As we are getting closer to Christmas, filling the squad seems to become more and more difficult. From the 9 of the previous week, AKITA went down to 8 as Hans return was offset by Dominik sitting an exam and Markus having left for holidays. The KING's team had to cope with 7 players only guaranteeing AKITA that the rhythm of the match should suit them. As a consequence, PA moved to the left wing while Hans retrieved his usual half right position. Norbert (HL), Ulf (C), Michael (RW) and Matsuo (L) kept their previous week positions.
After an exchange of wide shooting, KING'S managed the first goal but Hans immediately answered. The AKITA defense was well in place and as the KING'S team was forced into shooting from poor positions, Wan could keep the goal clear as Norbert with Hans put 2 more goals each in from the halves. After 10 minutes, Norbert made the score 6 - 1 using his quick hands for a steal and then slotting the ball through with a lob despite being fouled in the air from the back. The KING'S player was out for 2 minutes but Norbert needed to join the bench injured. PA switched into the half position whereas Rolf came on the wing. This did not stop the attacking flow as PA scored the following 2. As KING'S was creating more movement they managed to get their attack going but AKITA kept on building their advantage. As he was benefiting from the space created by Rolf’s drawing his wing away PA scored again and followed this by converting a penalty for 10 -4. KING’S took a time out to try to change the fate of the match and although it was followed by a goal, the last 5 minutes were still in AKITA favour as goals came from all sides. Michael went around his defender at full speed to score with a well taken bouncing shot from the right wing. Ulf followed with a clever moved to the left wing and a perfect shoot into the opposite top corner, PA slotted a bowling shot between the legs of the keeper while falling and Matsuo was finally rewarded for his hard work on the line with a good ball that he converted surely. KING’S was able to crawl one back making it 14 – 6 at half time.
At half time, only few adjustments were discussed as the most important was to keep focus and rest considering the lack of bench. The KING’S defense was trying to play higher to take the AKITA players earlier, although conceptually right it also opened more space behind them. Hans went on his own to add his fourth immediately after the restart but a second yellow card a minute later forced him to a 2 minute rest. After few turnovers and no goal conceded despite being one player down, AKITA was able to feed Matsuo with good balls. Matsuo scored his second quickly followed by his third on a great pass from Hans returning from the sin-bin. As Ulf was accelerating the circulation of the ball, it was giving good opportunities for the halves again. Goals from PA, Matsuo and a pair by Hans made it 21 – 9 with 10 minutes to go. At that time AKITA’s defense was getting less tight with the tiredness and for 5 minutes KING’S combinations on free throws combined with 2 minutes for PA allowed them to match the AKITA team. Despite the injury, Norbert was able to come back and answered to KING’S 10th and 11th. As he was running back from the sin-bin, PA received the ball from Ulf in the centre position and immediately made it 24 -12.
KINGS managed one more on the restart but the last 5 minutes were one way only. Hans saw a gap and just scored before his team mates even arrived in attack. As Ulf moved in the left wing, he managed to quick goals including a speedy run from one side to the other after catching the bounce of a Norbert block. Norbert added one more trying on a "kempa" for the audience and Hans closed the scoring with 2 minutes to go. After this solid performance, the AKITA players will have a break as their next match is only on the 19th of January. This will be the revenge from last year as it will be against Yuen Long. In the mean time, players will enjoy some rest and the blog will most likely do the same!
Hans 8, PA 7, Norbert 6, Matsuo 4, Ulf 3, Michael 1
Monday, December 7, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
AKITA ends defeated 22-23 by HYDRO in a rollercoaster of a match (8-14)
After 3 weeks without training and 6 weeks since the last match, the AKITA team was pretty much jumping in the unknown. The situation was being made worse by many forfeits because of traveling or illness reducing the squad size to 9 only with Wan being the only keeper. Markus started on the left wing, Norbert moved from centre to left half to compensate for Stefan absence, Ulf returned in the centre, PA temped for unwell Hans in half right whereas Dominik started on the right wing. Matsuo kept his line position. Michael and Rolf were completing the team sheet.
Despite being obviously rusty, the AKITA team started well in attack. Norbert drew first blood with a good penetration. Unfortunately, HYDRO was able to answer immediately as AKITA defense was lacking practice in this tinkered configuration. PA restored the advantage with an 8 meter shot but once again HYDRO was able to equalise. The teams were close as PA second goal and Matsuo first were also matched making it 4 - 4 after 5 minutes. As the HYDRO defense was moving higher, the AKITA pass became more random and this benefited their opponents who intercepted few balls and built the first gap of the match on fastbreaks. Markus scored on his first shot of the wing but with Wan making excellent parade, AKITA was just not getting the bounces and rather than capitalising on these stops was letting HYDRO score on the rebounds and build a 3 goal gap. PA's hip shot before going to rest on the bench made it 6 - 8 but soon it was a 4 goal difference. Except the impeccable shooting of Markus who added another, nothing seemed to go AKITA way. With 4 minutes to go, the score was 12 - 7. A PA goal followed by 2 HYDRO goals meant a 8 - 14 half time score.
With a six goal deficit at half time, it was a big tally to face but all players were convinced that it was possible to climb back. Unfortunately, the Team was still struggling to make an impact. Despite goals by Norbert and Markus, HYDRO managed to expand the gap to 8 goals with 20 minutes to play (18 - 10). With their back on the wall, AKITA finally found the right mix in defense. Between interception, blocks and keeper saves, HYDRO just could not get a goal anymore for the following 10 minutes. This allowed a string of 7 unanswered goals. The left side of AKITA was doing a lot of damage as Markus and Norbert traded 4 before Ulf found space in the defense for his first one. Norbert's movement and energy was making a big impact, he added 2 more to reach 17 - 18 and allow a completely new match to start with 10 minutes to go.
Hydro finally scored to restore a 2 goal advantage but Markus kept on finding the right space to stay within one. Michael jumped higher than the defense to find the space and his 2 successive goals made score 20 - 20 with five minutes to play. AKITA was then given a chance to move in front as they intercepted the ball and were running in the fast break but a traveling under the pressure of a push was whistled against AKITA. HYDRO immediately managed to use that to come back in front. Another turnover mad it 22 -20 with 3 minutes to go. Matsuo reduced the score but another assassin shot from the Hydro wing almost sealed the match with one minute to go. A penalty converted by Norbert made it 22 - 23 but the HYDRO team just had to hold on to the ball for 15 seconds to register the first win against AKITA of any team this year.
In the AKITA camp, it was the disappointment that was prevailing. Disappointment not to have concluded what could have been a magnificent return but also the impression for all of the players that they had the chance at a moment or another to score one more or concede one less. The team will have to bounce immediately as they are playing on the following WE and cannot lose more points on the way. Hopefully between new and returning players, the squad will be deeper for that occasion.
Norbert 7, Markus 6, PA 4, Michael 2, Matsuo 2, Ulf 1
Despite being obviously rusty, the AKITA team started well in attack. Norbert drew first blood with a good penetration. Unfortunately, HYDRO was able to answer immediately as AKITA defense was lacking practice in this tinkered configuration. PA restored the advantage with an 8 meter shot but once again HYDRO was able to equalise. The teams were close as PA second goal and Matsuo first were also matched making it 4 - 4 after 5 minutes. As the HYDRO defense was moving higher, the AKITA pass became more random and this benefited their opponents who intercepted few balls and built the first gap of the match on fastbreaks. Markus scored on his first shot of the wing but with Wan making excellent parade, AKITA was just not getting the bounces and rather than capitalising on these stops was letting HYDRO score on the rebounds and build a 3 goal gap. PA's hip shot before going to rest on the bench made it 6 - 8 but soon it was a 4 goal difference. Except the impeccable shooting of Markus who added another, nothing seemed to go AKITA way. With 4 minutes to go, the score was 12 - 7. A PA goal followed by 2 HYDRO goals meant a 8 - 14 half time score.
With a six goal deficit at half time, it was a big tally to face but all players were convinced that it was possible to climb back. Unfortunately, the Team was still struggling to make an impact. Despite goals by Norbert and Markus, HYDRO managed to expand the gap to 8 goals with 20 minutes to play (18 - 10). With their back on the wall, AKITA finally found the right mix in defense. Between interception, blocks and keeper saves, HYDRO just could not get a goal anymore for the following 10 minutes. This allowed a string of 7 unanswered goals. The left side of AKITA was doing a lot of damage as Markus and Norbert traded 4 before Ulf found space in the defense for his first one. Norbert's movement and energy was making a big impact, he added 2 more to reach 17 - 18 and allow a completely new match to start with 10 minutes to go.
Hydro finally scored to restore a 2 goal advantage but Markus kept on finding the right space to stay within one. Michael jumped higher than the defense to find the space and his 2 successive goals made score 20 - 20 with five minutes to play. AKITA was then given a chance to move in front as they intercepted the ball and were running in the fast break but a traveling under the pressure of a push was whistled against AKITA. HYDRO immediately managed to use that to come back in front. Another turnover mad it 22 -20 with 3 minutes to go. Matsuo reduced the score but another assassin shot from the Hydro wing almost sealed the match with one minute to go. A penalty converted by Norbert made it 22 - 23 but the HYDRO team just had to hold on to the ball for 15 seconds to register the first win against AKITA of any team this year.
In the AKITA camp, it was the disappointment that was prevailing. Disappointment not to have concluded what could have been a magnificent return but also the impression for all of the players that they had the chance at a moment or another to score one more or concede one less. The team will have to bounce immediately as they are playing on the following WE and cannot lose more points on the way. Hopefully between new and returning players, the squad will be deeper for that occasion.
Norbert 7, Markus 6, PA 4, Michael 2, Matsuo 2, Ulf 1
Monday, November 30, 2009
AKITA gets a solid win against Wei Tao 22 - 12 (11 - 8)
After few good performances, the AKITA team felt confident for its 6th match of the year and started with a proven line up but without an unwell Ulf. From left to right, Markus, Stefan, Norbert Hans and PA with Matsuo on the line.
On a good pass from Hans, PA was the first one to have a shot at goal but the keeper save although fortunately for AKITA, Norbert was first ont the rebound to open the score. A prompt Hans goal doubled the score before the Wei Tao scored with a quick relaunch giving a good view on the attacking strategy for the day.
Hand added immediately another one before giving an assist to PA. As Mtsuo scored too, AKITA was on a 4 goal advantage after only 6 minutes. From there on, the match started to slow down as AKITA was trying to control the pace and distributed widely the play. Markus accurate shooting earned him a goal too to answer to Wei Tao second. Norbert and Hans's goals each allowed to maintain the 4 goals lead. Wei tao then enjoyed a good spell scoring a penalty and 2 other field goals to make it 8 - 7.
As the first half was getting into the last 5 minutes, AKITA added some intensity and Hans scored for a 2 goal advantage before PA pushed it to 3. Wei Tao scored too but Matsuo ensured that AKITA was three clear at the break.
The second half started in the worst possible manner for Wei Tao as Hans played 5 minutes of fire to put the match almost away. Seeing the opportunities, he took his chances and scored 4 goals in succession with a perfect ratio. As it seemed from the outside that the shots were getting more and more difficult, his power, accuracy and even more confidence ensured it went through. Wei Tao scored 1 back but PA restored an 8 goals advantage. Even if Wei Tao was clearly fighting, they had lost confidence and their organisation was suffering from it.
A penalty and a fast break gave them 2 rare goals but Rolf also added himself to the score sheet before Hans scored his 9th of the day. Wei Tao scored again with 10 minutes to fo but unfortunately for them that would be the last one of the day as Wan and Angus continued on an excellent match and a particularly strong second half. Yoann in his traditionnal tenacious style managed to get through for a goal before Hans reached double digits. Norbert converted a penalty with one mintes to play but the last goal came to the man of the match Hans for a 22 - 12 win.
This was an enjoyable performance as AKITA did the rare feat for them of stepping up in the second half and Wei Tao never stopped trying despite the difficult score.
