Written by: Jefferson Lee
Edited by: Cheng Kai Wen
Photos by: Eusoff Works
It was finally time for the Eusoff floorball team to shine. The full Eusoff team was available to play against their hot rivals, Temasek, in the semifinals of the 22/23 IHG. Gone with the IVP ban, the IVP boys were ready to run riot and defeat a “pretty decent team on paper” - Temasek. Temasek, is Eusoff’s traditional rival for many sports (and IHG in general), but it was especially exciting and nerve wrecking as they too had their fair share of IVP players. As such, making finals seemed to be a huge task to accomplish.
The lineup to take on the floorball giants:
Line 1: Owen, Pradeep, Deme, Marucs, Shu Wei
Line 2: Kevyn, Benji, Matt, Ryan Tham, Jun Wei, Imran
Line 3: Timo, Stephen, Azhari, Jierui, Cedric, Nico
Line 4: Kai Sheng, Boon Long, Jin Song, Dylan, Zaheer, Zixuan
Goalkeepers: Timo Ang, Ryan Poh
In the first period, it was clear that TH was really going at it. Playing at the USC court also meant that the boys had to adapt to the bigger court. Right from the get go, Temasek was attacking relentlessly, putting Eusoff’s defense to the test. Despite having a few decent counter attacks, this period saw mostly Temasek coming close and firing shots with any space they found. This gave our man in goal, Timo, a busy day in the office, smacking the balls away. The Eusoff boys were passing the ball around nicely and finding their groove in the game while also pulling off some decent shots here and there. Overall, it was a decent display from both teams but the first period ended at nil nil.
Tham doing well to control the play!
In the second period, Eusoff turned on the afterburners. The boys started off on a strong foot and were giving the TH defenders a hard time trying to contain them. With silky passes from standout players Azhari, Jun Wei and Owen, they were running both the defense and midfield. There were formidable attempts by TH but Timo and Imran were there to put a stop to any shots that came their way. Around 3 minutes in, Timo pulled a save and kickstarted a counter attack that sent Deme dribbling down the left wing who then shot a bullet into the top right corner from a very tight angle, putting Eusoff one nil up! The team and crowd’s response proved how vital that goal was, as they erupted into wild celebrations.
Jun Wei and Ryan Tham continued bossing the court and led dangerous attacks into TH’s halve of the court. 3 minutes after the first goal, Kevyn tapped home Eusoff’s second goal after a shot deflected off the TH goalkeeper! Eusoff 2 - 0 Temasek. The finals were within reach. However, after much effort from TH, they won a foul which sent a Eusoff player to the naughty corner, which meant 5 final minutes of the 2nd period with only 4 outfield players for Eusoff. Even then, the Eusoff boys held up really well and formed one of the best highlights of the entire game with Deme spinning 3 rounds together with the ball when 1 on 1 with a TH player, and even beating that guy with a final spin, leading a 1 man attack down the wing. With 4 minutes to go, TH managed to score one back on the counter, capitalizing on the extra man advantage. Even though the last minute of the 2nd period saw one TH player sent to the naughty corner, the Eusoff boys failed to score with the extra man as TH parked the bus real hard. As such, the 2nd period ended with Eusoff up by 1 goal.
Just look at Deme go with his new ACLs!
Just as the final period was about to begin, after imparting their knowledge with the rest of the team, Ryan and Azhari had to leave for their national training. The game was there to be won by the rest of the Eusoff boys. It was an intense fight and Temasek were giving it their all trying to break down the great wall of Eusoff - our line of powerful defenders. With all due credit, Temasek came really close and grazed Eusoff’s goal side netting on several occasions while the other shots on target were all caught and smacked away by the man of the hour, Timo. Eusoff were in safe hands as Timo pulled off a masterclass and dived everywhere to collect any loose balls within his reach, and even saved multiple 1 on 1s that TH managed to dribble their way into. There was one “sonic speed” TH player that managed to outrun Eusoff’s midfield and defense twice, down their left wing, putting him blatantly through on goal, but Timo shows his class by keeping him out TWO IN TWO. Even till the very end, TH were firing shots from everywhere but to no avail. Eusoff held out till the very end and the third period ended with Eusoff heading to the finals!
FULL TIME: EUSOFF 2 - 1 TEMASEK
It was a vital win as Eusoff defeated their arch rivals and arguably the strongest IHG team on paper, according to the humble Eusoff floorballers (I still think that’s Eusoff). The Eusoff boys face Raffles in the finals this coming Saturday, 4th Feb, same place, 5pm. Be sure to catch the boys bringing it home!
All smiles for our boys as they bring it home!
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