Written by: Izzat Rashad B Rosazizi Edited by: Leung Lok Heng & Choa Zhao Xiang Photos by: EusoffWorks
When we speak of legendary IHG rivalries, it cannot get any bigger than Eusoff versus Temasek. The overall champions against the noisy neighbours. The unstoppable yellow against the immovable white. The Supper Stretch Derby. The intensity of this rivalry with our perennial rivals was extremely evident as supporters from both halls flocked to the NUS science field to bear witness to this highly anticipated match.
The prize at stake? A date with destiny in the IHG football finals against Sheares, who booked their finals ticket earlier with a 7-0 thrashing of KR. The noise was resounding and the atmosphere was electric, as both sets of players were itching to rise to the occasion and deliver a performance worthy of IHG folklore. The referee eventually blew his whistle, and we were underway.
The match began with both teams looking to assert themselves as the dominant side dictating the pace and style of play. However even after fifteen minutes of play, there was still no way of splitting the two teams apart; for every shot that our Nippon man Jo Kagitani had on goal, Temasek would reply instantaneously with a perfectly weighted lob aimed at their target man, who looked to threaten our goal with long range efforts. Fortunately for us, our goalkeeper Ethan (back in his natural goalkeeping role after scoring a cracker against PGP) was on his toes throughout the match; making crucial saves and taking charge of every 50-50 ball sent into the box by the TH offense.
It was clear that in a game so tightly contested and finely balanced, a moment of IHG magic would determine who would walk away with the W. And as they say in C block 1st floor; cometh the hour, cometh the man. Enter Sir Ashwin Unnithan; our marvellous midfield maestro. Nobody expected anything serious from a free-kick right in centre-field. Nobody expected Ashwin to score from that far out. Nobody, except Ashwin himself. Any softer and it would have been in the gloves of the keeper. Any harder and it would have gone right out for a goal kick. In short, Ashwin had to hit the ball perfectly to have any chance of scoring from such a distance.
Freshie Ashwin had one of the more sensational goals we’ve seen in the games so far.
No prizes for guessing the outcome of that free-kick. Ashwin’s sweetly struck ball hit the perfect trajectory to sail right into the Temasek net, to the jubilation of the Eusoffian supporters. The opposing defenders looked at their goalkeeper furiously but in his defence, it was a free kick for the ages. No keeper on the IHG stage was going to save that shot.
Despite scoring an absolute beauty of a goal, there was no time to rest for EUnited as Temasek turned the intensity up even more now that they were chasing the result. Ball after ball, Temasek constantly looked for cracks in our yellow defensive wall, especially in the absence of talismanic captain Wenhao. Needless to say, our squad depth was on full display last night, as the centre-back duo of Wei Shien and Joel constantly kept the Temasek attackers at an arms-length from our goal area, complemented by full backs Irfan and Dylan tirelessly making runs up and down the flanks. All the Temasek players could do was take shots from long range and hope for the best. None of those shots came to fruition; as the Temasek team ended the first half trailing our boys.
Eusoff on the other hand, ended the first half with a cautious attitude; knowing that they were in a similar position last time out against KR. In that game, a lapse in our defensive focus led to a conceded goal against the run of play; causing us to only earn a draw in a game which we should have won. One can safely assume that our boys learnt from that error, and the message at half time would be to approach the second half the same way as the first; high intensity high pressure football that would force the opponents to make unforced errors.
Dylan was all over the field, making one good play after another.
These assumptions proved to be true as the second half commenced. While EUnited seemed more in control of the overall game now as compared to the previous draw against KR, TH’s individual quality was unquestionably causing our team some problems. A constant bombardment of Temasekian attacks on our defensive wall finally came to a climax in the 10th minute of the half. A chipped ball enticed keeper Ethan to come off his line to secure it, but the pacey TH attacker somehow got a toe to it, and the ball bobbed free and into the path of another opposing striker.
Nine times out of ten, that would have been a certain equaliser as the striker had a clear unobstructed shot at goal. Fortunately, LYLC Wei Shien proved his years of experience being in such clutch IHG moments, and managed to position himself on the goal-line to clear the ball to safety. A real “puff out your cheeks” moment as Eusoff hung on to the 1-0 lead.
The remainder of the half proved Eusoff’s mettle in these high-stakes situations as they tactically saw the game out; breaking any sort of momentum TH had on the ball, which resulted in a scrappy period of play. This occurred to the ire of captain Wenhao, who was constantly screaming instructions from the touchline and had to be told off several times by the touchline official. Wenhao was not the only infuriated individual at the NUS science field last night, as several TH players started earning themselves several needless fouls and yellow cards as time slowly trickled down to zero
As the final whistle blew, there were scenes of joy and exuberation all around the Eusoff supporter area. EUnited had made it to the final at the expense of our bitter nemeses Temasek, by the scanty scoreline of 1-0. While it would be a game remembered mainly for Ashwin’s stunning set-piece, the job is not done yet. In a few days time, Eusoff will do battle with Sheares in the IHG finals to determine who has the best football team in NUS. That would be a game I would definitely not want to miss.
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