Hans 11, Norbert 3, PA 3, Matsuo 2, Markus 1, Rolf 1, Yoann 1
On a good pass from Hans, PA was the first one to have a shot at goal but the keeper save although fortunately for AKITA, Norbert was first ont the rebound to open the score. A prompt Hans goal doubled the score before the Wei Tao scored with a quick relaunch giving a good view on the attacking strategy for the day.
Hand added immediately another one before giving an assist to PA. As Mtsuo scored too, AKITA was on a 4 goal advantage after only 6 minutes. From there on, the match started to slow down as AKITA was trying to control the pace and distributed widely the play. Markus accurate shooting earned him a goal too to answer to Wei Tao second. Norbert and Hans's goals each allowed to maintain the 4 goals lead. Wei tao then enjoyed a good spell scoring a penalty and 2 other field goals to make it 8 - 7.
As the first half was getting into the last 5 minutes, AKITA added some intensity and Hans scored for a 2 goal advantage before PA pushed it to 3. Wei Tao scored too but Matsuo ensured that AKITA was three clear at the break.
The second half started in the worst possible manner for Wei Tao as Hans played 5 minutes of fire to put the match almost away. Seeing the opportunities, he took his chances and scored 4 goals in succession with a perfect ratio. As it seemed from the outside that the shots were getting more and more difficult, his power, accuracy and even more confidence ensured it went through. Wei Tao scored 1 back but PA restored an 8 goals advantage. Even if Wei Tao was clearly fighting, they had lost confidence and their organisation was suffering from it.
A penalty and a fast break gave them 2 rare goals but Rolf also added himself to the score sheet before Hans scored his 9th of the day. Wei Tao scored again with 10 minutes to fo but unfortunately for them that would be the last one of the day as Wan and Angus continued on an excellent match and a particularly strong second half. Yoann in his traditionnal tenacious style managed to get through for a goal before Hans reached double digits. Norbert converted a penalty with one mintes to play but the last goal came to the man of the match Hans for a 22 - 12 win.
This was an enjoyable performance as AKITA did the rare feat for them of stepping up in the second half and Wei Tao never stopped trying despite the difficult score.
Hans 11, Norbert 3, PA 3, Matsuo 2, Markus 1, Rolf 1, Yoann 1
Saturday, October 17, 2009
AKITA waives late Yan Chai United come back 28 - 22 (17 - 12)
It was a slightly reshuffled team that started the 5th match of the season, with a married Alex back to the team, an injured Ulf keeping civil clothes for the day and a late Norbert, it was decided to start as follow from left to right: Markus, Stefan, PA, Hans, Michael and Alex on the line with Norbert ready to get in after 10 minutes. With Wan unable to come, Angus had his turn at playing the full match. The team was otherwise fully equiped with 14 players in total. To the regular Dominik, Yoann, Rolf and Norbert, the team welcomed back Lars once again fully fit and Guillaume from paternity leave!
Winning the toss, Yan Chai declined the ball which Hans used to good effect opening the score for AKITA. In defense though, AKITA struggled to find his mark and conceded too much space with Yan Chai using astutely their oversized line player. Stefan scored twice but Yan Chai was following close and moved one up with a quick fast break. The AKITA team was proving quite resourceful spreading the ball with Markus making a real difference in starting the movements and Alex ending them safely to come back to 5-5. This was the start of a strong five minutes for AKITA with a much improved defending. Hans (with 2), Michael and Markus allowed for it to be 5 in a row and 9-5 on the 11th minute.
With some breathing space, the AKITA team had an opportunity to break clear but the Yan Chai team was remarkable of abnegation and effort and scored three before Yoann scored his first. The flow of goal was definitely outside of the AKITA standard but with Yan Chai trying to surprise with fast attack on all chances and AKITA happy to run the fast breaks with a strong bench there was no reason for slowing down. Hans scored 2 to answer to Yan Chai goals before Norbert first for a 13 - 10 lead with 5 minutes before the interval. The ball was circulating quite well and with Yan Chai bench suffering against a more homogenous AKITA team, Yoann, Hans, Norbert made it 16 - 12. To finish the half, Lars seeing a gap in the defense surprised everyone with a low shot from the right ending in the bottom left of the goal. With one goal for one shot, this was definitely German efficiency.
The second half started like the first with each team answering to each other. Using the advantage of a late 2 minutes for Hans after he protested too expressively for an opponent tripping him on a fast break without being sanctioned, Yan Chai Scored first but Hans answered immediately on his return with his adrenaline still quite high from the event. Norbert scored a penalty for 19 – 14 and a Hans goal made it 20 in only 31 minutes. After another 2 minutes was whistled on Dominik who had made the effort to run to try to stop a fast break, PA moved to the left wing to fill the gap and made good use of the Yan Chai high defense to erase the defender and slot the ball between the legs of the keeper for his only shot of the day. With Hans slotting a power shot through the keeper, this was 2-0 for this period with one man down and a 6 goal advantage for the first time. Thanks to their never say die attitude, Yan Chai kept pushing trying to make goals as fast as possible as time was slipping through. Stefan was nevertheless keeping the count and he added two goals to protect the AKITA lead. With 10 minutes to go the score was on 24 – 19.
A dip in concentration by AKITA was all Yan Chai needed to score 3 in 2 minutes and come back within 2 goals. Unfortunately, it was about to be Angus’ time. As Hans came back on the pitch to score his 10th of the day, Angus proved himself just unbeatable, with the Yan Chai Team presenting themselves alone in front of him on fast breaks, he saved three out of the in the last 5 minutes. It was making things too easy for the other players obviously as Hans added a last personal one, before Norbert and Markus closed the score 28 - 22.
Hans 11, Stefan 4, Norbert 4, Yoann 2, Markus 2, Michael 1, Lars 1, PA 1
Winning the toss, Yan Chai declined the ball which Hans used to good effect opening the score for AKITA. In defense though, AKITA struggled to find his mark and conceded too much space with Yan Chai using astutely their oversized line player. Stefan scored twice but Yan Chai was following close and moved one up with a quick fast break. The AKITA team was proving quite resourceful spreading the ball with Markus making a real difference in starting the movements and Alex ending them safely to come back to 5-5. This was the start of a strong five minutes for AKITA with a much improved defending. Hans (with 2), Michael and Markus allowed for it to be 5 in a row and 9-5 on the 11th minute.
With some breathing space, the AKITA team had an opportunity to break clear but the Yan Chai team was remarkable of abnegation and effort and scored three before Yoann scored his first. The flow of goal was definitely outside of the AKITA standard but with Yan Chai trying to surprise with fast attack on all chances and AKITA happy to run the fast breaks with a strong bench there was no reason for slowing down. Hans scored 2 to answer to Yan Chai goals before Norbert first for a 13 - 10 lead with 5 minutes before the interval. The ball was circulating quite well and with Yan Chai bench suffering against a more homogenous AKITA team, Yoann, Hans, Norbert made it 16 - 12. To finish the half, Lars seeing a gap in the defense surprised everyone with a low shot from the right ending in the bottom left of the goal. With one goal for one shot, this was definitely German efficiency.
The second half started like the first with each team answering to each other. Using the advantage of a late 2 minutes for Hans after he protested too expressively for an opponent tripping him on a fast break without being sanctioned, Yan Chai Scored first but Hans answered immediately on his return with his adrenaline still quite high from the event. Norbert scored a penalty for 19 – 14 and a Hans goal made it 20 in only 31 minutes. After another 2 minutes was whistled on Dominik who had made the effort to run to try to stop a fast break, PA moved to the left wing to fill the gap and made good use of the Yan Chai high defense to erase the defender and slot the ball between the legs of the keeper for his only shot of the day. With Hans slotting a power shot through the keeper, this was 2-0 for this period with one man down and a 6 goal advantage for the first time. Thanks to their never say die attitude, Yan Chai kept pushing trying to make goals as fast as possible as time was slipping through. Stefan was nevertheless keeping the count and he added two goals to protect the AKITA lead. With 10 minutes to go the score was on 24 – 19.
A dip in concentration by AKITA was all Yan Chai needed to score 3 in 2 minutes and come back within 2 goals. Unfortunately, it was about to be Angus’ time. As Hans came back on the pitch to score his 10th of the day, Angus proved himself just unbeatable, with the Yan Chai Team presenting themselves alone in front of him on fast breaks, he saved three out of the in the last 5 minutes. It was making things too easy for the other players obviously as Hans added a last personal one, before Norbert and Markus closed the score 28 - 22.
Hans 11, Stefan 4, Norbert 4, Yoann 2, Markus 2, Michael 1, Lars 1, PA 1
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Akita Handball Team Hong Kong
AKITA Handball Club (aka the Gwailo Team) has been founded in September 2008 and is the only team in HK using English as its training language, providing an international flair to the Hong Kong Handball League.
The team is open to all nationalities and is training in Lai Chi Kok Sports Park or in Choi Hung Sports Centre. You are invited to join us for training - it is free of charge.
Note: to play with us official matches, you will need to register with the Hong Kong Handball Association, which requires you to have a HKID card.
The team is open to all nationalities and is training in Lai Chi Kok Sports Park or in Choi Hung Sports Centre. You are invited to join us for training - it is free of charge.
Note: to play with us official matches, you will need to register with the Hong Kong Handball Association, which requires you to have a HKID card.
Contact
For questions, email us at AkitaHC@gmail.com.Thursday, October 8, 2009
AKITA guys look pretty in their new shirts!
As disclosed in the previous post, AKITA received new shirts and shorts for the 2009-2010 season. We have received a set of white shirts (that will satisfy the Germans in the team) and a set of sky blue shirts that were inaugurated with a victory!
Thanks to our sponsor and partner AKITA for those SVH17. Apparently some of our opponents liked the shirt very much too considering how they grabbed them during the match!
You can see some example of the AKITA products on their website by clicking on the AKITA logo on the right. To celebrate the new shirts, the blog has changed its colors too (at least for the time being)!!
Thanks to our sponsor and partner AKITA for those SVH17. Apparently some of our opponents liked the shirt very much too considering how they grabbed them during the match!
You can see some example of the AKITA products on their website by clicking on the AKITA logo on the right. To celebrate the new shirts, the blog has changed its colors too (at least for the time being)!!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
AKITA's courageous performance earns them a 20 -19 win against MAGIC (10 -8)
After drawing the previous match, AKITA really wanted a positive performance against the yet undefeated MAGIC team. AKITA was presenting itself with new shirts thanks to its sponsor AKITA but without regulars Yoann, Angus and Hans unavailable on the China National Day.
Because of the tight schedule, both team had to start without any warm up on the pitch. Winning the draw, AKITA opted to leave the ball in order to benefit from any potential clumsy start. They did not have to wait much as the third MAGIC's pass flew directly to the side line giving the ball back to AKITA. AKITA needed 2 penalties for that but still were the team opening the scoring with Norbert. This was followed with a bad spell to drop 3 - 1 down in 5 minutes. Markus brought the score to parity with 2 goals in quick succession and Ulf scored his first. MAGIC came back as it was deemed to be a close contest for the whole of the match.
The weather was hot and both teams were struggling for air already which resulted in numerous turnovers. The fresh blood from Dominic, Rolf and Michael was making a difference. Wan who had to play the whole match with no change was vigilant and was able to make some good save when MAGIC was forced to shoot from the distance. A Rolf goal followed by Stefan first allowed for a 2 goals advantage for the first time. At that time, AKITA was having the upper hand with Michael entrance adding a different threat resulting in an immediate goal. Ulf was finding great passes to deceive the MAGIC defense and Matsuo quick hands allowed him for a goal too. Stefan scored his second as he finally managed to keep the ball low and Michael made it 10 -7. A last minute penalty for MAGIC made it 10 - 8 before the break.
The half time was all about recuperation and concentration, the team was reminded to cover the defense quickly as MAGIC best chances were usually on first and second waves. This was immediately confirmed at the restart as a lost ball by AKITA yielded a MAGIC goal.
