The day of reckoning had finally arrived. After months of intense training, be it in the cramped comm hall/ginormous MPSH6 or up the killer Kent Ridge Drive slope , the TH floorball girls could finally prove their mettle.

The girls woke up bright and early to face their first opponent – KR. They posed quite a threat, with two IVP players (including a goalkeeper) and one experienced floorballer. The first line was up- Denise and Hammie as defenders, Priscilla playing midfield, and Ping Siew and Yvette as forwards. It was a nail-biting match being our first game of the day, but as soon as Denise put a in a shot from the half-way line, the elation gave us confidence that this match was ours. True enough, after halftime, we scored two goals, one of them coolly slid past the outstretched leg of the IVP goalkeeper, who was distracted by a brief scuffle, which Priscilla took opportunity of and put in. Score: 3-0 (Scorers: Priscilla, Denise)

The match against Sheares in a way showed the tenacity of the TH team. Sheares, a hall with no IVP players on their team, knew their best strategy against us was to put pressure on our players, running hard to snatch ball possession from us. Although the pressure was on, TH girls still held their ground, using their body well to shield the ball. We were doing well, scoring a few goals. However, during a free hit by Sheares, a slight misjudgment on our part in defense cost us, a lob that slipped past a surprised Felicia. TH did not remain in a state of shock, rather the next line went in knowing what they had to do. We finished well and were able to pull the score up to 5-1. (Scorers: Qian Wen, Ping Siew, Priscilla, Denise)

Our third match was against EH. Having beaten KR, this was the make-or-break match to secure that gold. If we beat them, the gold was ours. Yet, they were our strongest rival that day. Both teams possessed strong experienced IVP players, so it was really up to the non-IVP players to determine who was the stronger team. The game started off at an intense pace, both teams eager to tear each other’s defenses apart. TH played well, securing ball possession, and also pressuring hard during defense, which allowed us a few counter-attacks. One of these led to the first goal of the match, scored by Fariza. Her quick reflexes took opportunity of a lost ball by the EH defender, putting it in nicely into the net. Elated, the team celebrated while EH became tensed and anxious. Moving into the second half, to TH the score was back to 0-0. We played like we needed to score, and to “die die” not concede any goals to EH. Alas, that was not to be. The EH main weapon of choice was non-other than Yixin, an outstandingly skilled player. She managed to tuck in a goal into the corner of the net, past the wall put up by TH. After that, the girls played even harder, there were many close calls, but the defense denied them their goals. Towards the end of the second half, TH put in a shot, but the referee decided it was a no-goal, saying the ball touched her hand instead of the stick. The whistle blew and that was it. Now it was down to goal-difference for TH to win that gold.

So thus our next two games against RH and KE were not to be a stroll in a park, seeing as we needed to score as many goals as possible to beat EH. The fourth match was against RH, which like Sheares had no IVP players. But kudos to them, they played hard. Not technically skilled, they knew defence was their only play of the match. RH had a relatively good goalkeeper, which further strengthened their defense. It was a frustrating match for TH as we could not put in goals that we knew we could. The coach of the team Melvyn had to call for time-out to refocus the players. This paid off and TH managed to score 3 goals in all, by Priscilla, Denise and Maoying.

The last game of the day was against KE7, who had one sole IVP player, but a good one nonetheless. Still, it’s not the IVP players that win IHGs, hence their strategy was to be defensive. It was TH’s last chance to put in as many goals as possible. We did score for sure, but it was an uphill climb. The TH defenders were tall and big, which gave them great advantage to push our smaller petite forwards like Ping Siew out of the goal area. But we prevailed. Special mention is deserved for Ping Siew, who really played tirelessly to put in shots for TH, which she did. In the middle of the first half, the KE7 IVP player Amanda, while chasing after Denise in hopes of getting ball possession, slipped and fell. It was a heart-stopping moment as she lay curled up on the floor, clearly in great pain. She had to be carried out. Now, it was up to the non-IVP players of the team. And they did their best even without their most experienced player on court, so credit has to be given to them. TH played our best too, but many were tired after playing for the whole day, so the pace of the game slowed, which perhaps was advantageous to KE. Still, you could see and feel the fighting spirit still pulsing in the team. Shouts of encouragement still rang loud and clear, and when the whistle blew, we knew we did our best, and now it was up to fate to decide if that gold was ours. (Score: 4-0; Scorers: Pris, Denise, Ping Siew)

Sadly, EH managed to squeeze in two more goals than us. However, we are proud of our team of players, some having just picked up floorball two months ago, yet playing like pros. Proud that our non-IVP players scored goals too. Many thanks goes to the TH supporters that came down to cheer and fight with the team right to the very end. With more training and experience, Temasek will be champions next year!

By Prisca