Match Report: Netball vs RI
May 17th, 2010 by CCA PROWhat a match. What a team. It could only have been Hwa Chong.
Pitted against the widely- tipped- to- win Rafflesians, Team Hwa Chong stepped onto the hallowed court of Republic Polytechnic as underdogs, but emerged from it as heroes, disposing of our nemesis with a credible scoreline of 40-29.
Admittedly, this match wasn’t even the finals, but the sheer intensity of play and fighting spirit that characterized it suggested that it might well could have been. The netball team entered the court to play its own game, and winning just naturally followed suit.
No one ever said it was going to be easy. Raffles kept true to Her name with sporadic spurts of smooth attacks that threatened an upset; but was ultimately silenced by our unyielding ramparts. The defensive trio of Yun Zhen, Yu Xuan and Cherynn proved to be the paragon of defensive defiance, terrorizing RI’s attack across the hall. The moment she stepped into position, Goal Keeper Yun Zhen morphed into the role of a ball-magnet and the RI feeders’ worse nightmare, mercilessly robbing the opposition of possession by calmly snatching all the lobs that were never meant for her. Yu Xuan, her defensive counterpart, was the dream complement as she treated the crowd to a spectacular display of gravity-defying interceptions. Indeed, it appeared that sporting a fever did nothing but to warm her up to a fiery performance. Further down, Wing Defence Cherynn was not only a masterpiece in intelligent defending by imposing immense pressure on the opposition, but was a great support to her teammates in the attack down midcourt.
Like in most crucial matches, this semi-final was not about to slink away from its fair share of drama. As passion raged throughout both teams, there were hints that frustration and desperation had started to seep into Raffles’ soul as they went all out to regain possession. In the process, our players Sharon and Jiemin gave spectators a scare as they fell to the ground with hard knocks to their heads, leaving spectators fearful as to whether or not they would be able to continue the game. Nevertheless, our girls admirably trudged on with dogged determination; and it was overcoming painful obstacles of no fault of our own like these that made the hard-earned victory taste even sweeter.
While the team won by outclassing the opponent, it was actually simple teamwork that mattered the most in a game like this. The chemistry that ran along the veins of the players was made evident on many counts. Right from the centre, Cheryl played a pivotal role throughout the game by spearheading the team’s play with a reassuring security. Fellow midfielder Jiemin not only impressed with her confident passes, but her seemingly humanly-impossible quick reactions to the ball resulted in a few significant tips as well.
Faced with arguably the hardest defenders to thwart by far, our attack proved tactically wise to play with a lethal combination of patience and short passes. Steadily tearing apart RI’s perforations in defence, our girls sealed the opposition’s inevitable fate of a slow, painful death. Goal Attack Sharon added a prodigious shift to the game, stretching and splitting (literally) RI’s defence apart with her breathtaking runs. Tasked with scoring in the face of the intimidating defenders, our shooters did remarkably well under pressure and never once succumbed to the elongated walls of RI’s defence that attempted to take away what was rightfully ours. Jaime, with her well-positioned blocks and strong takes, was the perfect finish to a possession well retained, slotting home goal after goal. And with each goal, the netballers were nudged yet a step closer to the place where they truly belonged – the finals.
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