Ulf making a strong impression on that day scored and gave Matsuo the ball for a 3 goal advantage but AKITA was not really able to limit MAGIC's scoring for a consistent period of time like they managed against other teams. Both teams were staying neck to neck as Michael restored twice a 2 goal advantage. As MAGIC seemed tired, AKITA was trying to take advantage but could not steer away. With MAGIC back to a one goal deficit, it was time for Jessica, the AKITA team official of the day, to ask for a time out.
With 15 minutes to go and only a 1 goal advantage, it was a match on its own that started. After some ball circulation, Norbert found the opportunity with a hip shot. A penalty and fast break for MAGIC provoked roars from their bench. Ulf restored the advantage but both benches were getting even more vocal when MAGIC came back again. After some poor shooting for the day, PA opened his account on the left half thanks to Markus' work. Michael who had moved to the right wing scored his fifth but each goal was answered by MAGIC. With 2 minutes to go, AKITA obtained another penalty. Under the pressure, Norbert went to a simple powerful shot in the bottom left for 19 - 18.
With only a minute to go, MAGIC was cracking under pressure and lost the ball on a confused play in the middle. Stefan was immediately running for the fast break and made sure he did not shoot before seeing the white of the keeper's eyes. With 2 goals and 30 seconds to play, the MAGIC team knew it was too late but still managed a last effort with a goal from number 6, their best player on the day, on the buzzer.
With this one goal victory, the first ever for AKITA, the team becomes the only undefeated team in the league and takes the outright league in a division where most team are extremely close.
Michael 5, Norbert 3, Stefan 3, Ulf 3, Markus 2, Matsuo 2, Rolf 1, PA 1
Because of the tight schedule, both team had to start without any warm up on the pitch. Winning the draw, AKITA opted to leave the ball in order to benefit from any potential clumsy start. They did not have to wait much as the third MAGIC's pass flew directly to the side line giving the ball back to AKITA. AKITA needed 2 penalties for that but still were the team opening the scoring with Norbert. This was followed with a bad spell to drop 3 - 1 down in 5 minutes. Markus brought the score to parity with 2 goals in quick succession and Ulf scored his first. MAGIC came back as it was deemed to be a close contest for the whole of the match.
The weather was hot and both teams were struggling for air already which resulted in numerous turnovers. The fresh blood from Dominic, Rolf and Michael was making a difference. Wan who had to play the whole match with no change was vigilant and was able to make some good save when MAGIC was forced to shoot from the distance. A Rolf goal followed by Stefan first allowed for a 2 goals advantage for the first time. At that time, AKITA was having the upper hand with Michael entrance adding a different threat resulting in an immediate goal. Ulf was finding great passes to deceive the MAGIC defense and Matsuo quick hands allowed him for a goal too. Stefan scored his second as he finally managed to keep the ball low and Michael made it 10 -7. A last minute penalty for MAGIC made it 10 - 8 before the break.
The half time was all about recuperation and concentration, the team was reminded to cover the defense quickly as MAGIC best chances were usually on first and second waves. This was immediately confirmed at the restart as a lost ball by AKITA yielded a MAGIC goal.
Ulf making a strong impression on that day scored and gave Matsuo the ball for a 3 goal advantage but AKITA was not really able to limit MAGIC's scoring for a consistent period of time like they managed against other teams. Both teams were staying neck to neck as Michael restored twice a 2 goal advantage. As MAGIC seemed tired, AKITA was trying to take advantage but could not steer away. With MAGIC back to a one goal deficit, it was time for Jessica, the AKITA team official of the day, to ask for a time out.
With 15 minutes to go and only a 1 goal advantage, it was a match on its own that started. After some ball circulation, Norbert found the opportunity with a hip shot. A penalty and fast break for MAGIC provoked roars from their bench. Ulf restored the advantage but both benches were getting even more vocal when MAGIC came back again. After some poor shooting for the day, PA opened his account on the left half thanks to Markus' work. Michael who had moved to the right wing scored his fifth but each goal was answered by MAGIC. With 2 minutes to go, AKITA obtained another penalty. Under the pressure, Norbert went to a simple powerful shot in the bottom left for 19 - 18.
With only a minute to go, MAGIC was cracking under pressure and lost the ball on a confused play in the middle. Stefan was immediately running for the fast break and made sure he did not shoot before seeing the white of the keeper's eyes. With 2 goals and 30 seconds to play, the MAGIC team knew it was too late but still managed a last effort with a goal from number 6, their best player on the day, on the buzzer.
With this one goal victory, the first ever for AKITA, the team becomes the only undefeated team in the league and takes the outright league in a division where most team are extremely close.
Michael 5, Norbert 3, Stefan 3, Ulf 3, Markus 2, Matsuo 2, Rolf 1, PA 1
AKITA clinches a last minute draw against Ku Chiu Man 19 - 19 (11 -9)
On a warm day to play handball outside, AKITA was meeting a well seasoned team in the second division. Ku Chiu Man was one of the contender for promotion last year and is hopeful for this year.
AKITA had a slow start as Ku Chiu Man opened immediately the scoring as their left half was given too much space. Norbert put the team back to parity immediately but soon enough AKITA suffered its usual problem conceding penalties and trailing 1 -3 and the 2-4 after Hans scored his first. 2 goals from Stefan and Norbert's second allowed AKITA to come back to parity at 5-5.
As the team was now well launched, the ball was flowing better and this unsettled Ku Chiu Man's defense allowing PA to put the team in front from the right wing and then restore this one goal advantage with 2 more goals. Hand made it 9 - 7 but a new lapse in concentration and some lost balls profited Ku Chiu Man to come back to 9 - 9 with 4 minutes to go. A well taken time out at that time combined with a 2minutes penalty against Ku Chiu Man resulted in 2 unanswered goals from Michael and Matsuo to reach half time on 11 -9.
As AKITA started the second half with the ball, the team was keen on making it a 3 goal advantage immediately. Mission accomplished by Norbert immediately. Ku Chiu Man answered but a Norbert penalty and Hans's third made the biggest gap of the match 14 - 10 with 22 minutes to go. By then the AKITA team was starting to show signs of tiredness. A Ku Chiu Man's goal and a penalty made it 14 -12 and although Hans gave the AKITA team some air with one more goal but unfortunately its unability to shoot within the frame became expensive for the team as Ku Chiu Man came back to 15 - 15. A time out was desperately needed and helped the team to refocus. Yoann scored his first and Stefan found the net again for a 17 -15 lead.
This was unfortunately a short lived recovery as Ku Chiu Man once again scored three in a row to take the lead back for the first time since the 9th minute. With 3 minutes to go AKITA needed an extra effort, Michael scored an important one for parity. With one and a half minute to go, AKITA needed the ball back to have a chance of a win but Ku Chiu Man was fully motivated and managed to score.
With 40 seconds to go, the AKITA team was instructed to take the time to build its attack without rushing. The Ku Chiu Man team was desperate to slow the play and run the clock conceding 9 meters. With only 5 seconds to play and another 9 meter penalty, Norbert jumped higher than the defense to score and obtain the draw.
Norbert 5, Hans 4, PA 3, Stefan 3, Michael 2, Matsuo 1, Yoann 1
AKITA had a slow start as Ku Chiu Man opened immediately the scoring as their left half was given too much space. Norbert put the team back to parity immediately but soon enough AKITA suffered its usual problem conceding penalties and trailing 1 -3 and the 2-4 after Hans scored his first. 2 goals from Stefan and Norbert's second allowed AKITA to come back to parity at 5-5.
As the team was now well launched, the ball was flowing better and this unsettled Ku Chiu Man's defense allowing PA to put the team in front from the right wing and then restore this one goal advantage with 2 more goals. Hand made it 9 - 7 but a new lapse in concentration and some lost balls profited Ku Chiu Man to come back to 9 - 9 with 4 minutes to go. A well taken time out at that time combined with a 2minutes penalty against Ku Chiu Man resulted in 2 unanswered goals from Michael and Matsuo to reach half time on 11 -9.
As AKITA started the second half with the ball, the team was keen on making it a 3 goal advantage immediately. Mission accomplished by Norbert immediately. Ku Chiu Man answered but a Norbert penalty and Hans's third made the biggest gap of the match 14 - 10 with 22 minutes to go. By then the AKITA team was starting to show signs of tiredness. A Ku Chiu Man's goal and a penalty made it 14 -12 and although Hans gave the AKITA team some air with one more goal but unfortunately its unability to shoot within the frame became expensive for the team as Ku Chiu Man came back to 15 - 15. A time out was desperately needed and helped the team to refocus. Yoann scored his first and Stefan found the net again for a 17 -15 lead.
This was unfortunately a short lived recovery as Ku Chiu Man once again scored three in a row to take the lead back for the first time since the 9th minute. With 3 minutes to go AKITA needed an extra effort, Michael scored an important one for parity. With one and a half minute to go, AKITA needed the ball back to have a chance of a win but Ku Chiu Man was fully motivated and managed to score.
With 40 seconds to go, the AKITA team was instructed to take the time to build its attack without rushing. The Ku Chiu Man team was desperate to slow the play and run the clock conceding 9 meters. With only 5 seconds to play and another 9 meter penalty, Norbert jumped higher than the defense to score and obtain the draw.
Norbert 5, Hans 4, PA 3, Stefan 3, Michael 2, Matsuo 1, Yoann 1
Sunday, September 20, 2009
AKITA takes full point against PHOENIX with a 21 - 17 victory (12 -7)
For its return to Choi Hung, the AKITA team was facing a significant rate of defections with Markus, Lars and Yoann suffering from sickness and Rolf, Alex and Guillaume also unavailable. In the starting seven, Dominik replaced Markus on the left wing whereas the other field positions remained as per last week with Ulf on the line and from left to right Stefan, Norbert, Hans and PA. The keepers decided to have Angus starting with Wan on the bench seating next to Michael, Nobel and Matsuo. PHOENIX is one of the team with a good experience in the league, they qualified for the promotion part of the championship but fade to finish 5th last year and will expect to go better this year.
PHOENIX started with the ball but their first 2 attacks were well controlled by the AKITA defence. As the usual top scorer of the team, it was no surprise to see Hans opening the score after 2 minutes, unfortunately some good goalkeeping and less precise than usual shooting prevented him from scoring more in that half. With Stefan also scoring only one in the first half, AKITA had to find some options away from halves shooting. The centre-line relationship was the favourite option with Norbert scoring 2 penalties obtained in the first 6 minutes and Ulf making the score 6 -1. Number 17, clearly the best player of the PHOENIX team on the day, managed a left wing shot and a penalty to come back but Ulf answered this first goal before giving a beautiful pass to Matsuo on the line to answer the second.
With the heat and humidity impacting the fitness of players, AKITA was trying to maximise the turnover. With 10 minutes to play PHOENIX was back at 7 - 5 which is when AKITA started to create wing opportunities. Michael who just came in on the left wings scored the first of 4 consecutive AKITA goals. Norbert found a way through the defence for a close range shot and PA squeezed through the tiniest gap a right wing shot. To conclude this good sequence, Michael scored again as he enjoyed a huge gap on the left wing as his defender mistimed an interception. PHOENIX number 14 managed to score 2 more whereas Norbert made it 4 in the first half to reach a 12 - 7 half time score.
The half time was mostly about recuperation and players were reminded to maintain the focus for the rest of the match. AKITA had 10 good minutes where they managed to widen the gap. PA and Norbert scored penalties to make it 14 -8 and Hans and Stefan found the targets for a 16 -9, the biggest gap of the match. As players were tired, the changes were a little wide as PA and Ulf were plugging the holes playing in different positions depending on who needed some rest. Also, the AKITA team was sloppier in defence and after 2 exclusions in the first half, they suffered another 4 in the second half. Dominik scored for a 18 - 12 lead but this was followed by 5 minutes with no goals allowing PHOENIX to come back to 4 goals only. This was the time for a well needed coaching time-out to ask players to slow down and survive the last 7 minutes. PHOENIX even came back to three but the AKITA team kept a cool head and Norbert took responsibility with a goal to restore a 4 goals advantage.
