Sunday, April 22, 2007;

Well, its that time of the year again, season has begun and life has been caught up in that twirling mist called hockey.

All that running, stickwork and hard trainings. All culminating in these couple of weeks. They're gonna be unforgetable, just as how I haven't forgotten the matches I played in my Secondary School days under the shield of green and white.

What started out as reluctance quickly grew into fond affinity. As I've always said to the other guys, I took some time to find my feet. Add a load of first impressions to these as well. But we've grown so much, come so far, as a team. This year's Malaysia trip was also awesome. All the fun, laughter, jokes and banter added to the daily recipe of trainings and matches, and of course, not forgetting the singh in our second match and the lovely shot to the head I took.

We started off our season with a 0-6 reverse to RJ. The scoreline really flattered them quite a fair bit as we more than held our own for much of the first half and in little bits throughout the match. A passing remark in the canteen increased my pride in the team by tenfold.

We got the result out of our systems almost immediately and looked to our next match against AC. The preparations went slightly awry just as the match was about to start, and boy, what drama did the match produce. Missing shinpads and shoes followed by random hitting of balls preceeded our kickoff. However, within five minutes of the kick-off, the scoreboard read NJ 1 - ACJC 0. A beautifully taken deflection by Nigel. Luck did not sit on our side for too long and they soon equalized and took the lead by the end of the first half. 1-2. Needless to say, no one was pleased and we came out of the second half with all guns blazing. We then proceeded to snatch an equalizer through a short corner within ten minutes of the restart. Converted by Aaron Tan. Another lapse of concentration allowed them to peg back at us once again on that hot Tuesday afternoon. We were down, but not out. Disappointed, but resilient, we continued to press on, always believing. With less than ten minutes to go, we won another short corner, and from there earned a penalty flick. We deliberated on the flicker and it was down to me.

It was a nervewrecking moment. Miss, we lose, pack our bags and go home. Score, we're still in it with the slight upperhand. I jogged to the loose ball, then walked back to the penalty spot and placed the ball right at the tip of the spot. I was nervous no doubt. But the belief which my coach in Sec 2, Mr Ranjit Singh, placed in me steadied me. A goal would be assured in the ball landed in the bottom right corner. I stood face to face with their goalkeeper as my teammates retreated a distance behind. The silence was crashing. The numerous supporters there both from AC and NJ watched in nervous apprehension. I took a breath. Not a particularly deep one, just a normal one. With a step forward, I pushed the ball. The net let off a sound. Half a second of silence before the roar. I was euphoric. The NJ supporters responded by raising the decibel level. Truly, a magnificent noise. In the end, the game ended 3-3 with my late equalizer and we clung on. The goal against AC will go down as perhaps the most important goal I've ever scored. I had never before experienced such exhilaration. Pretty awesome feeling I must say.

AC is done now, and there's only IJ left. We need to go in there and play like Spartans, fighting to the last whistle and running till the last man standing. Its gonna be another fiery cauldron and we're going to use all the support we have. These guys will shift the balance in our favour. Our 12th man.

Before I end, some random photos of my memories.





















Song playing:

9:32 PM