the league that both excites and frustrates. Made mainly of players from the Netherlands (dah!!!) the Blues are captained by my good friend Hans Sluiser and have mean forwards and even meaner defenders. Like the Village People they hardly say no to a beer and their physical game keeps most of their opponents on their toes. The Blues as their name suggests, play in blue as their first colour and orange as their change strips.
Team Profile: Hockey Village People
Known to play with 8 in the least so don't be misled by this picture. A team of players who usually arrive late and stay even later, Hockey Village People is another team born out of the Tornados Hockey Club. Playing in Maroon as their first jersey colours and Orange as their second, these blokes hardly ever say no to a beer or a hockey game. In both cases the more the merrier. With players mostly from Commonwealth countries, such as Australia, England and now recently Guernsey Hockey Village People are actually cultured unlike their village tagging, no disrespect meant to all readers of this blog who live in villages. Currently top of the league, probbaly a good early shout for the title. Stephen Whitton is the head honcho at the mo!
Team Profile: Mucha Hockey
Mucha Hockey is born out of Tornados Hockey Club is a team that works tirelessly and are ever eager to give their best even when the chips are down. Their first jersey colours is Maroon and the change kit is orange. Eamonn Marley runs things for the team and the players are a mix of local and foreign talents.
Goalscorers chart
It has been a long time coming, but I was trying not to glorify goal scorers but since there are 23 of you who have made the charts I thought it was justified to include this on our blog.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Top three pull away
11 May 09, Singapore: Matchday 5 of the SVHA 8on8 League Masters 2009 Season was concluded today at the Hockey Village. The 2 fixtures pitted Mucha Hockey against Hockey Village People in the Tornados derby and the second game was between Temasek and Hollandse Club Blue.
The first game was in the main a one sided affair in the first period but things changed when the game restarted. Leading 4-0 at half time courtesy of goals Alan Banister, Paul Ridley and a Stephen Whitton brace, Hockey Village People were hoping for more goals in the second term. However they met a determined and hardworking Mucha side.
It was natural for Mucha to score first to reduce the deficit to 3 goals but the inspiration was shortlived and Whitton added one more to deny Mucha a second half win.
The final score of 5-1 was enough for Hockey Village People to go top of the league on 25 points, 2 more than Temasek and 3 more than Hollandse Club Blue.
With 7 matchdays remaining, the top three now are separated by just 3 points with the top side on 25 points. The bottom three has an average of 8 points and it would be a big ask for them to claw their way amongst the top trio.
Nonetheless, there is still loads to play for as there are more than half a season to play and things could change very quickly. Keeping this in perspective all teams should give their best and try to make the finals.
The day's second game saw Temasek upset high flying Hollandse Club Blue 2-0. A goal a piece in each half was the difference. Ranjit Singh and George Edward scored to keep their team in the hunt for the inaugural league season title.
The first game was in the main a one sided affair in the first period but things changed when the game restarted. Leading 4-0 at half time courtesy of goals Alan Banister, Paul Ridley and a Stephen Whitton brace, Hockey Village People were hoping for more goals in the second term. However they met a determined and hardworking Mucha side.
It was natural for Mucha to score first to reduce the deficit to 3 goals but the inspiration was shortlived and Whitton added one more to deny Mucha a second half win.
The final score of 5-1 was enough for Hockey Village People to go top of the league on 25 points, 2 more than Temasek and 3 more than Hollandse Club Blue.
With 7 matchdays remaining, the top three now are separated by just 3 points with the top side on 25 points. The bottom three has an average of 8 points and it would be a big ask for them to claw their way amongst the top trio.
Nonetheless, there is still loads to play for as there are more than half a season to play and things could change very quickly. Keeping this in perspective all teams should give their best and try to make the finals.
The day's second game saw Temasek upset high flying Hollandse Club Blue 2-0. A goal a piece in each half was the difference. Ranjit Singh and George Edward scored to keep their team in the hunt for the inaugural league season title.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Upset the order of the day
4 May 09, Singapore: Upset was the order of the day as from the time, the start of the first game was delayed to the time the second game ended, there weren't many happy faces around during the games.
From unnecessary tampering of the rules to traffice jams in Johor Bahru to half naked Temasek men, it was not a pretty sight indeed. Nevertheless, being the masters of hockey, almost literally in this case, it must be said that fun was had in the end.
The day's first game saw Temasek take on Hockey Village People with just 7 guys and without a goalkeeper. It was going to be hard and Kanan Packrisamy's early generosity proved to be costly as his early misses came back to bite his team on their backside as they lost 3-2.
