Another step forward

Salem Fire recorded a 6-0 win over Salem Chapel in the Salem Cup Trophy. Joshua Anand who was captain for the first half of the evening, commanded the team well from the centre as Arun scored the opening goal of the game. Captain for the second half of the evening was Raakesh and he too commanded the team well, and with Sara and Roy both got a goal each which goes to show you that the Fires are moving in the right direction towards their Adonai Football League return on August 26 onwards. Errol Champion’s side will now have a further competitive run-out on the weekends.

Scorers: Arun(2 goals), Vijay, Muhsin, Roy and Sara

Raakesh: 'It's just transfer talk'

Another 6 more games for Salem Fire and that will conclude its 4th season. No doubt the team is looking forward to a new season regardless whether they manage to bring home the AFL throphy or not. With 4 new ex-Balestier Khalsa Juniors awaiting to be part of the family, Salem Fire have to make another step to a higher level but Errol Champion will assure the team that Salem Fire is still just a recreational but competitive team.

A few words from Raakesh: 'It's just transfer talk. It’s up to the club, we just have to think about our season. Salem Fire always follow developments in the transfer market and to what the team needs. So no worries. I know that diversity makes the team interesting but they'll just have to stick according to our style of play. Training will help.'

Historical Transfer
This displays historic transfers that have spanned just under the years since Salem Fire was first set-up.

2002/2003 - Muhd Shalih Mahli (Goalkeeper)
2003/2004 - Gerard Cecil Gomez (Centre Midfielder)
2004/2005 - Muhsin (Attacking Midfielder)
2005/2006 - Moganasaravan Rajandran (Forward)

Azhar: 'I was just a bit angry at not scoring'

Salem Fire - It could not even be described as an incident, it was nothing. This was the sense Noor Azhar gave when speaking about his substitution in the second half against Saved By Jesus. The striker said: ’First of all, I don’t want people putting words in my mouth that I have never thought, especially as Errol Champion is a person that I hold in very high esteem and who I'm starting to work well with so far. At the moment, Salem Fire and this group of players are doing well so there is no reason to have arguments. Sure, I made a gesture, a venting, but it was just for me. It was a game in which I had various chances but didn’t score. I was a bit angry with myself just at that moment when the substitution happened, in the heat of the moment.’ Az then turned to the final league run-in: ’I think that we just have to think of getting our points for the next four games and we are definitely second which is very important.’

Shalih looks ahead with confidence

Salem Fire – Muhd Shalih measured up Salem Fire’s situation after the Fires saw their wishes for the top of the table stay completely dashed with a loss against Church of Ephipany and last week's draw with Saved By Jesus. ‘Right now there is not a lot to say, but there is lots to do,’ declared Shalih upon his arrival at the Thomson Hills Drive with the rest of the team. ‘We have really tried to turn things around. We are working hard to achieve our goals and to get over this difficult moment.’
The skipper is looking to continue on in this season with the confident wisdom of experience: ‘In recent weeks there hasn’t been a lot of consistency in the results, that's really where the problem lies. But if you look at the past years, there were also games that didn’t go well and then we recovered.’
The skipper is certain that at this time Salem Fire cannot but react because time is running out: ‘Now the motivation must increase because the possibility of winning something is decreasing. We are doing well in the league, perhaps not well enough for the title but for second place which is also important. And this will help us to perform better in the upcoming Salem Cup games.’
Shalih doesn’t worry about putting the blame on individuals or on the different units: ‘I will only talk about the team as a whole because each unit relies on the others.’ Neither does he tolerate the idea that Salem Fire aren’t motivated: ‘When the results aren’t there, then everyone has something to say or some reason to give. We, however, know how hard we have been working. It’s just too bad that sometimes in sports that’s not enough and when the results don’t arrive people start to talk. Especially about the referee. Now we just need to look ahead and be consistent.’