CONTACT FIREANTS v ZTEC 8CERS
16th June 2009, Tuesday
0-7 (0-4, 0-3)
THE GAME IS ON!!
16th June 2009, Tuesday
0-7 (0-4, 0-3)
0049 0-1 Jo-Wyee (Ter Min)
0058 0-2 Ter Min (Jo-Wyee)
0915 2mins for incorrect distance: Sjaiful (Z8C)
1014 0-3 Jo-Wyee (Ter Min)
1404 0-4 Oliver Cedric (Jeremy Yeap)
1226 0-5 Jo-Wyee (Ter Min)
1454 0-6 Jo-Wyee (Ter Min)
1454 Contact FireAnts Time out
1826 2mins for incorrect hit: Henry Cheang (CFA)
1917 0-7 James Looi (OG)
SOT 5-30
0058 0-2 Ter Min (Jo-Wyee)
0915 2mins for incorrect distance: Sjaiful (Z8C)
1014 0-3 Jo-Wyee (Ter Min)
1404 0-4 Oliver Cedric (Jeremy Yeap)
1226 0-5 Jo-Wyee (Ter Min)
1454 0-6 Jo-Wyee (Ter Min)
1454 Contact FireAnts Time out
1826 2mins for incorrect hit: Henry Cheang (CFA)
1917 0-7 James Looi (OG)
SOT 5-30
THE GAME IS ON!!
The long awaited Division 1 PFL 2009 finally kick started on Tuesday night at the Balik Pulau Indoor Stadium at 8pm that saw an intense game between team Ztec 8cers and team Contact FireAnts.
What a way to officiate the league with a match such as this - last year's champion, Contact FireAnts, facing this year's much talked about title contender, Ztec 8cers.
BBF has decided come up with a new approach for the match review for Division 1. Instead of the usual summary-type match review by our team of pundits/reviewers (refer to Division 2 match review entries), we decided to let the team managers, coaches and even players to speak for themselves and share their thoughts on their game through our list of interview questions. We want to vary our style of approach this time around just to keep things a little interesting. Also, through the questions and answers, we hope to provide new insights to all avid floorballers to widen their perspective on the game.
We hope that this will benefit you guys in one way or another!
For Tuesday match, we managed to get hold of both the team managers. Representing team Ztec 8cers would be Chiam TerMin (TM) and for team Contact FireAnts, Edward Lim (EL).
The following is the interview between Borak Borak Floorball (BBF) and Chiam TerMin (TM):
BBF: How does it feel to kick start the league against Contact FireAnts?
TM: We already knew way before the league that our opponents were going to be last year's champions due to the format set by IFF. For me and the boys, we feel great to kick start our campaign against a tough opponent (Fireants) as we have now clear one tough hurdle out of the way. Beating a good team at the start will give us the much needed confidence. However we knew it was never going to be easy. What more coming head to head with the genius of Coach Edward's tactics.
BBF: Obviously, Ztec is currently the most feared team due to the number of national as well as capable players they have in the team. Is it hard to come out on court with that kind of expectation, especially on your first game?
TM: Yes, yes it's very hard. The expectation is high, the pressure as well. To be honest, I feel more nervous before yesterday's game than any of my other games I played before (even my games for Malaysia). With a strong and young team like this, I'm sure people expect us to deliver in every game. So once again, the pressure is high.
BBF: The score was 7-0, was it what you'd expected?
TM: We knew it was not going to be an easy game. Because their first line has been playing together for very long time so they know each other's game and they are also a team with good passes and movement. We targeted to score 7 goals but expected to concede a couple.(Thank God we didnt concede)
BBF: What was your strategy against a team such as contact?
TM: The strategy was to go in the court and try to score as early as possible to kill the game off. I think we did score 2 goals in the first minute and it was always hard for them to catch back as the mind will be affected. After that it was mostly passes and controlling by the defenders to frustrate the opponent. We expected them to play tight and go for the counter attack so we started playing rather wide. I think the plan worked pretty well.
BBF: Who would you vote as man of the match for team Contact?
TM: I would say their goalie, Joshua. Although conceding 7 goals, he made a couple of great saves. If it was not for him, it could have been more.
At the opposite end, we got hold of team Contact FireAnts's Captain and Coach, Edward Lim (EL):
BBF: How does it feel to kick start the league against the young, vibrant and much talked about Ztec team?
EL: It was not something that we had hoped for, knowing that our team had a habit of starting slow in every tournament. It was also unfortunate that the system that PFA employed placed Ztec, which was a strong team in Division 2 last year. That sort of messes up with the league format that IFF proposes. Anyway, PFA did warn us about this and that it will take 2 years to rectify, so it should get better next year. We would have loved playing them later in the league. I am sure then that there would be greater Floorball displayed and it would be a better game. That does not mean that we will win the game, but it will definitely be better for Floorball.
