DRM Week Ahead

Weds : Fun Game @ BSRC, 5.15pm

Thurs : Futsal @ BSRC, 6pm (reply to Pg Azmi if you're playing!)

This week is a rest week so no friendly matches will be played.

Thank you also to those who attended our DRM Away Day at Pantai Seri Kenangan in Tutong on Sunday. We had lots of fun and i have been told that pictures are already up on the House of Gembo Photo Gallery and will soon be up on Mad Dog's!

Match Summary v Mud Boys

We were missing our regular keeper Yusra who was away on offshore duty last weekend, and in his place we had Ivan who turned out in goal for the first time in his DRM career. And what a revelation he was! He kept the DRM goal water tight in the first half, and even risked his neck in a 50/50 situation. For his effort he was voted joint man-of-the-match with Khai who set up our first two DRM goals.

The first half against Mud Boys ended in a stale mate with no goals scored which is becoming a rarity in DRM games. Adi Tabang playing against his old friends wasn't going to let a little thing like friendship get in the way of football and his trademark hard tackling was on show again. The ever improving Vince had another good game at the back with Fadil as the defense got mean and stingy. Julberg and Rahim worked hard upfront, but had very little opportunity to threaten Mud Boy's keeper, despite Khai's efforts running circles round the Mud Boy midfield.

There were several changes in the second half, Romeo and Shaheeb were the two substitutes with the most impact. It was Mud Boy's who got on the score sheet first though, after Renny's failed clearance bounced off their striker and put him through on goal. Shaheeb had several 1 on 1 chances with the goalie which he just couldn't convert perhaps taking abit too long on the ball when he should've taken the shot early but he didnt dissapoint on the third time of asking. Khai's deft touch put Shaheeb through on goal and his left foot shot was well placed to beat the keeper. The same combination produced a second goal this time on the opposite right flank, and with his right foot this time for DRM's second which took us into the lead for the first time. Arch scored our third goal, after running onto Danan's long ball and he side-footed the keeper and sealed our second consecutive away win of the season.

Match Report v Mud Boys

Starting 11 : Ivan, Adi, Fadil, Ahmy, Vince, Aizul, Danan, Rahim, Julberg, Khai, Asri
Subs Used : Renny, Vince, Shaheeb, Hammry, Romeo, Arch, Hj Sah
Unused Sub : Fadle

HT Score : 0 - 0
FT Score : 3 - 1

Scorers : Shaheeb (2), Arch
Assists : Khai (2), Danan

MOTM : Khai
MOTM (2) : Ivan

* Clean sheet bonus awarded to 1st half defense & GK

Match Summary v HD

We started the match minus 3 players and had to take on HD's subs to make up the numbers. Despite the obvious handicap the game started with the majority of possession in our favour, and it was obvious that we were intent on taking the game to the HD guys. Rahim and Arch in particular showed alot of creativity on the right flank where most of our game was centered. Against the run of play however, HD managed to score the first goal of the game, Shrum one of three DRM players on loan to HD, playing on the left wing got on to a through ball from midfield and his shot from outside the penalty area shocked both the DRM defense and our keeper. Our heads dropped after conceding that first goal and HD took full advantage managing to score a second and third goal in quick succession, the second coming when Hj Zul, also on loan to HD ran the length of the pitch and dummied both Renny and Vince for the second. Azhar the third loan player was involved in HD's third setting up their striker for a simple tap in.

The second half kicked off with a much stronger DRM line up with a proper full team this time round. Fadil, Johnny and Hadi gave us more bite in attack and gave the hard-working midfield several more options to follow on to. By then the tides had turned and we went on the offensive again, Hadi managing to register DRM's first goal in the match, and his second in two games, after Fakhrul had put in an inviting ball in the penalty area. Our second goal came with 10 minutes left on the clock when substitute Hammry hammered in from 15 yards out. He had just come on replacing defender Renny who had worked hard all game. DRM came close to an equaliser on numerous occassions, Hj Sah another DRM substitute playing on the right of midfield creating several of those chances. In the end it was Fakhrul who closed the deal, after hitting the upright just minutes before, when he was put through by Hj Sah. Although the game ended in a draw, it was a respectable result with the team showing dogged determination to come back in from 3 down and had we started off with a proper line up the results could have been so much more different.

