Written by: Toh Wei Hao
Edited by: Angelina Grace Pandiman
Photos by: Eusoff Works
Fresh off a dominant showing on Wednesday, the Handball F team looks to cement their stake on the IHG semi-finals spot. Today, their opponents are Kent Ridge Hall, who are also looking to score a victory here. Without any further delay, let’s review how the girls did against KR in this battle of high stakes and huge implications.
Our starting line-up was as shown: (Outfield) Rishika, Shy (Shi Yun), Reese and (Keeper) Ying Jia
Eusoff started off with the defence first, employing a safe tactic here. A good D by Rishika and Reese prevented a score by KR. Rishika countered with a great shot which swerved into the net. A leg-ball during KR’s repossession gave Eusoff the opportunity to be back on the attack. A push onto Reese gave away the penalty shot to Rishika, who aced it with ease, bringing the score to 2-0. KR soon managed to rally back and deuce it with us. The trades then began but quickly ended after Reese landed a good shot into the net, making it 3-2 to Eusoff. On defence, the Eusoff outfield was repeatedly able to maintain a blockade and this prevented any openings for KR to get a sneaky one in, with the score maintained at 3-2 at half-time. A rally of 2 goals quickly ensued for the Eusoff outfield, making it 5-2 to Eusoff. The KR coach called for a timeout after KR scored a goal to lessen the goal difference. Another trade of goals occurred after the timeout and with time having flown by, there were just 32 seconds remaining on the clock. An impressive save by Ying Jia prevented a last-minute goal by KR and with that, Eusoff won the first set with a score of 6-4.
Set 1: 6-4 to EH
Shy is DETERMINED to score despite being clamped down hard
Our next line-up was: (Outfield) Charmaine, Bowie, Tamelly and (Keeper) Michelle
Neither team had the advantage for a while with both sides countering each other’s offences but somehow our outfield was warned by the referee for being too rough. Charmaine’s clamping streak, along with good saves by Michelle, kept the KR lineup at 0 goals. Charmaine soon found an opening between the KR keeper’s legs and sniped a goal with precision and accuracy. An aggressive side clamp onto Tamelly earned us the penalty shot and despite a miss, Bowie got the rebound and netted it immediately! Despite KR being down one woman after a technical foul, the Eusoff outfield was unfortunately unable to find the opportunity to extend the lead. Bowie was able to defend well, but at the cost of a 1 minute suspension. I would say that it was worth it though as the rest of the team were able to maintain the game at 2-0 at half time. Eusoff’s sturdy defence persevered with KR unable to take any shots at goal. After a long while, Eusoff regained possession and Tamelly scored with a juke onto the KR outfield. With KR also stepping up their defence game, there were no goals despite the ferocious and intense attacks by both sides. That was until Charmaine prevailed with her “cannon arms” as quoted by the live commentator. KR was simply stunned by our infallible defence as none of their offences worked against us. Meanwhile, Charmaine was able to find another good shot into the KR net, making it 5 goals to none. KR soon replied with their first goal of the game, but it wasn’t much of a worry to Eusoff. As the “final act” of the 2nd set, Michelle came out as an outfielder for the final attempt at goal since there was not much time left anyway. Charmaine managed to get the goal into the net but it was a no-goal as pointed out by the referee. Despite that, Eusoff still secured the victory for the set and the match overall since we had already won 2 sets to none.
Set 2: 5-1 to EH
Set 3 Lineup: (Outfield) Mabel Rebecca Chloe (Keeper) Avina
KR was quickly able to find itself a goal and the lead. With various defensive maneuvers ranging from clamping to aggressive tackles (At one instance, Mabel got hit in the neck by a KR outfielder but no call was given), KR found themselves maintaining the lead. However, KR was soon down a man and now Eusoff had the numbers advantage, comfortably landing a goal to equalise the score. A traffic of goals started right after and ended with KR being up 3 goals to 2. Our impressive defence maintained the score at 3-2 at half-time, with many great Ds in the last minute before half-time. With a KR outfielder shoving Chloe, Eusoff managed to keep the ball and Mabel was able to score a SIUUU-worthy goal. Despite the hard Ds by the outfield, KR still managed to score and regain the goal lead. A goal by KR was swiftly replied by the Eusoff outfield, this time being Rebecca. A last one-to-one exchange of goals before the final whistle meant that KR won the set 6 goals to 4.
Set 3: 6-4 to KR
Overall: 2-1 to EH (SIUUUUU)
AND MABEL DRIVES FORWARD TO MAKE A SIIIUUUU WORTHY SHOT
With this important victory, the girls have a pretty high chance of qualifying into the semi-finals. Best of luck to the team to qualify into the semi-finals! Do follow eh_handball on Instagram to stay updated with the girls’ progress and subscribe to @ihghandball for handball commentary!
Comentários