TANNIBELLIESHOCKEYCLUB
EST.2013
il dolce far niente
What Went Past.
2013
CHAMPION OF 2013 MEN'S DIVISION 4
Tannibellies crowned the champion of 2013 Men's Division 4 after a hard fought 3 -2 victory over contender Balestier Lions (Ballions) in a highly competitive match.
The Bellies approached the game with their usual 3-4-3 formation at the start but was given a real test in the opening minutes by the Ballions Midfield, who were more organized, and played many long balls to bypass the Bellie's "engine room" which placed the Bellie's defense under much pressure.
Manager Kelvin had to switch and adopt a more conversative 4-3-3 counter attack tactic in order to soak up the pressure by the fast pace of Ballions attackers. As the Ballions streamed up for attacks, the Bellies found space and through a counter attack spurred on by Defender, Kok Chin, who after exchanging a couple of passes, sprinted 60 meters from his defensive position into the Ballion's scoring circle to place the ball to the corner of Ballion's goal from an unchallenged shot in the 15th minute to give THC the lead.
THC turned on the heat further 2 minutes later, where after a superb run by Yoge, who was challenged by 2 Ballion's defender and their Goal Keeper, managed to beat them all and took a shot which hit the 3rd defender on the foot as he stood on the goal line. Receiving a Penalty Stroke (PS), Shaun calmly converted the PS and gave the Bellies a 2 - 0 lead after 18 minutes. Ballions poured more bodies forward and managed to score 1 goal before half time as their forward squeezed a shot past defender Kok Chin which unsighted Goal Keeper Hong Zhen as he stood firmly rooted to the spot. The Bellies were not shaken by this and found a 3rd goal from a superb team play which sliced the Ballion's defense apart where Shaun duly completed the move by hammering an unstoppable shot to the right corner of the goal which restored the 2 goals advantage going into half time.
In the 2nd half, Ballions pushed forward in numbers to look for the win as a draw will do them no good due to a superior goal difference held by the Tannibellies.
Their gamble paid off early as Ballions cut the Bellie's lead to 1 through a Penalty Corner in the 37th Minute and pulled the score to 3-2. THC stormed forward trying to put in more goals to secure a comfortable win but was out of luck as all shots taken by the Bellies Forwards were either narrowly wide or straight at the Ballion's custodian. Ballion also came close to an equalizer as 1 of their deflected shot hit the upright and another goal mouth scramble was put wide by their ex-national youth olympic player with Bellie's GK on the ground stranded from a Penalty Corner.
At the final whistle, the Bellies jumped in joyed and embraced each other after a long season and now they can proudly call themselves the CHAMPION of 2013. In the end this day belonged to the Tannibellies.
Photo: Fiona
Clash of the Table Toppers to determine Championship
Tannibellies will play Ballions, both are currently having 100% winning records , to determine the 2013 Division 4 League Champion.
THC will be going into the match without 3 of their regular players due to injuries and work committment (Samuel - Injured, Edwin - Injured & Rusydi - Work Committment), but this will not shake the confidence of the team as The Bellies have been awaiting for the clash since Day 1 of the competition.
Do come down and witness the all important clash on the 09th of November 2013, 4pm at Seng Kang Hockey Stadium and see the Bellies battle for the Division 4 Champions Title.
Photo: Fiona
THC gave SCC a 'hockey lesson'
Tannibellies gave SCC a lesson in hockey by hammering the home team with a scoreline of 10 to nothing.
The Bellies took charge of the game from the 1st minute and scored the opening goal within 10 minutes of the match with some short and accurate passes from the midfield to forward. Kang Wee broke the deadlock after a superb individual run by him from the 25 meter area into the circle before firing the shot to the corner of the goal giving the SCC keeper no chance.
The Bellies took a comfortable 4 – 0 lead going into the half time break with total dominance of the game and Keeper Daniel was only given 1 touch of the ball from a mis-trap from the Bellies defense during the half.
The 2nd half started the same as it ended in the 1st where SCC were left chasing Bellie’s shadow and almost 80% of the possession were in the SCC’s halfway. SCC managed to squeeze out 2 penalty corner of their own from some careless defensive work in the Bellies circle but were unable to convert any of their, few and far between, chances.
