floorball

The Rats-

05ip04 Floorball team.

The Rats entered the competition with scant experience. The Rats were pulled against fierce competition.

The Rats showed the 05IP04 team spirit today.

In their first match, the players were yet accustomed to the quick pace of the game. Soon most of the Rats were out of breath. However, they fought valiantly on to a heroic draw, however scrappy the draw should be. The highlight of the game was a glaring miss by the other team's striker, as he advanced past The Rat's defence only to miss an open goal after much ball control.

The Rats were undeterred.

The next match was to matches away, giving the Rats sufficient time to catch their breath.

The next match was played against 04IP03. The I03 team was a highly motivated team consisting of many sport CCA students counting on their stamina to win the match.

They scored an early goal, carving open the yet-to-be-organized defence of The Rats. However the goal was cause by a superb strike too, and must be commended.

Even after the setback, The Rats never thought of defeat as an end result, and The Rats fought hard seeking an equalizer. However, the team play of The Rats was not tuned to the frantic pace of floorball, and the final result was a slim victory for the I03 team.

The next match was a match away, and so were the concurrent matches, leaving only one match to serve as a breather.

The Rats played against a team comprising mainly of Badminton JC2s, but The Rats were not anywhere near ready to throw in the towel.

The Rats changed team strategy on this match, pitting a girl as the goalie instead of a guy.

The move didn't greatly affect the series of events to happen though.

In 4 minutes, The Rats were 2-0 down. As so, the Rats decided to switch back a guy to play guard. The Rats were almost resigned to victory- However, everyone was ready to push for goals even though it seemed impossible.

The girls indeed performed tremendously well- their mobility and set pieces proved a problem to the older J2 team. It was always a close game even though the other team led with a seemingly undefeatable scoreline, as the clock ticked on.

The Rats never gave up, till the last minutes.

And uncalled for as it was, The Rats struck goal even as the time was nearly up, combining all the player's efforts to put up a good goal. Suddenly, the atmosphere in the gym changed- everyone's heart was pounding as it seemed suddenly likely that the Rats' accelerating performance could snatch 2 precious points from the J2 team, if the Rats should score another goal.

Sadly, however, once on restart, the Referee decided time was up, and the Rats didn't have a chance to upset the more experienced team. However, it was a close, close game, and the Rats showed much sportsmanship and spirit to pull back to a goal down. The highlight of the game was a cutback reverse pass, and a subsequent drive that would have gone in if not for the amount of bodies closing down the goal. It was the best move of the game if not of all the games for the Rats, and it was beautiful, beautiful team play. There were many, many doubtful instances for the other team, as the Rats almost dominated the closing minutes, and proved to be much of a threat to the other team. The game was always likely to turn in either team's favor.

The Final Match: a game against the undefeated 05IP03+05IP02 team, namely WTF. It was a game for glory, and even though the Rats were out of contention already, they were willing to give their all to win the match, and some dignity too.

The match started off with two injuries- A player was knocked out of the pitch, hurting his thigh, and the other player was striked on her hand, almost striking her out of the game too. But the two players showed much courage and sportsmanship, not blaming their offenders and waved the game on even as their injuries agitated them.

The game was quite even as both teams struck all but goal. Counter attack after counter attack later, suddenly, the Rats scored an unlikely long range angle goal, and amidst confusion, the opponents protested the allowance of the goal as they claimed their goal was disallowed in a previous match, because the ball bounced out, which it had just did for the Rats. However, the Rats were awarded the goal, and suddenly the game began for the Rats.

The Rats relentlessly attacked the opponent's goal, and though the opponents tried to claw back at many occasions, The Rats never looked to lose composure, and even played as if a goal down, probing the defence for loopholes. The Rats played best in the last match- they used the wings effectively, and executed many successful passes, unlike the past matches. The Rats didn't look like a team out of contention, rather they look like title contenders, as the opponents were currently.

After much drama on the pitch, missed shots and rued chances, The Rats handed the team their first defeat. The game got tense in the dying minutes as the opponents tried to crack the solid defence of The Rats. However, the Rats held on- and at last the whistle was sounded to signify a Rat victory. It was a fair and entertaining game, and though the Rats didn't qualify for the next stage, they staged a big fight and got their reward, a win against the unbeaten team in the last match.

The Rats- Wei Liang, Johnson, Lauren, Joanna and Louisa.

Thanks guys, for showing what 04 is capable of. Thanks for showing such a spirited display.