Hand of Clod(s)

sorry for the late update on results from the World Cup! have been down with flu, so recuperating is more important! hehe. okay, here are the results from the first round games played in Group C.



England 1-1 USA
the hype surrounding this team has been huge, and if anyone expected England to win the World Cup anytime soon, this year couldn't have been a better time. under the strict coaching of 'Don' Fabio Capello, the team have been disciplined and compact in playing style. the first match between England and the USA was supposed to be a sure-win match, but sadly, despite a breeze in the qualifying rounds en route to the 2010 World Cup, England were lucky not to lose the first game. surprisingly, 'Captain Marvel' Steven Gerrard put the Three Lions ahead in the 4th minute with a sublime strike past Tim Howard. England were then cruising and preserving their slender lead till USA striker Clint Dempsey unleashed a 'soft' strike at goal in the 40th minute. England 'keeper Robert Green was expected to catch that ball, and instead let it slip out of his hands and let it roll into the back of the net. this said, it definitely goes down as one of the worst goalkeeping howlers of the World Cup of all time. after that incident, England had a few chances to try winning the game but none took their chances well. OVERALL - it was a disappointing game. more was expected of England, yet they let their fans down time and time again. more improvement must be done if they are to win the trophy since 1966. but credit to USA too, for defending brilliantly, and also shackling talismanic England striker Wayne Rooney for most periods of the match.



Algeria 0-1 Slovenia
what are the chances of two teams in the same group committing a similar goalkeeping error? i could hardly believe it too, but that's exactly what happened to Algerian goalie Faouzi Chaouchi. Algeria had just been reduced to 10 men when Chaouchi fumbled a harmless looking 79th minute shot from Slovenia captain Robert Koren, allowing the ball to squirt through his arms into the bottom left hand corner of his net. six minutes earlier Algeria substitute Abdelkader Ghezzal was sent off for handball having already been booked. the attacking midfielder was only on the pitch for 15 minutes. both teams struggled with them much-criticized Adidas Jabulani ball, but Slovenia hung on for a fortuitous win. OVERALL - scrappy playing from both teams. shame about the howler. if not, Algeria could have gotten a point.

2010 World Cup in South Africa

yay! the World Cup is finally here! after four years of waiting, the biggest show on Earth is on! sorry that this post comes two days after the opening matches, but what the heck! i have been busy, and finally i have the time to blog about it. here are my comments on the earlier matches:



(Group A)
South Africa 1-1 Mexico
the hosts South Africa took on Mexico in the first match of the 2010 WC. the match was few and far between, but despite Mexico's stunning amount of possession, they only drew 1-1. to rate SA, they played poorly in the first few minutes of the game, but surprisingly they took the lead through Siphiwe Tshabalala. they were on course for a shock win until poor defending allowed Rafael Marquez to equalize for Mexico late on in the match. SA did have two chances to win the match, but the chances were spurned by poor finishing. OVERALL - it was a good performance by both teams. not bad, but not good either.


France 0-0 Uruguay
in the second match, France wasted the chance to kill off Uruguay despite Uruguay being reduced to ten men in the latter stages of the match. nothing impressive from this match, save for brilliant performances by Frenchmen Yoann Gourcuff and goalie Hugo Lloris. despite the sending off of Nicolas Lodeiro, France just didnt take the slew of glorious chances to seal a late win. OVERALL - it was a dour match.



(Group B)
South Korea 2-0 Greece
South Korea played brilliantly once the whistle blew, and were rewarded when Lee Jung-soo volleyed home Ki Sung-yueng's free-kick with the Greek defenders only watching on helplessly. Greece tried in vain to get the equaliser, only to be dealt with a sucker punch with Park Ji-Sung taking full advantage of a defender's mistake to slot home SK's second goal and seal the three points. OVERALL - Greece were second best, and SK was top class.


Argentina 1-0 Nigeria
Diego Maradona relished this match, as it was his first game in charge of Argentina at the World Cup. Lionel Messi finally showed that he can perform on the international stage as well as he does with his club when he struck terror into the heart of the Nigerian defence time and time again, but was unlucky not to score a goal. the winner came from a header by Gabriel Heinze in the sixth minute. Nigeria had chances of their own, but somehow wasted them all. Kalu Uche was the biggest culprit, lashing the ball over the bar when he was unmarked inside the box. OVERALL - a good showing by Argentina that they are finally worthy to challenge for the trophy.


more results will be posted as i continue blogging about the tournament.

BRRRRR.....!!!!!!!

why such a topic? it was because i just returned back from Melbourne, Australia. and boy, was it COLD! the strong cold winds just kept blowing in my face! i was not used to such a super cold weather, so i didnt really like the cold weather. on a brighter note, the trip was totally exciting! it was my first time overseas, so it was definitely exciting. i stayed in my uncle's apartment, which was just a short walk to the city. i visited many places and was just exposed to the 'gwai lo' culture. the most interesting highlight was getting to meet up with Alicia. my my my, she has definitely grown taller! ha! it was great seeing her again. mmmhmm...what else? oh yes, i did go for the Great Ocean Drive, which is a long and windy journey past cliffs and mountains, and boy was that interesting! i even visited a small town called Warrnambool! the scenery around the grassy plains and farms were very beautiful.

overall it was a great experience, and i really enjoyed my stay there. thank God for protecting me and my family while overseas. :)

boring day

today was boring. yes, B.O.R.I.N.G! didnt go anywhere exciting, not unless going grocery shopping in Giant is counted as ''exciting''. sigh. watched 8 episodes of Glee Season 1, but thats about it. as i am typing these words now, i am starving. no food for dinner. hope to fill my empty stomach soon. =(

disappointment

i am disappointed with myself. why? for not trying my best in whatever i do. first of all, today was badminton and table tennis tournament, and i took part in both sports. badminton was first, and i participated in the singles and mixed doubles events. in the singles, i was defeated in the first round. crap. and then in the mixed doubles, i lost in the first round again. double crap. =(

then in table tennis, i went all the way to the final without dropping a set. i faced Grace in the final, and guess what? yup, no prizes for guessing who lost. me again. triple crap! sigh. gotta improve myself for future experiences. =)

*ouch*

at the time of posting this, my right big toe is hurting a lot. reason? muffin bit my toe. ooooh! it all started when i was online, and my folded leg was put down on the ground. i didnt notice muffin beneath me, and got bitten just because he thought he was being attacked. oh well. lesson learnt then. never blindly put your leg down. haha :P

being who i am

''i dont want to be a 'clone' of someone else. all i want is to be comfortable being who i am and not who i want to be. I ♥ BEING WHO I AM!''

for those who have checked out my Facebook profile, this post will be familiar to you. the reason why i have posted this is because i hate having to live to people's expectations and having to emulate a certain person's traits and qualities. i just want to be who i am, but for years i have been under delusion. until today i still am not sure of who i really am. i hope that by God's grace i will one day be able to be who i am...