Leading 1-0 following Narendran J's commanding run into the Village People's scoring circle, Packrisamy should have sealed the first half victory when presented with in the least two clear chance. He took neither and allowed the Villagers back into the game when they equalised from a penalty corner that never was (it usually happens that way).
To their undisputed credit the Village People galvanised at the break tore the Temasek team apart in the second period. With an obvious lack of communication between the Temasek side, the Villagers rallied together under the guise of unity and took the lead following poor marking by the Temasekians. Stephen Whitton stealing, Inn Kuang's goalward shot.
Village People did not have to wait too long to double their lead when Whitton again was on the mark to blast home, taking his goals tally to 3 for the season.
Playing with one player short eventually showed it strain on the Temasek side but chrunign out the last few ounces of energy, Suren gave the Temasekian a glimmer of hope and bungled the home to make it 3-2.
But a glimmer was all it was and the final whistle went to send the Hockey Village People to second spot on 16 points.
The day's second game saw two teams who have not tasted victory pit their wits and not to menton their might. Something had to give as the game ended goalless in the firts half. Disaster struck for the Hollandse Club Oranje as 4 minutes from time, Sardol Singh turned in a Joginder Singh cross to take the Merlions very close to their first victory of the season.
The experienced stalwarts held out and condemned the Oranje to yet another defeat.
Next up: 11-May-09
Monday
8pm
Mucha Hockey v Hockey Village People (The Village derby) and at
9pm
Temasek v Hollandse Club Blue (clash of the early pace setters, Blues to play in orange)
From unnecessary tampering of the rules to traffice jams in Johor Bahru to half naked Temasek men, it was not a pretty sight indeed. Nevertheless, being the masters of hockey, almost literally in this case, it must be said that fun was had in the end.
The day's first game saw Temasek take on Hockey Village People with just 7 guys and without a goalkeeper. It was going to be hard and Kanan Packrisamy's early generosity proved to be costly as his early misses came back to bite his team on their backside as they lost 3-2.
Leading 1-0 following Narendran J's commanding run into the Village People's scoring circle, Packrisamy should have sealed the first half victory when presented with in the least two clear chance. He took neither and allowed the Villagers back into the game when they equalised from a penalty corner that never was (it usually happens that way).
To their undisputed credit the Village People galvanised at the break tore the Temasek team apart in the second period. With an obvious lack of communication between the Temasek side, the Villagers rallied together under the guise of unity and took the lead following poor marking by the Temasekians. Stephen Whitton stealing, Inn Kuang's goalward shot.
Village People did not have to wait too long to double their lead when Whitton again was on the mark to blast home, taking his goals tally to 3 for the season.
Playing with one player short eventually showed it strain on the Temasek side but chrunign out the last few ounces of energy, Suren gave the Temasekian a glimmer of hope and bungled the home to make it 3-2.
But a glimmer was all it was and the final whistle went to send the Hockey Village People to second spot on 16 points.
The day's second game saw two teams who have not tasted victory pit their wits and not to menton their might. Something had to give as the game ended goalless in the firts half. Disaster struck for the Hollandse Club Oranje as 4 minutes from time, Sardol Singh turned in a Joginder Singh cross to take the Merlions very close to their first victory of the season.
The experienced stalwarts held out and condemned the Oranje to yet another defeat.
Next up: 11-May-09
Monday
8pm
Mucha Hockey v Hockey Village People (The Village derby) and at
9pm
Temasek v Hollandse Club Blue (clash of the early pace setters, Blues to play in orange)
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Blues too strong for Merlions
30 April 09, Singapore: The Hollandse Club Blues proved to be too strong for the Merlions on the Thursday night fixture of the SVHA 8on8 League Masters 2009 season. Playing the only Thursday night fixture on the eve of Labour Day did not prove to be a good idea for the Merlions as they were missing a number of their key players.
Missing Nirmal Singh at the back and Farleigh Clarke upfront, Merlions looked set to struggle against a polished Blues outfit. As the season gets into Matchday 3, it was plain to see that Blues are starting to build greater understanding amongst themselves and are passing the ball well.
The same can be said about Merlions, barring the fact that they had introduced a number of new players into the team and they only managed to move the ball nicely in small parts of the game.
All the same, the Merlions would feel that they have done reasonably well scoring twice against such a formidable opponent and will look forward to their next game, a crunch meeting against the Hollandse Club Oranje.
Just for theose statistics mongers, the Blues ran out 7-2 winners in the end with Pascal Blanchet scoring four times, with Jonathan Price addidng a brace and Dirk Rabelink scoring one.
Eric Tan and Balbir Singh scored for the Merlions.
