It began with an unfortunate walkover as the blue of Sheares Hall was conspicuously missing on the girls side of the tournament. But the Beekers were not the only ones in danger of missing players. The Eekers arrived with just five girls, two short of forming a team, before several more joined in later, and the C-Towners made a very late entrance just minutes before the kick off of the first match.
As with Touch Rugby the day before, the same venue was baking under the late morning sun as the teams warmed up, getting their studs (and for some, ordinary track shoes that would never be the same again) used to the muddy playing field.
Acers Versus Dee-Blockers
Blocks A and D got us under way, and with their male block mates playing on the pitch beside them, the girls more than matched their enthusiasm from the first kick of the ball. The Dee-Blockers started brightly, with most of the play coming in the Acers half as they pushed relentlessly for an early advantage.
That's mine: Acers and Dee-blockers rush for the ball
They got just that, drawing first blood before half-time, and celebrated the first goal of the tournament, much to the delight of their support on the sidelines. It did not take long for them to double that lead. With the action still very much in front of the Acers’ goal, and some very very near misses on either post, Si Lei of Block D fired a second to give her team a two goal lead.
The Dee-blockers were starting to look comfortable, when the Acers turned up the heat as everyone expected them too, and snuck one in for themselves, pulling the score back to 2-1 and setting up an exciting finish to the match.
Booting one high: Block D clears a dangerous ball
The team in white, however, held its nerve and on to the lead and finished the match as deserved winners.
C-Towners Versus Eekers
The second match saw the ladies in black take on the Eekers, with a majority of freshies on both teams. Under the increasingly scorching sun, it was Block E who struck first, with a shot that chipped the keeper and fell just beneath the crossbar. 1-0 Eekers.
The C-Towners defended resolutely till half-time, putting in a chance or two of their own but there was, unfortunately, no way past Eeker keeper Amelia Sheares Chua.
After the break, the Eekers started the match as they had left it, with Block C unable to handle Yi Xian’s speculative shot on goal, which trickled just over the goal line, doubling the lead for Block E.
It was one-way traffic from then on, despite the C-Towners very gallant defensive efforts. The Eekers put another three past the keeper, including two goals from Weivien. Not bad at all from someone who had only an hour ago been dragged out of bed as a very late inclusion into the squad after a no-show from several original team members. :D
The match ended 5-0, with the Eekers avenging their netball thrashing at the hands of the same opponents earlier in the week.
Final: Dee-Blockers Versus Eekers
The walkover of the Beekers meant that Block E had reached the final, however, there were suggestions by other blocks that there should now be a carnival style line-up to the tournament.
Unfortunately, the C-Towners, who were to face the Dee-Blockers, lost a couple more players due to exhaustion and heat, and as a result, it only made sense for the immediate progression of Blocks D and E into the final, having won their two qualifying rounds. Block A, to their credit, very sportingly agreed to such an arrangement, even if that meant they were denied a chance to redeem themselves after the earlier loss.
So the final kicked off with Block D getting off to a dream start, breaching the Eekers’ defence for the first time that day, taking a 1-0 lead in no time at all. The Eekers tried to recover and find a response to the early shock, but their surges up front often left the field wide open for counter attacks by Block D, who could have added to their lead if not from solid defending from Eeker captain and centre-back Elyssa, as well as some decisive goalkeeping from Amelia.
The score remained 1-0 to Block D at half time, and both teams left for separate team talks from the guys from their respective blocks. It was nearly noon by then and both teams took the chance to keep themselves hydrated before another ten minutes of play.
WHEEE!!: Dee-Blocker takes a throw-in
The second half began with the Dee-blockers attempting to give themselves a more comfortable lead, and it was left to the defence of Block E to thwart them again and again.
Their inability to double their lead appeared to be costly to them, when their defender committed a foul an Eeker striker as she was through on goal, resulting in a penalty for Block E. It was heart-in-mouth time for both sides, as Elyssa stepped up for the kick, only to be denied by the Block D keeper, who guessed the right way.
There seemed no way back for Block E as it came down to the final minutes of the game, when Elyssa, fueled by the frustration of the prospect of a loss, made what was arguably the run of the tournament, in an epitome of unwavering spirit of the Eekers.
Abandoning her defensive duties, she intercepted a corner by the Dee-Blockers and charged down the sideline, weaving her way past every defender in her way and emerging to successfully cross the ball into the path of her onrushing teammate, whose first shot was parried by the keeper. The rebound, however, fell back to the Eeker, whose shot found the back of the net within seconds of the final whistle, giving Block E the lifeline they were looking for.
The match, thus, went into extra time, with 3 minutes of play per half. If the Dee-Blockers were disappointed at having conceded late in the match, they did not show it. Instead, they pushed even harder, and found themselves ahead in minutes, with Adeline beating the defence for pace and putting an unstoppable shot into the Eekers’ goal.
It was heartbreak for the Eekers but ecstasy for Block D and their supporters, who ran onto the pitch to celebrate what would be eventually the winning goal of the match. There was no comeback this time from Block E, and not even Mayves’s last gasp volley could pull them back level.
It finished 2-1 to the Dee-blockers after extra time, in a well-earned victory they deserved to enjoy, but it was a spirited performance the Eekers could take heart from and be proud of.
Still saying Eeeeee: A performance to be proud of
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