25th Aug - Kangaroo Stampede(s)

25th. Match day 1. 1400. vs the Aussies. World Championships regulars. The host. Home advantage and full strength. The fairy tale of beating them like last years APAC looks as if non-existence.

Shit!! Keep focus. *Heart rate on the rise*
Ignore it. Lets play *Excited*
I need to an MP3 with rock songs *Nervous*
Shit!! Let just whack some ball.
Lets do it!!

Cap Sjaiful leader the way. Followed by......


Our precious *Gollum Gollum*
The one and only Illyaz.


"Eh, you panggil ini tembak kah? Kuat sikit!!"


Awaiting fate...


Siapa kita?? MALAAYSIAA!!

The green monster kangarooS


Negaraku > clap clap > shake > good luck

Face off!!!

Well, started off pretty well. We always start off quite ok. Drawing first blood by Khalid "Flip King". Then the Aussies reply and we crumbled...

A rare moment of triumph - mamak the scorer


Surrounded


#17 facing off


Defeated. One of many to come...

No surprises. Tiger got whack by the Kangaroo's tale, 4-15. We must be one tame babyt tiger without teeth. Haiz...

No time to mourn people. Another match on the road. So we drag our tired bodies, no shower(so damn cold), with our gear and head to... Guesses??

Subway lar, what else.

We eat, we rest, and we are back on court. Next match. 2000. vs Aussies(U 19), again.

They might be young, but wait till you play them. The result of 4 trainings per week compared to 1, and it is not even centralised.

posing before the trashing(the only nice think to remember)
"eh mamak tengok mana ni?!"

Good luck mates...


"God pls give us strength"
(too late la Illyaz)

We started off well, maybe after a hard warm-up against the Aussie Seniors and the Juniors just starting to pick up with their first match. But as the games goes on, the U19 gain confidence and attack more clinically, and that is when the pain experience starts...

One goal, then two, then three. Down by 3 at the first period.

#4 missing a one on one. Crap.

Things didn't get any better after the restart as goals keep pouring in like rain and with us not finish our scarce chances, tally grew and grew...

Face off. For the unwanted reasons. Haiz~

By the thrid, tiredness started to take toll as lack of focus for getting frequent and the constant leaking of goals really depleted all our confidence. We did broke the ultimate embrassment of going down without a goal but there was no sign of us picking ourselves up. Mental tak kuat!!

The "mental tak kuat" expression

Being at my limit, I succumb to my usual cramp on the thigh at the start of the third. Man, it was hell lot of pain as it spreads from the calf up to the thigh and creeping to by hip.

Lying helplessly on the substitute area and having my few being block by the boards, the pain of the muscles was overwhelmed by the pain of the heart as the voice of the MC announcing

"Thats another goal scored by Australia..."
"The goal was scorced by Australia..."
It felt like crying...

Ouch!!

The "Bryan stretching techique"

It was not before long that Illyaz follow my foot steps and got carried out after playing injured on the court for a few minutes due to an early collision.

Can walk?

Cannot walk.

With our precion one and only goalie out, step up Shawn!! That only is when I found out that Shawn is a regular goalie back home.

Shawn on the move.


3 minutes and counting.

It was sure a talk place to be between the post as Shawn soon finds out. Poor Shawn step into a tough situation within 3 minutes of suiting up and without warm up tried his best with all he has got, to no avail as there was no prevention of us getting a hell of a trashing for the night.

It's over. Finally.

Final whistle at 2230, 2-15, a miserable day has ended, tired and super hungry we head out to Oxford St for food hunting just to find that the Kebab man has "pang pui ki", didn't wait for us, so supper for the night, pastries at Caltex Petrol Station and lots of orange juice. Last but not least, a good night sleep. And hoping tomorrow never comes cuz it's Singapore tomorrow. Crap~ (to be continued...)