Write-up by Soccer player, Nicholas Sim:

Soccer M (6/1/2012)
Today’s quarterfinals match was against our long-time arch rivals, Hall 3. We entered the quarters with a thrilling 3-0 win over Hall 13 yesterday, and though most of the players were felling a little fatigue, we started the match full of confidence and drive.

We almost took the lead in the opening minutes of the game, resulting from an in-swinging corner that clipped the top of the bar. We had spells of good possession and managed to string together a few passes to get our game going. There were a few instances when our strikers managed to pull away from Hall 3’s defence line and break through on goal, but unluckily called for offside by the referee. Our defenders also did exceptionally well against the Hall 3 players, effectively closing them down and limiting their shooting chances. Unfortunately, despite our solid defence and good possession play, we just couldn’t break the deadlock and ended the half with the scoreline at 0-0.
The second half started off in a similar fashion to the first. Both sides had brief passages of good play but each time the attack was broken down at the las line of defence. The turning point came when we conceded a corner kick o Hall 3. The ball played from the corner kick soared over everyone’s head and almost went into the goal at the far post, but our team captain Melvin was standing there and managed to clear off the line with his head. However, the referee saw the clearance as a handball from Melvin, and showed him a straight red card before awarding Hall 3 a penalty. It was a very unfortunate turn of events for us, and needless to say, Hall 3 scored from the penalty spot to take the lead.

Despite going a man and a goal down, our players did not lose hope. We reshuffled our formation and continued pressing on for the equalizing goal. Our determination and effort almost paid off Colin crossed the ball into the opponent’s six-yard box from the right. However, the ball just bounced out of reach of Hasbullah’s extended leg and rolled over the goal line for a goal kick.
A second opportunity presented itself with a delicate chip from the midfield behind Hall 3’s defenders. However, like the first chance we had, the ball again bounced just slightly in front of our striker’s reach, resulting in him stretching to reach the ball and a slight mis-control to send the ball wide of the goal.

The final whistle was blown and the match ended 1-0 to Hall 3. Although we didn’t win this time round, the determination and fighting spirit shown when we were down by a goal and a player was tremendous and something to be proud of. We showed great spirit in a time of great adversity, despite not getting the result we wanted, we still gave our very best to the final whistle. This is the spirit that will lift Hall 6 soccer to greater heights in the following seasons.