Match Report v HD

Starting 11 : Daud Clemence, Renny, Shaheeb, Ivan, Vince, Arch, Fakhrul, Rahim, Fadil, Johnny, Hadi
Subs Used : Matiin, Ayyub, Hammry, Hj Sah

Supporters : Amir S, Abbee, Rush, Stephy, Amy, Meo

HT Score : 0 - 3
FT Score : 3 - 3

Scorers : Hadi, Hammry, Fakhrul
Assists : Fakhrul (2), Hj Sah

* Clean Sheet Bonus awarded to 2nd half defense & GK

DRM Striker Out For 2 Weeks

Current DRM top-scorer, the Brazilian wonder, Amirio is out for two weeks, after injuring his 2nd toe over the weekend in the Rafting Klasik event. Amirio's injury will be a big blow for the squad as he has been on a fine scoring form in recent weeks. His last absence from the squad was back in May when sent on a 5-week G180 course in Miri. The next two weeks looks to be especially tough, with an away game in Jerudong on Saturday, and Amirio's mazy runs will be missed. DRM Bula wishes him the speediest of recovery.


The other injury in the DRM squad, is our own Maradona carbon-copy, Amy Wahid. Amy's been out injured for a few months after twisting his ankle on a heavy BSRC pitch during a friendly outing. Amy's been resting his ankle and patiently awaiting a return to first team action. Let's hope to see him back on his feet sometime soon.

Week Ahead

A busy week for DRM ahead.

Weds : Fun Game @ BSRC, 5.15 pm

Thurs : Friendly v HD @ BSRC, 4.45 pm

Sat : Friendly v Mud Boys @ JP 'B', 4.30 pm

DRM Golf Championship Tommorow!

Just thought i'd give the guys in DRM Golf a plug. The DRM Golf Championship will be played tommorow (saturday) morning at Pantai Mentiri Golf Club. An estimated 30 players will be competing for one of the biggest event in the DRM Golf calendar. Plenty of prizes to be won too. Will i win my 2nd DRM event? heheh. That's a thought. Anyways, check out www.drm-golf.blogspot.com to get the official low-down or www.drm-golf-nut.blogspot.com for all the latest pre-tournament gossip.

BLNG Ops Game Called Off

Yesterday's game was called off due to an admin blunder by Mumong Sports Complex staff. They had initially released the Arena Seria field for play when DRM's gaffa called in to make the booking on Tuesday. State-run sports facilities are governed by a ruling that requires all facilities to close at 5pm every Thursday to respect 'malam jumaat'. DRM's gaffa wishes to apologise to all for the late cancellation.

On a brighter note, the HD v FD game that took place at BSRC, featured several DRM players who weren't going to let a little thing like a game cancellation stop them from playing ball. FD featured a DRM heavy lineup with Safe Hands Yusra, Pg Azmi, Julberg, Asri & Shaheeb, whilst HD started with Renny, Hj Zul & Azhar.

The match organised as a 'farewell' game for one of FD's players, ended in a 1-1 draw.

Squad Announcement : DRM v BLNG Ops

Provisional Squad:

GK : Yusra
Def : Renny, Matiin, Shaheeb, Vincent, Hammry
Mid : Md Zamzul, Reza, Fakhrul, Ayyub, Md Zainal, Fauzi, Norshah, Najib
Att : Hadini, Julberg, Haidi, Rahim

Starting 11 will be on a 1st-come-1st-start basis. Kick-off will be at 4.45pm at Padang Arena Seria.
Please bring along your $3 contribution to the match costs.

DRM Away Day!!

Good news dudes, the DRM Away Day is confirmed on the 20th August 2006.
Everyone's invited and you may bring along your mother, father, brother, sister, wife, kids, girlfriend, boyfriend, cat, pet- monkey and whoever else you feel like!
There will be music, fun and games for all!
All you gotta do is let us know you're coming, and as nothing comes for free, we're looking at a small contribution per person to cover expenses.

Leave your name in the comments box if you're coming. And pass your contribution to the Footy Gaffa or DRM Golf admin anytime convenient for you.

Week Ahead (7th - 11th Aug)

Here's the plan for the next few days:

Tues - nil

Weds - Fun Game @ BSRC, 5.15pm

Thurs - DRM v BLNG Ops @ Arena Seria, 4.45pm

Hope to see y'all there!

