Floorball Lions come from behind to wallop Aussies 8-4 in asia-pacific championship

Story by REDintern Noor Farhan. Pictures by Yvonne Yap/Red Sports

Woodlands Sports Hall, Friday, February 5, 2010 - Singapore fought back hard after going down 0-1 in the first period to post a pulsating 8-4 win over Australia in the Asia-Pacific Floorball Championship (APAC). In an evenly-matched contest, Singapore overcame their physically larger opponents with speed and skill to triumph over their opponents.

The first period started aggressively by the Australians, with their player given a two-minute penalty for dangerous play with only four seconds gone by. This after a petulant shove from behind on Md Hafeez (SG #7), which saw him sprawling on the ground after a 50-50 challenge.

The opponents had the psychological edge, as it caused Singapore to play defensively as they constantly passed back to defence.

Md Syazni (SG #25) managed a shot in at 5:15, only to narrowly miss the goal. The Aussies responded in kind, with an attempt by Christopher O'Sullivan (AUS #10) that went off the mark a minute later.

Singapore's captain Kelvin "Banana" Boon Kwang (SG #11) and Abdul Hafiz (SG #10) also saw their attempts go off-tangent at 15:30 and 8:50 respectively as both sides began to show their true colours.

The Australians were trying to use their superior physique in winning the 50-50 balls to counter Singapore's quickness on the ball.

Their intimidation tactics appeared to work, with Abdul Khalique (SG #31) fluffing a routine throw-out from his goalmouth, which fell kindly to Anthony Boteler (AUS #17) whose unstoppable drive at 16:09 made it 1-0 to the Aussies.

Singapore brought the game to the visitors from Down Under soon after, with Enrico Marican’s (SG #24) drag shot saved by the opposing goalie with 20 seconds remaining towards the end of the first period.

The game came to life in the second period, with Jovyn Low (SG #22) given a two-minute penalty for obstruction as early as nine seconds from the initial whistle after some aggressive pushing.

Australia managed to take advantage of Singapore going a man down, as Christopher O'Sullivan (AUS #10) sent a stinging slap shot into the top corner of Singapore's net after a slide-rule pass from his defence at 1:26 to make it 2-0 in Australia's favour.

The floorball Lions piled on the pressure on the counter, with Abdul Khalique (SG #31) making amends for his earlier blunder with a magnificient attacking throw out to Nahendran (SG #4) who hammered his effort over the bar at 2:16.

Sean Huang (SG #17) managed to create a goal out of thin air for Singapore, after some neat stick work on the left corner had his Australian marker completely baffled. He then dribbled across the goal and rounded the opposing keeper, to make it 1-2 at 5:01.

A simple through pass on the right by Johnson Sivalingam (SG #16) was all it took for Md Hafeez (SG #7) to put in the equalizer for the home side with an accurate drag shot into the far side at 6:30, much to the dismay of the expatriate Australian fans in attendance.

In their eagerness to score another goal, the Australian side had Anthony Boteler (AUS #17) sent off for two minutes at 9:30 and Derek Kippo (AUS #19) at 14:14 for lying play. Their custodian, Jacob Stanley (AUS #91), had to make an outstanding double save from shots by Johnson Sivalingam (SG #16) and Nahendran (SG #4) to keep his side in the game, as Singapore tried to make the most of their numerical advantage.

Man of the match Sean Huang (SG #17) managed another goal, this time through a vicious drag shot after a free hit at ¾ court as Singapore went up 3-2. There seemed to be renewed belief in the side as their exuberant celebrations after the goal seemed to suggest that victory was indeed possible.

However, Australia grabbed the equaliser afterwards as Anthony Boteler (AUS #17) scored after some good passing by his teammates at 19:05. Singapore incidentally had Joseph Cortes (SG #27) sent out before that for a two-minute penalty after an accidental handball, which the Australians capitalised on with their man advantage.

The second period ended tied at 3-3, with both sides having an equal shot at winning. Both teams were evenly matched in technical abilities and were having an even share of the attacking action.

