Closing Ceremony - In Pictures

Last year's dwarfs, this year's giants.

The entao emcee.

3rd = 300

First-timers Spearhead slithered their way to silver.


Gold medallists FireBRANDS.


PFL Div 2 '10 All-Star Team
(L-R)
Tristan James (300), Forward
Daniel Tan (FireBRANDS), Forward
Daniel Boey (Spearhead), Centre
Ruben Lai (Spearhead), Defender
Amelia Lim (Trailblazers), Defender
Omprakash (300), Goalkeeper


Sheer delight.


Victory at long last.

Extended family group photo.


Final cheer for Div 2 to echo through Kompleks Sukan Balik Pulau.


Last briefing outside next to that soda cans dispenser thing.

Spoils of war, well-earned.


Not forgetting, celebratory dinner at Mizi on Sunday.


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2010 - FIREBRANDS

Vision into Reality

The last wall.

As the last match in PFL Division 2 2010, fireBRANDS were up against Trailblazers. fireBRANDS being in the driving seat into being PFL Division 2 champions and a promotion to Division 1 in 2011 needed to secure it with a win against Trailblazers.

At 11.00am, referees blew the whistle to signal the last match for Division 2 2010. Sadly, one of our teammates wearing a wrong-numbered jersey led to a 2 minute bench-penalty.


Besides that unfortunate incident, fireBRANDS started off with a bang when team captain, Gary penetrated through the defense of Trailblazers in the first few minutes of the first half. A quick goal had put fireBRANDS in the limelight for a first trophy since entering Division 2 in 2009. Time passed, lines after lines, players after players played on that green court.

Trailblazers' defense was really up-tight. Seniors took shots after shots to bring the ball into the goal posts were to no avail. The opponents box-play had really made the seniors a tough time scoring. When the opponents called for a time-out, a new strategy had to be established. Hence, luring them out from the box was the only way to score.

As we managed to play our strategy right, goals were scored. Most of the time during the game, the opponents were like the Great Wall of China trying to protect their country or a.k.a. goal posts from the Mongolian invaders a.k.a. fireBRANDS. Kudos to Trailblazers for keeping all of the seniors at bay.

Into the second half, it was much of a one-sided game when the seniors were playing in the offensive zone. On a few occasions, Trailblazers' managed to steal the ball from us and went down to the seniors zone for a shot. Our goalkeeper, Nicholas Choong saved a goal to keep a clean sheet record for today's match.

As the 20 minutes was up, fireBRANDS emerged as champions of Division 2 2010. With no doubt, the vision of fireBRANDS became a reality. Through HARDWORK and DETERMINATION brings a fruitful outcome.

Broken Rifles

The final day of war beckoned and Patriots once again took up their rifles to war against Spearhead. The medal outcome for themselves was obvious but the scoreline and the journey weren't so all Patriots could hope for was a slim margin and to throw some dirt at what would be Spearhead's clean sheet; and maybe even to defy all odds and give Frontliners the silver.

Prep.

Final prep.

Warming-up for the last time, both teams geared up physically and mentally to make the best of their last match.

Sound the battle horn, and cue the cheers:

PATRIOTS!!!


Who are we?! SPEARHEAD!!!

The whistle blew and war commenced.

Possession was, as expected, at a low for Patriots. Spearhead controlled the most part of the game. This provided a yawning gap between SoTs for both teams. While Spearhead pushed forward with passes and teamplay, all Patriots could hope for was to counterattack once their opponents took a shot at their goal.

Unfortunately Patriots' defence was shaky and this gave Spearhead numerous opportunities to get past the said defence. The defensive errors made by Patriots were costly as a few goals even looked gifted, with wrapping, ribbon and all. However credit must be given to keeper Joyce who had nerves of steel even when her team may have been letting her down.

Nevertheless Patriots did the best they could in fending off the onslaughts. Frequently under fire, they eventually got a decent hold at beefing up their defence. The forwards launched a few strikes of their own but none managed to bear fruit due to lack of support.

Jesher double-teamed in front of the goal.

How the other side looked like.

The contrast was stark as Joyce was kept tense most of the time, while Syahmi had plenty of time to relax. However one-sided the game was, Patriots fought on till the final whistle.

Helpless but to watch.

11-0 to Spearhead. Brotherly retribution for Trailblazers' defeat, perhaps?

Tragically Patriots were fighting with broken rifles so all they could use were bayonets (means those pointy sharp things protruding out from above the rifle's barrel). Bayonets against spears, obviously the spears had the upper hand. But good effort; well done to both teams:)

On a brighter note:
All in all Patriots' campaign was actually better than expected as they kept themselves out of last spot. Come next year we'll definitely see a better chance of acquiring a medal as their compatriots, FireBRANDS move up to Division One.

