Frontliners 300 vs Firebrands
2-2(1-2, 1-0)
2-2(1-2, 1-0)
First Period:
0350 0-1 Daniel Tan ( Andrew Chan )
1518 1-1 Michael Cheah ( Julian Tan )
1555 1-2 Daniel Tan
Second Period:
3154 2-2 Michael Cheah
Bench Penalties:
Frontliners 300 2mins x 6
Firebrands 2min x 1
Always expect the unexpected.
Well, at least for sports it works that way.
Both teams having indifferent fortunes in their campaign but coming into the game eyeing for the same thing, 2 points for different reasons;
300 for the glory,
Firebrands for pride.
And so, as predicted, the team with nothing to lose and everything to gain started off brightly. Firebrands, ran the show early on with high and intense forechecking, not showing the title challengers much respect.
300 on the hand, was rather shaky, not really living up to expectations as contenders as they were struggling to find their rhythm with Firebrands dictating the tempo and possession.
It didn't took long before Firebrands capitalised on some woeful defending from 300.
Daniel making himself an eyesore for the defenders, went head on with two defenders, and somehow managed to flick the ball towards goal. The goalie, to his horror and everyone amusement, did little to stop the ball, a goal with suspicious deflection.
It was a messy goal to concede, but a goal nevertheless and a surprising start for the underdogs. The goal surely boosted Firebrands confidence who were fearing the worst coming into the game, now with the lead, 300 will have to step up to chase the scoreline.
Coach Jason who is also the coach of Firebrands, opted to be with 300 in this mini derby hoping to boost their medal chances but the coach, not being in his vocal best due to sore throats, was unable to lead the team effectively. Without the thunderous roar for the sidelines, 300 just seems unable to put their foot on the pedal and with their main man Michael being heavily scrutinised by Andrew, they lack the spark they have been relying all this while to break the resolute Firebrands' defense.
To make things worst, due to miscommunication from the bench, 300 find themselves down with one man when the referee's sharp eyes spotted them playing with 6 men. Roeslyn the unlucky last person to step onto the court was sent to the penalty bench.
Firebrands were content with holding the ball, wasting precious seconds rather then attacking the vulnerable 4 men 300. When possession switched hands, 300 too held the ball without any attacking intent, a true portrait of their friendship.
The no-war strategy extended when Roselyn, unaware of the rules, made a substitution straight on the sidelines, the "eagle-eyed" referees were spot on and Roselyn once again spent leisure time with the secretariats.
The tide turned when Firebrands find themselves down to 4 when Zi Hoong was sent off for incorrect distance. Firebrands might be hoping their counterpart to return them the favour by doing some charity, but 300 with the medal in mind weren't deciding to be that merciful. Waves after waves of attacking pour forward but to no avail, M2M(Michael and Mekanath) and co just couldn't find a break through.
Just when they thought they were going to see it through and revert back to full strength, a slight lapse of concentration saw Bryan's goal finally breached. 300 were trying to do the obvious with the free hit they won on the right, a tap for Michael to do a drag. Up to that moment, they had succeeded in unsettling the boy by charging towards him. But for whatever reason, they stood stoned when Michael took a not-so-impressive shot, crept low into the crowd and before the keeper notices, it was in the net.
1-1.
A load roar of relief by 300, they are at least back in on equal terms.
However, their triumph was short.
300's forward was not aware of Soon Khai's throw, instead an alert Daniel spotted the miss throw, charging in for and interception and dispatched a thunderbolt from half court into the net, pass an helpless Soon Khai who was out of position.
1-2.
An instant reply by Firebrands and to 300 dismay, they have their work cut short, squandering the hard earned equaliser moments earlier.
Things might have gotten worst for 300 when Firebrands was awarded a dubious penalty for playing in the crease, June being the one penalised. Daniel who was in sizzling form was handed the duty to take the penalty. An intense and stressful task even for the experienced.
