Since I got involved with the game of soccer since Sec 1, my playing position during competitive games have mainly been that of a defender. I play as a defender in inter-class games, for my Yishun Soccerites team (though they put me on a striker once & I netted a hat-trick, they put me back to defence #@&!!) and my Toys R Us team.
This is fine because my favourite Singapore player is a defender named Borhan Abu Samah and I've always tried to model him in my play when it comes to tackling. As such, almost 95% of the time, I had to play as defender but at the back of my mind, I wish I could do more in an attacking sense but it was largely unfulfilled until I came aboard a Singapore Navy ship named RSS Excellence.
At RSS Excellence, the shipcrews loved football and for my first friendly game, our buffer ask me what position I wish to play. I told him any position is fine but I've earlier shared with my fellow gunner Eric Chua that I would love to try out striker if there's a chance. To my surprise, Buffer name me as Eric Chua strike partner for the game. ^_^ . We won 3-1 against MCV team (can't remember its RSS Valour or RSS Victory) and I scored two easy goals, one of which was a tap-in. Buffer boasted my confidence during the game by giving me a thumbs up after I tried an audacious loop on the goalie but went over the bar. The guys made me feel at home though I'm confident I can do well for them even before the game start. As time passes, L202 gave me the opportunity to play as a midfielder and I absolutely loved the opportunity to play in midfield though I knew it is not my best position. It was fun.
Anway, think I've written too much on myself. This page is dedicated to the L202 footballers whom I have played with in the 1996 and 1997 period. My sincere apologies if I miss out anyone because my memory is aging.
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Here's the list of notable L202 footballers that I played with:
1) Goalkeeper ME Jerry Ong : A Liverpool fan who ride a scrambler bike. Strong hands , good reflexes and good looking. Remember his instant point blank save during outside friendly game @ police academy. Possibly one of the best goalie that I ever play with.
Sail for MSTD 97: Yes
2) Defender ME CK Yam : My favourite L202 football team mate. Playing style resemble like Stuart Pearce, passionate hard tackler. Very committed player. Flip side, need to improve his reading of the game if played in central defence.
Sail for MSTD 97 : Yes
3) Defender Coxswain Fletcher: Our Coxswain is short but he's more than make up for it with his nonsense play. He has a bit of mean steak in his play. Good stamina for his age and a valuable asset to the team.
Sail for MSTD 97 : No
4) Defender Chinese Chief RO: This fellow play for the Singapore Navy rugby team and he got big strong legs and thighs. That's make him an excellent stopper for L202 football team. Ideally, he's the best defender of our team who can tackle hard, pump long balls and good stamina. He's not very popular with the shipcrews though in the later part of his time with L202. But on the football pitch, he's the rock that we need.
Sail for MSTD 97: Yes
5) Defender/Sweeper Buffer Yong: An experienced centreback who can read the game very well. Has an old injury though which hamper his movement.
Sail for MSTD 97: No, he was posted out prior to MSTD 97
6)Midfielder XO Thomas Tok : My first L202 XO like to play football and I think he support Manchester United. He carries his officer authoritative style onto the football pitch as you could always hear him shouting instructions and complaining when we didn't pass him the ball. He's good at switching play with cross ball distribution. When I first joined L202, I didn't like him as XO because he's seem to be a difficult guy to deal with but gradually, we improve our relationship via football games. Will always remember how he encouraged me on the right flank against the Indonesian Navy @ Palembang in Jan 97. We were trailing 1-0 down but we fought back bravely together with XO pulling strings in midfield to equalise through the attached officer off a pass from me. XO recognised my contribution for that goal. We went on to win 3-1 in possibly the best L202 game that I have played in. So much emotion and joy on that day.
Sail for MSTD 97: No, he was posted out prior to MSTD 97
7) Midfielder/Striker ME PO Selvakumar: The solo king player of RSS Excellence. Love to dribble, bags of tricks, strong physique and good stamina. He scored both winning goals of our memorable 3-1 victory in Palembang, Indonesia. He's also the organiser of many of our friendly games and manager of our team jersey & kits. Very good player and passionate about football.
