Submitted by: Vesuvius | 13th May 2024
“I’m not going to limit myself just because people won’t accept the fact that I can do something else.”― Dolly Parton
Nothing brings me as much joy as seeing our team play. For some reason, the sun is always shining, the wind is breezy. Watching our ladies play is akin to inhaling a breath of fresh air. The style of play is different from the mens', not to mention there's lesser physicality, so there's more skills and techniques on display.
As the Deloitte Women's Premier League(WPL) is in full swing now, let us take a step back and look at the hougang ladies' squad that has brought us joy this 2024 season. Get to know our new Hougang women's team! (WPL 2024).
1. Maintaining our core players
Our women's team has maintained a majority of it's players from the 2nd season of the WPL. Sad to see Clara wong who has been with us since the 1st season not be in the team, but we take heart from still having Nurul Ardian still with us since the beginning. They've also added a whole host of new players to the roster too. Here's a list of the incomings and outgoings for our club.
Outgoings:
Clara Wong
Rachel Chan (trf to Tanjong Pagar)
Levyn Wong
Olivia Lee
Carey Lee
Genevieve Lee
Belle Jaffar (retired)
Clara Lau (studying in the UK)
Nicole Lim (temp studying in the UK)
Rosnani Azman (trf to Albirex)
Rochelle (Now hougang coaching staff)
Leo Huang (Now hougang coaching staff)
Incomings:
Nurul Faizah (Gk from Still Aerion)
Jaslyn Leong (was our coaching staff in 2023)
Victoria Tan
Nasriah Ibrahim
Faith Ho
Siti Nurfarah
Izyani Ghani
Sydney Hector
Joey Cheng
Claire Tay
Sitianiwati Rosielin
2. Our team
Our women's team is led by head coach Siva and is exemplified by tenacity and hard running.
We have only two goalkeepers this year in our #1 Azura and newcomer Faizah rotating for the goalkeeper spot.
Our usual starting XI backline this year consists of the ever-reliable Angelyn Pang alongside Jacklyn, Claire Merrow-smith, Joey. Sometimes Deborah or Rena will slot here.
Our usual starting XI midfield this year consists of the brilliant Raudhah as a roving #8, the ever-tenacious Winette Lim, Wan Nabilah alongside Deborah, Rena or newcomers Nasriah or Aniwati who are natural forwards but will drop deeper. Another newcomer, Claire Tay will add more depth in the engine room depending on opponents. Deborah and Rena will scuttle between our defence and our midfield.
Our usual starting XI forward line this year consists of newcomer Sydney Hector, flanked by the skilfull kid, Nicole Lim on the right, and the industrious Reneelyn on the left. Faith Ho or Nurul Asyiqin will be the reliable rotations on the flanks depending on situations or opponents. Recently, Nicole Lim flew back to UK for her studies, so the young Faith has been the one tasked with sprinkling stardust on the right wing.
Our players who got the callup to the WNT this year consists of Raudhah, Nicole, Angelyn (welcome back), and Aniwati and Nasriah. Hope to see much more of our femme felines being featured in the National setup 'cause it'll be a waste otherwise!
3. Our recent performances
The only two losses this season(up until now) has been against the contenders Lion City Sailors and Albirex. Unlike previous seasons where the gap is closer, this year I feel that the gap is widening, especially with the two teams hiring a bunch of foreign talents into their fold (cheating!). So the other games outside of the top three must be games we win if we want to mount a title challenge.
I strongly believe we have the quality to do so. I'd go as far as to say that most of our ladies deserve to be called up to the WNT.
We just need to be extra careful to make sure that extra 1% to perfection is not compromised especially with the passes in the final third. Be zen and calm in our execution. The devil is in the details.
In our most recent draw against Tanjong Pagar Utd we showed tenacity in controlling the game and seeing that our team played more passes in the middle of the park is a welcome sight. This is especially so because against LCS and Albirex we had no joy in the middle of the park. Our attacks came mostly from out wide.
Alas, despite trying our best, we could not find a goal to defeat Tanjong pagar. But I applaud the fight and scramble in the Tanjong Pagar penalty box where their keeper kept out multiple attempts on goal for us.
Final words
We will be coming up against the porous defence of the revamped Balestier Khalsa this weekend. Our opponents will have just come back from two massive back to back losses against the sailors(18-0) and Albirex(14-0). The fans and I will expect our Hougang ladies team to be on our utmost best and finish off chances against this Balestier side while also keeping a clean sheet. Continue being aggressive and more controlling in the midfield link-up.
Let's go for a winning streak. We believe in you! #1H1H
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Who is not a newcomer to our hougang squad?
0%Claire Tay
0%Claire Merrow-Smith
0%Victoria Lee
0%Victoria Tan
You can vote for more than one answer.
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