Written By: Liang Shu-Jing Edited By: Valerie Chua & Jolene Wong Photographs By: Eusoffworks
It was the second game of the season for the guys Floorball team!! After a beautiful win from the previous match, the boys were feeling more confident and ready to take on Kent Ridge Hall (KR). Morale was at an all-time high and the crowd was buzzing with excitement, hoping for yet another splendid performance from the team.
Just right after the face off, Haoyuan attempted a score right in the beginning with a drag shot to the left. This dragged away KR’s defence to leave an open goal, catching KR off guard. It was simply perfect set up as he casually strides and took aim. Wee Boon dragged the ball forward before taking a far cross-court shot from the left, curving beautifully into the goal. However, KR’s goalkeeper reached out just in time to block the ball in the last minute. What a pity! Following that, Haoyuan showed off some amazing stick work and steals the ball easily from his opponent in blue. A great block from Presley as he stretched his knee outwards that deflected a potential goal, shutting down KR’s offence. A Block bashie Jaypy then performed a series of backward passes and bluffs, confusing his opponents and carving a path out for his teammate to swivel through the otherwise tight defence. Mad teamwork by Jaypy and JJ with a long midcourt pass opened up a chance at scoring a goal but unfortunately, KR’s goalkeeper had anticipated it to block the corner shot.
Despite KR’s defensive line clamping down hard on our offence, Haoyuan continued to keep the ball in Eusoff’s possession with his smart plays and swift steal. Unwilling to back down, KR pressed hard with their tackles and strategic plays, sticking to their lines and Eusoff had a hard time breaking their defence to keep the ball in play. Terry came close to scoring but a tough tackle placed him in too tight a spot to take a shot. Our Eusoff boys tried all sorts of ways to break KR’s defence as Jaypy passes long and wide, attempting to stretch their defence wide for an opportunity to bring the ball down the middle to the goal. It was a tight game as each time Eusoff pressed hard to the attacking zone, KR makes a quick steal to change the tide. KR was also always quick to fall back on their defence. Their strong defence placed our forwards in a disadvantageous positions to score, yet our boys never once gave up and persevered on, remaining calm and collected in their play.
Wow, that’s some sick ball control right there!
Another close call came from Jaypy, but he got unlucky with a deflection of one of KR’s defenders. Tough luck. With KR getting increasingly aggressive with their offence, goalkeeper Ardy endured the constant attacks, watching the ball closely as he saves the ball time and time again. Ardy had it tough, with two KR forwards rushing towards him attempting shot after shot, yet his swift reflexes had him on guard to block them off one after another. Just when Eusoff was starting to feel defeated, a quick pass from Lloyd to the extreme left and a mindblowing skilled slapstick shot from Haoyuan put the ball right in KR’s goal. The crowd erupted in cheers, roaring in disbelief. Did he learn to play floorball before he even learned to walk? It was such a natural shot with a sleight of the hand that changed the whole flow of the game. The tables turned and that goal was clearly what we needed to keep on fighting. Lloyd cleared the ball in the nick of time, and pushed forth with an aggressive attack. A sik assist to Haoyuan gave KR many close scares as the ball came close and short to the goal. It was clearly a nerve of wars for their opponents. Haoyuan was able to read his opponent’s plays like a book and predict the passes. This allowed him to clear the ball all the way to the other end of the court. Then, Jon picked up the pace, and with a quick snap of his wrist, he bagged another goal! Goalkeeper Ardy continued to make countless beautiful saves as KR came down hard on their attacks and Eusoff gave in to their offence to let in a goal. Ardy was quick on his feet, lightning reflexes as he daringly throws his body to catch those shots. At the end of the second period, the score was 3-1 to Eusoff.
Coming back into the last period, goalkeeper Ardy fought back hard, instructing and guiding the defence to stick to their lines. Will our boys be able to hold down the fort? It was hard to tell. With KR brimming with energy and defence failing to fall back in time. The players were drenched in sweat, exhausted. With the score tied at 3-all with just 3 minutes to go, there was an air of nervousness in the USC sports hall. Will it be a tie? Or will someone score a buzzer beater?? At times like these, the spirit of Eusoff was displayed as spectators stood as one to cheer, bringing life to our players. In the last few critical minutes, a foul play by KR resulted in them being one player down. Our Eusoff floorball boys knew was their last chance to take their last shot. Let’s go Eusoff!!
All’s good in the hood with Lloyd around!
As the clock continued ticking, we were down to the last few seconds of the game. Even when they were pressed for time, our players remained focused, passing accurately. 5, 4, 3… with a long pass from the back court and the dash to the goal, Lloyd gave his all with a powerful slapstick shot into the goal, with just 3 seconds left on the clock!
And with the last whistle blown, Eusoff ends off the game, 4-3. We are now through to the semi-finals! It was tough and well fought victory today, and definitely a well deserved win for our Floorball boys. Let’s continue to give them our utmost support for their subsequent matches!
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