Unfortunately he got excluded on the following defence and this was followed by a red card for Dominik preventing a fast break that forced AKITA to be with 4 field players only for few moments. This was the time the referees took a pretty uncommon decision raising their hand for lack of play before even the restart following a goal because they found the keeper tool too much time to send the ball back to the centre. Unfortunately for PHOENIX, it resulted in the AKITA being extra motivated and PA immediately took a shot from 9 meters to put the match away from PHOENIX. Hans completed this with his 4th goal to make it 5 up with one to play. A last PHOENIX goal did not matter and the AKITA team was relieved to take the full points in a match that they made unnecessarily interesting up to the end.
The next match will also be outside but at an even more unfortunate time so most of today's players were hoping for a cool down of the weather.
Norbert 6, Hans 4, PA 3, Ulf 2, Michael 2, Stefan 2, Matsuo 1, Dominik 1.
PHOENIX started with the ball but their first 2 attacks were well controlled by the AKITA defence. As the usual top scorer of the team, it was no surprise to see Hans opening the score after 2 minutes, unfortunately some good goalkeeping and less precise than usual shooting prevented him from scoring more in that half. With Stefan also scoring only one in the first half, AKITA had to find some options away from halves shooting. The centre-line relationship was the favourite option with Norbert scoring 2 penalties obtained in the first 6 minutes and Ulf making the score 6 -1. Number 17, clearly the best player of the PHOENIX team on the day, managed a left wing shot and a penalty to come back but Ulf answered this first goal before giving a beautiful pass to Matsuo on the line to answer the second.
With the heat and humidity impacting the fitness of players, AKITA was trying to maximise the turnover. With 10 minutes to play PHOENIX was back at 7 - 5 which is when AKITA started to create wing opportunities. Michael who just came in on the left wings scored the first of 4 consecutive AKITA goals. Norbert found a way through the defence for a close range shot and PA squeezed through the tiniest gap a right wing shot. To conclude this good sequence, Michael scored again as he enjoyed a huge gap on the left wing as his defender mistimed an interception. PHOENIX number 14 managed to score 2 more whereas Norbert made it 4 in the first half to reach a 12 - 7 half time score.
The half time was mostly about recuperation and players were reminded to maintain the focus for the rest of the match. AKITA had 10 good minutes where they managed to widen the gap. PA and Norbert scored penalties to make it 14 -8 and Hans and Stefan found the targets for a 16 -9, the biggest gap of the match. As players were tired, the changes were a little wide as PA and Ulf were plugging the holes playing in different positions depending on who needed some rest. Also, the AKITA team was sloppier in defence and after 2 exclusions in the first half, they suffered another 4 in the second half. Dominik scored for a 18 - 12 lead but this was followed by 5 minutes with no goals allowing PHOENIX to come back to 4 goals only. This was the time for a well needed coaching time-out to ask players to slow down and survive the last 7 minutes. PHOENIX even came back to three but the AKITA team kept a cool head and Norbert took responsibility with a goal to restore a 4 goals advantage.
Unfortunately he got excluded on the following defence and this was followed by a red card for Dominik preventing a fast break that forced AKITA to be with 4 field players only for few moments. This was the time the referees took a pretty uncommon decision raising their hand for lack of play before even the restart following a goal because they found the keeper tool too much time to send the ball back to the centre. Unfortunately for PHOENIX, it resulted in the AKITA being extra motivated and PA immediately took a shot from 9 meters to put the match away from PHOENIX. Hans completed this with his 4th goal to make it 5 up with one to play. A last PHOENIX goal did not matter and the AKITA team was relieved to take the full points in a match that they made unnecessarily interesting up to the end.
The next match will also be outside but at an even more unfortunate time so most of today's players were hoping for a cool down of the weather.
Norbert 6, Hans 4, PA 3, Ulf 2, Michael 2, Stefan 2, Matsuo 1, Dominik 1.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
AKITA has a winning start 20 - 10 against DEMI in 2nd division
For the first day of the 2009-2010 championship, the federation had organised a special treat for teams participating as matches were played indoor in the Western Park Sports Centre. Despite Coach Banks being away for his honeymoon, AKITA was coming with a strong squad. Additionnally to Stefan available after an injury prevented him from playing last year, two new players joined AKITA for this first match. Matsuo from Japan plays in the field whereas Angus, a young Hong Kong prospect, will share the goalkeeper position with Wan. Ulf started on the line, with Markus on the left wing, Norbert in the centre, Stefan and Hans on the halves and PA on the right wing. Rolf, Guillaume, Yoann and Dominik were enjoying the air-con on the bench.
With Alex not there, AKITA opted for a 6-0 defense to try to maximise the height advantage and limit the play to the DEMI line. This allowed for a strong start with Ulf scoring the first goal of the new season on a fast break and AKITA conceding only 2 goals in the first quarter of the match. The fire power from the backs allowed for regular scoring and 3 goals from Hans added to goals from Stefan, Norbert and Ulf brought the score to 6 -2 after 12 minutes.
The DEMI team was running short of options and were looking for number 16, their half left, to find the opening. After being blocked on attempted jump and hip shots he managed to find the way to the wing through crosses and precise shooting. He scored three in a row to prevent AKITA from pulling away as Yoann and Rolf contributed one each just after their swap in to be added to three more Hans goals bringing the half time score to 11 - 5.
The orders at half time were quite simple, more of the same and increase the pressure in defense on some of their players. The DEMI teams was also looking for adjustments. To try to create more options, they accelerated their rythm and rotates players around, this gave them few more opportunities of scoring and they were awarded penalties on a regular basis. Unfortunately for them, Angus had been waiting for this opportunity less than 50% of penalties were converted. Even with the Team playing at 4 against 6 and Hans and PA getting excluded in succession, the defense did not break providing a strong support.
The AKITA team was playing at its own pace, losing few balls and showing patience when needed. As Norbert, Ulf and Hans were still adding to their tally, Dominik was also able to add his own goal. with 10 minutes to play, the score was 17 -9. For five minutes, as a Norbert injury created some confusion, none of the team could score but AKITA restarted the machine with a Rolf goal immediately followed by Hans's 8th, Stefan concluded the score of this 20 - 10 victory ensuring a very positive start in this new campaign.
Hans 8, Ulf 3, Norbert 3, Stefan 2, Yoann 1, Rolf 2, Dominik 1
With Alex not there, AKITA opted for a 6-0 defense to try to maximise the height advantage and limit the play to the DEMI line. This allowed for a strong start with Ulf scoring the first goal of the new season on a fast break and AKITA conceding only 2 goals in the first quarter of the match. The fire power from the backs allowed for regular scoring and 3 goals from Hans added to goals from Stefan, Norbert and Ulf brought the score to 6 -2 after 12 minutes.
The DEMI team was running short of options and were looking for number 16, their half left, to find the opening. After being blocked on attempted jump and hip shots he managed to find the way to the wing through crosses and precise shooting. He scored three in a row to prevent AKITA from pulling away as Yoann and Rolf contributed one each just after their swap in to be added to three more Hans goals bringing the half time score to 11 - 5.
The orders at half time were quite simple, more of the same and increase the pressure in defense on some of their players. The DEMI teams was also looking for adjustments. To try to create more options, they accelerated their rythm and rotates players around, this gave them few more opportunities of scoring and they were awarded penalties on a regular basis. Unfortunately for them, Angus had been waiting for this opportunity less than 50% of penalties were converted. Even with the Team playing at 4 against 6 and Hans and PA getting excluded in succession, the defense did not break providing a strong support.
The AKITA team was playing at its own pace, losing few balls and showing patience when needed. As Norbert, Ulf and Hans were still adding to their tally, Dominik was also able to add his own goal. with 10 minutes to play, the score was 17 -9. For five minutes, as a Norbert injury created some confusion, none of the team could score but AKITA restarted the machine with a Rolf goal immediately followed by Hans's 8th, Stefan concluded the score of this 20 - 10 victory ensuring a very positive start in this new campaign.
Hans 8, Ulf 3, Norbert 3, Stefan 2, Yoann 1, Rolf 2, Dominik 1
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Calendar for this year
| Date | Time | Victim | Location | Result |
| Jan 19 | 8:20PM | 元朗 (Yuen Long) | Ho Man Tin | |
| Dec 6 | 4:40PM | KING'S | San Wo, Tuen Mun | 29:13 |
| Nov 29 | 5:50PM | HYDRO | Tin Chui | 22:23 |
| Oct 18 | 2:25PM | 威濤 (Wei Tao) | Choi Hung | 22:12 |
| Oct 11 | 12:15PM | 仁濟聯 (Yan Chai) | Choi Hung | 28:22 |
| Oct 1 | 2:50PM | Magic | Choi Hung | 20:19 |
| Sep 27 | 2:50PM | 顧超文 (Ku Chiu Man) | Choi Hung | 19:19 |
| Sep 20 | 5:10PM | 火鳳凰 (Phoenix) | Choi Hung | 21:17 |
| Sep 13 | 2:50PM | DEMI | Western Park Complex | 20:10 |
Friday, August 14, 2009
Training restart
The AKITA Handball Island trotters has started training on Saturday 15th August in Wanchai Park. The second training in Wanchai will be on September 5th and hopefully the heat will be less vivid. A training on Meifoo (Lai Chi Kok sports centre) will happend on the 2nd of September. More training may be organised there or in other places soon subject to availabilities.
Considering the uncertainties to get pitches, time and location will have to be checked everytime. Training is open to all so if you want to restart handball you can just pop in any training.
To go to Wan Chai Park, you can go to Wanchai station or from kowloon take one of the bus to the happy valley race course and walk from there. There is an entrance on Queens road east after the HK Tuberculosis association and another one on Wanchai Road near the Cathay Lodge (125 Wanchai Road)
If it rains, training will be maintained and we will play football to work on our condition.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
New season Administration / Looking for a Goalkeeper
The registrations for the new season seems to be now opened. In the link below you will find the player registration/renewal form:
http://handball.org.hk/v1/upload/attachment/League%202009-2010.pdf
Please fill your forms as soon as possible.
Also, following the return of Markus to Germany, we are looking eagerly for a goalkeeper. If anyone knows one, please contact us!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Almost 1 year later...
When we started this adventure almost 12 months ago, we did not know if it would survive the first few weeks, if we would have full squads for all matches or not but we were happy to give it a shot.
We received tremendous help from the federation and from our sponsor AKITA to kick start. Also we were lucky between Ulf and myself to have contacts for the backbone of a team. We had few free agents, transfers from London, some of us were feeling like Michael Jordan coming out of retirement (more like the second come back, particularly regarding aches and arthrosis), some of us had Michael Jordan's hair cut. For some others, it was to be their first experience at competitive handball. For many, some diplomacy with the WAGs would be required. Our main concern to know if we would be able to compete was the lack of a goalkeeper and we found ourselves blessed to obtain not one but two great goalies. By far the best pair in the division.
With the season closed, I have no hesitations in describing this year as a tremendous success. Not for its sports' results but really for the bonding, the fun shared and our ability to put a little european flag in the Hong Kong handball scene. We have sometime been mad at ourselves but not at each other, we have lost and came back stronger. We have smiled whinged, laughed, sweat and sometimes drank together.
We have suffered setbacks, cancelled trainings because some of us could not join, lost our training time slot, succumbed in one match against the heat, few of us sustained injuries (Markus aka Rolf, don't show us you little finger ever again please), we have probably received more 2 minutes than the whole of the other team together, but we enjoyed ourselves and sometimes, I say sometimes, it really looked like handball what we did out there.
I believe Norbert summarised perfectly what we are about in when he told me in the middle of the season that he never played handball for fun before, he tought before that Handball had to be serious with full training and never understood guys playing for fun, now he does and he loves it! Of course we want to win like on the first day but also the fact we are closer to a veteran team than to anything else helps us having perspective.