Australia were first off the blocks in the final period as Derek Kippo (AUS #19) scored from a cutback on the right by his teammates in the first minute after a surging power play by their line to make it 4-3.

This prompted Singapore to pour forward in numbers as they looked to win the game. They succeeded in their offensive attempts with Johnson Sivalingam (SG #25) putting Joshua Leroy Brown (SG #21) through on goal, with the finishing touch being applied by the latter at 2:14 to make it 4-4.

Ahmad Afzal (SG #9) managed to make it 5-4 to Singapore as the floorball Lions overran the Aussie defence, after an assist by his Republic Polytechnic (RP) schoolmate Sean Huang (SG #17) at 8:40. The hard pressing by the home side paid dividends, as evident by the frantic backpedalling of the fast tiring Australians.

By this point there were constant stop-starts in the game as the court became increasingly slippery as seen by the constant body sliding by both players, prompting the referee to summon the hardworking junior volunteers to mop up the parquet court.

Singapore scored again after the restart at 11 minutes. Enrico Marican (SG #24) managed to cut in from the left and pick his spot as he dribbled inside and rippled the back of the net to bring the score line to 6-4.

The wet floor certainly did not help Peter Harris (AUS #11) as he inadvertently slid into his own goalmouth as he chased Sean Huang (SG #17)'s cross-cum-shot from the right at 14:51 to make it 7-4 to Singapore. His angry gesticulating at the officials bore no fruit as the referee waved play on.

Sean Huang (SG #17) capped a fine performance for Singapore as the talismanic RP student tapped in from close range after a fumble by the Aussie keeper Jacob Stanley (#91) from captain Kelvin’s (SG #11) initial effort with 10 seconds left on the clock.

The match ended with an 8-4 score line with the players, vocal fans and Red Sports staff alike celebrating wildly at the final buzzer.

"It was a great match since we came from behind, believed in ourselves and won it like that," quipped the ecstatic Sean Huang (SG #17) after the game.

"Well, it was a good game I would say. A hard fought encounter by both sides. We actually struggled initially as we had to deal with the humid conditions throughout the game." said Alex Peck (AUS #13), when asked for a post-match comment.

"I would say we didn't play well in the first period given the physical size of our opponents," said Singapore team Manager Shahizan Ahmad on Singapore's victory over the intrepid Australians.

"However from the second period onwards we played our normal game and didn't let them come inside our defence area. After we saw the Australians hitting the ball (towards goal) without passing around, we knew we had a chance. I asked my defence to hold the ball and move forward more to take shots at goal and that's how I think we won the game."

Man of the Match: Sean Huang (SG #17), Anthony Boteler (AUS #17)

Singapore Lineup:

Shahmeer (#3), Nahendran (#4), Md Hafeez (#7), Ahmad Afzal (#9), Abdul Hafiz (#10), Kelvin "Banana" Boon Kwang (#11), Oswind Rosaryo Suria (#12), Lionel Sing (#13), Sim How Chong (#15), Johnson Sivalingam (#16), Sean Huang (#17), Joshua Leroy Brown (#21), Jovyn Low (#22), Tan Yiru (#23), Enrico Elifhal Marican (#24), Md Syazni (#25), Joseph Cortes (#27), Abdul Khalique (#31), Md Firdaus (#32), Timothy Quek (SG #99)

Australian Lineup:

Shaun Frazier (#2), Jonathan Veron (#3), Jaxon McSwain (#4), Benjamin Monckton (#5), Timothy Campbell (#6), Michael Woods (#7), Gavin Staindl (#8), Per Pilhage (#9), Christopher O'Sullivan (#10), Peter Harris (#11), David Speldewinde (#12), Alex Peck (#13), Samuel Turner (#14), Michael McCallum (# 15), Robert Tweedle (#16), Anthony Boteler (#17), Carl Lowenborg (#18), Derek Kippo (#19), Bradley Hooper-Mathias (#23), Jacob Stanley (#91)