BBF: The age difference between Contact and Ztec was obvious. What was Contact's strategy to curb the young Ztec team?
EL: It is obvious that we were no match for their speed. We just needed to play our game, play it harder and hope for the best.
BBF: The score was 7-0, was it what you'd expected?
EL: No, defensive errors on our part as a team created a bigger margin in the score line than we expected. A narrower loss would be a more realistic expectation. We just did not play hard enough.
BBF: What's your take on the disallowed goal by Edward Lim? Was it a good call by the referees or a bad one?
EL: It is always sad when a goal is not allowed. But we have to admit that the whistle did go off just before the shot was taken and it is the responsibility of the referees to make a call. And when such a call is made, there is nothing much you can do about it.
BBF: Who would you vote as man of the match for team Ztec?
EL: Jo-Wyee.
What a way to officiate the league with a match such as this - last year's champion, Contact FireAnts, facing this year's much talked about title contender, Ztec 8cers.
BBF has decided come up with a new approach for the match review for Division 1. Instead of the usual summary-type match review by our team of pundits/reviewers (refer to Division 2 match review entries), we decided to let the team managers, coaches and even players to speak for themselves and share their thoughts on their game through our list of interview questions. We want to vary our style of approach this time around just to keep things a little interesting. Also, through the questions and answers, we hope to provide new insights to all avid floorballers to widen their perspective on the game.
We hope that this will benefit you guys in one way or another!
For Tuesday match, we managed to get hold of both the team managers. Representing team Ztec 8cers would be Chiam TerMin (TM) and for team Contact FireAnts, Edward Lim (EL).
The following is the interview between Borak Borak Floorball (BBF) and Chiam TerMin (TM):
BBF: How does it feel to kick start the league against Contact FireAnts?
TM: We already knew way before the league that our opponents were going to be last year's champions due to the format set by IFF. For me and the boys, we feel great to kick start our campaign against a tough opponent (Fireants) as we have now clear one tough hurdle out of the way. Beating a good team at the start will give us the much needed confidence. However we knew it was never going to be easy. What more coming head to head with the genius of Coach Edward's tactics.
BBF: Obviously, Ztec is currently the most feared team due to the number of national as well as capable players they have in the team. Is it hard to come out on court with that kind of expectation, especially on your first game?
TM: Yes, yes it's very hard. The expectation is high, the pressure as well. To be honest, I feel more nervous before yesterday's game than any of my other games I played before (even my games for Malaysia). With a strong and young team like this, I'm sure people expect us to deliver in every game. So once again, the pressure is high.
BBF: The score was 7-0, was it what you'd expected?
TM: We knew it was not going to be an easy game. Because their first line has been playing together for very long time so they know each other's game and they are also a team with good passes and movement. We targeted to score 7 goals but expected to concede a couple.(Thank God we didnt concede)
BBF: What was your strategy against a team such as contact?
TM: The strategy was to go in the court and try to score as early as possible to kill the game off. I think we did score 2 goals in the first minute and it was always hard for them to catch back as the mind will be affected. After that it was mostly passes and controlling by the defenders to frustrate the opponent. We expected them to play tight and go for the counter attack so we started playing rather wide. I think the plan worked pretty well.
BBF: Who would you vote as man of the match for team Contact?
TM: I would say their goalie, Joshua. Although conceding 7 goals, he made a couple of great saves. If it was not for him, it could have been more.
At the opposite end, we got hold of team Contact FireAnts's Captain and Coach, Edward Lim (EL):
BBF: How does it feel to kick start the league against the young, vibrant and much talked about Ztec team?
EL: It was not something that we had hoped for, knowing that our team had a habit of starting slow in every tournament. It was also unfortunate that the system that PFA employed placed Ztec, which was a strong team in Division 2 last year. That sort of messes up with the league format that IFF proposes. Anyway, PFA did warn us about this and that it will take 2 years to rectify, so it should get better next year. We would have loved playing them later in the league. I am sure then that there would be greater Floorball displayed and it would be a better game. That does not mean that we will win the game, but it will definitely be better for Floorball.
BBF: The age difference between Contact and Ztec was obvious. What was Contact's strategy to curb the young Ztec team?
EL: It is obvious that we were no match for their speed. We just needed to play our game, play it harder and hope for the best.
BBF: The score was 7-0, was it what you'd expected?
EL: No, defensive errors on our part as a team created a bigger margin in the score line than we expected. A narrower loss would be a more realistic expectation. We just did not play hard enough.
BBF: What's your take on the disallowed goal by Edward Lim? Was it a good call by the referees or a bad one?
EL: It is always sad when a goal is not allowed. But we have to admit that the whistle did go off just before the shot was taken and it is the responsibility of the referees to make a call. And when such a call is made, there is nothing much you can do about it.
