Pubz Comm Reporter: Jason Lun Leung

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Photo courtesy of KE Photographers

This Tuesday, KE had its second football match against Sheares Hall. We went into the game with fierce determination, as we had lost the first match and absolutely needed to win to keep our hopes of making it through alive.

The game started quite well, given that everybody was so nervous. The two sides were quite evenly matched, with KE dominating slightly. KE managed to restrict the number of attempts from Sheares, while managing to carve most openings. The best of the bunch must have been when Hu Song hit the post after some intricate build up play. Also, Andy forced the Sheares’ keeper into a nice reflex save when he headed from close range after Hansley swung in a perfectly adjusted corner. Our only scare came when our defence stopped chasing a ball that they believed should have been called offside and thus left our keeper in a one on one. Terence rushed out and confidently dealt with the situation, thereby keeping us in the game. Overall, saying that Sheares managed to hold on to the draw and reach half time with the score still at 0-0 would be a fair assessment.

During the half-time talk, the team members were quite disappointed with not having scored, but everybody was fully aware that the game was there for the taking. If we kept on creating occasions, we were bound to score at one point. Contrary to the first game, when everybody was exhausted, the players still felt good, as, today, the pitch was much better suited to our style of play. We all cheered ourselves up, and thus, everybody came back on the pitch with renewed determination.

Luckily, the first goal came soon enough, when H broke through the opposition and beat the onrushing keeper to open the score with an audacious lob. Many supporters invaded the pitch and ran towards him in wild celebrations. First goal to KE, and we were back into the IHG competition with a shout!

Fully aware of the need to keep pushing forward and to get another goal, the KE players were determined not to get complacent. However, we were stopped in our tracks when the referee whistled for a penalty after a scuffle in our penalty box. With everybody in red protesting against the validity of this call, the Sheares penalty taker started his run and blasted his shot in. The equalizer had come against the flow of the game, and we were back to square one.

Memories of our first match, where everything had started to unravel from that point on, came back to haunt us. This time, however, we were determined to win, and took this as a wake up call. We set to the task with new vigor, chasing every ball and closing down the opposition well. With our constant pressing, it was no surprise when H gave us the advantage again. This goal relieved everybody, as we had obviously been very taken aback by the conceded penalty. From then on, we were content to play to our strengths and take control of the game. Hansley and Raymond were as energetic as ever, Kevin made several darts down the left flank, Remus held on to the ball expertly and H was giving headaches to the Sheares defence every time he ventured forward with the ball. In the end, we managed to hold on to the win quite comfortably, and when the referee whistled for the end of the match, some of us were even disappointed at not having scored more.

The most important thing is that we have reacted well to our defeat in the first match, and we have been able to show our true worth in this game. Moreover, the players really enjoyed today’s game, and the post- match atmosphere was very good, as everybody was very proud of a well- done job, which gives us a good chance of making it through.

All in all, we are very happy with this deserved victory, but we also know that we can do even better. Hopefully, we can show it in future matches but, for the time being, we will simply celebrate this victory, knowing that we gave our best and came out with the expected results.

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