If we look back at the league, some matches were more interesting than others, we finished on the highest number of points (joint), best attack (admittedly by one goal only), best defense (comfortably), best goal difference obviously. When we won, it was never by less than 6 goals. But that is not what matters, what I see is that everyone contributed. As the season went through we got more and more contribution from the bench, we became more and more solid as a whole and everyone should feel proud that they brought something.
Very soon we are going to get into the preparation of a new season. That would be a division higher in second division and of course we will once again aim promotion and do our best. Matches will be more difficult but we will have the benefit of one year experience.
We will lose some players as some will have to go back to europe but hopefully we will also get more. The recruitment season is open, if you are coming in Hong Kong and want to play Handball AKITA is the team to contact! By the end of the year, we had a decent enough roster to be able to consider good training sessions but we still have a lot of room to expand it further so come an join us.
Thanks to everyone for this year, and I really mean everyone, players, family, friends, the other team, the federation and its officials, etc.
We received tremendous help from the federation and from our sponsor AKITA to kick start. Also we were lucky between Ulf and myself to have contacts for the backbone of a team. We had few free agents, transfers from London, some of us were feeling like Michael Jordan coming out of retirement (more like the second come back, particularly regarding aches and arthrosis), some of us had Michael Jordan's hair cut. For some others, it was to be their first experience at competitive handball. For many, some diplomacy with the WAGs would be required. Our main concern to know if we would be able to compete was the lack of a goalkeeper and we found ourselves blessed to obtain not one but two great goalies. By far the best pair in the division.
With the season closed, I have no hesitations in describing this year as a tremendous success. Not for its sports' results but really for the bonding, the fun shared and our ability to put a little european flag in the Hong Kong handball scene. We have sometime been mad at ourselves but not at each other, we have lost and came back stronger. We have smiled whinged, laughed, sweat and sometimes drank together.
We have suffered setbacks, cancelled trainings because some of us could not join, lost our training time slot, succumbed in one match against the heat, few of us sustained injuries (Markus aka Rolf, don't show us you little finger ever again please), we have probably received more 2 minutes than the whole of the other team together, but we enjoyed ourselves and sometimes, I say sometimes, it really looked like handball what we did out there.
I believe Norbert summarised perfectly what we are about in when he told me in the middle of the season that he never played handball for fun before, he tought before that Handball had to be serious with full training and never understood guys playing for fun, now he does and he loves it! Of course we want to win like on the first day but also the fact we are closer to a veteran team than to anything else helps us having perspective.
If we look back at the league, some matches were more interesting than others, we finished on the highest number of points (joint), best attack (admittedly by one goal only), best defense (comfortably), best goal difference obviously. When we won, it was never by less than 6 goals. But that is not what matters, what I see is that everyone contributed. As the season went through we got more and more contribution from the bench, we became more and more solid as a whole and everyone should feel proud that they brought something.
Very soon we are going to get into the preparation of a new season. That would be a division higher in second division and of course we will once again aim promotion and do our best. Matches will be more difficult but we will have the benefit of one year experience.
We will lose some players as some will have to go back to europe but hopefully we will also get more. The recruitment season is open, if you are coming in Hong Kong and want to play Handball AKITA is the team to contact! By the end of the year, we had a decent enough roster to be able to consider good training sessions but we still have a lot of room to expand it further so come an join us.
Thanks to everyone for this year, and I really mean everyone, players, family, friends, the other team, the federation and its officials, etc.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
AKITA ends season with an open door performance against Shun Lee Catholic 33 - 20 (19 - 10)
AKITA was already ensured of promotion before this last match but it did no change anything to the motivation of the team. With a 12-strong squad but without their best scorer Hans who took an early vacation, AKITA was ready to run despite the heat of a 10AM kick-off time.
The first 2 minutes were unusually eventful for an AKITA match. Yoann scored the first and the second in the first minute, Shun Lee came back to 2-1 before Ulf made it 3-1. The following 4 minutes were more typical of the best defense of the league, as the AKITA team slowed down and no goal were scored on either side before AKITA conceded a penalty. The beginning of the match had a French flavour with Yoann joined by PA and Guillaume occupying the right flank. As the team was playing well in movement PA was given some space and could go through the defense twice in a row (5-2). Yoann answered Shun Lee third goal with a penalty. To complete the French touch, the team played perfectly in the intervals so Guillaume could receive the ball from his brother and conclude with a perfect wing shot under the applaudes of the bench (7-3).
Defense was now fully warmed up and it was time for some German no nonsense handball with Rolf and Norbert in particular scaring the Shun Lee players on the left side. Markus was on for Yoann, Dominik for Guillaume and Michael for PA. Markus scored before David opened his count as his good runs allowed him to get the ball in good position. A comfortable catch from Wan allowed for a lighting fast break for Dominik before Shun Lee clawed one back (10 - 4 on 13th minute). The game was accelerating again with Michael scoring on a second wave, Alex getting a marvel of a pass by Ulf on another, David and Dominik also adding their second in the run. Each of those goals were answered back by a well motivated Shun Lee losing no time to rush forward (14 - 8 on 20th minute). Markus then stepped up to add 2 in a row but once again Shun Lee answered with 2 of their own (including a penalty). As the end of the hald was looming with 2 minutes to play, it all turned to David who scored 3 to make AKITA clear. The half time socre of 19 - 10 very much looked like an AKITA full time score! It was the best offensive half of the year but not the most defense oriented one.
For the second half, Norbert finally decided to take a little for himself rather than just giving to his team mates and scored on the opening. Yoann was also back on and added the following. As Shun Lee was still scoring, Alex called for the ball, scoring two and gratifying the public of his special move, a 270 degrees turn in the line position despite having no opponent around. With Norbert adding his second in between the score was 24 - 15 after 10 minutes in the second half. It was the right time to use some good defense to sail further away. As Shun Lee was also getting tired, AKITA played 5 minutes of defense followed by fast break, the perfect setup for David who scored the 4 AKITA goal in this period. Michael added one to make it 29 - 16 before Shun lee scored again.
For his last match with AKITA before returning to Europe, David kept on receiving good balls and scored to with a PA goal in between to make the score 32 - 18. This goal was putting AKITA on par with Yuen Long as best attack of the league, something which the statistican may have known but which had not been discussed by the coaches. PA added the last one of the season to make it sole best attack and a last minute penalty for Shun Lee made the score 33 - 20.
David 11, Yoann 4, PA 4, Alex 3, Markus 3, Michael 2, Norbert 2, Dominik 2, Guille 1, Ulf 1
The first 2 minutes were unusually eventful for an AKITA match. Yoann scored the first and the second in the first minute, Shun Lee came back to 2-1 before Ulf made it 3-1. The following 4 minutes were more typical of the best defense of the league, as the AKITA team slowed down and no goal were scored on either side before AKITA conceded a penalty. The beginning of the match had a French flavour with Yoann joined by PA and Guillaume occupying the right flank. As the team was playing well in movement PA was given some space and could go through the defense twice in a row (5-2). Yoann answered Shun Lee third goal with a penalty. To complete the French touch, the team played perfectly in the intervals so Guillaume could receive the ball from his brother and conclude with a perfect wing shot under the applaudes of the bench (7-3).
Defense was now fully warmed up and it was time for some German no nonsense handball with Rolf and Norbert in particular scaring the Shun Lee players on the left side. Markus was on for Yoann, Dominik for Guillaume and Michael for PA. Markus scored before David opened his count as his good runs allowed him to get the ball in good position. A comfortable catch from Wan allowed for a lighting fast break for Dominik before Shun Lee clawed one back (10 - 4 on 13th minute). The game was accelerating again with Michael scoring on a second wave, Alex getting a marvel of a pass by Ulf on another, David and Dominik also adding their second in the run. Each of those goals were answered back by a well motivated Shun Lee losing no time to rush forward (14 - 8 on 20th minute). Markus then stepped up to add 2 in a row but once again Shun Lee answered with 2 of their own (including a penalty). As the end of the hald was looming with 2 minutes to play, it all turned to David who scored 3 to make AKITA clear. The half time socre of 19 - 10 very much looked like an AKITA full time score! It was the best offensive half of the year but not the most defense oriented one.
For the second half, Norbert finally decided to take a little for himself rather than just giving to his team mates and scored on the opening. Yoann was also back on and added the following. As Shun Lee was still scoring, Alex called for the ball, scoring two and gratifying the public of his special move, a 270 degrees turn in the line position despite having no opponent around. With Norbert adding his second in between the score was 24 - 15 after 10 minutes in the second half. It was the right time to use some good defense to sail further away. As Shun Lee was also getting tired, AKITA played 5 minutes of defense followed by fast break, the perfect setup for David who scored the 4 AKITA goal in this period. Michael added one to make it 29 - 16 before Shun lee scored again.
For his last match with AKITA before returning to Europe, David kept on receiving good balls and scored to with a PA goal in between to make the score 32 - 18. This goal was putting AKITA on par with Yuen Long as best attack of the league, something which the statistican may have known but which had not been discussed by the coaches. PA added the last one of the season to make it sole best attack and a last minute penalty for Shun Lee made the score 33 - 20.
David 11, Yoann 4, PA 4, Alex 3, Markus 3, Michael 2, Norbert 2, Dominik 2, Guille 1, Ulf 1
AKITA gets promotion with a 24 - 9 win againts Long Hei (龍禧) (12 - 6)
With a Sunday 12:25 Kick off, AKITA had the chance to secure its promotion but the team didn't know yet that ARISE dropped points. This would not have changed anything in the coach orders. Plan was to get a solid match defense and play straight in the gaps in attack.
The match proved very out of the ordinary, to start with, AKITA won the toss for the first time in 12 attempts! During the match, despite few cautions, AKITA did not suffer any temporary exclusion.
After defending successfully the first action, David got the first goal in. After that it was all on the right side for the following 10 minutes. Hans scored first before Rolf had 2 consecutive goals from tight angles. Hans strength and power was making marvels and even when the goal was touching the ball it was still getting in, allowing him to get 4 goals in a row for a 8-5 lead. Defense was having a slow start and a bit of bad luck. On a shoot from the half left, the defense jumped and slightly modified the course of the ball which resulted in an awkward trajectory for Markus. As he was surprised, the ball arrived on his little finger before getting in. Markus was forced to leave his place to Wan as the finger needed straightening... After this incident digested, the French connection of Yoann and PA on the left side woke up the Half left scoring 2 after being launched by the winger who himself scored the last of the half. One more Hans goal in between meant a score of 12 - 6 at the break.
This was an interesting buffer, but for once AKITA proved themselves much better in the second half than in the first. In particular, the defense significantly stepped up and with the exception of a fast break to start the second half, it proved a nightmare for the happy dragons. In attack, As Hans was being rested, Norbert found his rhythm and was creating a lot of movements and goals scoring 4 with a Yoann goal in between for a 17 - 8 score with a quarter of the game to be played. The team was having a nice and effective turnover with Markus (2) and David (3) bringing some more goals. In defense, everyone was maintaining full commitment and in particular Lars defending on the half right was using efficiently his size and strength and in one instance stopping with one arm only a a Long Hei player at full speed. They only got their third goal of the half with 2 minutes to go. Yoann made sure that AKITA would score last when he answered for a 24 - 9 win.
The season is reaching his end and AKITA will be very keen on getting the best potential record. The last match would be against 4th ranked Shun Lee.
Hans 6, David 4, Norbert 4, PA 3, Yoann 3, Rolf 2, Markus 2
The match proved very out of the ordinary, to start with, AKITA won the toss for the first time in 12 attempts! During the match, despite few cautions, AKITA did not suffer any temporary exclusion.