BBF: Who would you vote as man of the match for team Ztec?
EL: Jo-Wyee.
*************************************
And there you have it! Both teams with their head man having a say at the game. What are our thoughts on the game? Below are our personal take on the game.
Borak Says:
Spritzer:
In a game such as this, the separation between these two teams falls heavily on speed. Ztec basically ran all over Contact. No doubt they are a skillfull team but I personally feel that it was speed and the quick change of pace that kept Contact shaky. Also, I felt Contact could have played a little harder physically. They weren't as strong as I thought they'd be.
But overall, still a laudable performance by them.
Ztec has definitely proven their point in that game - they simply mean business. Great job! But can they truly withstand the pressure of expectation and continue their seed of excellence in the league?
We shall see!
Bendy:
Total domination.
It was thought to be a win for the "Champions-in-making", but not in such a one-sided manner. The "Champions" were left chasing shadows throughout the match.
The much built up hype about the mind games were rendered ineffective as the quality of 8cers proved to much for FireAnts to handle. Early goals in quick succession, meant that 8cers took initiative leaving FireAnts for the chase.
There were moments FireAnts looked solid as they fought hard, keeping 8cers at bay, but the Ants barely got out of their half, with Choon Hun, saving 5 shots on goal compared to Joshua's 30. The deep defending didn't help much as their defence was constantly caught ball watching, leading to numerous one on one situations leaving only for Joshua to deny them a bigger margin.
As a neutral, it was a joy to watch; but to the opponents its a strong signal of intent: You are next!!
MOMs:
This is a classic attacking vs defending.
Attacker vs Goalkeeper.
Borak's pick for the match - Jo-Wyee(Z8C) and Joshua(CFA).
The lanky forward of 8cers, improved tremendously since his APAC outing, was the deadliest amongst a team of stars. Without the ball, the forward made intelligent runs deep and wide, distracting the defenders and opening gaps for his team mates. With the ball, he expressed wholeheartedly his array of cheeky skills, and breaking angles with his cunning turns. Combining best with Ter Min, whom supplied him with quality passes, which he did not disappoint, sending 4 past Joshua.
The goalie, Joshua Lim, who was on the receiving end, was much to be blamed for early goals. He did however, responded with a string of superb goalkeeping thereafter. Constantly called upon, he replied almost everything Ztec had to offer (other than the goals), denying shots after shots. There were even moments where he had to make consecutive saves from rebounds and difficult angles. A remarkable come back in terms of form for the young goalie.
Borak Says:
Spritzer:
In a game such as this, the separation between these two teams falls heavily on speed. Ztec basically ran all over Contact. No doubt they are a skillfull team but I personally feel that it was speed and the quick change of pace that kept Contact shaky. Also, I felt Contact could have played a little harder physically. They weren't as strong as I thought they'd be.
But overall, still a laudable performance by them.
Ztec has definitely proven their point in that game - they simply mean business. Great job! But can they truly withstand the pressure of expectation and continue their seed of excellence in the league?
We shall see!
Bendy:
Total domination.
It was thought to be a win for the "Champions-in-making", but not in such a one-sided manner. The "Champions" were left chasing shadows throughout the match.
The much built up hype about the mind games were rendered ineffective as the quality of 8cers proved to much for FireAnts to handle. Early goals in quick succession, meant that 8cers took initiative leaving FireAnts for the chase.
There were moments FireAnts looked solid as they fought hard, keeping 8cers at bay, but the Ants barely got out of their half, with Choon Hun, saving 5 shots on goal compared to Joshua's 30. The deep defending didn't help much as their defence was constantly caught ball watching, leading to numerous one on one situations leaving only for Joshua to deny them a bigger margin.
As a neutral, it was a joy to watch; but to the opponents its a strong signal of intent: You are next!!
MOMs:
This is a classic attacking vs defending.
Attacker vs Goalkeeper.
Borak's pick for the match - Jo-Wyee(Z8C) and Joshua(CFA).
The lanky forward of 8cers, improved tremendously since his APAC outing, was the deadliest amongst a team of stars. Without the ball, the forward made intelligent runs deep and wide, distracting the defenders and opening gaps for his team mates. With the ball, he expressed wholeheartedly his array of cheeky skills, and breaking angles with his cunning turns. Combining best with Ter Min, whom supplied him with quality passes, which he did not disappoint, sending 4 past Joshua.
The goalie, Joshua Lim, who was on the receiving end, was much to be blamed for early goals. He did however, responded with a string of superb goalkeeping thereafter. Constantly called upon, he replied almost everything Ztec had to offer (other than the goals), denying shots after shots. There were even moments where he had to make consecutive saves from rebounds and difficult angles. A remarkable come back in terms of form for the young goalie.
(NOTE: A heartfelt thanks to both Chiam TerMin and Edward Lim for giving their time for this interview. )
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