Next up, Matchday 4: 4 May 09 8pm Hockey Village People v Temasek and 9pm Merlions v Hollandse Club Oranje.
Missing Nirmal Singh at the back and Farleigh Clarke upfront, Merlions looked set to struggle against a polished Blues outfit. As the season gets into Matchday 3, it was plain to see that Blues are starting to build greater understanding amongst themselves and are passing the ball well.
The same can be said about Merlions, barring the fact that they had introduced a number of new players into the team and they only managed to move the ball nicely in small parts of the game.
All the same, the Merlions would feel that they have done reasonably well scoring twice against such a formidable opponent and will look forward to their next game, a crunch meeting against the Hollandse Club Oranje.
Just for theose statistics mongers, the Blues ran out 7-2 winners in the end with Pascal Blanchet scoring four times, with Jonathan Price addidng a brace and Dirk Rabelink scoring one.
Eric Tan and Balbir Singh scored for the Merlions.
Next up, Matchday 4: 4 May 09 8pm Hockey Village People v Temasek and 9pm Merlions v Hollandse Club Oranje.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Mucha get off the blocks
27 April 08, Singapore: Following their 0-9 maulling at the hands of Hollandse Club Blue on the opening day of the season, Mucha Hockey regrouped well and produced a gutsy performance against a very unlucky Hollandse Club Oranje.
With revenge on their minds, Mucha took the game to the Dutch but were punished after Paul Kroonenberg dribbled his way into the scoring cricle and put the Oranje ahead after 13 minutes.
Instead of demoralising the Muchas, the goal inspired them to go all out to restore parity. They were rewarded for their endeavour when Inn Kuang slotted home to level the scores before half time.
The second half was even closer affair but despite all their possession the ORanje could not convert their chances and Andrew Mitchel did the damage and got the winner half way into the second term.
The goal gave Mucha a valuable lead and thus something to defend and defend they did till the end.
Final score 2-1 To Mucha Hockey. The Oranje are still awaiting their first win of the season.
With revenge on their minds, Mucha took the game to the Dutch but were punished after Paul Kroonenberg dribbled his way into the scoring cricle and put the Oranje ahead after 13 minutes.
Instead of demoralising the Muchas, the goal inspired them to go all out to restore parity. They were rewarded for their endeavour when Inn Kuang slotted home to level the scores before half time.
The second half was even closer affair but despite all their possession the ORanje could not convert their chances and Andrew Mitchel did the damage and got the winner half way into the second term.
The goal gave Mucha a valuable lead and thus something to defend and defend they did till the end.
Final score 2-1 To Mucha Hockey. The Oranje are still awaiting their first win of the season.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Match Day 2: 27 April
27 April 2009, Singapore: The SVHA 8on8 League Masters 2009 Season went into its second week with the last two teams in the six-team league kicking off the day's proceedings.
Merlions and Temasek are franchise teams from the SVHA and they complete the line up for this season's 8on8. Being a derby of sorts, the game was fiercely but fairly contested.
Merlions are by and large made up of members who are 50 and above and Temasek are mostly in their 40's.
After settling faster, Merlions got just reward for their endeavour and scored off the first penalty corner of the game after 5 minutes. Former Singapore International centre forward, Farleigh Clarke bundled the ball home following a goalmouth melee created by Nirmal Singh's stern shot off the corner.
Trailing by the solitary goal, Temasek, who was led by Ranjit MS drove forward in search of the equaliser. They were rewarded after 12 minutes when Silvester Selvan forced home a Kanan Packrisamy cross off Ranjit's through ball.
It was all Temasek from there on end. They scored another two goals before the half time break and once again Packrisamy and Selvan combined well to take a 3-1 lead after Ranjit (Police) had flicked the ball over the on rushing Merlions' keeper to make it 2-1.
The half time break did not help matters for the Merlions as Temasek came off the blocks for the second term and went for the Merlions' jugular. They were rewarded when Ranjit (Police) deflected a Ranjit MS cross into the net. 4-1 up and Temasek were cruising to a bonus earning win.
However, Joginder Singh had other ideas as he waltzed into the "D" following another Merlions' penalty corner and reduced the deficit to just two goals.
Temasek took the reduction in the lead seriously and went full steam ahead and scored three more unanswered goals to secure a 7-2 win. Packrisamy grabbing a brace whilst Ranjit MS struck once.
Temasek took the maximum 11 points from this game and lie second to Hollandse Club Blue on goal difference. The Blues in the meantime will be hoping to extend their lead when they play the Merlions on Thursday evening.
Merlions and Temasek are franchise teams from the SVHA and they complete the line up for this season's 8on8. Being a derby of sorts, the game was fiercely but fairly contested.