Sail for MSTD 97: No, I don't remember him sailing for it, probably on course or something.
8) Defender RO Kandasamy : If he didn't take off his jersey, he looks pretty ok for a footballer. Once he took off his jersey, you can see he got heavy load to take care of, apart from chasing the ball. An easygoing lad even with some of us esp Eric Chua like to make fun of him. A team player.
Sail for MSTD 97: No, did not sail.
9) Striker ME Goh Min Sern : One of the younger L202 players who got good height and the fierce look with his tattoos. I remember the game when we play for squadron where I played a very good through pass to him and he took it well and smacked against the upright. It would have been a very beautiful goal if that went in.
Sail for MSTD 97: Yes
10) Striker Gunner Eric Chua: The star player of RSS Excellence and he played for the Singapore Navy first team too, though not as a striker but wingback. For L202, he's the undisputed No.1 striker for the team because of his blistering pace and goal appetite. At times, he can win games single-handedly with a quick turn of pace. He's that fast.
Sail for MSTD 97: No, on 5/5 course.
11) Striker RP Kuek : Possibly the most skinny player in the team but hey, he can play football. Play football with him since SNT and he always like to laugh when playing. Remember he scored a hat trick in one of the deck soccer game.
Sail for MSTD 97: Yes
12) Midfielder ME Yong: Actually I don't recall ME Yong playing too much in the soccer game except the MSTD game in Surabaya where he scored our consolation goal. I think ME Yong like football but is not too hype or engrossed in it. I think his overall fitness make him a decent football player.
Sail for MSTD 97: Yes
13) Midfielder/Striker Chief EM: For me, seldom talk to CEM when onboard L202 because he's always have the stern look and very quiet. Only on the football pitch do I get to interact more with him. I remember he always talk about the best thing about the Palembang trip in Jan 97 is the football game which we played against the Indonesian Navy. I can clearly remember how he steer the ball over the bar when presented with an open chance in that game. Nevertheless, he's very active in all L202 football games and loved football.
Sail for MSTD 97: Yes
14) Defender Chief NSA Lim : A committed L202 team player who play his heart out for the team when called upon.
Sail for MSTD 97: Yes
15) Defender EM Ho : A enthusiatic L202 team player who can crack funny jokes at times. Super cool guy.
Sail for MSTD 97: No, i think his wife about to give birth back then.
16) Defender Cook Chan: A Liverpool fan and thai player lookalike. Very passionate about football and always concern about our team result. I remember during the Palembang soccer game, he was warning us to get away from the pitch when the game about to end because he say all the indonesian crowd would ran onto the pitch. It really happened that way and we all had a good laugh.
Sail for MSTD 97: Yes
17) Defender Gunner/NSA Yeo: Not really interested in football but sporting enough to join L202 football team and have fun.
Sail for MSTD: Yes
18) Defender Gunner Wong: Tall player but movement on the slow side. Sporting team player.
Sail for MSTD: Yes
19) Midfielder Gunner Ang: The gunner with the boy next door look love football and supports Liverpool. However, didn't really recall much of his involvement as he joined us much later than the early football matches that we had.
Sail for MSTD: Yes
20) Midfielder/Striker RO Jeff: Similar to Gunner Ang, he joined L202 much later than the early football matches that we had. However, he did impress me during one of the deck soccer game when he scored our goal. Show good potential.
Sail for MSTD: Yes
21) Defender/Midfielder Ops O: I don't really recall Ops O playing football apart from deck soccer. He's quite fit and should be a decent football player.
Sail for MSTD: Yes
Honorary Mention:
L202 attached footballer (Sattahip 97 sailing):
Midfielder NG (Nickname: Monkey) from 195 squadron.
Remark: This midfield dynamo plays for the Singapore Navy 1st team and was attached to our ship during sattahip sailing in Mar 97. He's small size but oh boy, what a fantastic playmaker. He played an instrumental role in JRM deck soccer success during the Sattahip 97 sailing. Brillant player.
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