14th July 2009, Tuesday
12-0 (7-0, 5-0)
0702 2-0 Bryan Looi (Edward Lim )
1425 3-0 Bryan Looi
1425 Minden UniHawks' time out
1823 4-0 Joerel Marcus (Bryan Looi)
1847 5-0 Edward Lim
1918 6-0 Bryan Looi
1956 7-0 Nicholas Yeoh (Benjamin Ong)
0126 8-0 Henry Cheang
0145 9-0 Edward Lim (Bryan Looi)
0631 10-0 Joerel Marcus (Bryan Looi)
0747 11-0 Serene Tan (Nicholas Yeoh)
1030 12-0 Bryan Looi
Losing two games in a row, it was crunch time.
Contact FireAnts, last year's league winner, has been been struggling in this league. Losing two games reflected a weaker team this year as compared to last.
But of the two teams, the Hawks are the ones who are truly struggling to soar. Will they be able to punch a surprise with few of their players back from the semester break?
They couldn't.
BBF took a closer look into the heads of the coaches.
The following is the interrvew between BBF and Edward Lim (EL) of Contact FireAnts:
EL: Our approach was simply to put a smile on our face, play the best that we can and have fun. Unlike the other games, we did not plan and strategize too much this time. After losing two games and the chances of even getting a medal are now very very slim, we just wanted the team to play well and enjoy themselves in the midst of doing that.
BBF: 12-0. That's a pretty huge score line. What were the initial expectations of the game? Did you expect to win this big?
EL: As mentioned, we did not plan too much this time. Honestly, while we did expect to win, I also expected it to be a rather tight game. Based on the last time we played UniHawks in a friendly, it should have been a tighter game. There were no expectations in terms of how big the score line should be.
BBF: Team Contact welcomed back Nic Yeoh and the rather newcomer Joerel Marcus. What do you think of their performance since they stepped into Contact FireAnts? And how have their presence help the team strategically?
EL: Yes, we really welcome people who can run in our team. *smile* Both of them have been asked to play center for their running abilities. Nic has grown up a little more and is now faster than we know him from the previous league, so that has helped the team somewhat. Joerel is also very fast, but has yet gotten into fully fitting in and understanding how we play. His speed however is truly an asset to the team. Without the both of them I am sure we would be much slower as a team than we are now, and that strategies would also somewhat have to change.
BBF: UniHawks have been struggling in this league so far, losing all of their three matches. Any word of advice or encouragement to this young team?
EL: Yes, keep looking ahead! The team is struggling because of their technical abilities which are obviously lacking compared to the other teams. That is also understandable because most of the players are younger in terms of exposure to Floorball compared to the other teams. So my advice to the team is for them to work on individual techniques, and be committed to grow together as a team. They can only get better and better as they play more and more.
BBF: Lastly, who would you vote as the man of the match for team Minden UniHawks and why?
EL: Christopher. He was the pillar at the back leading the defense. Without him the defense would be even more loose.
BBF also took some time to have a chat with Christopher Koh (CK) of Minden UniHawks:
BBF: Your third game and I'm sure you knew both your team as well as Contact will want a win desperately. What was your expectation of team Contact?
CK: We were definitely aiming to win. Nothing less. Like Edward, I honestly thought that it would be a close and tight match as well, especially since we have a couple of our players back from the semester break.
My expectation of team Contact was just like anyone else's - great team play and tactically smart. I knew however that we were mentally stronger than most of their players and I was banking for my team to score first just to get on to them. But turns out, they scored early in the first minute (laughs). That's floorball!
BBF: What was your approach this time around as a coach?
CK: The Dalat match proved that as a team, we just weren't there yet simply because as individual players, we lack technical skills. I approached the team differently this time around. I focussed more on the individual than the team this time. For each of my players, I specifically gave out 3 objectives for them to achieve and by the end of the match regardless of whether we win or lose to tell me if they feel they've achieved those objetives. Some did and some did not. I did this because I feel it will help them to focus a little more in the game rather than just dump a collective objective in which, some of them who are still new to floorball can't relate to due to. Having said that, I still did give them a team objective to harness a sense of team spirit and team goal.
BBF: As a coach, what are your feelings now that you've lost three games in a row with this being the biggest score line?
CK: First off, I must give credit to Contact FireAnts. They played beautifully as a team and to win 12-0, as hard for me to chew it down, it was a deserved win.
How do I feel? Depress! (Laughs). It's never easy losing three games in a row, what more with the fact that we have not scored a single goal on our part! As a coach, I must admit that it's not the most enjoyable ride and it's not easy for sure. It's not so much about losing the game 12-0 that depresses me but more so of reflecting back after each match and thinking to myself if I've made the right decisions and the right calls. That's the challenge for me as a coach. Nonetheless, I'm proud of my team. Go UniHawks!
BBF: What do you foresee for the upcoming matches against Frontliners and Ztec?
CK: It will be interesting. I'm looking forward for the one against Frontliners just to see if history will repeat itself (laughs). Hopefully we'll be able to pull off a surprise on them and bag a win back.
The one against Ztec will be interesting as well since it's the closing match. No doubt it will be tough but I think it will be good for the team to get a feel of playing against a good team like Ztec as the closing match. Tension will probably take a notch higher what not with all the supporters around. It will be quite something I reckon. Looking forward to it!
BBF: Lastly, who would you vote as the man of the match for team Contact and why?
CK: Bryan. This lad had a key link up with Edward Lim and Nic Yeoh. He understood the gameplay well and with his technical skills above average, he made full use of it to earn himself the vote as the man of the match. Great job!
Jose:
It was a matter of how many Contact FireAnts would score in this game. It was totally a game for Minden UniHawks to forget as they gifted some really easy goals to Contact FireAnts throughout the game. FireAnts on the end were on fire from start to finish and were all over the opponents half of most of the time. It was really tough for Minden to get out of their own half, what more taking shots at the Contact goal. The off the ball movement from the Contact line 1 really made the difference as the notched up 10 out of the 12 goals. Constantly switching caused alot of headache for the Minden UniHawks defenders who many times left a player wide open for them to score from the slot.
MoMs:
Bryan Looi - The boy has been a pillar of strength for Contact FireAnts and in this game got himself 8 points (5+3). Constantly threatening the opponents with his flair and good ball control definitely a player to watch in the coming years as he mature in his game. Had a superb performance throughout the 40 mins. Hope to see more of such performances from him in the coming games.
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