*photo credits to Kew Pei Li of Frontliners

fireBRANDS Celebration Dinner

Yes, Penang Floorball League Division 2 2010 is over. Yes, we're not going to Balik Pulau for matches again...for now. Yes, we've got our goals accomplished. but... NO, we haven't enjoy our accomplished goals just yet. Therefore, we're going to have a celebration dinner this weekend!

Date : 16th May 2010 (Sunday)

Time : 7.00pm

Venue : Mizi Bistro (New World Park)

What to bring : YOURSELF and RM 25

So, come on down and celebrate our successful year in Division 2 2010. Your attendance is much needed, the more the merrier, right? :)

Complacency against Determination

Firebrands vs Firebrands Patriots [ 10-1 ]
by Daniel Tan #5


On paper, the defeat to firebrands was inevitable. Secured in 1st place on the league table, Firebrands saw ourselves another victory against our juniors-perhaps too over confident? But how do you measure victory? On the score board it was 10-1 by the end of the second half but ultimately it was Patriots who were the winners for the match by displaying sheer determination and a never say die attitude although trailing by a somewhat large margin-if you do not take into account the score. Although outmuscled by our team, patriots kept on pushing hard by maintaining defensive gameplay and had often cause our lines to lose momentum in team play. Being in the Firebrands team, it was a disappointing outing for us as our defensive play was loose in the first half which saw Donovan slotting in a goal for Patriots. However, after team talks from Coach Jason at half time, we began to put into practice the gameplay learnt during training and had managed to perform better during the second half. Comfortable win for us Firebrands? NOT.

First half.
The whistle was blown and it was showtime. A derby. Firebrands had higher percentage of possesion compared to Patriots. However, the eagerness to score and the lack of team play saw no breakthrough for Firebrands in the first few minutes of the game. One would imagine the score line with a few goals by the fifth minute but Patriots took things to the other end of the spectrum by playing hard and never allowing Firebrands to fire shots from the goal mouth. Finally, a pass by captain Gary to Indy who unleashed a drag shot from the left side of the court saw the ball zooming pass Patriots keeper, Joyce Lim. 1-0. Sarah Khoo from Patriots almost scored a goal and possibly a tie for her side when a defensive blunder by the defenders allowed the centre to be open for Patriots' Chan Per Yue to carry the ball forward and Sarah having been in a rather strategic position only had to fire a shot towards the goal but clear vision, calmness and quick reflexes by Firebrands goalie, Nicholas Choong, had beautifully saved the what could have been a nice goal by Sarah.

Firebrands continued to control possesion of the ball and had taken a few shots on target but goalie Joyce was up to the task by saving the shots taken far from the goal mouth. The time was 9 minutes and 15 seconds when a missed pass by Joyce to Patriots defender Jesher Lim gave me the opportunity to score and bring the score to 2-0.

Firebrands forward Zephaniah then slotted in another goal after a time out was called by Patriots official, Alex, and the score was 3-0.

15.35, a long and goal-less drought and finally Steven Ong brought the score line to a 4-0 lead by
releasing a drag shot towards goalie Joyce.

Towards the end of the first half, Firebrands kept a steady tempo by controlling the ball outside the box-as adviced by Coach Jason. Playing a slow paced game then gave Firebrands Loh Vern Sern who scored his first goal for Firebrands by releasing a slap shot after a pass by yours trully.

5 goals in the first half. Time to relax? NOT! Towards the dying minutes of the first half, Patriots' Donovan who bears a jersey with the name Donova because of a printing mistake managed to score a goal for Patriots with his signature solo effort and release of a wicked slap shot towards the goal. From the sidelines, we could only watch as Patriots celebrate a hardworking effort. Nevertheless, we were so proud of you guys!

Half time from Firebrands point of view.
"Always respect your opponent regardless of who they are" -Coach Jason.
lesson learnt.

Second half.
Second half saw a rather convincing start for Firebrands as there were faster and quicker releases and more shots towards goal. Within a minute and a few seconds, Captain Gary scored another goal via drag shot. 1.15 into the second quarter, 6-1.

Seconds after the goal by Captain Gary was scored, a combo from Andrew Chan and Sherwynd then brought the score up to 7-1. Patriots still kept pushing on despite the goals scored by firebrands. Patriots' Per Yue, Shaun and Joshua had many times managed to break through the centre contributed by steals. However Firebrands defenders had outrun the juniors and managed to prevent another shot on target.

Indy Toh then managed to bring the score up to 10-1 by scoring 3 goals for Firebrands, all assisted by Sherwynd. One in the 3rd minute while another in the 12th and 16th minute. Indy's effort in offensive play rewarded him with a hat-trick.

