IFG Roundup: Week 1

First week of school and the IFG season is back in full swing! Last weekend featured games from the men’s floorball and handball, with both teams looking to build on their success from the previous year. Click on through to read about how our Floorball and Handball teams fared this week!

Floorball

Although superstar Matthias Goh had decided to give this year’s games a miss, the squad boasted a number of equally-talented Y1 additions. Confidence in the team was high — so much so that Ern Xu had decided to go for a 5km (warm-up) run in the morning right before our match that day.

Kicking off the first match against USP, the team got off to a bright start with Aniket slipping in a shot for the first goal of the game. However, USP caught up with us minutes later. Late into the game, the team was on tenterhooks as ex-captain Hairul Siddeeq was adjudged to have headed the ball, giving away a penalty to USP. Alas, the USP player failed to convert the penalty as the pressure got to his head. Despite our efforts to regain the lead, the match ended 1-1.

The next match was against the group favourites, Business. With the game plan to stick tight and not concede, the team maintained its defensive shape and kept the Business players at bay. Unfortunately, the brilliance of the opposition finally broke the deadlock as we went down 2-0.

Next up was the second favourites, Science. Salty that they had just lost to Computing (we were shook too!), the Science team was determined to claw back a victory. Our iron-clad defence withstood a torrent of shots before eventually letting in a goal. Aniket then came agonisingly close to equalising as he bore down on an open goal. Luckily for Science, their defender caught up with Aniket to spare the team’s blushes. We had lost marginally by a solitary goal.

Expecting to take the game to Dentistry, Siddeeq gave us the lead with a fantastic shot into the top right-hand corner of the net. Looking to extend our lead, superstar Tay Yang ran riot in their defence, dribbling the ball effortlessly and shooting at will. But in the dying seconds of the game, our concentration broke and Dentistry managed to snake in a shot. Luck was not on our side that day as we walked away with a draw.

Having nothing to lose (or gain), we went into the last match against Computing looking to play our best and just have fun. Tweaking our formation with Tay Yang and Sakthi playing from the back, they rained shot after shot at the Computing goal. But for the board that stood in our way (a board blocking the goalmouth was used in place of a keeper), we could have easily been 10-0 up. However, it was not meant to be as the team slumbered to a goalless draw.

Disappointed not to have advance into the semis, it was a valiant performance from the team all round and we were left to rue the missed presence of Matthias.

 

Handball

Turning to handball, the team was looking to replicate last year’s bronze medal-winning feat and expectations of a successful run was high.

Business: 13-4

Kicking things off against the reigning finalists, the team knew that they had to give their 100% from the get-go. The team started off well, defending tightly and staving off waves of attack from the Business side. Outfield players Tomoyuki, Steven Low and Benedict Ted combined perfectly, constantly testing the capabilities of Team Biz’s keeper with blistering shots from range. Veteran players Nicholas Lee and Marc Leung were also a riot on the court, moving the ball up and down the court at lightning pace. For a brief moment, it seemed that we could do the impossible. However, it was not to be against a rampant business side, who turned up the heat in the second half to cruise to a 13-4 win.

Computing: 13-8

Computing proved that size does matter, fielding two imposing centre forwards whose size and stature were so great that they could not fit into the required bibs. However, our team had the perfect answer to that in Shaun Sia, whose defence was so effective that the opposition had no real contribution with the ball. Determined to make up for our previous loss, our outfield players attacked with verve. Jerry Wang’s athleticism and sick turns left the oppositions grasping for thin air, while Clarence Woon and Tomoyuki showed off their raw power, cannoning in shots like nobody’s business. Chu Khe Han was also a constant menace down the wings, beating his man on multiple occasions. The game was also a feisty one, with 2 members from each side being sent off for multiple violations. In lieu of the expulsions, the team kept their cool, rallied and continued to press on. Unfortunately, Computing proved that they had a much-improved team, and despite an excellent showing, the we eventually succumbed to a 13-8 score line.

While hopes of another medal opportunity were dashed, it was an awe-inspiring display of spirit and tenacity from our men that we can all be proud of.

The team would also like to thank the Class of ’17 seniors who came down to lend their support.

Stay tuned for another round of exciting games coming up this weekend!