HK GIANTS vs Sun Nic Gan

Sunday 24th was the last game of the first part of the season, against Sun Nic Gan. A must win game in order to start the second part with better objectives. With, for the first time of the Giants history, as many Hong Kong player than guailo. A good sign that we are becoming attractive and wide in terms of nationalities.

Well motivated and starting in defense, the first few minutes were as usual for us, a bit difficult, both in attack and defense. After 6 minutes played, the score was 2-2 only, with many missed occasion and mistakes. 

Thankfully our opponents had the same issues and no one could lead. We then passed the second gear and played a great handball, especially in attack with many good chance and a great accuracy. After 20 minutes, the score was 11-3 for us, giving us a comfortable lead. And the last 10 minutes were of the same kind, even with a defense slowing down. A quiet and easy first half, ended on the large score of 15-6.

But as we all know, when we are good, we start playing easy and make mistakes. And that didn't miss, with a second half starting well for our opponents, thanks to our weak defense. After 7 minutes, they scored already 7 goals, coming back 3 goals behind us. Time for a time out, to try to wake up everybody. And even if we started scoring again, we didn't improve the defense and gave away many easy goals, keeping them 3 goals behind. Until the 23rd minute, game was tight, with only lucky goals from our side replying to our lack of defense.

We then had another good run of 5 minutes, putting them 6 goals behind, before playing easy again and letting them come back close. A last minute with 2 goals from our right back and we ended another difficult game on the score of 29-24.

Despite a win, we played a fantastic first half before getting pretentious and playing very bad in second half. We need to improve our fitness, in order to play same level for the whole game. And that only improve by training.

Highlight of the game, Chen, back after his injury with a nice game and 8 goals, Berry and Chris that played well on the wings and fast breaks, and all the guys that came to support.

We end the first part of the season with 4 wins and 5 losses, so we must do better in the second part, winning the same opponents and winning a few more in order to reach the top 5. Reply on December 15th with the first game against YMCA.

HK GIANTS vs Ho Kwok Pui Zhen

This Sunday 17th, after 2 wins in a row, back to the pitch against our direct opponent for the 7th place.

A long journey to the New Territories later, we were down at Tin Shui Sports Centre to play against Ho Kwok Pui Zhen. After the usual warm up and motivational speech, it was time to start.

The first minutes were quite chaotic, with a very weak defense. Despite taking out their best players, we couldn't stop their attacks and get ourselves in trouble. Thanks to an amazing Jake, we didn't give away too many goals but unfortunately didn't score either. After 20 minutes, the score was only 6-4 for our opponents and the last 10 minutes didn't see a better handball played, reaching the half time with 3 goals difference, 8-5.

It's important to note here that the 5 goals of our first half were only scored by the same player, which clearly show the problem that we're facing in attack.

Back on the pitch for the second half, we tried to motivate ourselves, knowing that 3 goals difference is nothing difficult. And after 9 minutes, we scored 4 goals to lead 9-8, sign that the half time message was passed. Until the 18th minutes, the score was really tight and each goals replying to one another. Arrived to the 23rd minutes, the game was tied, 15-15. Then Ho Kwok Pui Zhen scored a goal and for the next 5 minutes, no team could score. With an end of game completely crazy and quite stressful, we finally tied the game at the 28th minutes. With a last save from Jake and quick action, we scored the winning goal in the last seconds, leaving our opponents quite stunned and disappointed.

Globally, we played one of our worst game. Weak defense, attack even worse, without finding any solutions, we were really lucky to get away with a win. It's obvious that we need to keep working on attacks and make it more smooth.

Highlights of the game, Jake, who realized a few amazing stops, especially with his face. Eric, best scorer with 9 goals, Paul, who woke up to score our last 2 goals and all the team, that even if didn't play well, show a nice fighting spirit.

With a 3rd win in a row, we start to breathe better and feel safer, and we'll play next week the last game of the first part of the season, with hopefully, another win.

HK GIANTS vs Yong Ngai

After a convincing first win, we were back on the pitch this Saturday 2nd of November in order to show that this was not a mistake. Playing the team ranked last in the league was a trap, as we might play easy and make mistakes.

Warm up and motivational speech, we were starting in defense. As expected, the first minutes were quite messy, with us defending tough but lacking of focus for a few seconds and give our opponents the chance to score. Our attack not being very successful, the first 20 minutes were a long show of failed shoots from both parts. Yong Ngai taking a time out at 5-5, probably in order to rest their players, we pushed everyone to play hard and strong and stop taking it easy.
Thankfully, the whole team heard that call and passing the 2nd gear, we scored a 8-1 in the last 10 minutes to reach the half time on the score of 13-6.

Second half started quite like the first one, with some miss and easy plays. A few mistakes and fancy miss shoots didn't allow us to increase the gap and until the 14th minutes, the difference was still of 8 goals.
But with Yong Ngai starting to feel tired and without substitutions, we finally increased that goals difference to 10 goals at 20 minutes in the second half.
The last 10 minutes showed a strong defense, that we should put up at every games, leaving our opponents not scoring even one goal.
The final whistle blew and a large second victory for us 27-12.

Besides the large score, not all was good. A few mistakes and fancy things that would put us in a dangerous situation against better team, and we must make sure that we don't give away chances to score easy goals.

Our keeper Jake made a wonderful game despite being tired of playing University game one hour before. Florian, best scorer of the game with 5 goals and a strong flu, Jack, who organized the attack very well and helped every players to score a few goals.
To be noted that it is probably the first game ever played that no Giants took a 2 minutes!

We need to keep practicing and keep this good momentum. Our 2 coming games are also must win if we want to feel safer and see the return games more relax.

Hope to see everyone at the trainings and see you next week for another, hopefully, win report.

HK GIANTS vs Tuen Mun

After a quite difficult game against I.ROBOT, lost 27-13, we were back on the pitch this Saturday 2nd of November to challenge the champion of last year's division 2, Tuen Mun.

With them losing by only 1 goal against I.ROBOT, and having some large size players, we were motivated and ready to give our best!

After another drama with the referees because of the front number of our new jerseys, we were ready to play in our beebs and turn this stupid issue into our first win.

