i haven't felt so happy in a while... in a fucking long while man.
so we drew with nus 0-0 but we sure kicked their ass hard. the joy of denying them the medal, thew look on their faces when we were pressuring and tackling them so hard, that they hardly had space to breathe. the pleasure of hearing them fuck each other for their mistakes. woo!
in all cliche fashion, yes we could have won, though nus had their near misses and chances. but as coach said... once the first goal comes, viktory will ensue. oh well... there were at least three times the ball went past the post and a couple of other times where their keeper made good saves. however as the final whistle went off, it felt as though we had won. sure enough if you consider them beating us 5-0 last year and how we showed we wanted revenge this year (not by the scoreline of course).
we are the champions... in third place! oh yeah!!
a not so mini tribute...
the first 11:
shi wang (goal keeper): other than the fact that he talks too much, misses too many trainings and falling sick too often, shiwang is an outstanding keeper la. haha. his vital saves in our last 2 games, which happened to be 2 of our most important games, kept our medal hopes alive. in hockey, to be a good keeper is by no means easy.
helmi (centre back): with this fella as our last man, our defence is like a solid rock wall. his ability to read the opponent's attack so well, constant shouting at the midfielders to cover the angles, tactics to help improve the rest of the team, his hits travelling at 360 miles/hr... now how invaluable is that! don't we all love a raffles mat? aku suka rabak siao! muahaha!
syahid (right back): syahid makes one heck of a defender. why? he's freaking irritating, implying in a positive connotation of course. the way he puts his strikers off, by sticking so close, and timely tackles that totally frustrates the opponents at crucial moments, not to mention sneaky yet accurate passes reaching all the way to our forwards. power la!
perry (left back): i have seen perry play back in jc and without a doubt, he's the most improved player i've come across. he plays every game like there's no tommorrow. both his hands bleed from abrasion after every training/game, with old wounds opening up again. this shows how committed he is to defending, keeping the stick low and of course his diving, yet legal tackles. yesterday he fucking diving tackled the ang moh twice in a row, denying nus in a counter attack. perry vs ang moh. go figure.
seh hoe (stopper): captain! haha his passion for the game is unfathomable. some say he's married to the hockey pitch and stick. hehe but i say this is the kind of passion hard to come by in a team. for all his smses to get us to come for trainings, nagging, screaming to get our attention, solid tackles, never say die attitude, oh man there are just so many more i can list... he does almost everything for the team that the vice captain(myself) can relak one korner! yoooo say ho!!
ghazi (centre half): personally this is the player i respect and admire the most in the team. having only picked up the sport in jc, he got selected for national training in no time. his impeccable tackles gives any opponents nightmares and his fitness and discipline to stay focus is just unbelievable. no matter how tired he is, or when the rest of the team is caught off guard, he will be there to cover and stall time while we recover. noble? indeed. it was indeed wise of the coach to shift ghazi up to centre half position as it would have been a waste not to.
khairul (right half): the way khairul tackles the ball from opponents, it looks as if he's never gonna succeed. haha, on the contrary he gets it done almost 99% of the time, leaving the victim in utter shock and disgust, usually followed by curse words. we believe there's sticky tape at the head of his stick which explains why the ball never fails to get 'stuck' to it. other than his famous and unorthodox tackling of balls, his fitness and kan piahness is indeed commendable too. typical scenario: khai has ball-->if loses the ball-->chase back siao-->unorthodox tackle-->if not, passes and create chances.
desmond (left half): to speak the truth, i was abit disappointed initially when i was taken off the centre half position. however i had faith in what the coach said, in ghazi, and in myself. i tried my best playing in a foreign and tough position. of course mistakes were made but i learnt from them and made sure the next game i would not commit the same ones again. being a vital element in the short corner team gave me added pressure but i regained focus at the most crucial period. thus.. indeed my concentration paid off in the last 2 games, the best 2 games i had in the competition. thinking back, it was really silly of me to feel disappointed! and... i scored 2 goals! i am god damn good.
derian (centre forward): we know we can always count on derian to give his 150% for every game because this is one guy who fucking hates to lose. oh well who likes to right? but derian shows it on the pitch. quick as lightning and skilful, he would often leave defenders trailing behind with his short bursts of sprints towards goal and attempt to score. at half time he would be seen panting the most, trying to catch his breath, a physical proof that he plays his lungs out. let's just ignore the fact that he smokes.
ban hwee (right wing): the most experienced player on the field. he's played for the national team, the sea games and other international competitions i believe. ban hwee is every defender's worst nightmare and his hits are so damn accurate. it's little wonder the coach always wants the ball to be played towards him and attacks initiating from the right side, because of his skills and ability to get past 2,3 players easily. sometimes when he gets the ball, the rest of the team just stands and marvel at him, ending up in a scolding from coach for not supporting him upfront. haha.
junhao (left wing): before i begin on him... junhao is a fucker. ok let's go. he's one of the most experienced players in the team too, having played for national age group before way back in secondary school. although he's ever so injury prone (lightning, getting hit everywhere, sometimes by teammates) and not being able to last the whole game anymore, his reading of the game is still fantastic. he runs into spaces, draws defenders away for our forwards to score and stops the ball from being cleared by the opponents. playing along the same side, both of us often deconflict after certain mistakes on our side of the game and the next match we would play better as a pair.
the reserves:
i think substitutes are very much often under-rated. people's perception of them are like oh they are not good enough to make it to first team blah but i beg to differ. look at chelsea.. why are they on such good form? because the bulk of their second team can easily put up a good fight to other premiership clubs. throughout the long and tiring course of the season where injuries and fatigue are inevitable, reserves play an important role in filling up the voids of the team and i'm glad our reserves are of high calibre and fitness. and more importantly they provide a fresh pair of legs and clear mind when they go in for a player who's tired. this is the edge i believe we had over other teams. therefore kudos to
mirza, wenlie, weejin, alex, sam, colin and kevin.
the coach:
it makes a lot of difference when there's a coach and when there's not given the same team of same standard. with mr ali's tactical advices and morale boosters, naturally the team felt confident and stayed focus. with his expertise also we were able to make appropriate changes during half time when things are not looking up or when we need to make adjustments to the team due to other reasons. all in all, we have a good coach and i'm glad he's gonna stay with us for the league.
last but not least for the someone who was there yesterday in the nus crowd but supporting me... 
knoddy
the beatles: all you need is love
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