Written by: Arthur Long
Edited by: Cheng Kai Wen
Photos by: Eusoff Works
As the sun set across SRC courts 1 and 2, our handball girls were warming up to face off against Temasek Hall. This was the game to kick off Eusoff Handball’s IHG season. On this day, there were 6 other sports that had IHG matches, including the Sepak Takraw finals against Temasek at the nearby MPSH, so Eusoff forces were spread thin. Despite this, the handball girls were determined to defeat their biggest rivals.
Eusoff started the first throw. About 5 minutes in, Adele in the pivot position gave us a strong start when she capitalised on an opportunity and scored! However, Temasek quickly evened out the score within the next few minutes with a goal. This was followed by another soon after, and another after that. This made the score 3 to 1 in Temasek’s favour. The girls were unfazed, and quickly brought it back to 3 - 3 with 2 goals within 2 minutes.
Bowie's sick form as she attempts a score for Eusoff.
After a few rounds of the ball changing possession, Eusoff conceded a foul to award a penalty to Temasek, with Janice receiving a 2 minute suspension. Unfortunately, Temasek scored with a shot to the bottom left of the goal, just out of goalie Michelle's reach. However, before the half ended, the Eusoff girls still had one more in them when Natasha took a strike at the goal and scored, when the Temasek keeper fumbled the ball. With that, the half ended with a current tie at 4 to 4.
Spirits during halftime remained strong, as the coach reassured the girls that they were doing well, seeing as they were not trailing Temasek on the scoreboard. With strategy having been discussed and the girls getting some rest, they filtered back onto the court for the second half.
Action-packed battle, as Natasha plays her 2nd out of 3 games of the day!
The second half was full of action and started with Temasek’s throw-off, which they turned into a quick goal right off the bat. This turned the score 5 - 4 in their favour. The ball exchanged hands back and forth until several minutes later, when Temasek shot from the right wing and scored to make it 6 - 4. There was a moment where a Temasek player broke through with no Eusoff defenders in the way of her run. She took the shot, but alas, she did not score as Michelle was there to block the ball! The next 2 attempts on target by Temasek also had its trajectory deflected by goalkeeper Michelle, showing her prowess in her position.
In the last quarter of the game, Temasek maintained their lead on the Eusoff team. Unfortunately, Temasek were awarded too many penalties (4 to be exact), when the referee called fouls on Eusoff’s part. The Eusoff girls gave it a valiant effort, and scored another 3 goals in the quarter to make the final score 7 - 11, with Temasek taking the win. An intense last 15 minutes to end the game, our girls definitely gave Temasek a run for their money, and put up a good fight for the first game of the season.
Mabel facing off the TH defenders with her might.
Despite this loss to Temasek, we got to keep our spirits high as who knows, we might meet Temasek again as this was only the preliminary round. So do support the handball girls as they head into their next preliminary game against Raffles Hall on Monday, 16 January. All the best to our girls!
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