And there it was. With a fantastic start, a very strong defense on our side, we were leading 3-0 after only 2 minutes. Attack was smooth and accurate, which never really happened so far! Our opponents were having some issue finding solutions, scoring their first goal after only 6 minutes. Thankfully for them, out attack started missing some open shoots and we let them come back on us at 5-4.
But for once, we were the one deciding to pass the 2nd gear, and in 10 minutes, scored a 7-1 to take a safe distance before the half time. With a few substitutions and time out, we ended the first half on the score of 14-6. Probably the best 30 minutes of handball we played this season.

Decided to not give away this advance and stay focus, we strengthened the defense to balance our fail and inactivity in attack. After 15 minutes in the 2nd half, the score was only 16-9 and our opponents of the day started to give up as well as getting angry.
A few 2 minutes penalty started to be given away, as well as 1 red card per team. It has to be noted that the referees managed quite well and didn't let the things go bad.
And a few minutes later and some stress, the final blow arrived, confirming our first victory of the season, 21-13.

Overall, a great game, fantastic mentality and motivation. There is always some things to improve, but we definitely see the results of the trainings. We need to keep going on, especially with 3 games coming that are must win!

Highlights of the game for Jake, our keeper, who probably stopped more than half the shoots, Eric, best scorer with 8 goals, Jack, Jens and Benoit, for their attack/defense rotation that went well!
Big thanks to all the players and supporters, for being there and playing or not, being motivated!

We have another few trainings scheduled, we hope to see everyone there to keep the momentum and continue our wins strike!

HK GIANTS vs SCAA

This Sunday October 20^th, it was time to play against SCAA, one of the most “European” team of the league, well drilled and strong, which finished 1^st runner up last season. With the return of some good players, we were confident on our chance to play well and show some nice things. Scheduled very late, we made sure that everybody was awake and ready for the fight.

After the usual 5 minutes keep warm up, we were starting in defense. And such a big difference compare to the previous games! Despite a first lucky goal for them, the defense was moving well, blocking every combination they were trying to make. Back with our 5-1 defense, we also made it really difficult and with a bit more luck, we could have had a few more fast break. Unfortunately, even if defending well, there was always a few seconds of no focus, which allowed them to score easily.

With a very offensive defense, they didn’t let us play with a normal line up, and everybody had to back up each other, running and giving solutions to the ball carrier. After 10 minutes, the score was 6-3 for them. But then, our defense became a wall, and they could only shoot at 10 meters, and not accurate. And so 10 minutes later, we were leading 9-8. With a little down before the end of the first half, we let them come back and get back one goal ahead before the rest.

Back on the pitch for the 2^nd half, we tried to keep the same dynamic. And it’s what happened. With an always strong defense, the few goals were only lucky one or fast break. The attack kept doing well, with players proposing solutions and creating movements. The score was tight for about 20 minutes, when each team replying to the other with a goal. With 1 goal lead and 9 minutes to play, SCAA decided to play normal defense at 6 meters. That took us by surprise and couldn’t adapt quickly enough. And despite a very good game, the last 5 minutes were a show of bad passing and mistakes, giving many fast breaks to our opponents. The final score of 25-19 doesn’t show how tight was the whole game, and how much we bothered them in defense.

Highlights of the game, to our keepers Tim and Jack, who realized a few incredible stops at the right time. Eric and Fabien, best scorer of the game with 7 goals each but also everyone, that really put their hearts in and gave their best.

We still have trainings coming, we need to capitalize on this good game and make sure to keep improving. We hope to see everybody at the training and get even better, especially with the coming games that are must win!

HK GIANTS vs Wai Tou

This Sunday 6^th of October, we were down at Choi Hung Road to play against Wai Tou, team that finished 3^rd of last season league.

After a first difficult game against YMCA, we were hoping to show some better things and also see the results of our trainings.

A few kits issue and a quick keeper warm up later; it was time to start with the ball. The first minutes showed a very intense defense on our side, leaving the opponents without any solutions. Unfortunately, our attack was still in lack of accuracy and despite some good chances, the ball never ended up in the net. After 7 minutes, the score was only 2-2. Then, we started playing too fast and fancy in attack and giving away a few easy fast break to our opponents and they flew away, leading 7-2 after 14 minutes. Thankfully we stopped the hemorrhage and scored 3 goals in a row to get back in the game. The 10 last minutes of the first half saw us missing a lot of easy goals in attack, and despite a good defense, some mistakes help Wai Tou to go to rest with 5 goals lead (12-7).

Back on the pitch, motivated to show that the first half was only a mistake, we scored the first goal immediately. But for some reasons, so far unknown, we stopped playing, doing mistakes after mistakes, both in attack and defense. With many fast break and easy shots, Wai Tou was leading 23-11 after 20 minutes. Not expecting much for the end of the game, we decided to try new things, use it as training. Unfortunately, it didn’t work better, as they scored a 6-2 in the last 10 minutes, reaching the final whistle on the bad score of 29-13.

Needless to say that there is not much to save from this game, many mistakes, lack of focus and terrible accuracy. We played the first half not too bad, but only to completely disappear in 2^nd half.

A few highlights though, to our keepers Jake and Jack, that stopped many shoots, Paul, JunHo and Chen, best scorer of the game with 3 goals each and Florian, for his first red card of the season. Next round on you, mate.

With a few more trainings coming, we need to practice basics and accuracy to avoid fast breaks and bad shoots. But with many new players this season, we need time to adapt to each other and no doubts we will soon get together and show our real potential.

HKU/HK Giants

This Saturday 3rd of August was the last game of a long season 2012-2013 for the 1st division and everybody was happy to come to an end. We were playing against HKU, team that didn't win or draw any games this season.

With only 6 players on the game sheet, they were a bit short and we started wondering how this could end up for us, as an easy game or at the opposite, a tough game because we would be too relax.

After usual warm up and a motivational speech asking the guys to play 100% by respect for the other team, we were starting in defense, ready to play our last 60 minutes.