The last 10 minutes of the match showcased another classic example of experience triumph against enthusiasm in the game of hockey as the Bellies were playing a ‘short-sided’ game in SCC’s 25 meter area and taking shots after shots towards SCC’s goal only to be wasted by some sluggish finishing of the Bellies. THC eventually ended the match with a 10 - 0 score-line and a belly full of fire approaching the last match against the Ballions on the 09th of November to decide the championship.
Photo: Fiona / Edit: Hong Zhen
Hat Trick Hero and Man of The Match, Samuel
Photo: Fiona
Consistent performance from Kang Wee ensures The Bellies a comfortable victory
Bellies marches on
Tannibellies stroll to another victory and one more step closer towards the title with a comprehensive 7 – 1 victory over Jansenites in the SHL Division 4.
The Bellies started off the match missing their hardworking young forward Shafiqal and goalkeeper Danial due to family commitment but at the same time welcomed back the striking duo of Paul and Hafidz to boost some firepower in the front line.
Samuel who also missed the previous match against SRC Westwood was also back in action to give the overworked midfield a much needed fresh pair of legs. Tannibellie’s young talents such as Erwinshah, Raihan and Rusydi were also available for selection after sitting out the previous weeks due to their N Level studies. Hong Zhen had to start in goal for the Bellies but was practically untested throughout the whole match other than the single goal conceded in the first half.
The Bellies were in full control of the match from the opening whistle and displayed some precise and accurate passing from the midfields to the forwards but it took the Bellies over 10 minutes before they were able to break the deadlock. Even though the Bellies had full control of the opening exchanges, they found it hard to break the spirited performance of Jansenites in the opening minutes as Jansenites were happy to play “Park-The-Bus” in front of goal tactic as almost all 11 of their players were in their defensive 25 Meter Area for the first 10 minutes of the match. The Bellies took the lead with a well worked goal through Hafidz after some exchanges of passes into the D where Hafidz found himself at the right place and right time to slot in the first goal of the match off a rebound from the Jansenites Keeper’s pad.
Jansenites found their equalizer 2 minutes later after some sluggish defending with a hopeful ball being hit into the D, which caught the whole defense sleeping, and their forward was able to slot the ball into the unguarded goal easily. This may have sparked the fire in the bellies of the Tannibellies as the team quickly answered back with another 3 goals and lead 4 – 1 going into the half time break.
In the 2nd half the Bellies took the foot off the gas pedal a little and instead of chasing for double-digit goals victory, they opted for “Total Hockey” team player instructed by Team Manager Kelvin from the sideline. This was easily noticeable as at one point of the match, Hong Zhen was the only player in his own defensive half and the whole line of defensive players were over the opponent’s half way. This move prompted Jansenites to deploy 2 high forwards to lure the Bellies defense back but the move backfired on them as the Bellies were able to find spaces in the Jansenties half and slot in 3 more goals to complete the 7 – 1 victory easily with Samuel capturing his first hat trick for the season. In the end, the game was played in good spirit and the umpires were not given much to do other than blowing for the easiest of fouls for both teams.
The Bellies will now have one month of break before facing SCC on October 26th, which follow by the all-important clash with the Ballions on November 09th to end the season. When one of the Bellies fan asked the players why was there such a long break before facing SCC, a player casually remarked in the name of fun, “The Federation would like Bellies to enjoy the Oktoberfest before playing our hearts out against SCC”. This brought laughter to all that were present at the stadium.
Photo: Fiona / Edit: Hong Zhen
Edwin leads the Bellies against SRC Westwood
Photo: Fiona / Edit: Hong Zhen
Bellies won many Penalty Corners but was unable to convert any
THC winning big but injuries continues
Tannibellies continued their title challenge by coming up with a comfortable 17 to nil win against a weak SRC Westwood side but set to lose 2 more players in the coming week ahead due to injuries.
Adopting a 5-3-2 formation by having a bold 5 attackers, 3 midfielders and only 2 defenders; manager Kelvin have planned for a full fledge attack mode to chase the goal difference and it duly paid off. Ballions who concluded their game against a 8 men SCC team also stayed back to watch the 1st half of the match and were treated to many spectacular team play of THC.
Tannibellies started off with the match brightly and took the lead quickly just after 5 minutes of play from a loose ball in the D and Hong Zhen was able to squeeze it past the goalie. At this juncture the floodgate just opened as the goals came in fast and furious. Tannibellies were out for ‘blood’ as the team controlled more then 80% of possession in the opponent’s half. But the number of chances in front of goal wasted in the first half was also quite a handful and it was addressed quickly during the half time team talk.
