Written by: Daryl Chin Edited by: Leung Lok Heng & Choa Zhao Xiang Photos by: EusoffWorks
For the second game of their season, our handball hunks were back at it again. After their previous victory over Sheares, they were already guaranteed a spot in the semifinals of the tournament after SH and KR drew each other in their previous meeting. With the support of our fellow Eusoffians, the team was ready to give the game their best.
First half score: EH vs KR: 12-9
The first half saw a strong lineup being fielded yet again. This consisted of Amos (in goal), Ming Sheng, Kenson, Wesley/Jon (both continuously subbed for each other), Bala, Jiaqi and Shaoye. The match started off with KR on the attack. KR got the first attack of the game but it missed the goal. From the early stages of the game, our handballers went on the offensive as they tried to get the first goal of the game. Early efforts from Ming Sheng proved to be threatening but all were saved by the KR keeper. Finally, a breakthrough came for him as he intercepted a mispass, attacking on his own and scoring! 1-0 Eusoff!
Ming Sheng gave us the lead early on. Last year’s rookie of the year proved to be a force of nature throughout the game.
The second goal came almost instantly through Jiaqi with a fantastic shot. However, our opponents in blue responded immediately to make it 2-1. Showing his prowess, Captain Kenson retaliated, sending a rocket towards the KR goal to make it 3-1, rooting the goalkeeper to a spot as he came out of nowhere! This was followed by an excellent defensive display by our handballers, with Amos pulling a few good saves as our outfield players came through with some excellent clamping to deny our opponents. Despite that, KR managed to level the score with a few good breaks eventually, as this back and forth went on for awhile with us managing to get a goal lead through Jiaqi and them responding immediately to make it level at four a piece.
The game was then put to a stop by the referees due to unforeseen weather circumstances for a good twenty minutes before the rain stopped. Even though there was a small disruption to their momentum, our handballers were unfazed by this and were ready to do better. Some sikk passes and teamwork between the year 2 combo Kenson and Ming Sheng saw Eusoff take the lead. However, this lead was short lived as a foul resulted in a penalty for KR in which they managed to put away. Shortly after, KR themselves conceded a penalty, in which our boi, Ming Sheng manages to put away for us to take the lead again. Slowly, we managed to increase our lead through the likes of Jiaqi, Ming Sheng, Bala getting on the scoresheet.
LYLC Bala maneuvered the KR defence with masterful tactical vision.
While these star players were getting the glamorous goals, we were definitely not forgetting our Sports D, Amos, as he made multiple world-class saves (even one with his head) to maintain our lead. Substitutions were made with Jowell and Jovi coming on as replacements. Super-sub Jovi wastes no time as he tries a shot within seconds after coming on, which was unfortunately saved by the keeper. However, adversity struck us in the first half as an overly-aggressive play by us resulted in us being down to six men, in which KR took advantage of, closing the lead to 9-8 in favour of us.
Our handballers knew they had to secure their lead and put on their A-game. Jovi came in with the fake shot to pass to Bala, in which he puts away. This was followed by Jon who manages to get through the KR defence to widen the lead. Just seconds before the half ended, Kenson manages a well-timed shot to allow Eusoff to end the half leading 12-9.
Second half score: EH vs KR: 17-18
With a considerable lead, our boys were determined to maintain their lead. Our 3-point lead was well-maintained for a good period of time, with the likes of Kenson scoring twice making the score 14-11. Slowly, the KR players got into the mood during the second half and started to go on the offensive, putting more pressure on our handballers. KR was awarded a penalty to make it 14-12. They could have levelled the score sooner but the man Amos was on FIRE, and was constantly pulling off beautiful saves to deny our opponents. Our handballers slowly gained momentum too with Jon unleashing three rockets from outside the D to make it 17-15 in our favour. Dylan was subbed on for Bala as a tactical substitution, making his IHG debut.
Things seemed to be going in our favour but KR were very persistent and they retaliated. They took advantage of every mispass and interception they found and were successful in almost all of their attacks, levelling it 17-17 eventually. Unfortunately, another quick break from the KR handballers saw them take the lead 18-17. In a last-ditch effort to level the score, Eusoff gave one final attack but unfortunately missed through Ming Sheng just as the final whistle blew.
Our handball hunks fought hard throughout the match, being aggressive on both offence and defence, and never giving up till the last second. More importantly, Eusoff displayed true sportsmanship and showed respect to the referee and their opponents despite tough calls and unfavourable circumstances. Good job Eusoff! We are all extremely proud of you!
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