Merlions are by and large made up of members who are 50 and above and Temasek are mostly in their 40's.
After settling faster, Merlions got just reward for their endeavour and scored off the first penalty corner of the game after 5 minutes. Former Singapore International centre forward, Farleigh Clarke bundled the ball home following a goalmouth melee created by Nirmal Singh's stern shot off the corner.
Trailing by the solitary goal, Temasek, who was led by Ranjit MS drove forward in search of the equaliser. They were rewarded after 12 minutes when Silvester Selvan forced home a Kanan Packrisamy cross off Ranjit's through ball.
It was all Temasek from there on end. They scored another two goals before the half time break and once again Packrisamy and Selvan combined well to take a 3-1 lead after Ranjit (Police) had flicked the ball over the on rushing Merlions' keeper to make it 2-1.
The half time break did not help matters for the Merlions as Temasek came off the blocks for the second term and went for the Merlions' jugular. They were rewarded when Ranjit (Police) deflected a Ranjit MS cross into the net. 4-1 up and Temasek were cruising to a bonus earning win.
However, Joginder Singh had other ideas as he waltzed into the "D" following another Merlions' penalty corner and reduced the deficit to just two goals.
Temasek took the reduction in the lead seriously and went full steam ahead and scored three more unanswered goals to secure a 7-2 win. Packrisamy grabbing a brace whilst Ranjit MS struck once.
Temasek took the maximum 11 points from this game and lie second to Hollandse Club Blue on goal difference. The Blues in the meantime will be hoping to extend their lead when they play the Merlions on Thursday evening.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Hollandse Club make Mucha sing the Blues
20 April 2009, Singapore: The opening day's second game started 10 past 9 and was incident packed. The Hollandse Club Blue (Blues) team who boasted a team completely of Division 1 players from last season proved to be too strong for the Mucha Hockey (Mucha) side.
The latter were also playing on home ground but struggled from as soon as 2 minutes into the game. Pascal Blanchet, the French inspiration behind this Dutch team spurn into the "D" and reverse sticked the ball past Rob Glover for the Blues' opener.
It was one way traffic from there on end till half time which came 5 goals later courtesy of Jonathan Price from a penalty corner, Michiel Bouwman twice, Blanchet added another and Hans Sluyser once. At 6-0 up the Blues were cruising to a huge opening day victory.
However, the unique feature of the league where you can score points in each half galvanised the Muchas. They came out with renewed vigour and did a great job in denying the Blues time and again.
Unfortunately the nippy Blanchet's drive into the "D" on numeorus occasions was checked disastrously by Glover in the Mucha goal. He came out and made himself big innocuously and regretably struck Blanchet on his left eye socket. A bloodied Blanchet left the field with a cut nose bridge and another one a milimeter below his left eye, lucky lucky:)
A sporting Blanchet cleaned himself up with first aid provided by the ever present Vear Singh and watched a little more before heading home by which time Bouwman and Sluyser had added 3 more goals to the good for the Blues.
Mucha treathened to pull one goal back but to no avail. They however look sufficiently improved to live to fight another day.
With the 9-0 win the Blues lead the standing after Matchday 1 with 11 points (3 for winning the 1st half, 3 for winning the second half, 4 for wining the game and 1 bonus point for winning by 3 or more goals margin.
Bouwman's one-two with Wim Ten Hof which produced goal number three for the Blues was the play of the day.
Next up 27 April 09 8pm Merlions v Temasek and 9pm Hollandse Club Oranje v Mucha Hockey.
The latter were also playing on home ground but struggled from as soon as 2 minutes into the game. Pascal Blanchet, the French inspiration behind this Dutch team spurn into the "D" and reverse sticked the ball past Rob Glover for the Blues' opener.
It was one way traffic from there on end till half time which came 5 goals later courtesy of Jonathan Price from a penalty corner, Michiel Bouwman twice, Blanchet added another and Hans Sluyser once. At 6-0 up the Blues were cruising to a huge opening day victory.
However, the unique feature of the league where you can score points in each half galvanised the Muchas. They came out with renewed vigour and did a great job in denying the Blues time and again.
Unfortunately the nippy Blanchet's drive into the "D" on numeorus occasions was checked disastrously by Glover in the Mucha goal. He came out and made himself big innocuously and regretably struck Blanchet on his left eye socket. A bloodied Blanchet left the field with a cut nose bridge and another one a milimeter below his left eye, lucky lucky:)
A sporting Blanchet cleaned himself up with first aid provided by the ever present Vear Singh and watched a little more before heading home by which time Bouwman and Sluyser had added 3 more goals to the good for the Blues.
