Written by: Arthur Long
Edited by: Cheng Kai Wen
Photos by: Eusoff Works
Another IHG final, another Eusoff versus Temasek game. The handball girls faced off against our rivals at the SRC courts at 9pm on Thursday. Eusoff started the throw but Mabel got a yellow card seconds into the game for seemingly no reason. This foreshadowed the trigger-happiness of the referee(s) and the spate of unreasonable calls that were about to happen this game.
The first goal was scored by Temasek 2 minutes into the game. Isabelle scores to equalise after a rally of attacking and defending, but Temasek quickly gained another lead off their next play. In the next 10 minutes, Eusoff made plays and had respectable attempts at goal, but unfortunately the shots were saved by the Temasek keeper. On the other hand, Temasek managed to slowly increase their goal lead. We were down 1 to 7. Unfortunately, Mabel takes a hard fall when attempting a shot. The supporters’ stand actually gasped when we heard the fall she took. Thankfully, after grimacing through the pain, she manages to continue playing. A timeout was called shortly after.
Mabel who braved on despite being fouled on multiple times.
Soon after the game continued, Temasek scored a goal. Mabel, still going strong after her fall, scores one in retaliation, to make the score 2 to 8. Both Adele and a TH player get sent off for 2 minutes, followed by another 2 minutes given to Isabelle (remember when I said the referee was trigger-happy?). Both Bowie and Mabel ended up on the ground at separate occasions due to fouls from Temasek. Han Xi scores a goal to make the score 3 – 8. Bowie takes another hard fall (ouch) and this time she was on the ground for quite a while. A first aider rushes onto the court, but thankfully she manages to recover and continue playing. Handball is a rough game guys… Halftime ended with us trailing at 3 – 8.
Temasek started the second half. They manage to score the first goal of the half, but Ruo Wei, who was subbed on, scores to take one back. Eusoff then gets a penalty, and they put on our resident penalty taker, Bowie, who puts it in the bottom left corner to score. 5 – 9. Han Xi gets a 2 minute suspension when she bumps into a Temasek player while running back to stop a break from Temasek. Temasek scores another goal to make it 5 – 10.
Janice doing her best despite getting clamped.
This was where things started to get ridiculous. Han Xi gets a 2 minute suspension and a yellow card for not running in from the correct place when getting subbed in. She then gets ANOTHER 2 minutes for an illegal sub AGAIN after trying to come back on, and because it was her third yellow card this game, she got a RED CARD. She was out for the rest of the game. Following that, the referees kept calling turnovers when Eusoff was on the ball, attacking. This happened not once or twice but continuously, such that I lost count of the number of times it happened. The supporters were extremely confused because it seemed like the Eusoff players did nothing wrong. Even experienced players like Yusoff and Jeremy were puzzled.
Eusoff gets awarded a penalty, and puts it in the same bottom left corner to make the score 6 – 10. The ridiculousness continued when Temasek had 3 players in a 2 minute suspension at a point of time, leaving them with only 3 players outfield. Eusoff gets another penalty and Bowie scores again to make the score 7 – 10 before a timeout is called. After the timeout, Temasek gets a penalty, which they score. 7 – 11. Mabel does a 360 spin with good footwork and tries to shoot, but the referees call for travel again. Isabelle takes a shot as well but the referees call travel too (are we surprised at this point). Eusoff gets a penalty and Bowie scores to make it 8 – 11. The Eusoff girls took a few more shots at goal afterwards, but unfortunately there wasn’t enough time. The full time whistle was blown.
Bowie, our expert penalty taker, goes at it again and again without rest!
Well, I wouldn’t say this was an uneventful final match for the handball team. Definitely one of the most memorable games I’ve done commentary on, especially the second half... Good fight girls, you did your best and you’ve made Eusoff proud by clinching a silver medal! We know both the guys’ and girls’ handball teams will come back stronger, so continue to support them as they train for the next season. Till then, keep on keeping on!
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