Update for 23rd Dec - Kamikaze vs Atlético Manjan

Kamikaze entered into their 12th match of the D&D season with much to hope for. The problem of having too few players has become history, and the much-talked about "Friendster-Fiasco" had also came to an amicable end. Thus Kamikaze entered the Admiralty Sec pitch with high hopes of achieving a good result and thus extending the unbeaten streak to the magical number of 10. But did Santa give the KKZ faithful an early Christmas present, or were they left to rue an unforseen result?


Player-manager Haresh opted for a flying wing-back 3-5-2 formation, which eventually proved to be the difference between the two teams. Kamikaze had all the early possession and it was not too long before they made their dominance in midfield count. USPO Suresh sprayed a diagonal ball to the right searching for fellow Aussieboy Hari who didn't need a second invitation in taking a first time cross. The ball was hit with such ferocity that Atlético Manjan's keeper was only able to parry it away. However, VS Dinesh, playing in his preferred forward role was there to tap it in home and open Kamikaze's account for the day. Kamikaze's newly acquired habit of scoring early goals, had obviously continued.

From then on, it was largely one-way traffic as Kamikaze looked to double their lead. Stand-in keeper Nayee was virtually a bystander as Kamikaze was doing all the attacking. Shots from USPO, Hari and Haresh all came close, but the scoreline stood as it was. But it wasn't too long before Kamikaze struck again. This time, Prem shot a cracker from just outside the box. The keeper managed to save it, but couldn't stop it from rolling into the path of Dinesh who gleefully tapped in for his brace.

However, the scoreline had induced a monotony in the play, and the game became scrappier towards the end of the half. Atlético Manjan had a few half-chances to take, but Kamikaze still headed for the dressing room with a two-goal cushion.

The halftime talk revolved around two things: The need to improve the style of play that had deteriorated, and the comments by one of the Atlético players who had passingly said that Kamikaze was not as good as some of their previous opponents.

As the games for the D&D season go by, it can be seen that KKZ are playing with a never-before-seen maturity and sense of unity. Each game and each tackle was being won with pride and loyalty for the KKZ badge. And that spirit was epitomised in the second half as Sivabalan, Neshta, Vinod, and USPO Suresh all put in crunching tackles to win every single ball in a bid to maintain the clean sheet. So much so, that co-keepers Habib and Nayee had virtually nothing to do besides taking goalkicks.

And across the run-of-play, comeback kid Barathi struck. Barathi, who was dazzling in his dribbling throughout the game shook off two defenders before shooting cleverly to beat the keeper in the near post. 3-0 to KKZ.

As the fire in the opponents was fizzling off, KKZ looked to kill the game and they did so, when Yasin shimmied past two defender and shot from just inside the box to leave the keeper rooted to the ground. The game was all but over now...

But like I always say... The soccer gods had other ideas. It was after all the Christmas season, and the season of giving. There was a player in the ranks of KKZ who was on a hat-trick trail. And he was just about to get it. Barathi made another dazzling run through the flank and earned a well-deserved penalty when he was fouled inside the box. There was no doubt on who was to take the kick. VS Dinesh stepped up and coolly placed the ball dead centre to earn a much-cherished hat-trick. The KKZ faithful congratulates him and hopes for more from him. 5-0 it was, and that was how it ended.

Overall, it was a very satisfying game for Kamikaze as they performed in all areas of the pitch. They might not be the best team that Atlético had faced, but they will most surely be oone of the dreaded.

Also, Santa had delivered the much awaited gift of "Double-digit number of unbeaten matches". As a bonus he had also thrown in a hat-trick to VS Dinesh. Vinod from Eastboys also received an early Christmas gift, when he was adjudged to have been the man-of-the-match by the Editor. While, the entire team had put in sterling performances, Vinod won the award for this week for playing a brave and tireless game. He put in several tackles and was willing to run up and down, and as such the Editor has used his discretion to present him as the man-of-the-match. Special commendation is also given to Barathi for a sparkling display. The KKZ faithful expects far more from the twinkle-toed wonder and expects him to turn up for matches with more regularity.

A streak of 10 matches unbeaten achieved. This is not the end. It is just the beginning. This is where style meets passion on the pitch, to achieve glory.

Kamikaze!!!

