soccer males: KE vs EH draw 2-2

Written by Colin Ng

Edited by Ong Hui Shan

A resounding “KE!” by the spirited KE7 male soccer team marked the beginning of the match with Eusoff Hall (EH) on 27^th January 2012. The kick off began at 8.18pm and EH wasted no time in launching the first wave of attack in the 5^th minute. A shot from outside the penalty box was delivered on target but our trusty KE7 goalkeeper, Nelson, was not caught off-guard. In fact, he caught the ball so beautifully that it triggered deafening screams and compliments from the growing number of KE7 supporters. In the 15^th minute, KE had a corner kick but sadly, it ended up in the possession of the EH midfielder who delivered a shot on target. Despite this, someone was there to save the day – yes, it was, once again, Nelson.

Up till this point, KE7 and EH had been rather evenly matched, but the big break came in the 22^nd minute – the ball was passed from mid-field to Arjun, who was just outside the penalty box. Arjun quickly closed in on the EH goal where the EH goalkeeper tried to stop him but to no avail. It was just Arjun and an EH defender standing shoulder-to-shoulder right in front of the goal. The EH defender frantically tried to clear the ball with a header, which made contact, but in the direction of the EH goal! With that, all it took was a highly accurate kick from Arjun’s long leg and KE7 was leading 1-0! This score was maintained all the way till half time. After watching the first half, I must really commend Nelson for the many nice saves that he had made. Without his iron defence, KE7 would have conceded many goals by half time, so good job Nelson!

The second half started off with many furious attacks by EH, which ultimately paid off in the 60^th minute, when they managed to score an equaliser while the KE7 penalty box was in chaos. This dampened our spirits a little but Cun Zhi quickly set that right in the 62^nd minute. He took a shot from mid-field (mind you, it was mid-field!) and the ball made a high smooth arc in the air before slotting nicely into the back of the net. Everyone was stunned. It took many of us a few seconds to register what was just witnessed before we burst into euphoric cheers and applause. I would have to say that this goal is arguably one of the best goals of the season.

With KE leading 2-1, EH picked up their game tempo, managing 2 attempts at the goal in the 74^th and 75^th minutes. Nevertheless, these shots either narrowly passed over the cross bar or was saved by Nelson. Tension mounted in the 80^th minute when EH earned a penalty kick, as this presented an opportunity for them to score their much needed equaliser. Everyone prayed hard that Nelson would rise to the occasion, and once again, he did not fail us. After the referee blew the whistle, the penalty kick was directed to the right of the goal. Nelson dived and was just in time to deflect the ball out of the goal. Once again, we erupted into screams and cheers. 5 minutes later, an EH winger made a shot from the right side of the field and it curved towards the right side of the goal. Nelson dived but was a little too late in stopping it – EH thus got their equalising goal.

The match ended with a draw score of 2-2. The KE7 team has undeniably put up a fine display of skills, teamwork and sportsmanship. Kudos to them! Let’s be sure to catch their next match in the coming week!

IHG Badminton [F] vs. TH: lost, 5-0

Reported by Ng Wee Yang

Edited by Celine Yeap

27th January was the start of the 1st preliminary match for the KE7 female badminton players  in IHG(Inter-hall Games). This time, our players faced off against the girls from TH (Temasek Hall). The game started around 7pm at MPSH and our diligent players from KE7 were busy warming up for the upcoming battle with TH. I had a good opportunity to interview the female badminton captain, Cherie, about her expectations for the badminton match. The captain was a little pessimistic of the outcome of the match as the TH players were far more superior in experience. However, she remained optimistic that the girls would try their best to do KE7 proud.

The first singles started at around 7:20pm with Joanne against Priscilla from TH. It started with a warm up and then in 10 minutes time, the game started proper. The player from TH was very much aggressive and faster than Joanne  and made her cover much ground on the court, exhausting her. Though the TH player faulted a few times, allowing Joanne to score a few points, it was not enough to win the match, resulting in score of 21-4 and 21-2 respectively. The first singles lasted about 20 minutes.

The next event was the 1st doubles played by Ruth and Adela.  When the 1st doubles started, TH started with an offensive strategy (including hand signals) by serving strategically and aggressively against our players. The strategy worked initially, with TH scoring a number of points before our players were able to regain their composure and fight back. However, TH’s superior physical strength overwhelmed our players as they were much faster and had better reflexes. In the end, though our players fought bravely, we lost 4-21 and 8-21 respectively. I had an opportunity to interview Adela, one of the players. She felt that the players from TH were in better physical shape as she had a hard time keeping up with them in the game. However, she felt that she had done her best and that it was a good experience to hone her skills.

Ruth and Adela, anticipating a serve

The 2nd singles was played by Jasmine Chua at around 8:20pm. Jasmine, despite her smaller physique was agile and relatively fast and had good foundations in her basics. She fared quite well in the beginning, with some points in her hands. However, the TH player managed to get more fired up than Jasmine in the later part of the game and became more aggressive. As like her teammates, the TH player served forcefully, catching Jasmine off guard many times. In the end, she lost the match with a score of 21-7 and 21-9 respectively. When interviewed, she felt that TH was more experienced and that she would have to train more.

Jasmine, against a formidable TH badminton player

The 2nd doubles was played by Cherie and Bee, the dynamic duo. The two players worked well and were aggressive in their serves and shots and managed to score some points in the beginning. Captain Cherie was extremely fast in her reflexes and could be said to be the best female player in the team. The TH players made several mistakes as they served recklessly, resulting in several faults. However, this was not enough to give KE7 a victory as the match ended with a score of 21-12 and 21-9 respectively.

Cherie and Bee with a serve

The final event was the 3rd singles by April. April was an experienced player, having 3 years of IHG experience under her belt. April had a strong start as she easily scored some points in the beginning. However, the TH player managed to catch up with a strategy of serving more aggressively to exhaust their opponent as well as to catch them off guard. In the end, April lost this match. When interviewed, April felt that the match was a humbling experience as she is more aware of her skills and experience as a badminton player and that she tried her best.

April, lobbing with strength

At the end of the game, I interviewed the captain once more. She felt that though the team had done their best, they still needed to practise more as she felt that the basics were not yet mastered. She also felt that the match was a humbling experience for her and her team. Although KE7 lost to TH, let’s keep our spirits up and support them in their next game on Sunday against RH!