Pubz Comm Reporter: Jonathan Chan
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KE’s two handball teams were both pitted against sports powerhouse Eusoff Hall in the final preliminary matches for the event. Guys and girls alike had a sense of expectancy, having trained hard through the last semester and knowing that, having faced up to Raffles and Kent Ridge Halls respectively, the worst was supposedly behind them. Not that EH was not worthy opponents of course.
HandBall guys
KE 12-24 EH
The guys went into action first. Eusoff passed the ball slowly and precisely before the yellow wave met the red defence. But still all of a sudden, the huge Eusoff player was through with sending the ball into corner of the net: 0-1. The game was on.
Knowing that the game would be fairly even, the outfield line-up of Eric, Pak Kin, Josh, Marcus, Yin Rui and Wu Hong gamely closed with the EH defence. With a significantly larger number of red-clad supporters than the previous matches fanatically cheering for KE’s win (and EH’s blood), the two sides clashed rapidly, exchanging shots. Eusoff added two more to their score but it was only a matter of time before the strong shooting arms of Wu Hong and Marcus found the target. A slow ball fizzled low through the Eusoff defence, and past their keeper, who had been putting up a commendable fight, and into the net. First goal for KE, and the supporters cheered like mad!
For a while it was stalemate, with both sides wasting chances by shooting within reach of the keepers. The Eusoff pivot (a player dedicated to tangling with the defence, waiting for the chance to grab the ball, spin and shoot) was giving the KE defence a headache due to his great height which no KEVIIan could match, but somehow they were kept at bay. A Eusoff player leapt athletically over the KE defence and shot from the top far corner, but Jonathan positioned in the goal dived high and long to deflect the shot for a throw-in.
But maybe the excitement blurred the KE team, for chances were also wasted and shots were sent into the EH keeper’s arms, who made up his lack of agility by his size. Still, Wu Hong, Marcus and Wei Qing happily exploited his lack of agility with shots to the corners which he could not collect. At half time, the score lay at KE 7 (pun not intended) – EH 15.
With Hendrik and Eric demanding that the team find back their confidence and fighting spirit displayed against Raffles Hall, the handballers took to the court again. Both sides fought hard to regain possession of the ball, clamping down every attacker within reach, and in the midst of it all, accidents were bound to happen. A Eusoff player charged through the KE defence and leapt across the goal area towards the net. Jonathan leapt out at him, closing down the angle. The shot deflected off the black-clad keeper’s arms, to his infinite satisfaction, before the EH player’s knee proceeded to plant itself squarely in Jonathan’s abdomen, winding him badly and knocking the ecstasy out of him. With the collision between the stocky Eusoffian and slighter KEVIIan looking like a lorry ramming a car, Hendrik quickly called in the experienced Loo Bing who quickly took his place for the restart.
Ryan, the winger (and our resident lawyer), proceeded to be awarded a two-minute expulsion following an enthusiastic foul of his on his opposite number. Still, some stout defending from Marcus led to KE repossessing the ball, even with 5 men, to launch their next attack. With the time ticking away, and Eusoff maintaining the lead, KE flung themselves against the Eusoff goal. How the opposing keeper managed to weather the worst of the attacks is a mystery to the writer, but weather he did, saving shots from Pak Kin and the other wingers running in from the flanks. His lack of mobility was exploited whenever possible, and Wu Hong was finally incapacitated with a cramp during one of his breathtaking runs through the defence after scoring 5 goals.
Yet despite the efforts of the KEVIIan team, and the yells and cheers from the supporters whenever the EH net was penetrated, the match ended 24-12 in EH’s favour. Despite the spinning shots from the pivots, the lung-splitting runs by the second men, the long jumps of the wingers and the dives of the keepers, KE’s bid for the elimination round was over. Eric, handball captain, commented that why we lost the match was more because of a lack of aggression on our part, rather than EH being superior. But the handball campaign this year has still been a vast improvement over the previous year’s; KE’s Guys’ Handball team had gone from one “still learning not to break the rules”, in the words of Aik Leong, to one which could be a genuine contender for future competitions. Next year, they would show the other halls that having KE in their group did not mean a sure ticket to the elimination round!
HandBall Girls
KE 2-9 EH (Girls)
Hot on the heels of the guys’ match came that of the girls. With the supporters now augmented by the guys’ team (who’s blood was now well and truly up), the KE crowd roared their encouragement as Brenda, Kimberly, Hui Ann, Fang Chee, Amanda and Hui Ying sped up and down the court, challenging the tall EH girls for the ball. Jia Hui was a rock in the goal, keeping out shot after shot, drawing the cheers of the crowd.
For a long while, it was a stalemate. Both sides had chances which both keepers denied repeatedly. Finally, a shot ricocheting from the ground skipped past Jia Hui as EH again drew first blood. Yet, the KEVIIans never took it lying down. Brenda caught the ball right in front of the goal area, spun and unleashed a fierce shot which the Eusoff keeper could not reach despite an athletic dive. But the ball bounced agonizingly wide of the post. We, supporters, groaned at the miss but cheered at the splendid attempt. The girls had it in them, we knew it.
Of memory in the writer’s mind is the occasion when a EH player jumped in and fired a shot which Jia Hui deflected. Another player collected the rebound and shot again, which she again blocked. A THIRD Eusoffian was quick to the ball again, but our keeper had repositioned herself and stopped the third attempt! A brilliant individual display!
And there was also Amanda who challenged the EH winger for a loose ball, and having failed to regain possession, proceeded to close down her opponent with an efficient clamp, preventing a clear shot at the goal.
With such displays, the Handball Girls’ were then down by only a small margin of 0-3 at half time. They restarted the half fighting hard. Jia Hui and Brenda exchanged places, with Brenda doing an equally fine job in the goal. The fast EH players, combined with a few controversial calls from the referee led to KE’s defence being breached more than once, but she pulled off save after save to deny them on several occasions. And at last, Kim let fly with a textbook style shot, which bounced off the floor just before the goal line, disorientating the EH keeper, who did well to perform a near gymnastic split in her attempt to stop the shot, but to no avail. The net bulged and the KE supporters cheered as though we were playing in the finals.
The pace was quickening, with space opening up across the court, allowing players from both sides to make use of their speed to run through, receive long shots and make looping passes across the court. Our left winger made good runs, even nearly scoring from a neat low ball. Still, Eusoff’s better technique troubled the defence, which Brenda’s skill could not totally negate.
Then in the middle of an attack on the EH goal, Kim once again leapt forward and sent a second shot into the Eusoff net! The crowd yelled their approval as the players formed up for the restart.
But despite their best efforts, the score at the final whistle was 9-2. Not that the girls’ team had anything to be ashamed of, for to us, they had put up a fine effort, showing speed and enthusiasm for the game, even when trailing behind. Again, with handball only having been recently introduced in KE, they did well, and we look forward to see them in action again next IHG!
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