All Hacks Indoor Soccer Team Vol 813 & 814 & 815

All Hacks,

This newsletter is a little late due to World Cup Delayed Sleep Deprivation Recovery Syndrome so instead of a double header as usual, it will be a triple header.

Firstly, congratulations to Adrian for winning the tipping comp after he tipped Italy to win (*&#$^#$ #$&^*#$) while yours truly tipped France and ended up losing the tipping by 1 point. There's a prize for second right Justin? And for all you people out there who are terrorists with sisters and mothers in the satisfaction industry, don't head butt anyone should an Italian player comment on your life.

To the games at hand, our first game was against one of the teams above us on the ladder, C.C. In a game that is best forgotten, which Justin has probably done after taking one smack on the face, we lost quite badly. We were unable to put the ball past their rather robust keeper while our own goal was getting peppered consistently. We only managed two goals in that game and lost 7-2.

It got better in the second match, which was against another team above us on the ladder, F.C Bobby. The game was extremely close all match and we only lost it right at the end pressing for a win. It what started off like a seemingly easy match, we ran out to a 2-0 lead. It wasn't to last long before Bobby's came back at us. It went goal for goal for most of the match. We went for the win and in doing so, conceded a few late goals to end up losing 8-5. In what is a good sign, Ara made an appearance and scored 4 goals. Coupled that with Khar's recent goal form and other players, myself included, chipping in a few goals here and there, we have quite a lot of scoring options for the upcoming finals.

The final match was against fellow Asian contenders Shaolin Soccer. In what was a very clean match, it was a lot of fast movements and crisp passes. Unfortunately the passes didn't result in goals. It was instead some great solo plays from Khar and Maal that got goals. So what's the moral of the story, dont pass the ball, just take it yourself. :-) Well pass it sometimes but if you do have a scoring chance, just take it on the first chance and don't try to be cute or dribble it a bit more to get closer, that usually just results in a turnover. We managed to win the game though after receiving two penalties. Now I know how the Italians feel, bloody damn good when the call goes your way.

Finally, I guess it congratulations to Italy for winning the World Cup. They didn't play the most beautiful game, but they did manage to win. That's all that people will remember in the end. Can't wait for 4 years when the Socceroos will have a real crack at the World Cup.

Till then, here's some lasting images of the this World Cup.
World Cup Babes 2006
Go Sweden!

Thanh