Mucha treathened to pull one goal back but to no avail. They however look sufficiently improved to live to fight another day.
With the 9-0 win the Blues lead the standing after Matchday 1 with 11 points (3 for winning the 1st half, 3 for winning the second half, 4 for wining the game and 1 bonus point for winning by 3 or more goals margin.
Bouwman's one-two with Wim Ten Hof which produced goal number three for the Blues was the play of the day.
Next up 27 April 09 8pm Merlions v Temasek and 9pm Hollandse Club Oranje v Mucha Hockey.
Village People let home ground advantage show
20 April 09, Singapore: It was a keenly contested opening game to the inaugural SVHA 8on8 League Masters 2009 Season. Hollandse Club Oranje (Oranje) took on Hockey Village People (HVP) a shade past 8pm. Umpired by Hans Peter Sluyser and Rod Hurst the game was more than we bargained for as the teams went at each other like rabbits on heat.
With neither of the goalkeepers budging in the first half, the teams retired to half time locked firmly at goalless. Martijn Snijder was having a blinder for the Oranje whilst Stephen Whitton came close a number of times for the home side. Paul Riddle was solid at the back for the HVP and provided many a attacks with his long passes which the Oranje struggled to deal with.
The introduction of Paul Kronenburg at half time for the Oranje made a difference as the Oranje had a player who was willing to take the opponent on and added an carefree asian flavour to the dsciplined European brand of hockey.
However it was Whitton who struck at the other end 5 minutes into the second half. It proved to be the only goal of the match. Whitton latched onto a mis-trap by Sander Scheepens of the Oranje and capitalised lethally with a stift forestick shot past a hapless Snijder in the Oranje goal.
Kronenburg came close a number of times to level the game but good goalkeeping by the HVP keeper and a fraction shy of accuracy meant HVP bag the win.
The win gave HVP 8 points and the narrow defeat did not leave the Oranje empty handed as they finished with 2 points, 1 for drawing the first half and the 1 for losing by a single goal margin.
With neither of the goalkeepers budging in the first half, the teams retired to half time locked firmly at goalless. Martijn Snijder was having a blinder for the Oranje whilst Stephen Whitton came close a number of times for the home side. Paul Riddle was solid at the back for the HVP and provided many a attacks with his long passes which the Oranje struggled to deal with.
The introduction of Paul Kronenburg at half time for the Oranje made a difference as the Oranje had a player who was willing to take the opponent on and added an carefree asian flavour to the dsciplined European brand of hockey.
However it was Whitton who struck at the other end 5 minutes into the second half. It proved to be the only goal of the match. Whitton latched onto a mis-trap by Sander Scheepens of the Oranje and capitalised lethally with a stift forestick shot past a hapless Snijder in the Oranje goal.
Kronenburg came close a number of times to level the game but good goalkeeping by the HVP keeper and a fraction shy of accuracy meant HVP bag the win.
The win gave HVP 8 points and the narrow defeat did not leave the Oranje empty handed as they finished with 2 points, 1 for drawing the first half and the 1 for losing by a single goal margin.
Monday, April 20, 2009
MATCHDAY 1 RESULTS
HOLLANDSE CLUB ORANJE 0 -1 HOCKEY VILLAGE PEOPLE
Goals: Stephen Whitton (FG, 30 mins)
MUCHA HOCKEY 0 - 9 HOLLANDSE CLUB BLUE
Goals: Pascal Blanchet (FG 2min, FG 13), Jonathan Price (PC 4), Michiel Bouwman (FG 5, FG 19, FG 35, FG 39), Hans Sluyser (FG 16, FG 40)
Goals: Stephen Whitton (FG, 30 mins)
MUCHA HOCKEY 0 - 9 HOLLANDSE CLUB BLUE
Goals: Pascal Blanchet (FG 2min, FG 13), Jonathan Price (PC 4), Michiel Bouwman (FG 5, FG 19, FG 35, FG 39), Hans Sluyser (FG 16, FG 40)
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Match Day 1: 20 April
8pm Hollandse Club Oranje v Hockey Village People
9pm Mucha Hockey v Hollandse Club Blue
9pm Mucha Hockey v Hollandse Club Blue
Friday, April 10, 2009
League starting on April 20 this year
Dear SVHAns,
Your patience has been exemplary. I owe all of you who have stuck by the league tremendous gratitude. Now let's get a move on and enjoy some good masters hockeys.
Watch tis space for more details.
cheerio
Kanan
Your patience has been exemplary. I owe all of you who have stuck by the league tremendous gratitude. Now let's get a move on and enjoy some good masters hockeys.
Watch tis space for more details.
cheerio
Kanan
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