NTU-RHB Tournament

After a long hiatus, MiB FC finally took part in a tournament held at Fico Sports Hub on March 7th 2009. The team was made up of Sat, Prak in goal, Chan, PP, SK, Maran and Riz. The group stages were held on Saturday with the knock out stages the next day at Takashimaya.

Most of the team stayed over at Sat's place the night before the tournament for some team-bonding and PS2. In the usual MiB vein, they only went to bed at 630am after which Prak started to sound his mating call that was reportedly heard at Junction 8.

The players reported to Fico at 130pm as we were scheduled to play in the afternoon segment of the tournament. There was a quiet confidence in the air as it was a long time since MiB FC actually graced a tournament, and this was no ordinary one as the first prize was $1000. Harvey and Vana were there to lend their support and help the team whichever way they could.

So after a spirited team talk and warm up, MiB played their first game against a group of fellow Indians, named Puerto Juniors. We kicked off, surrendered possession and allowed the opponent striker to walk right past us and slot in for a 1-0 lead. If there was a correct way to start the tournament, this certainly was not it. To our credit, we came back fighting and Chan equalized midway through the first half. Game on! But as the half drew to a close, a hurried clearance by Prak was picked up by the opponent striker who squared unselfishly for his team mate to tap in to make it 2-1. PP came on in the 2nd half to lend some energy into the team and MiB tried their best to equalize, leaving some gaping holes at the back, which was duly punished by the faster, younger and fitter opponents. Final Score : 1-3.

After some soul-searching, MiB took to the field for their second game knowing any defeat now would mean heading to Jurong East Swimming complex. The boys came out all guns blazing with Chan, Maran and SK grabbing the goals to power past a hapless manjann team who did not know what had hit them. Chan himself could have scored 4 or 5 goals in this one-sided match and MiB even had 2 goals unbelievably not given when everyone at Jurong could see that the ball had rebounded off the inside post, which would have made the score 5-0 and not flattering at all. But still, MiB easily regained some pride and honour with a 3-0 win. PP contrived to miss an open goal when it was easier to score but all was forgotten.

A third game also with a manjann team saw the same 3-0 win with Sat, PP and Chan getting the goals this time. Maran could have picked up the golden boot for the tournament by scoring his chances found in this game alone, with a totally dominant performance by MiB.

On to the final game of the group stages, against a team made up of 18-20 year old Malay guys. This game was a potential banana skin and anything but a win could have seen MiB make a nervous wait to see if we made it to the knock out stages. Normally MiB comes up with our best performances in the face of our biggest adversities and this time was no different with Chan leading by example in a game full of heart and skill. With both teams tied at 0-0, it would need a special goal to break the deadlock and we were treated to just that. Chandra Kumar turned back the clock to steal a scene right out of Toa Payoh street soccer days with a shot on the turn near the halfway line that screamed to the bottom corner even before the keeper had the chance to move. Final Score 1-0 and MiB was coming back to fight another day!

The boys headed to Adam Rd for dinner followed by borrowing some games from Minds Cafe before heading to Sat's place to spend the evening. Vana and Noorin joined us for that too.

Day 2: Alas, like every good story, there must be heartbreak. And this one was no different, with MiB crashing to the Adam Rd prata and nasi lemak, oops I mean the opponents who were younger and hungrier than us. After succumbing to a 2 goal deficit, we fought and clawed our way back as Sat pulled one back but to no avail in the end, as all good things come to an end and the tournament bid farewell to MiB, and a heartbroken-Jamie Yeo-stalker in Rizvi.

The guys proceeded to put the tournament behind them by drowning our sorrows in Coke and more board games at Sat's place.

So all in all a decent tournament from our point of view. 2 days worth of action with some pretty good gifts in the goody bag. Lots of laughs and memories to take away as usual, but nothing beats the fun and friendship that only MiB can provide. It's hard to swallow the fact that perhaps our best footballing days are behind us and we now have to give way to guys who are younger and faster than we were, but we will take heart from this and come back again at a tournament nearby. In the meantime, we should aim to play regular football, and learn to adapt ourselves to the Futsal ways.

Player of the Tournament: Chandra for his goals and skills.

Goal of the Tournament: Chandra for his left foot screamer or SK for sliding in at the back post after a square ball from Chan.

Save of the Tournament: Prak sliding save at the feet of the striker in the 3rd game when the scores were still 0-0.

Quotes of the Tournament: From none other than PP:

1. Tomorrow, I will make the decisive..

2. (PP is on the phone, after Harvey asked someone to call Puvan) Harvey: Dei is that Puvan?
(PP with a straight face): No dei. It is puvan.