A dead silence as the boy marched down with the ball towards the goal. As he got closer and closer towards the goal, Soon Khai made a sudden spring from his goal line, and shocked Daniel, who reacted by pulling the ball back, violating the no-pull-back rule. A huge roar form 300 bench as they rush in, giving the goalie a deserved pat on the back.
It was rather a bold moved by the goalie who barely touch the ball, but it was enough to force the inexperience forward to concede a pull back, keeping 300 within touching distance going into the half.
A coachless team and a voiceless team, luckily they had stand in's.
300's senior Kuan Yang and self proclaimed coach for the day, Lin Ken were seen at both camps giving prep talk hoping to outplay each other after the break.
Once again, it was 300 with a miserable start.
It has became much of a trend for unfortunate teams to taste the bitterness having stroke twice by the unforgiving lightning of unluckiness. June who finished serving her penalty, didn't heed the example of Rose who was punished earlier, instead she followed her team mates footsteps and was sent to the penalty bench again for incorrectly entering of the rink. A silly or an innocent one, the lack of knowledge in the rules of Floorball is certainly stumbling 300's quest.
300 has finally given up on their time wasting tactic, waiting for their comrade to return from suspension and decided to attack even with 4. It was a dangerous mission, and they nearly fallen further behind when James Tan was clear and unmarked at the far post, connected with the ball but couldn't direct pass the diving goalie as it went well wide.
It was a golden opportunity, one they would have live to regret if it wasn't for the miss by Michael. The wheel of fortune rolled, and this time, it was Firebrands turn to get hammered by a penalty shot for guess what? Yes, playing in the crease! 300 sent out their best, Michael for the penalty, against Bryan Koh, who was once a trainee under Frontliners.
Well, Frontliners would most probably have a slight regret seeing the former trainee forcing Michael wide and shut out the boy's low shot with a nice dive. The decent save followed with a loud roar from the Firebrands' contingent. At least they can be proud of their coaching product!
Nevertheless, the game continued with 300 pressing hard on Firebrands but only to suffer another blow when Michael who was dropped down to defence slipped while charging in for a block, instinctively swept the ball, a lying play, 2 minutes that is. They must be cursing their luck!
Firebrands once again prefer to sit back with possession, looking satisfied with the one goal lead, hoping the final whistle would be blown while 300 too resorted to time wasting tactic while they waited for their main man to step back in.
Time flows bit by bit, 300 battling hard for the equaliser, shots all around, but against an equally desperate Firebrands put their lives on the line, protecting their precious lead.
Just when it seems there was no hope to penetrate Firebrands goal, step up Michael. 300 was about to take their trademark free hit which was rather predictable now, Firebrands was of course aware of it and close him down quick, but this time, the apprentice(Mike) was a yard quicker and release the drag. It seems to go higher and over the crossbar but a sudden dip saw the ball hit the back of the net, top corner. Goal. One his master(Kuan Yang) would have been proud of. Bryan was late to react as his vision was probably block by his defenders.
2-2.
An equaliser!! 300's bench rushed in and stacked onto Michael who was visibly relief. A glimmer of hope, a win is still possible.
It's all back to square one, and Firebrands who had fought had keeping the lead are now fighting to keep up the pace with their tired legs against the on fire 300 who were on riot. Waves of shots driven towards Firebrands shaky defense match with relief sigh seeing 300 missing the rebounds and ecstatic cheer when Bryan Koh produces some marvelous saves.
The closest 300 got was when Mekanath drifted wide on away from his marker in the centre and power a shot toward the top corner. There was no reaction from the keeper as the ball dipped close towards the goal who was either sleeping or unaware. Then, out of nowhere, he stretch his arm and palmed the ball away. It was a late but great saved, and the crowd and benches burst out with mix reaction, 300 with agony; Firebrands roaring.
It was the last act of the match as the final whistle sounded moments later.
Final score: 2-2. The first draw ever in Div 2.