Conclusion.
There are times when you will face a giant and there are times when you will be the giant. How you play and how you win it will be the difference between champions and just winners on the scoreboard.
Good job to all Firebrands and Patriots' players! I love you guys.

NOTE

Please be aware that there's a change of time for this Saturday's match between fireBRANDS and fireBRANDS PATRIOTS due to school replacement on that day. The time has changed to 3.30 pm and we are expecting you guys and girls to be at BALIK PULAU STADIUM by 3.00 pm.Yes, we do know that most of the schools are finishing at 2.40 pm and it's very hard for most of you to come on time or even come to the match. BUT fireBRANDS, come on, this is an important match for both of the teams. For the seniors, let's finish the race and wrap up the league nicely. PATRIOTS, just forget about your size, age and gender, concentrate on the coming match and give the seniors a good run for their money. If GOLIATH was beaten thousands years ago, GOLIATH can still be beaten TODAY, yes TODAY. So fireBRANDS, let us STEP OUT of our comfort zone and put our effort in this if we want to see a BLAST in this year's league. The choices are in your hand.

Patriots Patriotic Fight

... ends with a... *please read the whole report*

3rd April 2010, a Saturday morning at 9.30 am, signals the face-off of the match of fireBRANDS Patriots and Trailblazers. Both teams who are the second team of their respective clubs came face to face for a fight to avoid being last in the table of 5 teams.

Warm-up..

Push-up..

And cheer! (check out the coach's face.. xP)

Patriots started off impressively as they were having possession of the ball for almost two minutes of the game. With a full squad of players, Patriots went in with a good fight against Trailblazers. In the very fast half of the game, Patriots were dominating the game with impressive passes through the center of their opponent's half, and positioning of the players. It looked as if Patriots were to draw the first blood. Shaun, the 13-year-old boy was up for it for shots. He managed to have a shot on target on goal but was saved by Trailblazer's goalie.

Face-off.

Hustling for the ball.

Most of the time, Patriots controlled the ball on their opponent's half. Their quick passes and fast movement were scaring the opponents. Suddenly, silence broke. Player #15, none other than the captain of Patriots, Tania scored the first blood. Immediately, players rushed to celebrate with her. Their goal for this campaign were on sight, which was avoiding being last in the PFL Division 2 table. As the game resumed, Trailblazers came knocking in Patriot's half. Their impressive defender, Syafiq was up for it. He was filled with energy, going after one ball to the other. Great passes from him made his team's half cleared of the yellow-match ball.

Sarah menonjolkan her dribbling skills.

Captain v. Captain


A sea of red - one too many?

Ben having his moment with the ball.

On the other hand, Joyce was yet again on form as she made really good saves for her team to keep the score of 1-0. Just as Patriots thought it would be alright the way through, suddenly, a bench penalty was awarded. 2 minutes was given to Patriots. As Patriots thought hope was lost, Trailblazers had a glitch that ended them with 1 man down due to 6 field players on court. The court was now a 4-on-4 match. As the first half ended, the score was still 1-0 to Patriots.

Donovan passing through two Trailblazers.

Nehemiah whizzing his way past everyone else.

The whistle blew. Second half. 20 minutes more. Patriots ought to do something about the scoreline if they want their goals to be achieved. It was a slow-paced game throughout the first few minutes of the second half. Donovan, the goal scorer of the previous game against Frontliners 300 managed to list his name on the score sheet. This was then followed by Per Yue's shot which ended up in the net. Score : 3-0.

Donovan reeling off in delight after scoring.

Sarah bravely showing that size nor gender matters.

Their dreams was nearing minute by minute. fireBRANDS were sizzling hot. Yet again, they were dominating. After a time-out call by Trailblazers, Patriots were working it up again to increase the scoreline. Donovan took shots after shots but failed to enter the net. Another player who was really at his best was Aik Harn. He's ability to run and go after the non-possessed balls proved successful.

TaNia chasing after Nia. xP

2 running after 1.

Nehemiah making another run for it.

Tick-tock, tick-tock... time was running. Cheers suddenly echoed the stadium when Joshua scored the fourth goal. It was really an upbeat for Patriots. Receiving balls after balls, they were trying to penetrate Trailblazer's defense.

Joshua going in for the kill.

And Captain Tania coming in soon after.

For the second time, Tania's name was recorded into the scorers list. Cheers, shouts were heard. What an impressive way to end the game with the captain's opening and finishing goal. Scoreline : 5-0. fireBRANDS Patriots put up a good fight till the very last second of the game. Joyce, the goalkeeper of Patriots has indeed kept a clean sheet throughout the game.

The sportsman-ly handshakes, smiles, and "good game"s.

And jubilant high-5s all around.

Congratulations Patriots! It was indeed a patriotic fight till the end for Patriots.


*photo credits to Kew Pei Li of Frontliners