After defending successfully the first action, David got the first goal in. After that it was all on the right side for the following 10 minutes. Hans scored first before Rolf had 2 consecutive goals from tight angles. Hans strength and power was making marvels and even when the goal was touching the ball it was still getting in, allowing him to get 4 goals in a row for a 8-5 lead. Defense was having a slow start and a bit of bad luck. On a shoot from the half left, the defense jumped and slightly modified the course of the ball which resulted in an awkward trajectory for Markus. As he was surprised, the ball arrived on his little finger before getting in. Markus was forced to leave his place to Wan as the finger needed straightening... After this incident digested, the French connection of Yoann and PA on the left side woke up the Half left scoring 2 after being launched by the winger who himself scored the last of the half. One more Hans goal in between meant a score of 12 - 6 at the break.
This was an interesting buffer, but for once AKITA proved themselves much better in the second half than in the first. In particular, the defense significantly stepped up and with the exception of a fast break to start the second half, it proved a nightmare for the happy dragons. In attack, As Hans was being rested, Norbert found his rhythm and was creating a lot of movements and goals scoring 4 with a Yoann goal in between for a 17 - 8 score with a quarter of the game to be played. The team was having a nice and effective turnover with Markus (2) and David (3) bringing some more goals. In defense, everyone was maintaining full commitment and in particular Lars defending on the half right was using efficiently his size and strength and in one instance stopping with one arm only a a Long Hei player at full speed. They only got their third goal of the half with 2 minutes to go. Yoann made sure that AKITA would score last when he answered for a 24 - 9 win.
The season is reaching his end and AKITA will be very keen on getting the best potential record. The last match would be against 4th ranked Shun Lee.
Hans 6, David 4, Norbert 4, PA 3, Yoann 3, Rolf 2, Markus 2
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Yuen Long Champion, AKITA Promoted !!
Last Saturday, Yuen Long and ARISE were playing their last matches. With a 22 - 20 victory against Nam Wan, Yuen Long clinched the title with 21 points. At the same time, ARISE only drew 19 - 19 against Chun Yuen and ends on 17 points.
On Sunday, AKITA defeated defeated the Happy Dragons 24 - 9 to count 18 points with one match to play and is now sure of promotion! On Sunday they will play their last match to try to close the season on the same number of points as Yuen Long.
On Sunday, AKITA defeated defeated the Happy Dragons 24 - 9 to count 18 points with one match to play and is now sure of promotion! On Sunday they will play their last match to try to close the season on the same number of points as Yuen Long.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
League Update - Yuen Long closing on title
As AKITA was grounded at home because of an Amber alert on the week end, 4 matches were played during the week by the other teams.
In a 19:00 Kick-off on May 19, Yuen Long (元朗) managed to get the best of Chun Yuen (駿源), but not without a scare. Ahead at half time (11-9) Yuen Long had to wait for the last minute to secure a 24-23 victory that leaves them 1 win away (last match against Nam Wan) from the title and promotion. In the following match The Institute of Education (教院) managed an outstanding come back against Long Hei (龍禧), after being 7-16 down at half time they reversed the match for a 26-23 win.
In the Thursday matches, ARISE needed to bounce back from its heavy Sunday defeat whereas Shun Lee Catholic (順利天主教) needed a win to keep a very small hope of promotion. After a slow start, (8-7 for Shun Lee) ARISE recovered their confidence and managed an 18-15 victory. They now will need a slip up from one of the top 2 team and a victory in their Saturday night rubber against Chun Yuen(駿源)to have a chance of promotion. In the later match of the day, HKIED lead Nam Wan 12-11 at half time but could not maintain their lead and was defeated 24-26.
Because of delayed matches AKITA has still 2 games in hand, whereas ARISE and Yuen Long only have 1 remaining. The promotion places could be allocated by the end of the WE if ARISE were to draw or lose and AKITA could manage a win.
In a 19:00 Kick-off on May 19, Yuen Long (元朗) managed to get the best of Chun Yuen (駿源), but not without a scare. Ahead at half time (11-9) Yuen Long had to wait for the last minute to secure a 24-23 victory that leaves them 1 win away (last match against Nam Wan) from the title and promotion. In the following match The Institute of Education (教院) managed an outstanding come back against Long Hei (龍禧), after being 7-16 down at half time they reversed the match for a 26-23 win.
In the Thursday matches, ARISE needed to bounce back from its heavy Sunday defeat whereas Shun Lee Catholic (順利天主教) needed a win to keep a very small hope of promotion. After a slow start, (8-7 for Shun Lee) ARISE recovered their confidence and managed an 18-15 victory. They now will need a slip up from one of the top 2 team and a victory in their Saturday night rubber against Chun Yuen(駿源)to have a chance of promotion. In the later match of the day, HKIED lead Nam Wan 12-11 at half time but could not maintain their lead and was defeated 24-26.
Because of delayed matches AKITA has still 2 games in hand, whereas ARISE and Yuen Long only have 1 remaining. The promotion places could be allocated by the end of the WE if ARISE were to draw or lose and AKITA could manage a win.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
AKITA is back in control with a 23-11 win against ARISE (13 - 4)
Despite a very early start (9am kick-off) it was a fully motivated 13-strong squad that was warming up well on time. That was the first sign that the commitment at least was there. Everyone knew what was a stake, anything else than a win would remove any chance of promotion.
Coach Banks made a rather extensive briefing, focusing on the different options available to the team in defense and in attack to make sure the AKITA team would be able to adapt to anything thrown at them. To surprise the opposition, he kept Hans on the bench with PA deputising on the right half for the first few minutes. Wan was starting in the goal and stayed for the whole match as Markus was missing in some sunny island. With Yoann on the left wing, Norbert in half left, Ulf centre, Rolf on the right wing and Alex on the line the instruction was to play direct and straight to the goal to put pressure. This worked well with PA opening the scoring, unfortunately ARISE immediately got the first of many penalty to bring them to parity. Norbert scored 2 for one ARISE goal and as the league leaders were starting to settle in, it was time to get Hans on the pitch. This immediately paid off with him scoring 2 goals in one minute. As the coaches were calling for a strong defensive effort, Wan remained undefeated for a full 10 minutes bringing the score to 8-2. Alex, Hans and Norbert had been yellow carded by the 10th minute but it was clearly not for lack of commitment.
As ARISE was struggling to go through the defense, they were insisting on their line and the simple strategy of pushing defenders in the 6 meter area to ask for penalties. This proved efficient as the referees were particularly strict on inside defending rather than on offensive fouls. Neverthless, by half time Alex, Markus R., Ulf added their contribution to Norbert and Hans sustained effort to make the score 13 - 4. That was probably the most complete hald ever played by AKITA as the game plan had been fully respected. Conscious that second halves are usually not the strongest part of the AKITA performances, the coaches asked everyone to remain focus. The team had been swapping well to keep everyone fresh and wanted to capitalise on that in the second half.
The ARISE team obtained one more converted penalty directly at the restart. After Yoann scored his first of the match, both team faced a stallmate for 5 minutes as noone seemed able to score. 2 quick goals from RISE bringing the score to 15-9 were required to wake up the team. Hans scored one more to restart the team but ARISE answered quickly again with 2 goals. The AKITA team was letting themselves played into the fast rythm of their opponents rather than imposoing is slow progressive favored one. As the defense settled back again to prevent any ARISE fast play it provided balls again for fast break as well as wing plays with David scoring 3 and Markus 1. ARISE scored a last goal on the 16th minutes to bring the score to 19 - 11 but it was becoming obvious withless than 10 to play that they had limited fuel left in the tank as they pushed as hard as they could at the restart. With a strong turnover with to Dominick, Guillaume and Nobel also participating, the AKITA team was still fresh and able to develop its game. Guilaume added his name to the scoresheet thanks to a good pass from Hans with 3 minutes to go and Hans did not let anyone but himself conclude the scoring of a 23-11 victory.
Coach Banks was hardly euphoric when he made the match summary: Today, AKITA showed its potential as a team, and proved 100% determination. Everyone had the will to succeed, and everyone contributed to this formidable triumph. Now, after this splendid success we can all look forward to the final matches of the season. Let's all stay focused, and earn the merits for AKITA's maiden season in the final two matches of this round. With this in mind I shall conclude: "Mu.... nass!" (Alex, aka Coach Banks)
AKITA is now back amongst the promotion places with ARISE dropping into 3rd. Yuen Long victory against HKIED means they stand first in the league thanks to their particular result against AKITA and they are now only 2 matches away from a division title.
Hans 8, Norbert 4, David 3, Markus 2, Alex 2, Ulf 1, PA 1, Guille 1, Yoann 1
Coach Banks made a rather extensive briefing, focusing on the different options available to the team in defense and in attack to make sure the AKITA team would be able to adapt to anything thrown at them. To surprise the opposition, he kept Hans on the bench with PA deputising on the right half for the first few minutes. Wan was starting in the goal and stayed for the whole match as Markus was missing in some sunny island. With Yoann on the left wing, Norbert in half left, Ulf centre, Rolf on the right wing and Alex on the line the instruction was to play direct and straight to the goal to put pressure. This worked well with PA opening the scoring, unfortunately ARISE immediately got the first of many penalty to bring them to parity. Norbert scored 2 for one ARISE goal and as the league leaders were starting to settle in, it was time to get Hans on the pitch. This immediately paid off with him scoring 2 goals in one minute. As the coaches were calling for a strong defensive effort, Wan remained undefeated for a full 10 minutes bringing the score to 8-2. Alex, Hans and Norbert had been yellow carded by the 10th minute but it was clearly not for lack of commitment.
As ARISE was struggling to go through the defense, they were insisting on their line and the simple strategy of pushing defenders in the 6 meter area to ask for penalties. This proved efficient as the referees were particularly strict on inside defending rather than on offensive fouls. Neverthless, by half time Alex, Markus R., Ulf added their contribution to Norbert and Hans sustained effort to make the score 13 - 4. That was probably the most complete hald ever played by AKITA as the game plan had been fully respected. Conscious that second halves are usually not the strongest part of the AKITA performances, the coaches asked everyone to remain focus. The team had been swapping well to keep everyone fresh and wanted to capitalise on that in the second half.
The ARISE team obtained one more converted penalty directly at the restart. After Yoann scored his first of the match, both team faced a stallmate for 5 minutes as noone seemed able to score. 2 quick goals from RISE bringing the score to 15-9 were required to wake up the team. Hans scored one more to restart the team but ARISE answered quickly again with 2 goals. The AKITA team was letting themselves played into the fast rythm of their opponents rather than imposoing is slow progressive favored one. As the defense settled back again to prevent any ARISE fast play it provided balls again for fast break as well as wing plays with David scoring 3 and Markus 1. ARISE scored a last goal on the 16th minutes to bring the score to 19 - 11 but it was becoming obvious withless than 10 to play that they had limited fuel left in the tank as they pushed as hard as they could at the restart. With a strong turnover with to Dominick, Guillaume and Nobel also participating, the AKITA team was still fresh and able to develop its game. Guilaume added his name to the scoresheet thanks to a good pass from Hans with 3 minutes to go and Hans did not let anyone but himself conclude the scoring of a 23-11 victory.
Coach Banks was hardly euphoric when he made the match summary: Today, AKITA showed its potential as a team, and proved 100% determination. Everyone had the will to succeed, and everyone contributed to this formidable triumph. Now, after this splendid success we can all look forward to the final matches of the season. Let's all stay focused, and earn the merits for AKITA's maiden season in the final two matches of this round. With this in mind I shall conclude: "Mu.... nass!" (Alex, aka Coach Banks)
AKITA is now back amongst the promotion places with ARISE dropping into 3rd. Yuen Long victory against HKIED means they stand first in the league thanks to their particular result against AKITA and they are now only 2 matches away from a division title.