Match Stats:

Final Score: KKZ 5 Atlético Manjan 0 (2-0)
Goals: VS Dinesh (3), Yasin (1), Barathi (1)
Assists: Hari (1), Prem (1)
MOM: Vinod EastBoys

Overall Standings:

Goals:
(5): Habib
(4): Haresh, Nayee, Hevy, Ghazali
(3): VS Dinesh, Barathi
(2): Vinnie, Vicky, Dinesh Manjan
(1): Gerard, Satheesh, Jayraj, Ismail, Faizal(East), Anand Spaceship, Hari, Haravin, Yasin

Assists
(4): Anand Spaceship
(3): Barathi, Habib
(2): Gerard, Haresh, Seelan, Hari Aussieboy, Prem
(1): Vicky, Vinnie, Ghazali, Nayee, Hevy

Update for Match VS FC Mat

Venue : Regent Sec

Time : 1pm

Score : Kamikaze 6 Mat FC 3


After a marvellous game at Gan Eng Seng which witnessed an amazing 4-4 comeback scoreline, Kamikaze's mental/physical toughness was put to test again as they faced a Mat team in the early afternoon fixture at Choa Chu Kang. Kamikaze were without their inspirational manager Haresh and Captain Achu, Nayee, Francis, Uspo, Faizal and Barathi who were unable to make it due to commitments. Thus Co-captain Nash took over the reins and rode Kamikaze to another victory,this stretching to a 9 game winning streak. Sivabalan, who took a long break from club duty, joined back into the squad and everyone was delighted to have him back.

Mat FC had a lack of communication and only fielded 10 men as 2 of their players were not contactable and they were at a losing end. Even though with the man shortage, Kamikaze played according to position and strategy never losing focus and this was an applaudable act.
Kamikaze's attacking mentality from the day before continued and within a matter of minutes, Kamikaze opened the scoring thru Habib who placed his shot to the keeper's left, after latching on to a Hevy pass. The combo of Hevy and Habib proved venomous as the banged in a total of 8 goals in the 2 matches they featured. The second goal displayed their level of communication as they opened the defence with Hevy's slick dribbling and a 1-2 pass from Habib left the keeper in no man's land and Hevy to pop home the 2nd goal. Kamikaze attacked more agressively with Spaceship and Ghazali tantalising their side- backs throught the whole game. Hari and Gerard were magnificent in their long-balls and unlocked the opponents easily.Habib then netted the 3rd goal in similiar fashion, pouncing on to a ball handled weakly by the keeper from a Hevy stinger and tapped home. The opponents were clearly fatigued and disorganised and were praying for the half time whistle, but if the Soccer God mentioned earlier existed, he sure was not on the Mat Fc's side as Hevy showed what a predator really is by dribbling 3 defenders with spear-like velocity and coolly finishing to end the half with Kamikaze leading 4-0. The players went in happy and the feeling of mission accomplished.

The 2nd Half as always proved to be a set-back for kamikaze. The 2 players, whom were nt present for Mat FC came in the 2nd half and turned out to be U-21 young lions. That changed the game a bit as our defence was put to the sword 3 times and all 3 were miscommunications. Kamikaze were caught off-guard and needed to get back on feet to kill off the opponents game and morale. Kamikaze tried from set-pieces, wing-play and even the predator was firing blanks as he was heavily marked and the goal-keeper sudenly seemed to have found his golden gloves. The opponents then resorted to dirty tactics as they launched bone-jarring tackles which fired up the emotions. Things came to a boil when Prem was unsportmanly hacked down by their centre back, and although it was his 2nd yellow card offence, the referee proved that he and Graham Poll had something in common by not sending him off and carding Haravin for protesting. Just wen things were horrid, Ghazali surged forward with the ball, used Spaceship as a decoy and beat the keeper at his near post for the 5th Kamikaze goal. The opponents had their hands in their faces and tried to play a 6 man defence, but a resilient Habib pressured like mad and won a Manjan Dinesh through ball to shoot at the keeper. He fumbled it and it was rolling into goal with Ganesh running behind it to make sure it ended up there. A jubliant Habib got his Hat-Trick and Kamikaze got their well deserved victory and an even better weekend with back to back wins. Congrats to the guys and a warm welcome to Sivabalan, a lion back into the pack
of ferocious ones! Our left-back Jayraj will be out for approximately 4-6 mths due to injury and let us wish for a speedy return for him. Aideos

Final Score : Kamikaze 6 Mat FC 3
Scorers : Habib(3), Hevy(2), Ghazali(1)
Assists : Hevy(1), Habib(1), Manjan(1)

Overall Standings:

Goals:
(5): Habib
(4): Haresh, Nayee, Hevy, Ghazali
(2): Barathi, Vinnie, Vicky, Dinesh Manjan
(1): Gerard, Satheesh, Jayraj, Ismail, Faizal(East), Anand Spaceship, Hari, Haravin

Assists
(4): Anand Spaceship
(3): Barathi, Habib
(2): Gerard, Haresh, Seelan
(1): Vicky, Vinnie, Ghazali, Hari, Prem, Nayee, Hevy

MOM (3): Nash
(1): Gerard, Manjo, Anand Spaceship, Francis Pow, Hari, USPO Suresh, Nayee, Habib

KKZ Fund: $110

Update for 1st Dec - Kamikaze vs Nitroz FC

After a break of nearly 4 weeks, to celebrate the festive season, Kamikaze were back on the footballing trail with two back-to-back matches fixed.