And again, as usual, our start was awful. No focus in defense, no accuracy or too much hurry in attack and after 6 minutes, playing 6 against 7, they were leading us 3-1. One time-out later, asking everybody to wake up and focus, we decided to change to a 6-0 defense. With also a few good shoots from our 9 meters players, we were back on them as soon as they get their 7th player.

With no more reason to eventually be kind, the game became tighter and every attack, for both sides, was successful with a goal. Our defense in 6-0, despite being better, was still too relax, and the guys could just run into our 9 meters and take a shoot wherever they wanted.

A few lucky actions later, we were up by 2 goals with 7 minutes to go. And on a last run, we hit the half time on the generous score of 14-12 for us. According to how we played, definitely it was lucky for us.

Trying to get the guys to focus and fight for the win during the half time, we made a few changes and were ready to start the 2nd half.

As you must guess, it was as awful as the first one, and after 5 minutes, they were up by 2 goals after a 4-0 for them. Hopefully, we started playing a bit and scored also a 4-0 in the next 5 minutes to get back our 2 goals lead. But then, the referees decided to help HKU, by giving away many 2 minutes penalty. Quite strange as we didn't have any in 40 minutes and then get 5 until the end of the game. But no need to complain again, we know the refereeing level in HK is very low, so we can't expect much and be ready for it.

So, with this nice help from the referee, HKU started slowly to come back on us and makes us nervous. With the fear or the lose against this team, we played worse, missing many shoots in attack and helping them with a very poor defense. Only a few stops from our keepers saved us from being ridiculous.

And after a last time-out and another stupid mistake in defense, we ended the game on a draw 24-24, which is really generous for us according to the game overview.

Highlights of the game, for our keepers, who made some amazing stops, good work of our back lines who scored a few important goals from 9 meters. Our wingers, despite a few miss shots at the beginning, helped to score a few goals also.

So, season is done on a not too good result. It's time now to focus on the next one, with a few new players joining us. We hope to be able to reach the top 5, and with a few things on the way to improve the organization, we have faith that we can do it. The break will be short, so hope everyone have a good rest and get fully motivated for next season!

We would like to thanks everyone in the team, players, supporters, people out of the team who helped us with training grounds etc... We hope the coming season to be better organized, both on our sides and on the Association side, as we don't need a 4 months break in the middle of the season.

Stay tuned for some good news very soon!

MUSCHI NAAASS!!

HK Giants/Ho Kwok Pui Zhen

This Tuesday 30^th night, the GIANTS were down to the pitch in Choi Hung to play against Ho Kwok Pui Zhen, important game that would decide of our ranking in first division. With 13 players on the list and a good line up, we were quite confident and ready to win. During the first part of the season, we played them and won by 6 goals so we thought we could do it again.

After a good warm up and a few shots on the keepers, we started in defense, motivated. Unfortunately, motivation was not enough and we clearly lacked of focus. The defense was horrible, letting the opponents do whatever they wanted, running and going through easily. And even when our keepers stopped the ball, we let them get it back to score.

The attack was not even better, with many miss shots and many issues to find some open positions. After 12 minutes, they were already leading 6-1 and it was time to take a time-out to try to get us focus on the game.

It didn’t change anything and it was still too easy for them to score and go through, despite changing our defense to a 6-0. A few strange refereeing decisions later with some 2 minutes penalty, we were still 5 goals behind, trying to not make it worst.

We reached the half time on the score of 10-5, quite gutted that we couldn’t score more than 5 goals in 30 minutes. After a motivational speech, we started the second half same as we ended the first one, still believing that we could make it!

And even with all the motivation, we kept giving them easy shots and missing too many in attacks. Fortunately, we scored a bit more than the first half and after 9 minutes, scored 5 goals more, when they scored 4. It was then the time for the referees to get lost. With a series of 2 minutes for us, we played almost 10 minutes at 5 and even 4 players on the pitch for 1 minute. They also liked to stop the game for 2 minutes, to discuss about things, not being able to make a simple decision, which lead everyone to space out a little bit.

At 22 minutes in the 2^nd half, we were still 5 goals behind and didn’t score for 7 minutes. A last time-out took and we decided to start playing. Showing what’s makes the GIANTS a first division team, with a fantastic team spirit, we played an unbelievable defense, with the opponents unable to find any shoots. And with some amazing attacks play, we were back on them in the last 30 seconds of the game. But as it was not stressful enough, the referees whistled a strange fault on the wing, and it was the full time, with a penalty shoot to go for Ho Kwok Pui Zhen.

Pressure was at its climax, and on a wonderful move, Wan stopped the shoot, getting a very important draw!

After a quick celebration, a powerful MUSCHI NAS, and a good speech, we were happy to be safe and have secured our seat in first division for the next season.

Highlights of the game, special attention to our 2 keepers Wan and Tim, who stopped the right ball at the right time. Score could have been much worse without them. No best scorer, but a very nice shoots, that we would like to see more often and from everyone, from Paul and Gaspard, a great team spirit, even in the worst times.

One more game to go, then we can say goodbye to 2012-2013 season and start focusing on 2013-2014 ones, with many news things coming!

Stay tuned!

Sun Nic Gan/HK Giants

This Sunday 28^th, we were down to Choi Hung pitch for a very important game. With the weather being unstable for a few days, we were looking for a cancelation and hopefully, it didn’t happen. With 10 players on the game sheet, most of them hangover of the junk the day before, we were a bit worry as that game was a must-win. Temperature being very hot, the warm up was mostly for the arms and keepers.

After our usual 5 minutes shooting practice, it was time to start again a Sun Nic Gan team that was playing to stay in top division. And the first 10 minutes really showed that they wanted it more than we did. With a defense not focus and an attack equal at itself, we were in trouble to get to score and not let them go through us too easily. Unfortunately, the score was already 7-3 after those 10 minutes.

But then, we remembered why we were here and started playing well, with good attack and stronger defense.  And in 5 minutes, we were back, leading by one goal 7-8. They then took a time-out, feeling that they were losing control and couldn’t find any solutions, which motivated us in the good way!

The rest of the first half was a bit messy, with a few miss shots on both sides but our defense helped and we were up by 3 goals at the half time, 10-13.