Hans 8, Norbert 4, David 3, Markus 2, Alex 2, Ulf 1, PA 1, Guille 1, Yoann 1
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
AKITA bounces back against Chun Yuen (駿源) 23 - 11 (11 - 2)
This was a risky match for many reasons for the AKITA team. First AKITA needed to bounce back from its sunday defeat, second Chun Yuen had finished co-leader of group C and third it was a week day match. Something not very well suited for the AKITA team that could not be sure of how many players would be on time... Except some minor delay for one of the players who wanted to visit the Choi Hung changing room before joining the Ho Man Tin Leisure centre for the match, there was no issue and the match sheet was 12-strong with Wan, Markus, Norbert, Dominik for his first match, Ulf, Alex, Hans, David, PA, Guille, Jocelyn and Lars.
Coaches and skipper team talk before the start were pretty clear, AKITA needed to play on its strength and make sure to start at 100%, particularly in defense.
The commitment was there but on the third minute Chun Yuen was given a penalty as the left wing got stopped by PA on his way to the 6 meters. The decision surprised the AKITA team as both players were facing each other and the winger had no chance of a shot attempt. Even more surprising it was the referee the further away from the ball that whistled whereas the other referee was indicating a 9 meters free throw. The AKITA team just shrugged and Hans scored immediately to reinstate parity. Alex was then well served to score 2 in a row. Chun Yuen came back to 3 - 2 but from there on the shop was closed. AKITA scored the following 10 goals without conceding (8 by half time) with almost everyone contributing. During this whole phase, the AKITA team could not get any free throw in its favour.
With the score at 13 - 2, the AKITA team was using its bench a lot keeping energy up but started to be a little less focused. That gave Chun Yuen the chance to score 2 in a row. Jocelyn and Ulf opened the defense in the middle to score 1 each to restore the advantage. Number 23 of Chun Yuen was given a free pass to shoot from the hip in the middle and got one back. Then come what is probably the goal of the match, Guillaume saw the lack of attention of the keeper and of his direct defender on the right wing and shot from 8 meters above the defense in a wing positon. As his brother already started to complain that it was not an open shot the ball ended in the opposite top corner of the goal without the start of a move from the keeper!
Hans and PA added few more goals from the halves but Chun Yuen enjoyed few positive moments and scored 4 in a row. At that time happened one of the most puzzling incident, on an attempt of a fast break the Chun Yuen keeper threw a long ball, as Markus came out to intercept it he jumped, caught the ball and was bumped into by the running Chun Yuen player. As both players ended on the floor and Markus could not control the ball, the referee indicated the penalty point. Markus was fuming and would feel even more unlucky few seconds later when after stopping the 7 meter throw he pushed the ball inside when falling on the floor. On one of the following action, one of the AKITA players went alone in a fast break and when he tried to shoot, everyone could hear the sound of a big slap on his arm. As the ball ended out of play, nothing was whistled. One more penalty given to Shun Yuen by the field referee who overruled his closer colleague again did not lighten the mood but the AKITA team kept its composure to score four more with an excellent Jocelyn scoring the last 2. A brave Chun Yuen scored the final goal of the match to make the score 23 - 11.
There was a taste of deja-vu in this match as AKITA built the result in the first half by conceding only 2. After that the game was more fluid and the AKITA team was less rigorous in the second half. It was an improvement on the last 2 matches but demonstrated that the AKITA team is much more comfortable when they start ahead. On Sunday. AKITA will have no leeway as they will need to win against ARISE to keep their promotion hopes alive. It will be a 9am kick off and it will be important to be awake from the first second.
Hans 5, Johannes 4, Alex 3, PA 3, Norbert 3, David 2, Guille 1, Lars 1, Ulf 1
Coaches and skipper team talk before the start were pretty clear, AKITA needed to play on its strength and make sure to start at 100%, particularly in defense.
The commitment was there but on the third minute Chun Yuen was given a penalty as the left wing got stopped by PA on his way to the 6 meters. The decision surprised the AKITA team as both players were facing each other and the winger had no chance of a shot attempt. Even more surprising it was the referee the further away from the ball that whistled whereas the other referee was indicating a 9 meters free throw. The AKITA team just shrugged and Hans scored immediately to reinstate parity. Alex was then well served to score 2 in a row. Chun Yuen came back to 3 - 2 but from there on the shop was closed. AKITA scored the following 10 goals without conceding (8 by half time) with almost everyone contributing. During this whole phase, the AKITA team could not get any free throw in its favour.
With the score at 13 - 2, the AKITA team was using its bench a lot keeping energy up but started to be a little less focused. That gave Chun Yuen the chance to score 2 in a row. Jocelyn and Ulf opened the defense in the middle to score 1 each to restore the advantage. Number 23 of Chun Yuen was given a free pass to shoot from the hip in the middle and got one back. Then come what is probably the goal of the match, Guillaume saw the lack of attention of the keeper and of his direct defender on the right wing and shot from 8 meters above the defense in a wing positon. As his brother already started to complain that it was not an open shot the ball ended in the opposite top corner of the goal without the start of a move from the keeper!
Hans and PA added few more goals from the halves but Chun Yuen enjoyed few positive moments and scored 4 in a row. At that time happened one of the most puzzling incident, on an attempt of a fast break the Chun Yuen keeper threw a long ball, as Markus came out to intercept it he jumped, caught the ball and was bumped into by the running Chun Yuen player. As both players ended on the floor and Markus could not control the ball, the referee indicated the penalty point. Markus was fuming and would feel even more unlucky few seconds later when after stopping the 7 meter throw he pushed the ball inside when falling on the floor. On one of the following action, one of the AKITA players went alone in a fast break and when he tried to shoot, everyone could hear the sound of a big slap on his arm. As the ball ended out of play, nothing was whistled. One more penalty given to Shun Yuen by the field referee who overruled his closer colleague again did not lighten the mood but the AKITA team kept its composure to score four more with an excellent Jocelyn scoring the last 2. A brave Chun Yuen scored the final goal of the match to make the score 23 - 11.
There was a taste of deja-vu in this match as AKITA built the result in the first half by conceding only 2. After that the game was more fluid and the AKITA team was less rigorous in the second half. It was an improvement on the last 2 matches but demonstrated that the AKITA team is much more comfortable when they start ahead. On Sunday. AKITA will have no leeway as they will need to win against ARISE to keep their promotion hopes alive. It will be a 9am kick off and it will be important to be awake from the first second.
Hans 5, Johannes 4, Alex 3, PA 3, Norbert 3, David 2, Guille 1, Lars 1, Ulf 1
Monday, May 11, 2009
First Defeat for the AKITA Team against Yuen Long (元朗) 17 - 19 (9 - 9)
This was once again a midday kick-off and before the start of the match, the AKITA players were looking for the cool of the shade. The Yuen Long Team had a deeper bench but the AKITA team with 11 players on the match sheet were not at their worst. Based on the preliminary matches, AKITA knew that Yuen Long had a strong attack and that they lost first place in their group by 1 goal only against ARISE.
The match started with both teams being very close, the AKITA defense was not as sharp as usual and despite scoring first by David, the Gwailos were then over taken to 1 - 2. Hans brought AKITA to 2 - 2, then PA scored for 3 - 3, David again brought the two teams back at 4 - 4. After 8 minutes, the score was still tied, but for the next 10 minutes, AKITA would not score. Something was broken in the rythm of the team and some nervous mistakes offered too many opportunities to Yuen Long. AKITA suffered its worst sequence ever seeing the score growing to 4 - 9. Yuen Long was finding the line every single time creating havoc and frustration in the AKITA defense. By the time AKITA reacted, Norbert and Markus R. got yellow carded. Fortunately, after a time out, the team moved to a 6/0 defense and this stopped the access to the line. In the last 7 minutes, AKITA did not concede and came back in the match. Markus scored first followed by Alex and Norbert. Playing with one player less as Norbert received a second yellow, AKITA still managed not to concede and 2 penalties converted by Alex brought back the team to 9 - 9 at half time.
The second half started like the first with both team answering to each other. AKITA was trying to increase the pressure in attacking phase and PA scored twice from the distance forcing the defense to get out. Another David fast break allowed AKITA to be 2 ahead at 13 - 11. Number 12 of Yuen Long reduced the gap but Hans launch himself to score on the next 9 meter free throw. With the score at 14 - 12 and with 13 minutes to play, the AKITA team should have built on the gap. Exactly the opposite happened as the tiredness started to show. The defense was giving too many opportunities and the attack was not necessarily choosing the right options. Alex once again brought the team back one ahead but Yuen long answered with 3 goals in 2 minutes.
With 5 minutes to go Norbert scored bringing the team just 1 behind but on the following action he received a severe 2 minutes suspension. Things were hard they, they were becoming much more difficult. AKITA was forced into doing some changes as some of the players were just exhausted with the heat. Yuen Long restored a 2 goal advantage but Hans immediately brought it back to 1. With 4 minutes to go, the AKITA team could not concede anymore. To his great surprise Hans received 2 minutes against him and AKITA was defending at 4 against 6 for 20 seconds. The players on the pitch gave all they could not to concede and managed to keep the score up to Norbert's return on the pitch. Unfortunately, he received a final 2 minutes 5 seconds later. At 4 against 6 for another 1 and a half minute and with 1:50 to play things were becoming extremely difficult. The AKITA team did not give up and once again managed to protect the goal getting the ball back with 1:20 to play. at 4 against 6, the AKITA team tried to find options and not to force something impossible but they let themselves get cornered on the right wing and a too optimistic pass ended out of play.
With 30 seconds to play, Yuen Long took their final time out to make sure they would follow a plan. With one player less, the AKITA team still tried to press high but there was little other option than letting one of the Yuen Long player go to the shoot and hope for a miss. Unfortunately number 12 scored to close the 19 - 17 victory of Yuen Long.
This was not a great performance of AKITA, as the team lacked consistency on the day and did not fare well under the heat and pressure of a close match but full credits to Yuen Long which performed from the first to the last minute and never decreased the tempo, even when they struggled against the AKITA defense at the end of the first half. They were the better team on the day, coping better with the weather and playing their game all along.
For the promotion race, both teams can still get through but it made everything much closer and the AKITA team burnt their joker. This is even closer considering that ARISE drew against HKIED. Those four teams are therefore still in the mix.
Alex 4, Hans 3, David 3, PA 3, Markus 2, Norbert 2
The match started with both teams being very close, the AKITA defense was not as sharp as usual and despite scoring first by David, the Gwailos were then over taken to 1 - 2. Hans brought AKITA to 2 - 2, then PA scored for 3 - 3, David again brought the two teams back at 4 - 4. After 8 minutes, the score was still tied, but for the next 10 minutes, AKITA would not score. Something was broken in the rythm of the team and some nervous mistakes offered too many opportunities to Yuen Long. AKITA suffered its worst sequence ever seeing the score growing to 4 - 9. Yuen Long was finding the line every single time creating havoc and frustration in the AKITA defense. By the time AKITA reacted, Norbert and Markus R. got yellow carded. Fortunately, after a time out, the team moved to a 6/0 defense and this stopped the access to the line. In the last 7 minutes, AKITA did not concede and came back in the match. Markus scored first followed by Alex and Norbert. Playing with one player less as Norbert received a second yellow, AKITA still managed not to concede and 2 penalties converted by Alex brought back the team to 9 - 9 at half time.
The second half started like the first with both team answering to each other. AKITA was trying to increase the pressure in attacking phase and PA scored twice from the distance forcing the defense to get out. Another David fast break allowed AKITA to be 2 ahead at 13 - 11. Number 12 of Yuen Long reduced the gap but Hans launch himself to score on the next 9 meter free throw. With the score at 14 - 12 and with 13 minutes to play, the AKITA team should have built on the gap. Exactly the opposite happened as the tiredness started to show. The defense was giving too many opportunities and the attack was not necessarily choosing the right options. Alex once again brought the team back one ahead but Yuen long answered with 3 goals in 2 minutes.
