Pitch

Today was my last day playing futsal (indoor soccer) with the group.  It was odd... seeing everyone playing "for me" (not my words, promise).  Spare me the judgement for this post: I seldom have a noteworthy post on playing football.

It didn't help that I was having an off-day.  My passes went astray, be it elaborate trivelas to simple square passes: either the passes were too heavy, or the ball wasn't struck at the right spot for proper distribution.  Perhaps I was distracted, although I didn't feel like that was the case.  Dribbling was slightly better today, with the occasional loss in possession (but that's normal in my game, sad to say).  I managed to pull off some fancy flicks, turning my defenders and rounding them... before botching the final ball.

As per usual, I grew more into each game as my body acclimatized to the demands of box-to-box running (at least I've my stamina and work rate to turn to).  My performance had to be compounded in the following game.  Via a quick counter attack, Ji Yeow had sent me through on goal with only James, the opposing defender to beat.  Seeing that James was hesitant to collect the loose ball, and knowing that pace was on my side, I pulled a quick shimmy and knocked the ball the other way, around him.  However, he had unintentionally impeded me and my standing foot was taken from below me by his trailing leg, leaving me clattered on the ground.  I did 2.5 barrel rolls and slowly got back up on my feet, expecting to have been (rightfully) awarded a free kick.  To my surprise and dismay, the majority of the group had claimed that I was simulating, and gave the ball to James.  I would lie if I said I wasn't somewhat upset, but I couldn't dwell on the diving call: I still had a game to see through.

Somewhere into (I think) Game 6, I had misread a low cross while tracking back, and guided the cross into my own team's net.  That deflated my spirits a bit, and I was goalie for the following game (since everyone else had played keeper once already).  That match was decent, with me playing spectator throughout processions as Boyce, our most athletic player, was on defender duty, crunching down on the tricky and pacy duo of Mun Wai and Eric.  I had even managed to psych Eric out (with my spontaneous interpretation of Jerzy Dudek's spaghetti legs) in a one-vs-one situation and saw his shot go wide of my near post.

I was then back to outfield duty, marauding the right flank to add some width to our attack.  Nearing the end of Game 8, we had received a corner after a deflected shot.  Seeing as my teammate was in the box already, I opted to just drive the cross low towards him.  With the slightest of touches, he managed to guide the ball to the bottom corner and won us the game.  I was ecstatic and did an awkward chest tap with both my hands, to (cockily, guilty) claim the heroics.

That performance had boosted my confidence, as I kept harassing defenders in the following games with what little energy was left in the reserves.  I had a goal-bound low drive deflected away from a pair of trailing legs, and linked well with the wide players whenever we went on the offensive.  Something good was about to happen, I could feel it (well, maybe...). 

During the last game, a rare bit of tiki-taka-esque movement saw four teammates (myself included) make its way to the opposition box.  Tightly marked on the right flank, Ben had laid the a cutback pass back to me.  Instinctively, the defender begun to push up to pressure me.  I was about to attempt a curler, swerving the shot past the oncoming player to an unsighted keeper, but noticed Adli was in an advanced position at the left side, unattended.  I played a shot dummy, with my shot-turned-pass sending Adli through on goal, in which he took it well.  Who would have thought, that I would have combined with Adli to produce a goal...

After the game, we exchanged hugs and handshakes, and proceeded for some routine cheeky McDonald's.  It's now 1.41 am and I'm waiting for the laundry to get done so I can shove them into my bags.  My back (and bag, I guess) is gonna get destroyed.

I'm probably gonna post another entry tomorrow, so I'll save the waterworks and wisdom until then.  Besides, I've already cried twice today already.

Gold - Chet Faker