IHG Floorball by Sean Lim

Floorball
2nd

v Hall 7 WIN 5-0 (Prelims)
v Hall 6 WIN walkover (Prelims)
v Hall 3 WIN 7-1 (Quarters)
v Hall 15 WIN 3-0 (Semis)
v Hall 16 LOSE 2-6 (Final)

Tuesday, 4 March 2014

Our floorball team finished overall 2nd in the 2-day long unofficial IHG Floorball competition.

With no actual IHG ranking points at stake, the 2-day long event really lent itself to the spirit of fun, entertainment and bonding. In spite of that, there was no letting up on our team's part; when you put on that white jersey (with the exception of waterpolo; trunks in that case), you have an obligation to defend the pride of Hall 2.

Arun Vinoth, who is fast becoming Hall 2's sporting equivalent of an odd-job worker, was again pressed into emergency service as a goalkeeper. Whereas he had at least played in goal for soccer during his JC days, V was starting from scratch this time. Being a floorball goalkeeper is a different beast altogether, such is the immense stress of being on your knees and wearing a padded suit, so V deserves a lot of credit for performing so well in such an awkward situation.

Led by Captain/legend Muhd Azhari and closely advised by Senior Advisor/legend Shukri Abdul Jalil, our floorball team was quite the fearsome prospect. In the team also were SUNIG/IVP players like Abdul Adib, Clarice Yung, Shireen Pj and Abdul Loves Wafiy, who will also be starring as a peasant in Bookends this weekend. Ambush marketing aside, at full flow our team was simply unstoppable.

The first game was a fairly straight forward win, in which our team used to get used to a floorball stick again; we also had many experienced players, but most if not all of them have not touched a stick in close to a year. In a 3-team group, the non-appearance of Hall 6 meant that Hall 7 and ourselves qualified for the quarters automatically, where we would renew our rivalry with our brethren in yellow.

Perhaps we were too focused on trying our best, but the 1st line somehow allowed Hall 3 to score within 30 seconds of the start, which was the exact opposite of how things were supposed to go. Visibly affronted at the sheer audacity of our air-conditioned friends to actually score against us, the team spent the rest of the game making sure our friends in yellow regretted it. Before long, we had equalised and pulled away into the sunset, but even then the pressure was relentless, such was the determination to get back at the goal conceded.

The semis against Hall 15 was a different thing altogether. Aware that they played with their 3 strongest male players at the back, the plan was apply unceasing pressure on the backline to not even give them a sniff at our goal via the counterattack. On that count we were fairly successful; Hall 15 had about 2 shots on V, both going over, while we had as much shots in this game as we had in the rest of the games combined. Their goalkeeper kept them in the game, making save after save after save. Eventually though, our pressure told as we managed to carve out some gilt-edged chances that even the best keeper in the world would have no chance against.

As we expected, our final was a very tight affair. 16 generally controlled the game, while we focused on keeping our defensive shape tight and looked to spring Nicholas Tai and Zeng Shiting on the counterattack. At 1-0 down, we kept our heads up and eventually managed to tie the game at 1-1. However, a fluke goal that was basically a mis-hit pass that was swung at wildly by 16's forward, distracting V, meant that we went down again. On the balance of play the game was fairly even, but the difference was the cold-blooded clinical finishing of Hall 16, whereas we were guilty of spurning some open chances.

Nevertheless, 2nd place is a commendable achievement, and it is an improvement over last year's 3rd place. With so many players still only in their freshman year, one can expect next year's team to be an even better one. The most important thing, however, was that the team as a whole enjoyed themselves, proving that fun and competition can go hand-in-hand.

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