The Bellies were playing without their Captain, Suren, due to injury and Vice Captain, Paul, due to work commitment and to make matters worse Assistant Vice Captain, Bala, was also not fully fit before the match after his hamstring injury which he could only play for less then 20 minutes of the match and had to retire to the bench. The team nominated hardworking forward, Edwin to be the Captain of the day and with his parents watching on in the stands he did not disappoint by scoring his first hat trick of the tournament. The midfield maestro of Leon and Kang Wee added a total of 4 goals for the team where they each put 2 past the inexperienced Westwood goalkeeper. Leon finally broke his tournament goal drought in this match.
Tannibellies led 7 to nothing by half time but injury plague struck the team once again as Hong Zhen had to limp off 5 minutes into the 2nd period due to, yet another, hamstring injury. Kok Chin, who was present at the match but opted to sit out due to a flu virus, had to change into his gear to offer an extra option for substitution as out of the 4 substitutes 3 were carrying injury. (Bala – Hammy, HZ – Hammy, Pravin – Stiff Back). Yoge could only watch from the stands as he is still carrying the same injury he suffered since the 3rd match of the season where he is still unable to shake it off completely.
With just 1 substitute for the entire 2nd half of the game, Tannibellies were still able to put in 10 more goals and also try players out in different position where Rama was given a central defensive role and Fala was tried out as forward.
Even after missing games for 2 consecutive weeks, THC’s influential forward, Hafidz, is still the current top scorer but with youngster Shafiqal close behind chasing for the accolade as well. Both are now standing at 9 goals each. Paul is in 3rd place with 6 goals under his name.
Tannibellies will next face off against Jansenites on 21 Sept, who drew with the Ballions just couple of weeks earlier. Kelvin will hope for a bigger squad on match day to reduce chances of players picking up any more injuries in preparation for the all-important clash in November with Ballions.
Goal Scorers for the Match:
Edwin (03), Leon (02), Kang Wee (02), Shafiqal (02), Daren (02), Hong Zhen (02), Shaun (01), Kok Chin (01), Pravin (01), Rama (01)
Photo: Fiona
Rama (in red) was voted Man of the Match for his 2 outstanding reverse shot goals to keep THC in the match
16 goals thriller in top of the table clash
Tannibellies was held to a 8 all draw by SRC Seng Kang in an intense match last Saturday. And to make matters worse, the highly physically and equally contested match was sadly spoilt by some appalling umpire's decision which could have handed the match to either side in the dying minutes.
Tannibellies (THC) had to dig deep into their experience again to fight for a draw after going behind 4 times in the match to much younger SRC Seng Kang team. With the team missing 7 of their regular players due to work and family commitments, THC was handed another blow when team captain, Suren had to limp off after 10 minutes into the game with a hamstring injury. On the other hand, THC welcomed back their hardworking forward, Yoge, who incidentally also suffered from the same injury weeks ago. He (Yoge) had to fight through the pain and play the game due to the lack of numbers in the substitute bench which manager, Kelvin, was having a hard time doing his usual rotation game.
Other then the high score line, another highlight was the umpiring standard that showcased the lack of experience in the officials appointed for the match which brought the already heated game into the next level with the lack of control and management which led to many dangerous situation. The 2 teams got to thank their lucky charm for finishing the game with only a few knocks, bruises and scratches with nothing more serious. At the final hooter, it was obvious that both team’s captain and their manager were seen approaching the match officials for a personal chat on the game and players from both side were left less then impressed with their performance.
THC will next play SRC Westwood and hope to clinch all three points so as not to allow Ballions, who currently lies in 2nd spot, over take them due to a better goal difference.
Tannibellies proves too powerful for Eagles SJI
Tannibellies put up a convincing victory over Eagels SJI with a 12 - 0 scoreline.
Catch the full match replay and see some hockey Tannibellies Style!
Tannibellies Logo
Tannibellies is looking to add a 'face' for the club by creating our very own logo.
This logo will be printed on all Jerseys moving forward in the next season once all members have given their consent to the final design.
Here are the final few for selection and comments.
Lost & Found
Have you seen him? Do not run if you manage to find him as he will not chase after you, instead please offer him a beer.
He is our official long lost mascot of Tannibellies Hockey Club. His last known location is......UNKNOWN.
Please contact any of the THC members if you are able to locate him. He has been acting cute for way too long.