Time to change sides and say a few words, to keep up the good play and that it was our game, we were back fully motivated for the 2^nd half.

It started quite slowly, with only 5 goals scored in 10 minutes. Then Sun Nic Gan got a flow of motivation and scored a 4-1 in 5 minutes to come back on our heels with only 2 goals less. The time for us to take a time-out and make sure everybody was focused on the win objective.

It’s when the referees decided to make some strange decisions and whistle some out-of-nowhere 2 minutes penalty. We have to say that our opponents were really good at faking, pretending and screaming for nothing. Maybe if they were more focus on how to play rather than trying to get fouls, they would be better. We manned up and fortunately, those silly decisions didn’t have any consequences for us.

We then played slowly for the last 10 minutes, making sure we don’t give them any chances to come back. With a score of 22-17 at 6 minutes before the end of the game, we were confident, probably a bit too much. Playing slowly lead to a few turnovers, and they slowly get back on us. But with a last minute under high pressure, we finally ended and won the game 22-20.

A great relief for all of us as this win helps a lot to secure our seat in 1^st division. It’s not done yet, but we took a good option on it! We still have 2 games coming and those are 2 must-win again!

A few highlights of the game, for our old Swedes who, despite a hangover, scored 6 goals and ended up as the best scorer of the game. Romain, for his first game with the Giants, who scored 5 but also took 2 minutes stupid and forgot to not walk on the pitch during the game. Our 2 keepers, who realized some important stops and all the others that came with a hangover and gave their best for this game.

The end of season is near, we still have 2 games to go to make sure stay in 1^st division and build on it next year. 

SCAA/HK Giants

This Sunday 21^st was the time for us to play again SCAA, which beat us severely during the first part of the season. With 2 convincing games before, we were confident in our chances to play well and cause some problems to them.

After a good warm up and the usual few minutes to shoot on the keeper, we were ready to start. At this moment, we have to note that the referees of that day were completely new. In fact, the “top” referees of HK preferred to referee a youth tournament instead of the games of this Sunday, as there was too many 1^st division games and that it might be too difficult for them… No comments.

And at the opposite of the previous games, when we made a good start, this time was absolutely terrible. Lack of focus, no passing and accuracy down to 0, after 5 minutes, they were already leading 5-1 due to many fast-break. A time-out later to try to get the guys in the game, we didn’t see any improvement and after 10 minutes, the score was 9-2 for them. The defense was not as strong as usual, giving too many easy shoots and the attack couldn’t find any solutions and when it happens, we can’t put it in.

The first half was a long and painful play, not finding any solutions in attack and defense. On their side, SCAA just played right and took advantage of all the gifts we let them, which brought us to the half time on the score of 15-5.

After trying to get the guys to focus on important basics as passing and accuracy, we were on for a second half, trying to practice more than expecting from this game anymore.

Hopefully because it started the same way as the first half, with a 5-2 for them in 10 minutes. With a few strange referee’s decisions and the basics as good as a 12 years old team, some players became quite angry and made a few bad choices. The rest of the second half was same as the first one, painful and useless. We failed on every part of the game and we deserve such a severe defeat.

Final score 29-14. We did show once again what to not do in a game. We didn’t pass well, giving away too many turnovers, when we happened to find an open shoot, we couldn’t even put it in the frame and we didn’t feel the team spirit that saved us in the past games.

Not to blame anyone, but we definitely need to focus on basics, as passing and accuracy. We are good individual players, but as a team, we’re not good enough and that’s where we lose. Those points will be drilled during next training and we hope to improve this quickly.

With 3 games remaining against 3 weaker teams, we should be able to get back to win and finally secure our seat in 1^st division.

YMCA/HK Giants

After two games cancelations in a row due to the rain, we were scheduled on this Tuesday night at 19h45. Originally planned 30 minutes earlier, we had to fight with the Association, to make them understand that working people can’t make it on time. Because of some –stupid- rules from the Government or else, we had no other choice that to play that day.

Arriving at the pitch, the clouds were starting to gather and made us expect the worst. With, luckily for once, enough time to warm up, both keeper and the team, we started with the ball against YMCA.

The first minutes, were, unusually, very good, with a strong defense, helped by the miss shots of the opponents, as well as a good attack, playing easy and waiting for the best chance. After 3 minutes, the score was already 3-0 for us. Unfortunately, we couldn’t keep with the defense, and after a few shots from the wings, the score was tied. We then collected the yellow card until our first team 2 minutes. The all first half was very defensive, with slow attack and very few goals. And 5 minutes before the half time, YMCA passed the 2^nd gear and took an advantage of 2 goals, to reach the half time whistle on the score of 10-8.

There wasn’t much to say at the half time, the defense was really good besides a very few mistakes, the attack could have been better, but we were on the good way.

Back on the pitch, we fell in our usual problem, with a poor start. After 11 minutes, we were 4 goals behind and many miss shots. But then, same as the last game, we found in ourselves the mental strength we needed and scored 3 goals in a row to get back on YMCA heels. Then, the referees, crappy since the beginning of the game, became even more. Missing many obvious fouls (defender catching shooting arm, stopping the ball with his feet on purpose…) which would have brought penalty shots and a few 2 minutes, we couldn’t get back this last goal to tie the game. Our beloved Swedish, on a very basic defensive action, took a red card in the last minute. Incomprehension on our side, YMCA decided to not shoot this penalty and ended the game on the score of 17-16.

Beside the fact that we played most of the game really well, I would to draw the attention on the referees. We agree we are quite keen to complain, but when a referee, during the game, whistle things on one side but not on the other, see definitely some fouls but ask the player to take it easy, and completely change the game with their whistle, we can only complain.

The worst would be when this referee clearly admits that he forgot to whistle some obvious fouls and that he also referees differently the teams, because we, GIANTS, are stronger. This is not a normal attitude, and we can only be disappointed by the level of the top referees in HK.

Complaining done, time for the highlights of the game. Gaspard, our best scorer of the day with 4 goals and two amazing defensive actions. Wan, great keeper with a few stops of international level. Joakim, for his red card. And all of the players who came despite the difficult schedule. We showed some great stuff and we can only expects to do better for the coming games.