The game ended 2 a piece with the point shared. Both teams would be disappointed but Firebrands definitely the happier side recording their first point ever in their first outing, while 300 devastated with their title hopes gone. They are virtually out of medal contention having to grab win and nothing less in their last match against the newly crown Div 2 league champions, Ztec Phoenix. Mathematical it is still possible for a sliver if they beat the champions but all odds are against them. Although their generosity would be much appreciated by their counterparts.
Frontliners 300
This is so what familiar, a looked-to-be a sure win match to win a medal did quite turn out as expected. What went wrong?
Well, it was more of what didn't went right?
The centre didn't went right. Michael was well marked out by the likes of Andrew and James and contributed little compared to the other games. Although two moments of individual brilliance saw him on the score sheet and my my, how important were those two!
The forwards didn't went right. This pretty much goes for most if not all the teams. There was just now enough link up play. Crosses from either flanks were not meet with a forward in the centre and lack of rebounders for loose shots. It pretty much contributed towards 300's down fall as with their main man marked out, they need to step up and fill the void. If they had taken their chances, the scoreline might have been different.
The concentration wasn't right. This refers to both actually. For 300, the two goals conceded were pretty crappy by any standard. And the silly bench penalties were just too much as the momentum of play couldn't take off. Not to mention the nervy moments leading to the penalty shot and opportunities for Firebrands which weren't converted.
It result sums up 300's chances of landing a medal as the newly crowned Div 2 Champions are on their way. With Bullets on 2nd, and Dalat sniffing behind, only a win will secure them a medal now. Even a draw will see them empty ended having inferior internal goal difference compared to Bullets and Falcons, assuming Falcons win theirs.
In short, they screwed it up. Again.
MoM:
Michael might have scored the goals, Soon Khai might have produced quality saves, but both were seriosly under par by their standards. The player who have been consistent rising up in our books was June Kew.
The girl have improved week by week, and have surprised the panel with here tenacious defending. If it wasn't for Michael's headline-catchy performance she would have been up here in weeks before.
Although she was penalised for playing inside the crease and subsequently conceded the needless bench penalty for incorrect entering of the rink, her no nonsense defending with her aggressive body checkings(a family trait of the Kew's) and tireless covering runs would have redeemed her of her sins.
With 300's medal hopes on the line, she would be one of those which the team would be banking on to upset the odds against Pheonix. Keep it up.
Firebrands:
A very impressive performance, considering their inexperience, technical inability and coachless situation. The latter was largely unfelt with self-substituted coach roaring at the spectator bench.
The winless Firebrands came into the game seemly having a point to prove as they overran 300 early on and sit on their lead. They stunned them again almost instantly after 300 equalised but was deny a win by Michael's superb shot.
The underdogs played with a lot of spirit especially Andrew and James who were both quick to close down incoming attacks in their half. The goalie was much tested in the game, especially in the second period when the gung ho 300 fired all cylinders in search of a win, but Bryan was up for the task, deny them with a strings of marvelous saves, notable the last one, a late diving palm.
Lin Ken experience definitely helps and it was evident with his man marking and time wasting tactics. A favour Firebrands would be grateful for while 300 cursed behind.
With their last match against Dalat, can they deferred their great run and continued it? Can they spring up another surprise? Can they once again crush their opponents' medal hopes? We shall see.
MoM:
Andrew, Alex, Daniel and Bryan all played well in this match and are all possible candidates, but amongst all, one stood out, James Tan.
He was being pinned pointed out as one of the key forwards in Firebrand's league campaign but an absence from the first match and followed by a series of mediocre performance as a centre kept the panel wondering.
However, against 300, he came out of his hole as a third defender and played the true centre role. With his superior fitness, he was all around the court. Bombarding forward in support of Daniel, back tracking to cover the defense and closing down in coming attacks, limiting the chances of M2M of 300.
His mad-man-running was peerless and it reminded the Man Utd fanatic Jose of "Oxygen Tank"- Park Ji Sung. Hope he can carry on to his last match and future matches to come.
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