Prelude to the Mud Bath!

It all started when Johnni requested Raphael for an eleven-a-side game on 9th January after the weekly session at The Cage. Alvin said he could get his team and the "signing" of players started once again. The notice was sent out, we KO at 5pm at Nanyang JC.

Five days before the game, Alvin came back with the unfavourable answer – he couldn’t get his team. Given the short turnaround time, Raphael activated his team and started to scramble for players on his side. It was Friday when we finally confirmed the number of players for both teams.

More bad news followed the next day. Due to the rainy season, the pitch at Nanyang JC couldn’t be use. Now, it was a last minute rush to search for a field. Alas! Rongming managed to get the pitch at Braddell-West Lake Secondary School. Though the condition of the pitch was lousy, Raphael and I decided to go on with the game.

Sunday morning greeted us with players calling in sick. I had one sms that said he failed a late fitness test as his ankle was still swollen. This was my favourite! It made me laughed. Our team had only fourteen players left. Raphael’s side too, had an unknown numbers of casualties. It was such a let down for us. He felt like calling off next week’s game. It's very tough when it comes to getting players and a pitch. Not wanting to disappoint the players who really wanted to play, we decided to carry on as scheduled.

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