We have 4 last games coming, we definitely need to win 3 of them! See you all at training.

HK Giants/Yuen Long

On this Sunday 30^th of June, we were facing Yuen Long, ranked in 4^th position and that we beat during the first part of the season.

The roster was quite short but with a good line up, we were confident on our change to win again. After a good warm up and the usual 2 minutes available to warm up the keeper, we were starting with the ball, focused and motivated.

Unfortunately and quite normal for us, our first minutes were difficult, with a lack of concentration. Defense was strong but after defending for 1minute, a simple shoot from 9m would score, because of no arms up or tired. In attack, we missed too many shots even if we made some nice combinations. After 12 minutes, the score was already 7-2 for them and it was time to take a first time-out. Trying to get the guys to wake up, we scored a few more goals then, and came back 3 goals behind. But with the end of the first half coming, and not enough substitutions, we let them take back their advance to finally end up at half time on the score of 14-9 for them.

During the half time, we saw that everybody was really motivated and was believing that we could come back, even with 5 goals less. A few wise words from some players, asking to focus on the game and on the team, rather than complaining to the referee helped later in the game.

Back on the pitch, we started the second half same as the first half, not completely on the pitch, not really focus on defense and still missing too many in attacks. After 16 minutes, the score was terrible, 21-13 for Yuen Long. But it happened to kick our asses and after another time-out, we strangled them. Defense was finally strong, all along, and when they happen to find a shoot, our keepers were vigilant and realized a few great stops. In attack, taking our time and playing easy bring us a few goals with many less misses. And with the time running, and the opponents starting to scare and play badly, we were back on their feet.

After a last time-out took by Yuen Long to try to stop the hemorrhage, the last minute started on the score of 21-19. A first quick goal from us made it to 21-20. Then the stupid Frenchie got a red card for losing his temper after a foul not whistled. An act that could have cost the game. But with a final turnover and a last penalty, we ended the game on a draw, 21-21.

All the players showed great mentality and bravery, to keep believing and playing even with 8 goals behind. We can notice that the passing in attack start to be smoother and less loss of balls leading to fast break.

A few highlights, as usual. For our keepers, who were amazing all along the game, but especially in the last 15 minutes with a few stops that saved the game. Jun Ho and Jacques, best scorers of the day. Jun Ho scored all our penalty shots when Jacques made the job from 9m. Special mention to his last goal, when he probably made around 10 steps from the middle of the pitch to the 9m. And thanks to everyone for coming and keeping up the winning spirit during the whole game!

HK Giants/SCAA

After almost 4 months without any games, and quite a few training sessions cancelled due to the rain, we were back on the pitch this Sunday 26^th of May against SCAA. Actual top2 of the league, and including many players from the National team, the game was announced to be a tough fight.

With one of our best line up for a long time, and playing on a nice pitch, we were motivated to show that our recent trainings helped us!

As usual, after a quick goalie warm up and a motivational speech, we were ready to start and bring the fire!

The first 10 minutes were quite tight and the usual GIANTS problem started to show up. A very strong defense, with our opponents incapable to score on their usual combinations and only able to score on one guy skill. And in attack, lack of accuracy and too much hurry that made us waste at least 5 goals in attack.

Leading 5-2 after 10 minutes, SCAA decided to make a bigger break and make sure we couldn’t scare them. With a 7-2 in 15 minutes, our hopes in this first half were down to the lowest. And despite a few interesting combinations that helped our right side to score, we were quite out of solutions to get through or over the defense.

The half time saw us down by 8 goals, but not ready to give up even if the lack of solutions didn’t help to find the motivating words.

Back on the pitch for the 2^nd half, we finally played 5 first minutes as we always should, strong defense and rolling ball in attack which helped our left side to score. With a 4-1 to finally get back at 15-10, we were started to think that nothing is impossible and we could definitely tie the game.

But then we completely misplayed and there is nothing to save from the second half, which saw SCAA scoring 13 goals when we scored only 6. Too many balls gave away for fast break, a few mistakes in defense and accuracy even lower than in first half.

In the end, we did play a bit as we did in the recent sessions, showing some interesting things, but we’re definitely not able to keep this level over a full game. And against a well drilled team as SCAA, there’s no chance. So we can only keep training and practicing, make sure we get a few combinations together and don’t miss that much.

Thanks to the new players who played this difficult first game, Jacques, Poul and Jeff, we hope to see you soon on the pitch, thanks to all the players for coming and not giving up! And finally, thanks to our supporters and soon new members, we're looking forward to see you again!

Ho Kwok Pui Zhen/HK Giants

Sunday 20^th was the 2^nd game of the 2^nd part of the season. We were playing Ho Kwok Pui Zhen, team never played before. Direct concurrent for an accession to the top 5, it was a must win game. And with 3 training sessions in the past week, we were ready to rock.

Once decided the 14 players, and few minutes to sweat, it was time to take our place on the pitch and warm up the keeper.

A few minutes later, we were starting in defense. The game plan was clear, strong defense and easy combinations in attack, sure passing. And the beginning of the game followed it perfectly. On their first attacks, our opponents can’t find any way through us and were getting closed to be punished for the time. Hopefully for them and despite our goalies’ amazing stops (penalty shoot, 9 and 6 meters shoots, we kept doing some little mistakes that helped them to score, mainly from the wings.

On the other side of the pitch, we played well, no fancy stuff or silly passing which brought us to lead by 3 goals after 15 minutes. A few substitutions later, and with a strong flopping from our opponents, we got two times 2 minutes penalty in 3 minutes. Good chance for them to get back on track and score 2 goals to be only 1 goal behind.

We spent the last 5 minutes playing easy and reach the half time on the score of 11-9. A few recommendations later, motivated to win our 4^th game of the season, we were back on the pitch. 2^nd halves are usually for us quite messy, and it’s when we lose our games.

But trainings start to show some results, and we definitely keep the game in hand, defense very strong and basic but efficient attack. After 8 minutes, we scored a 3-0 to definitely take the lead and try to kill all their hopes.  They replied by another 3-0 a few minutes later, which made us doubt. And, for the first game, we didn’t lose focus and directly scored a 5-0. It was too much for them and the last 7 minutes, despite their aggressive defense on the whole pitch, we kept our 6 goals lead until the final whistle.