The first of it was played against Nitroz FC at the old homeground, Gan Eng Seng Sec. Mixed feelings of nostalgia and weariness filled the hearts of Kamikaze, as this was the first match in a long long time to be played without a referee and the players knew it was gonna be hard to adapt.

Hard it was, as within 3 minutes of the kickoff, Nitroz wonderkid Ameer dribbled past 3 Kamikaze players, who were not sure whether to pull the offside trap or defend deep, to open the scoring. However, the goal did not daunt KKZ, as they played with their heads still held high. And the attitude paid off, as Seelan swept in a tantalising corner that was met by a sublime volley by KKZ's very own wonderkid Haravin. Scores were level, and a great game looked to be in the cards.

Great game it was, but not for KKZ. Within the next 20 mins, Nitroz put 3 past KKZ and shock began to engulf the Kamikaze faithful. To their credit, Kamikaze attacked with all that they had. But a combination of bad finishing and frantic defending by Nitroz ensured that Nitroz headed to the break with a comfortable 4-1 lead.

Past perfomances showed that KKZ has a major problem with improving their performances in the second half. On top of that they were facing a 3-goal deficit. And to make the matters worse, the goalmouth that they were attacking was muddy and battered after just a half's play, which meant that it can only get worse. The signs looked obvious. Kamikaze were headed to their first defeat in 8 games.

But... Like i always say... The soccer gods had other ideas. A morale-lifting team-talk, by Haresh, a change in tactics to play 4 defenders back and a self-belief in the hearts of the players made sure that the second half was a different game.

Kamikaze attacked from the word go, and won every single challenge. A free-kick taken by Nayee, at the edge of the box saw him missing the target narrowly. But it was not too long before KKZ pulled one back. Habib controlled a pass and knocked it on to Havey, who didnt have to think twice to unleash a shot that comprehensively beat the keeper and burst into the nets. The score was 2-4 to KKZ's disadvantage, but the momentum was clearly on their sides.

Nayee played in what was one of his better games and he made the performance count as he picked Habib out with a delicately passed through-ball. Habib made no mistake from the 6-yard box as he toe-poked the shot into goal. The score was 3-4, but KKZ were already looking forward to win it.

Maybe that was the mistake, as the game took a dour tone after that. Plays became scrappy and Nitroz attacked with more vigour. They could have even managed a goal, if not for some excellent defending by Haravin, Achu and Nash. Haravin in particular was praised for his never-say-die spirit and was touted as definitely a player to watch in future games. The KKZ faithful hopes that he blossoms into a more matured player as the potential is undeniable.

However, as the clock read that only 10 mins were left, KKZ sprung into action. They were determined not to let their unbeaten streak end and launched into wave after wave of trademark Kamikaze attacks. Anand Spaceship, Haresh and Havey all had a wealth of chances, but could not convert. Just when it looked like it wasn't goin to be Kamikaze's day, a stroke of magic turned it all.

Havey took a throughpass from Haresh on the left flank and proceeded to silkily dribble past 3 defenders before smashing a venomous shot, to double his goal tally and grab Kamikaze's equaliser. The equaliser dampened Nitroz' morale and Kamikaze could have even snatched a late winner, but they just couldnt convert. In the end, the game ended to become Kamikaze's first draw, in the D&D era. But it sure will rank as a memorable one.

There were several positives that could be taken from the game. The first being the spirit and composure that the team showed even when they were down by 3 goals. Nayee's improved performance that won him the man-of-the-match award was also welcomed by the team. Kamikaze's depth of talent was also revealed as they played this game without Midfield dynamo Gerard and solid Centreback Francis. However, the one lesson that Kamikaze should learn is to keep their focus for the entire duration of the game. Focus is the new mantra of Kamikaze, and watch this space to see it unfold..

Kamikaze!!!

Match Stats:

Final Score: KKZ 4 Nitroz FC 4 (1-4)
Goals: Havey (2), Habib (1), Haravin (1)
Assists: Seelan (1), Habib (1), Nayee (1), Haresh (1)
MOM: Nayee

Overall Standings:

Goals:
(4): Haresh, Nayee
(3): Ghaz
(2): Barathi, Vinnie, Vicky, Dinesh Manjan, Habib, Havey
(1): Gerard, Satheesh, Jayraj, Ismail, Faizal(East), Anand Spaceship, Hari, Haravin

Assists
(4): Anand Spaceship
(3): Barathi
(2): Gerard, Haresh, Seelan, Habib
(1): Vicky, Vinnie, Ghazali, Hari, Prem, Nayee

MOM
(3): Nash
(1): Gerard, Manjo, Anand Spaceship, Francis Pow, Hari, USPO Suresh, Nayee