Story by REDintern Siti Rohaniza Muhammad. Photos by Matthew Lau and Clara Yuan/Red Sports
Muhammad Afiq (SIN #41) handles the ball against Song Sung Yeon (KOR #10). (Photo 1 © Matthew Lau/Red Sports)
OCBC Arena, Wednesday, June 18, 2014 — Hosts Singapore (SIN) defeated Korea (KOR) 10–2 to finish second behind Russia in the Men’s Group B at the 6th World University Floorball Championship with three wins and one loss.
Singapore won their last group stage match in front of a sell-out crowd, despite facing a tough Korea who were physically aggressive and speedy.
The first few minutes of the match saw both keepers making outstanding saves which denied either teams from taking an early lead. The fast paced game proved to be one worth watching with both teams going hard to win every ball.
Korean goalkeeper, Park Min Kyu (#33), made three amazing consecutive saves but Singapore captain, Glendon Phua (#20), eventually broke the deadlock with his dragshot that went into the bottom right of the Korean goal. His goal gave Singapore a 1–0 lead just before the 15th minute.
Both teams were quite physical with players pushing each other aggressively to fight for the ball. The aggressiveness of the game was obvious when Korea’s Jung Min Hoon (KOR #21) broke his stick during a clash with Jared Goh (SIN #18) and had to play with a replacement stick for the remainder of the game.
Singapore had a lot of opportunities in the first period but were unable to convert them, as most of their shots were either wide or saved by the Korean goalkeeper. Singapore, clearly unsatisfied with their lone goal lead, went on to pressure the Koreans with a full court press.
Eventually, a pass from Mark Seow (SIN #88) to the front of the Korean goalpost, allowed Brandon Cheong (SIN #10) to confidently put the ball into the back of the net to end the first period with a 2–0 Singapore lead.
Just two minutes into the second period, Calvin Lim’s (SIN #71) half court drag shot allowed Singapore to extend their lead to three goals. The second period was equally aggressive. Korea’s Bae Han Sol’s (KOR #9) was awarded a two-minute penalty for stepping into the area in front of the goalkeeper and disrupted a goal-scoring opportunity.
Singapore captain Glendon Phua (SIN #20) converted the penalty to extend Singapore’s lead to 4–0 within the first five minutes of the second period.
However, Korea soon responded through a goal from Shin Deuk Jae (KOR #12), who was assisted by Han Man Hyung (KOR #69). Both sides continued with their physical and aggressive play.
Singapore found another goal through Mark Seow (SIN #88) who made a stunning airhook shot, unassisted, to score the hosts’ fifth goal of the match. Winston Cheong (SIN #11) then widened the lead to five goals, when he scored during a breakthrough after an assist from Hazmi Hasan (SIN #99). Singapore entered the last period leading Korea 6–1.
Singapore scored two more goals within the opening minutes of the last period. A dragshot from defender Sean Huang (SIN #17) and an accurate quick-wrist shot from Jared Goh (SIN #18) gave Singapore their seventh and eighth goal respectively.
Brandon Cheong (SIN #10) added another goal to his name when an accurate pass from his captain, Glendon Phua (SIN #20), allowed him to score his second and Singapore’s ninth goal of the match.
With the morale high on the Singapore bench, Singapore continued to take shots against the Korean goalkeeper.
Soon, Muhammad Afiq (SIN #41) scored the 10th goal for Singapore with a shot from half court, which stunned all the players on court.
Not giving up, Korea continued fighting hard for every ball and eventually, they managed to score their second and the match’s final goal. With less than half a minute left on the clock, Bae Han Sol (KOR #9) received his second two-minute penalty for an incorrect hit. Singapore were unable to capitalize on the one-man advantage but eventually won the match 10–2.
Singapore captain, Glendon Phua (#20), said, “We got to play a kind of floorball that we have trained for – attacking floorball. Compared to the game against Russia where we played a defensive game, our players got to showcase our offensive plays and that gave us many goals from different players.”
Glendon added, “Though almost everyone on the team had some kind of injury from yesterday’s game, everyone still gave their best on court. And today, most of us were really used to playing in front of a crowd, so the cheers from the crowd spurred us to play better.”
Singapore will face Korea again in the seventh-placing match tomorrow, at 11.30am, in Arena Hall 2 while Malaysia and China will be playing for ninth place at the same time in Arena Hall 1.
Singapore vs Korea
Scoring by Period
1st Period: 2–0
2nd Period: 4–1 (6–1)
3rd Period: 4–2 (10–2)
Top Scorers
Singapore
Brandon Cheong (SIN #10) – 2 goals
Glendon Phua (SIN #20) – 2 goals
Singapore Roster
Aaron Tan En Jie (#05), Mah Jian Yong (#06), Abdul Hadi Bin Harris (#09), Cheong Zhi Xian Brandon (#10), Cheong Jin Cheng Winston (#11), Heng Wei Zhi Jonathan (#13), Guhen Markandran (#14), Jatin Nair (#16), Huang Junhong Sean (#17), Jared Goh (#18), Glendon Phua Zhi Ming (Captain) (#20), Xie Yanglei (#22), Muhammad Azhari Bin Mas’od (#23), Lee Renji (#26), Yeo Kai Xiang (#28), Muhammad Afiq Bin Shaharudin (#41), Tay Jun Hao (#70), Lim Hanrong Calvin (#71), Seow Jun Hao Mark (#88), Hazmi Bin Hasan (#99)
Korea Roster
Jeong Se Hwa (#01), Kim Young Sun (#07), Cho Jae Yun (#08), Bae Han Sol (#09), Song Sung Yeon (Captain) (#10), Shin Deuk Jae (#12), Lee Hyun Woo (#13), Shin Dong Chour (#17), Park Gi Hyun (#20), Jung Min Hoon (#21), Cho Kwui Hyun (#22), Lim Se Min (#24), Noh Gi Dong (#28), Park Seong Ju (#31), Park Min Kyu (#33), Song Jeong Geum (#38), Han Man Hyung (#69), Kim Young Jun (#77)
More photos next page
Leave A Comment