We for sure, showed some nice things during this game, in attack and defense. Refereeing was a bit strange sometimes, but we are use to it and we must try to stop talking or complaining. Once again, only trainings can make us better and give us a chance to win stronger team.

Highlights of the game: for his last game with the Giants, Stefan scored 6 goals (best scorer). Our goalies Tim and Angus who stopped many shoots, Fabien who played very well despite his hole in the foot. The team spirit and the beers at the end. Thanks also to Kamil, who due to the number, couldn’t play the game but stayed and cheered for us. And Florian, who had to go out the pitch after 1 minute because he was not wearing his froggy green short!

A few trainings are planned, we need to come over and play together, improve the combinations and we can definitely win a few more games!

See you all on the pitch very soon.

HK Giants/I.ROBOT

This Sunday 13^th January was the first game of 2013 as well as the first game of the second part of the season which will see us playing one more team once again.

With a one month break without handball, a few kilos due to Christmas and New Year and the opposition to I.ROBOT, the team trusting the 1^st position (no games lost during 1^st part of the season), the task was difficult. The first time we played them; we lost by 4 goals and played a correct 1^st half to finally mess up the 2^nd one.

13 players on the game sheet and a few shots on the keeper later, it was time to start. The word was same as usual; hit them hard on the first defense to scare them. Hopefully for us, they were physically about the same size as us, so we didn’t have too many troubles with a strong defense (except the few simulations that they should be ashamed of).

Unfortunately and recurrent problem with us, the attack is not good and when we finally get to have some open shoots, the lack of accuracy does not permit us to score. And after 15 minutes, the score was already 8-4 for them. Not dramatic, but we could see the lack of trainings.

Other main problem was the passing. Too many fancy passes, not assured or no solutions for the ball carrier meant we offered them too many fast breaks, which bring them to score a 6-1 in the last 15 minutes, and reach the half time on the score of 14-5 for them.

For the 2^nd half, we decided to try to take it as luxury training and don’t give them too many chances to score. A few sip of water later, it was time to start over.

The first minutes of the 2^nd half were not better, letting them score a 4-0. We scored our first goal only 7 minutes later. The rest of the 2^nd half time saw them score 2 goals each time we scored 1. We were also unlucky, when we hit 7 times in a row the frame…

The final whistle stopped the hemorrhage on the score of 25-12.

The lack of training and the one month break are the explanation. Though we saw some nice combinations in attack which need to be practiced, I.ROBOT was definitely too strong for us and for our actual level of performance.

A few highlights, Paul, best scorer of the day with 4 goals, Tim, who played on the field and scored a nice goal from the wing and the team, who didn’t get angry or didn’t lose focus during the 2^nd half, when we usually start to mess up.

Same as usual, only training can help us improve. Working on basics, passing, shooting accuracy and defense are the main points for us.

A few trainings are coming, and the next game will be against our direct opponent in the ranking, so we need to win and make sure we stay in 1^st division!

See you all on the pitch very soon.

HK Giants/Yuen Long

This Saturday 15^th, the HK GIANTS were down for the first to Tseung Kwan O to play their last game in 2012. After a long debate on which was the fastest way, we arrived to the pitch and get changed, ready to kick some asses.

Our opponents of the day were Yuen Long, 5^th position, young and fast team. We were focus and determined to not make the same mistake as our last game, when we lost focus and motivation and completely jumped out of the game in 2^nd half.

With, again, 14 players on the game sheet, a proper warm up and a few shots on our sick keeper, we started the first half in attack. The first few minutes showed a very strong defense, leaving no opportunities to our opponents to shoot. Hopefully, their keeper successfully stopped our first few shots as well, to make sure we can’t get the lead. After 8 minutes, the score was 2-2 and our defense in 5-1 pushed them many time to the last seconds allowed in attack. On our side, the few nice combinations that we set up didn’t end up as goals, but were definitely good signs of the health of our attack.

The score didn’t evolve much until the 15^th minutes, getting our first time-out on the draw score of 5-5. But then, they started to use combinations for their left wing, and we didn’t react early enough, letting them score a 6-1 within 10 minutes, giving them a 5 goals lead (11-6) 5 minutes before the half time. Hopefully, we manned up the last minutes to get back and reach the break with a 3 goals gap, 11-8.

The speech during half time was clear. Keep our control, don’t try to rush out and play individually and play our match. The first 7 players went back on the pitch, fully motivated to win this game.

And it worked. After scoring 2 goals in a row in the first 2 minutes, we were back in the game, chasing our opponents. It went back and forth until the 8^th minutes, when they get back a 3 goals lead. But for the first time, the GIANTS didn’t lose focus and stayed in the game, which brought us to score a 6-1 in 15 minutes, getting us to lead by 2 goals (19-17).

Then, our German Max decided it was a bit too easy, and on a counter-attack, successfully got a red card straight away. With 4 minutes on the clock and a 2 minutes penalty, the end of the game was stressful. But our 6 players definitely nailed this period, scoring 2 goals and stopping one counter attack, which gave us 2 goals lead while back 7 on the pitch.

The last 2 minutes and the aggressive defense of our opponents didn’t change anything, and the final whistle saw our victory on the final score of 22-20.

This game showed that we have the level for this division, as well as team, individual and mental capacity to present well. Some details are still perfectible, but in the end, we played a strong game, showing mental resources and strong team spirit.

With now 3 victories for 4 lost, we’re securing our place in first division. Top 5 is still reachable with 2 games to go before the end of regular season, especially that we’re playing the 1^st and 6^th of the actual ranking, so direct opponents for a place in Top 5.

As usual, a few highlights. Paul, Florian and Marcel, who ended up best scorers of the game with 4 goals each. Tim, our sick keeper who stopped a few important shots. Max, who successfully get the 2^nd red card of the history of the team. And to all the other players, who came and maybe didn’t play much, but your presence was very important for the team.

