..eat SOCCER. drink SOCCER. sleep SOCCER. speak ENGLISH. we are ESMSCC!! LATEST: "I'm losing the Arms Race.."-Anonymous

Sunday, September 09, 2007

Our 1st (of many?) Accolade

Not much entry lately. But there's this one, a big one..

Ok, so the image may have been a wee bit small, but a short click can never go wrong. The gist of it is that we (plus a couple of guest stars) clinched 2nd place in the SMU Futsal Professors' Cup on Sunday, 26th of August 2007.

A day after providing the players for BSRI in their 7-0 drubbing of Criminals FC on a full-sized pitch, the team continued their fine form on CCAB's hard court. Through sublime skills, tactics, grit and sheer luck, our team of underdogs fought our way through the group stages and 3 KO rounds unbeaten despite tough opponents. In a hard-fought final, it was most unfortunate that we went down 2-1 to the eventual tournament winners.

Still, reaching 2nd place in a tournament that we all don't expect or intend to go all the way, is probably something that we can be proud of. Playing the full max amount of matches played (8) for a mere 10 bucks is a reward by itself. Getting the prize vouchers and the loot from Nivea is just gravy. All that matters is that we have fun, enjoyed each others' company, catching up with our brother teams the Ah Peks & the Botaks, getting free Red Bull-crap, chatting with Misses UV-A & UV-B, learning how to spell Business etc...=)

How our tournament went;
Match 1: Group Stage, won 1-0
Match 2: Group Stage, won 9-0
Match 3: Group Stage, won 2-0
Match 4: Group Stage, drew 2-2
Match 5: 2nd Round, won 2-0
Match 6: Quarter-Finals, drew 0-0 (Won 2-1 on Penalties)
Match 7: Semi-Finals, won 2-1
Match 8: Finals, lost 2-1 (sigh)
*Everyone scored at least a goal in the tourney except for Zarir.

So, the team of 7 registered for the tourney;
Zarir, Hatta, Renji, Raihan, Dedi, Huzer, Gerald

and.. special thanks to our man from the inside, Nasir, for assuring us that we're put in an "easy" group.

on an interesting note: thanks to our resident mind-reader Dedi, we won all our Rock/Scissors/Paper duels that preceded every kick-off/penalty kicks.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home

Next Match

Date:
Time:
Venue:
Colours:

The club was founded by a group of Malay boys from Raffles Institution's 2001 & 2002 graduating batches who enjoys each other's company as well as sharing a strong special bond that is soccer.

After years of playing recreational soccer matches on the school's astro turf & basketball court, it was decided that they establish a full-fledged competitive 11-a-side team worthy of challenging any team that stand in their way. In 2001, a newly-formed unnamed soccer club comprising of those boys emerged and played their first 11-a-side friendly against Beatty Secondary. From then on, there was no turning back.

Countless other friendly matches followed. However, being unnamed seems very amatuer-ish, and to fully leave behind their fledgling status, the name ESMSCC was born. The acronym, that stands for English Speaking Malay Soccer Cultural Club, was originally conceived during one of their casual discussions in their school-based clubhouse. The oxymoronic term of the name seems befitting at that time and was an identity that had reflected the majority of the club members.

In mid 2002, the club officially took on the name and came up with their very first team jerseys comprising of sky blue top and white shorts. The colours chosen reflect the club's aim to play resembling the fluidity of water as well as advocating match-fairness. Despite being separated into different junior colleges, the team still managed to find time to play together even throughout their national service. Close ties between team members are not only on-field, but off-field as well, with casual hang-outs, gym sessions, hari raya gatherings being some examples. Despite being predominantly Malay, the team has always adopted a selection policy that trancends race as well as age. Players of other races as well as those outside their batch are often invited and welcomed by the team. Through such diversification, the team grows even stronger and awaits the various challenges ahead.

With the establishment of Bolasepak RI Football Club in 2006, ESMSCC serves as the biggest and most active feeder service for the squad, providing 11 of the 25 current members in the roster. Despite the integration...