DRM FC - A truly international club

Interesting fact: We've got 27 players based abroad currently, spread across 8 countries on all 5 continents. What other local football club can claim the same! Did abit of research and here's where the guys are located. 17 are BSP scholarship students, who've been welcomed into DRM FC whilst on their work attachment in Seria, and are either studying in Sydney, Australia or in various cities in the UK. Whilst we also have 8 DRM old-boys who are on cross-posting in various Shell Operating Units around the globe (Malaysia, Nigeria, Oman, Scotland & Holland). Amir D & Yusriman are currently on a month long work assignment in the States and they make up the last 2 DRM players abroad. I guess it'd be pretty cool to hear from the guys abroad and how they're coping with life without DRM :p

A tribute to the Bench

As most footballers will know, the more important players in a team are not so much the 11 guys on the field, but more the 5 or 6 who sit patiently on the sidelines awaiting their turn in the match hoping to make a positive impact on the game once on. Making the right personnel changes in a game is important for obvious reasons, and a number of managerial reputations have been built by knowing when to bring in the right player at just the right time. It is often the difference between winning and losing, and matches have been turned around by substitutes coming on and taking the game to a whole new level. The bench can be a pretty frustrating place to be, especially if you're one of those eager type players who needs to always be in the thick of things, and waiting is your worst enemy. But it's also equally important for someone on the field to know that if injured or just plain worn out, there's someone by the sideline ready to take his place. In DRM FC, we preach the policy of giving everyone a run out with enough pitch time to satisfy all, just so long as you bother to turn up for matches and so far it's worked for us. Infact, the changes we made at half time in our last match against Kg Lumut turned the game round for us, and so we'll keep on doing what we do. Because if there were ever one thing that will tell you right at the start how well the team will fare during the game, it's how many subs you have on your bench. I say this from a DRM perspective, as conventional wisdom would have it that it is widely known that our players aren't exactly the fittest around, yours truly included, and the more players you have to bring on in a game, the more fresh legs you have to throw at your opponents, and the higher the team's chances are of actually finishing the game with 11 players. And if there's anything you could do to throw the game your opponents way, it's to give them a numerical advantage well before the final whistle. Thankfully, our turn-out in recent games has been excellent, long may it continue. Here's to the guys on the bench!

The traditional wooden bench

No bench, no matter ... we're still the bench

The 'Royal-Box' bench

*Pictures are courtesy of House of Gembo & Chris Odukwe, for more pictures check out their respective links on the sidebar

Match Summary v Kg Lumut

We finally broke our little losing streak by beating Kg Lumut today, 3 - 2. It was a hardfought game, as we battled from a goal down at half time to finally take the lead in the last 10 mins.

Things started off on the wrong note when the Lumut right winger got brought down badly by Renny after a mistimed tackle. They felt they got hard done by when the referee responded with only a verbal warning. Chaos ensued in the next 15 minutes as things got abit crazy on the field. Tackles flew around and their strikers had to resort to diving in an attempt to get our player sent off. Lumut got their breakthrough eventually when a penalty was awarded, after the ref had deemed that Yusra went for the strikers legs rather than the ball. A bad call in my opinion, he should've called for offside instead! DRM responded in the best way possible, G Khai took the ball from the restart and went past at least 3 Lumut players before finally putting through a weighted pass, which Hadi got at the end of, and his cheeky chip over the keeper was as good as any debut goal scored before. Lumut were to take the lead a second time, this time from a 1-2 which left their striker in open space to rifle a shot past Yusra's right side into goal. Fadil & Julberg both had chances before the interval but weren't able to convert.

For the 2nd game in the row, we had our student brigade to rely on, and deliver they did. Orchastrated by Amir S in midfield, we had plenty of chances created, and were unlucky not to have equalised earlier. Amir Z was brought down in the penalty area but the ref waved play on, and Haidi had a few chances which couldn't find the target. The equaliser came from a run made by Shaheeb in defense, eventually finding Haidi who managed to flick on to Amir S for our 2nd goal. We pushed forward with more confidence, with Matin & Zainal both coming close. Ayyub on the right flank made a few runs in which also caused some problems for Lumut's defense. The 2nd half defense marshalled by Shaheeb & Limin were mean and stingy, and gave away very few scoring opportunities for Lumut, which Yusra mostly dealt with easily. Fakhrul coming on a 2nd time in the match eventually got the winner when he was set up by Mike inside the box, and he wasn't going to miss from there. It always looked like we were going to hold on to that lead, and when the final whistle came, we all breathed a sigh of relief. It always a good feeling when you win.

Match Collection Balance : $34

Match Report v Kg Lumut

Starting 11 : Yusra, Renny, Fakhrul, Ivan, Hammry, Ahadnan, Mike, G Khai, Hadi, Fadil, Julberg
Subs Used : Roslan, Amir S, Amir Z, Pg Azmi, Haidi, Pg Saiful, Hasni, Norshah, Ayyub, Matiin, Reza, Zainal, Fauzi, Shaheeb, Alimin

HT Score : 1 - 2
FT Score : 3 - 2

Scorers : Hadi, Amir S, Fakhrul
Assists : G Khai, Haidi, Mike

* Clean sheet bonus (2pts) awarded to 2nd half defense & GK

Cuci Baju : Norshah