Sticks and ball can't break my resolve: Floorball A-Division Girls Finals 2018
It was 1 p.m. at Delta Sports Hall, May 16th. A sea of red engulfed one half of the hall - the RVians, showing their utmost support for the A-Division Floorball girls as they chanted "一，二，三，四” to the ferocious beat of the drums.
The match began. Spectators clung onto the edge of their seats as RV floorball and MJC floorball faced off in a nerve-wracking and exhilarating match of great physicality and speed. There was no time for one to catch their breath as the two teams found themselves literally pushed to the edge many times, attempting to divert the ball from the other team despite strong obstruction.
Fierce obstruction coming from the opposing team
The RV team did not let the opposing team score a single goal without putting up a good fight. We watched the ball soar into the air several times in a change of hands.
The ball soars into the air
The goalies Lim Zhi Yan (#1) and Toh Jun Rong (#57) put up a deft defence, plunging forward to catch the minuscule ball. Only then did we come to the score 0:1 towards the end of the first quarter. A hard-fought battle without doubt.
Lim Zhi Yan (#1), hands out and ready to catch any incoming balls
Toh Jun Rong (#57), staying close to the goal and guarding the post The RV spirit was not dampened, however, as the supporters continued to cheer on the team with renewed vigour, " Fight on!"
The spectators look on intensely as a new match begins
The battle continued, serving up the same amount of intensity. The supporters were relentless as they cheered every single time the RV floorball team came into possession of the ball, or when the ball came flying just inches away from scoring a goal.
Cheers coming from the spectator stand
The floorball girls never gave up, fighting with all their might up to the very end. Even though the opponents were leading, the RV team struck back nearing the end of the match, with Heng Ying Ying (#6) scoring not 1 but 2 goals in the last 2 quarters. These instances were met with the loud cheers of RV supporters.
Heng Ying Ying in possession of the ball
It was heartwarming to watch the girls huddle in for a group hug, then go down the line to fist-bump every single member of the team with smiles on their faces, as they acknowledged their teammate whom they fought with side-by-side on the battlefield. As they stood in line facing the supporters, there was great adoration coming from the stand. Indeed the RV floorball girls made for tough rivals, coming in as a tenacious 1st runner-up.
The team with their coach, all smiles
Team captain, Alyssa Chua’s (#14) message to the team and supporters summed up the very essence of the game, “To the team, we have fought hard throughout this season and every other seasons we've played together. And it touches me that we tried our best until the very end. Coming so far, regardless of the results at the end, every team is a champion. To our supporters, on behalf of the team, I would like to thank every single one of you for coming down. Thank you for cheering your lungs out until the end. I hope you enjoyed the game and the atmosphere and that you've taken something very important away from the game today- Spirit.”
When asked to comment about the game, one of the floorball teachers-in-charge, Mr Nazri, reaffirmed the team’s spirit,” Our girls gave their best against really tough opponents. In fact they showed a lot of perseverance and scored goals even though the opponent was leading.”
The spirit of the floorball team and the spectators, infallible to the very end, was certainly the main highlight of the game.
A-Division Girls’ team:
#98 Ying Chenfei
#57 Toh Jun Rong
#19 Teresa Zhang Han Yu
#18 Tang Jia Bei, Jeanette
#4 Tan Ruo Bing
#99 Tan Hui En, Joanne
#17 See Yuanru
#32 Ooi Zheng Qi, Jeannette
#8 Ong Sze Yi
#9 Mun Kei Wuai
#97 Michelle Koh Jing Wen
#21 Mah Ying Ying Sheryl
#1 Lim Zhi Yan
#11 Lim Shu Min
#13 Ho Yoon Yee
#7 Ho Jiayi Rachel
#6 Heng Ying Ying
#26 Foong Wai Teng Melissa
#3 Chua Jie Qi, Vernice
#14 Alyssa Chua Yu Yan