We’re done with 2012, next games will be in 2013 and we’ll definitely need to start over with another win. Before that, the HK GIANTS will gather for their Christmas dinner and share a few beers before everyone enjoy the holidays!

See you all very soon on the pitch.

Wai Tou/HK Giants

The HK GIANTS were playing against Wai Tou this last Saturday 8th. The 8th position team against the 4th one, all the ingredients to make a nice game, if only we could keep our focus and don’t play a second half same as the last game.

Arrived at the pitch, full of volley ball and badminton players, your favorite reporter lost 10L of water and felt his heart beat going through the ceiling, thinking he might have mixed up the pitch! Fortunately and after confirmation, we were at the right place and we could get changed.

For our first time in our froggy green jerseys, we were 14 players on the game sheet and almost had 5 minutes to warm up our keeper, which is probably what disturbed us. After a powerful “Mushi Nass”, the GIANTS were on the pitch, ready to show off and win this game.

And it worked. The first minutes were ours, scoring a 3-0 in 5 minutes. Our opponents couldn’t find a good shooting position, and when they did, can’t score thanks to their poor accuracy or our keeper! But then, their number 13 woke up and scored 2 goals in a row to bring them back in the game. The following 20 minutes were pretty similar, with a strong defense that blocked all their attempts to shoot at the goal when on our side, we were scoring a few goals to keep a 3 goals lead. The accuracy was not good, but enough to keep a margin.

Unfortunately, and as usual with the GIANTS, the last 5 minutes of the period were the time to rest and a 12-9 in our favor became a 12-12 at the half time. Needless to say that wasting a 3 goals lead is not the best thing, especially when the other team is young and fit and will try to exhaust us.

The half time speech and recommendations were to start as the first half and get back a comfy lead then we can slow down and control the game.

Back on the pitch, the complete opposite happened. Defense was lost, attack even more and our opponents didn’t need that much to score a 4-0 in 5 minutes to lead 16-12. Finally, and after a time out, we scored our first goal at 11 minutes in the 2nd half. But that was too late and after 15 minutes, we were leaded by 6 goals.

Emotionally, we sank through the floor and multiplied wrong choices and mistakes. Poor passing, accuracy down to 0 and five 2 minutes penalty in 2nd half, the only objective was to limit the score gap. Giving them two more easy goals in the last minutes, the final score was 26-18.

Once again, the 2nd half was terrible, showing clearly our main problems. Passing, accuracy and focus. There is no need of training combinations if the ball can’t even roll up from left to right without problems. So we need to work the basis to not waste that many balls.

A few highlights, Angus and Tim, who made some very nice stops and saved us from a bigger defeat. Marcel, for his first game with the GIANTS end up best scorer with 4 goals. Florian and Joakim, who were really close to the red card with 2x2 minutes penalty each. A special thanks to the referees, who tried their best to be fair and despite all we could have thought during the game, really tried to helped us through HK rules. Thanks also to all the supporters came that day, take photos or just lie to us saying we played well, it’s always good to hear!

We have one last game in 2012, against Ho Kwok Pui Zhen, 5th position team. Needless to say that end the year on a win is a must do. And to get ready, we have a training session this Friday 14th from 20h00 to 21h00 at the Wan Chai Park.

Also, the HK GIANTS will have its Christmas dinner on Friday 21st at the Dog House TST, starting from 20h00. Try your best to come over and enjoy one more night with your mates. Wags, mistresses or stranger met on the street are all welcome, the more the best!

See you all very soon on the pitch, ready to rumble!!

2012-2013 scores table

1st ROUND:

TEAM	YMCA	I.ROBOT	SCAA	HO KWOK PUI ZHEN	YUEN LONG	WAI TOU	SUN NIC GAN	CHEUK LAI	HK GIANTS	HKU
YMCA	-	16-28	18-22	31-17	21-20	21-33	29-25	21-22	23-18	28-24
I.ROBOT	28-16	-	22-18	24-18	25-24	28-22	38-20	25-21	24-20	34-19
SCAA	22-18	18-22	-	25-14	30-21	28-24	36-27	29-21		32-20
HO KWOK PUI ZHEN	17-31	18-24	14-25	-	20-22	24-28	31-28	22-24	18-24	27-19
YUEN LONG	20-21	24-25	21-30	22-20	-	22-22	33-27	32-21	20-22	34-26
WAI TOU	33-21	22-28	24-28	28-24	22-22	-	34-26	32-30	26-18	32-20
SUN NIC GAN	25-29	20-38	27-36	28-31	27-33	26-34	-	23-29	24-27	32-25
CHEUK LAI	22-21	21-25	21-29	24-22	21-32	30-32	29-23	-	19-17	22-20
HK GIANTS	18-23	20-24		24-18	22-20	18-26	27-24	17-19	-	22-20
HKU	24-28	19-34	20-32	19-27	26-34	20-32	25-32	20-22	20-22	-

2nd ROUND:

TEAM	YMCA	I.ROBOT	SCAA	HO KWOK PUI ZHEN	YUEN LONG	WAI TOU	SUN NIC GAN	CHEUK LAI	HK GIANTS	HKU
YMCA	-									29-20
I.ROBOT									25-12
SCAA								23-16
HO KWOK PUI ZHEN							25-26
YUEN LONG						28-22
WAI TOU					22-28
SUN NIC GAN				26-25
CHEUK LAI			16-23
HK GIANTS		12-25
HKU	20-29									-

TEAM	MATCH PLAYED	WIN	DRAW	LOST	POINTS	GOALS	DIFFERENCE
I.ROBOT	10	10	0	0	30	273:190	83
SCAA	9	8	0	1	24	243:183	60
WAI TOU	10	6	1	3	19	275:245	30
YUEN LONG	10	6	1	3	19	272:240	32
CHEUK LAI	10	5	0	5	15	225:244	-19
HK GIANTS	9	4	0	5	12	180:199	-19
YMCA	10	5	0	5	15	241:245	-4
HO KWOK PUI ZHEN	10	2	0	8	6	216:251	-35
SUN NIC GAN	10	2	0	8	6	258:307	-49
HKU	10	0	0	10	0	213:286	-73

HK Giants/Sun Nic Gan

This Sunday 18^th of November, the HK GIANTS were playing their 5^th game in the first division against Sun Nic Gan. After receiving our new awesome kits on the last Friday, it was a good occasion to honor our new colors and make sure we start a new series of win!

