Reported by : Annisa Rakun
Edited by : Victor Lee
The date is February 11, 2012. The long awaited day for the floorball girls’ carnival, one of the last IHG events of the season. The girls had been practicing exactly for this day, together with coach Hussein who has been teaching tactics and strategies to the girls for the last three months. The coach’s philosophy is one that is very encouraging, one that prioritizes the kind of game that we play instead of the score that we get. After our dynamic warmups and gearing up, the girls were ready for anything the day is going to throw at them.
KE vs TH 1-6
The match to kick off the carnival was none other than our match against Temasek hall. The whistle blew right on the dot of 9:00. KE set out with Veron, May-Ee, June, Dolly, and Jasmin Koh. Everybody fought valiantly throughout the first half, but Temasek managed to find their way through our defense and scored three goals. In the second half, their shooting spree continued, scoring another three, making the score 6-0. Just as the second half was about to end, KE managed a brilliant play-up, starting with Dolly making a board pass to Honqi who deftly flicked the ball to Ruth. Our captain Ruth had no trouble capitalizing on the golden opportunity, turning it into a well-deserved goal. After the goal, the KE team seemed infused with a newfound energy, but unfortunately the match ended shortly after.
The beautiful goal by Ruth that left the opponent's goalkeeper awestruck.
KE vs RH 1-0
The second match started at 11:20 against Raffles hall. Properly warmed up from the first match, KE fared significantly better in this match, even though the opposing team has an IVP player. About two to three minutes into the game, our funnelling strategy worked. A careless pass was made by RH into our centre, which was intercepted easily by Dolly. In a perfect case of the defender’s stigma (in which defenders are not perceived as real threats by the opposing team), Dolly was left unmarked, which meant a relatively clear path to the front of the RH goal. She dribbled and attempted a high shot. Goal! 1-0 for KE! Down by one goal, RH fought back ferousiouly. However, our defense successfully held them at bay, which alternated between any combinations of the trios of Dolly-Jasmin Koh-Jasmine Chua and Jiani-Jerusha-Felicia. The girls held their ground, securing our first win of the day!
Juanmin : the epitome of belligerence
KE vs EH 0-1
Refilled and refreshed by the energy packed lunch of banana, energy bars, bread and tuna, the girls were all fired up and ready to take on EH. We played more defensively against EH; our defense was rock solid during most of the first half. Everyone was playing on the top of their form. EH attempted to score in rapid succession, but our defenders were able to block most of them. Frustrated by the outcome of the match, EH placed a screener in front of our goal, whose job was to block the keeper from properly viewing the ball in play, and a series of plays led to EH scoring a goal. During the last 3 minutes we played more aggressively, taking some chances at the goal. However, we were unable to turn the tables but nonetheless it was a match that demonstrated our fortified spirit and teamwork.
KE vs SH 1-1
The match against Sheares was an emotional roller coaster. Expecting an easy win, we were surprised that the opponents were that strong. The ball was played in SH’s side of the court most of the time and being accustomed to playing defensively we found it hard to score. The scoreline stagnated at 0-0 right up till minutes into the second match, when a series of good plays by the opposing team led to their captain scoring the first goal. It was not till a change in formation that Dolly intercepted the ball in the middle of the court. In a déjà vu moment that reminded us of her first goal of the day, she dribbled the ball to the center-right side of the goal, skillfully curving it into the upper left corner of the goal and scored! Never before did the KE team break into such a relieved cry of joy. A few minutes later, the final whistle was blown, ending the match at a 1-1 tie.
Tired but Tenacious
KE vs KR 0-5
It was the last match and at 6pm most players were tired but everyone was determined to give this last lap their all. Due to the fatigue our defense was shaky and this, compounded by the fact that KR boasts a national floorball player, led to 3 goals by KR in the first half. During the second half, Veron had more than her share of shouldering and slashing, as did Dolly. In one particular tussle for the ball, Dolly was sent stumbling out of the court into the horde of KR supporters. Unfazed, she got up quickly, jumped over the board right into the game and intercepted the ball, eliciting a roaring applause even from the KR supporters. As the final whistle was sounded, the score was 5-0 for KR. The better team won and we walked out of the court with our head held high, knowing that we have done everything that we could that day.
With one win and one draw under our belt, the girls came in 4th in the Floorball carnival. According to our previous coach Nelson, it has been three years since we came in 4th. Good work, girls! Keep on training and let’s hope for the best next year.
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