With 12 players on the game sheet, it’s with confidence that we started warming up, welcoming 2 new players. Another French, Matthieu, and a Hong Kong guy, Angus, new goalkeeper.

With 10min to go before the game, we had the bad surprise that our designated coach couldn’t come due to personal issue. Nevertheless, Jack ran to rescue us and make sure we have a valid coach for the game. Then, after a nice coin flipping and a few shots on the keeper, it was time to shout our war scream and scare as much as possible our opponents.

The game started on a normal basis, both team trying to find accuracy and set up a strong defense. First 10 minutes were a bit messy, with only 4 goals for each team. Our old Swedish scored first, followed by Stefan and Trond. Then, it was time for the GIANTS to wake up and show some nice combinations. Listening to the playmaker and pushing right or left brought us some easy shots, which permitted us to score a 10-2 in 15 minutes, to finally lead by 7 points with 5 minutes to go in the first half.

The team kept up the strong defense, helped by a few substitutions and reached the half time on the large score of 16-9.

The half time speech was easy as the defense was strong, and the attack shown some very nice moves. Not much to say, just need to keep it up and don’t lose our focus. With everybody agreeing that we should start the second half on a 0-0 basis, the 7 players went back on the pitch ready to show off.

Unfortunately, the GIANTS felt their usual lost of focus directly from the first seconds and let the opponents score a 3-0 in 1min30. The next 6 minutes were chaotic; the defense was passive, letting the players do what they want. Hopefully, on some individual actions, we scored a few goals as well to keep our 5 goals lead. But then, we went through our worst period since the beginning of the season, losing focus, envy and solidarity. No more play, no more defense, a lot of turnovers. Of course, our opponents enjoyed this and in 8minutes, scored 6 goals to get back to a draw, 20-20. It was time to take a time out and try to brace ourselves. Unfortunately, it was not efficient and a second time out 5 minutes later was necessary, seeing our opponents leading us 22-21.

Hopefully this time, and with a few substitutions, the team stood up and found back his spirit, getting back ahead by scoring a 6-2 in the last 6 minutes. The final whistle arrived like a benediction and the score 27-24 for us doesn’t show enough the difficulties we had in 2^nd half.

We saw a double face game, with a first half really good, strong defense and nice attack combinations. Some players found the frame and scored easily. Also, the playing relationship between players starts to improve and we are definitely getting better. But the second half was terrible, lost of focus and bad decisions that brought us to a difficult end of game while we were leading by 7 points at the half time. We need to improve this point and keep focusing during 60 minutes. Against some better teams, we won’t have that much chance!

A few highlights though, Trond, who finally happened to shoot at 9 meters, and score 5 wonderful goals as well as block a few shots; Matthieu, who scored his first goal with the team and 48h after arriving HK; Angus, who did some really nice stops and survived a shot in the face, Rolf and Ulf, great supporters!

With a few more games in December, we should as much as possible try to come over for trainings, and keep the good stuff done. We have now some proper sessions and drills, nice kits, a few new and motivated players, so definitely no reasons to continue to win!

Hope to see you all very soon!

Cheuk Lai/HK Giants

This Sunday 14^th of October, the HK GIANTS were up to their 4^th game, expecting to win their second game. The opponent of the day was quite familiar as we use to train against most of the players when City U invites us! So a good reason to make a great game and beat them as we do during trainings!

But then started the problems, and 2 cancelations later due to some “injury-we-can’t-name” (for the sake of these players), we were only 8 players available, thus a bit short to ensure a good bench and enough power in the end of the game.

Arrived at the pitch and got changed, the mummies team (or grand-pa team) start to wrap himself in not less than 50 meters of medical tape. A foot here, a hand there, a finger on the right, an ankle at the back… Needless to say, we were looking like warriors.

After a few shots on our keeper to warm him up, it was time to start in the cold air conditioned of the gym.

As usual with us, the start is always tough and we have difficulties to be 100%. Hopefully, our opponents had the same problem and after 13 minutes, the score was only 3-3. Our defense was as strong as our attack was messy. A few forced shots, nobody listening to the playmaker, accuracy near 30%... All the problems we’re trying to improve during trainings were there and all at the same time.

Then, our opponents decide to pass the 2^nd gear and find back some accuracy. Due also to our defense becoming more passive, they easily scored 5 goals in 10 minutes to lead us 8-4. The last minutes of the first half were just enough to see one more goal for each side and reach half time on the score of 9-5.

With everyone giving his comments and pointing out the main problems, we started the second half ready for the fight, especially knowing our opponents were easily beatable.

Unfortunately, the beginning of second half was no better than the first one, and after 3 minutes, we were leaded by 6 goals, 12-6. It was the time for Stefan to decide to hurt himself, on a simple spin, and have to go out because of tendon issue. With 7 players to go and a ferocious will, we manned up and got back our strong defense, not follow by the accuracy. And while we were missing a few shots and scoring even less, our opponents also started to feel febrile and miss a lot. After 13 minutes, the score was 15-12 for them, and we were feeling that we were getting over them mentally.

Feeling confirmed when we score a 5-2 to come back to an even score, 17-17, 5 minutes before the end of the game. A last time out took, and we were ready to win this game. But the Goddess of Handball was not ours this day, and after two unusual penalty shots granted to our opponents, we ended the game on the sad score of 19-17.

Again, and as every other games before, the main problems were no communication in attack, poor accuracy and a lack of fitness that make us look like the Ancient Egypt GIANTS more than the strong and winning HK GIANTS.

A few highlights, Wan who throw a big game, stopping a lot of balls and making sure we were not sinking ; Fabien, always important in attack and defense, despite his hand injury ; and all the other players who had to play full game or almost!

Hopefully, here we are, with a one month break before the next game, good time to recover from injuries and get down to the 7 trainings planned. Time to train hard and get our 2^nd win!

See other post for training time, and see you all there!