With 5 minutes to go Norbert scored bringing the team just 1 behind but on the following action he received a severe 2 minutes suspension. Things were hard they, they were becoming much more difficult. AKITA was forced into doing some changes as some of the players were just exhausted with the heat. Yuen Long restored a 2 goal advantage but Hans immediately brought it back to 1. With 4 minutes to go, the AKITA team could not concede anymore. To his great surprise Hans received 2 minutes against him and AKITA was defending at 4 against 6 for 20 seconds. The players on the pitch gave all they could not to concede and managed to keep the score up to Norbert's return on the pitch. Unfortunately, he received a final 2 minutes 5 seconds later. At 4 against 6 for another 1 and a half minute and with 1:50 to play things were becoming extremely difficult. The AKITA team did not give up and once again managed to protect the goal getting the ball back with 1:20 to play. at 4 against 6, the AKITA team tried to find options and not to force something impossible but they let themselves get cornered on the right wing and a too optimistic pass ended out of play.
With 30 seconds to play, Yuen Long took their final time out to make sure they would follow a plan. With one player less, the AKITA team still tried to press high but there was little other option than letting one of the Yuen Long player go to the shoot and hope for a miss. Unfortunately number 12 scored to close the 19 - 17 victory of Yuen Long.
This was not a great performance of AKITA, as the team lacked consistency on the day and did not fare well under the heat and pressure of a close match but full credits to Yuen Long which performed from the first to the last minute and never decreased the tempo, even when they struggled against the AKITA defense at the end of the first half. They were the better team on the day, coping better with the weather and playing their game all along.
For the promotion race, both teams can still get through but it made everything much closer and the AKITA team burnt their joker. This is even closer considering that ARISE drew against HKIED. Those four teams are therefore still in the mix.
Alex 4, Hans 3, David 3, PA 3, Markus 2, Norbert 2
AKITA starts with a win against Nam Wan (嵐灣) 23 - 13 (10 - 2)
For its first match of the second phase, the AKITA team was facing Nam Wan in a midday match. Sun cream was definitely needed as the sun was at its peak and the heat was turned on.
Nam Wan had strong performances as well as less rigorous ones in the group matches to take third, so Akita was not sure of what type of opposition they would face. The main concern before the match though was the heat. With a match starting at 11:15 and absolutely no shade anywhere, the intention was to put the match away as fast as possible to avoid a difficult ending.
After a nice clean goal by Guillaume on the right wing on the 2nd minute, both team played very much defensive, observing each other and the second goal only came on the 7th minute by David. The number 12, best scorer of Nam Wan, immediately answered and the match really started then. With AKITA scoring 1 goal every 2 minutes and defending with commitment, the score went to 5 - 1 before a penalty was given to Nam Wan to score their 2nd. From there on, the Nam Wan team could not find any gap and 3 goals of Hans with David and PA between them made the score 9 - 2. The AKITA team was playing at its own (slow) pace, making sure no fast break was given and creating the doubt in the opponents mind.
For the restart of the match, the team made few changes but more prejudiciably, moved down a notch in intensity. The pace of the match accelerated despite the heat and it was not necessarily to the advantage of the oldest team on the pitch... Nam Wan got the first 2 goals of the half, giving them something to build and cheer on. Lars was the first to answer followed in the same minute by a Hans fast break. Then Norbert traded goal with the Nam Wan team each of his three consecutive goals being answered back. One more goal from Ulf and the score was only 16 - 9. It was the moment for the AKITA team to take a time out to try to refocus and revisit its game plan. It did not become perfect, but still proved an positive as the end of the match was a little bit more controlled.
Hans immediately put 1 goal more and this was followed by the play of the match. Lars starting from the right wing, ran with the ball to cross with the half left and then without stopping received a laser pass in position of left wing in the middle of two defenders, at the 6 meters, preceding David on the way and slotting the ball through the keeper without even seeing the goal. That left the whole bench screaming and clapping and the Nam Wan team bewildered and still wondering how the ball went through the whole defense first and the keeper second.
PA, Ulf and David kept on adding some goals and Norbert concluded this 23 - 13 victory. This was not the strongest outing of AKITA as the team clearly suffered from the heat as well as a lack of consistency, but the strong defensive performance of the first half made the match more manageable. The difficulty to mantain constant focus in this heat was nevertheless creating concerns to the coaches.
Nam Wan had strong performances as well as less rigorous ones in the group matches to take third, so Akita was not sure of what type of opposition they would face. The main concern before the match though was the heat. With a match starting at 11:15 and absolutely no shade anywhere, the intention was to put the match away as fast as possible to avoid a difficult ending.
After a nice clean goal by Guillaume on the right wing on the 2nd minute, both team played very much defensive, observing each other and the second goal only came on the 7th minute by David. The number 12, best scorer of Nam Wan, immediately answered and the match really started then. With AKITA scoring 1 goal every 2 minutes and defending with commitment, the score went to 5 - 1 before a penalty was given to Nam Wan to score their 2nd. From there on, the Nam Wan team could not find any gap and 3 goals of Hans with David and PA between them made the score 9 - 2. The AKITA team was playing at its own (slow) pace, making sure no fast break was given and creating the doubt in the opponents mind.
For the restart of the match, the team made few changes but more prejudiciably, moved down a notch in intensity. The pace of the match accelerated despite the heat and it was not necessarily to the advantage of the oldest team on the pitch... Nam Wan got the first 2 goals of the half, giving them something to build and cheer on. Lars was the first to answer followed in the same minute by a Hans fast break. Then Norbert traded goal with the Nam Wan team each of his three consecutive goals being answered back. One more goal from Ulf and the score was only 16 - 9. It was the moment for the AKITA team to take a time out to try to refocus and revisit its game plan. It did not become perfect, but still proved an positive as the end of the match was a little bit more controlled.
Hans immediately put 1 goal more and this was followed by the play of the match. Lars starting from the right wing, ran with the ball to cross with the half left and then without stopping received a laser pass in position of left wing in the middle of two defenders, at the 6 meters, preceding David on the way and slotting the ball through the keeper without even seeing the goal. That left the whole bench screaming and clapping and the Nam Wan team bewildered and still wondering how the ball went through the whole defense first and the keeper second.
PA, Ulf and David kept on adding some goals and Norbert concluded this 23 - 13 victory. This was not the strongest outing of AKITA as the team clearly suffered from the heat as well as a lack of consistency, but the strong defensive performance of the first half made the match more manageable. The difficulty to mantain constant focus in this heat was nevertheless creating concerns to the coaches.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Quiet before the Storm
It has been a long time since our last post to talk about the team, mostly because it has been a long time since our last official match! We should have started the second phase against the Happy Dragons (3rd in group B) last Week End but with the poor weather, the full sessions of matches was called off. We will now have to find another date for that match.
Instead, our first match will be this Friday (May 1)around noon against Nam Wan. They finished third of the group C. The schedule is supposed to go crescendo as we are supposed to play 3rds of groups B and Cs, then seconds, then firsts. If things go well the last 2 matches could be real crackers that would be decisive for the promotion and the title. Before we get there, there is a big week coming as we have 3 matchs within 7 days.
We will need to get back quickly into the rythm to face this crucial week. The AKITA training was pretty disturbed over the last few weeks as we lost the benefit of the Mei Foo court, this combined with people travelling means that we only trained a couple of time with the HK national team in the last few weeks.
We hope to get some new slot for the training as soon as possible but if anyone has a suggestion of where to train during a week day evening, we are interested. Also, the current freeze on training makes integration of new players more difficult but we are recruiting and the earlier new players come, the better we can organise next year. Additionnaly, there should be new event (HK cup, beach tournament...) which we can enter AKITA into.
Let's hope for a spectacular end of the year
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
AKITA Marches to the second phase
During March, the AKITA Team was in an off competition month and was waiting for the start of the second phase.
The survey on what should keep the team busy gave the following results:
Play one friendly match 1 (9%)
Play many friendlies 3 (27%)
Go the gym to lose the beer belly 0 (0%)
Get the germans to take french lessons 2 (18%)
Train proper combinations for the TV 0 (0%)
Find a beer company to sponsor the team in kind 8 (72%)
At least the priorities of the team were clear and this should definitely increase the fear factor for other teams...
But the team still managed to get some handball before the easter break. AKITA was honoured to play with the Hong Kong senior and junior national teams. An interesting and not easy experience as the very high and mobile defense of Hong Kong is unusual for players coming from Europe and shows the strong fitness of the Hong Kong team.
On the 25th March, the AKITA team met the HK PolyU at the Shaw Sports Complex. A great location for this match against an very strong team.
Going forward, the AKITA team will have the chance to play more time against the Hong Kong national team as the height, weight and physical style of the AKITA defense will hopefully help them to face a different style from the traditional Hong Kong style in preparation of the Asian games. We wish all the best to the Hong Kong team and are honoured to play with them.
Regarding the second phase, Long Hei the Happy Dragons (龍禧) managed 2 wins in the last 2 matches to get to 15 points and the third place. in Group C Chun Yuen (駿源) should go through with 12 points following Yan Ching (仁青) forfeit.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Directions to get to Handball Courts
These are the main Handball locations for Akita:
The match against King's was played in on the San Wo Playground (屯門新禾里手球場, 屯門新和里). MAtches there are pretty rare but just in case, we have kept the explanation there. It is Tuen Mun between Siu Hong MTR and Tuen Mun MTR stations.
Going to Siu Hong tube station and share taxis from there should be the fastest option.
The location of the the ground is San Wo Lane:
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- Lai Chi Kok Sports Centre (MTR Mei Foo)- main training ground
- Choi Hung Road Sports Centre (MTR Wong Tai Sin)- most matches are played here
- Ho Man Tin Leisure Centre (MTR Jordan) - occasional matches, for example during the week
- Tin Shui Sports Centre (MTR Tin Shui Wai) - rarely used but for some matches during the Choi Hung refurbishment period
Lai Chi Kok Sports Centre (Most common training place)
Location: Lai Wan Road Hei Street
Take the MTR to Mei Foo (NOT Lai Chi Kok). Take Exit C1 at Mei Foo MTR. Follow Lai Wan Road and the sports centre will be on the left..
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Choi Hung Road Sports Centre (most weekend matches are played there and current October training)
Location: between Choi Hung Road and Sheung Hei Street .
Take the MTR to Wong Tai Sin (NOT Choi Hung). Take Exit D1 or D2 at Wong Tai Sin MTR. Follow Shatin Pass Road to Choi Hung Road and the sports centre is visible on the other side. Take the bridge and the handball court is on the left.
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Ho Man Tin Leisure Centre (usually for matches during the week)
Location: No.1 Chung Yee street, Ho Man Tin, Kowloon
The simplest option is to take the MTR to Jordan, Yau Ma Tei or Hung Hom and then grab a taxi for a short ride. There are minibus but they are tricky if you are not familiar with them and you don't want to be late for kick off.
Tin Shui Sports Centre (in special circumstances)
Location: Tin Shui Sports centre off Tin Shui Road, Tin Shui Wai, New territories
The simplest option is to take the MTR to Tin Shui Wai and then grab a taxi for a short ride. You can walk on Tin Yiu Road, then continue on Tin Wu Road before reaching Tin Shui Road. Use Exit C to be on the north side of the road.
The match against King's was played in on the San Wo Playground (屯門新禾里手球場, 屯門新和里). MAtches there are pretty rare but just in case, we have kept the explanation there. It is Tuen Mun between Siu Hong MTR and Tuen Mun MTR stations.
Going to Siu Hong tube station and share taxis from there should be the fastest option.
The location of the the ground is San Wo Lane:
View Larger Map
Thursday, March 5, 2009
2nd Phase Qualifiers
As the last matches are getting played, only 2 spots for the second round are still up for grab.
In group A, the results were already known with AKITA, Institute of Education (教院), and Hong Kong Institute of Education (香港教育學院) going through in this order.
In group B, ARISE is qualified with maximum points in front of Yuen Long (元朗). Lok Lun (樂聯) could be the last team to join them unless Long Hei (龍禧) manages to win against Attacker and Wui Chun (匯俊).
In group C, only 7 teams competed and 2 teams are already qualified. Shun Lee Catholic (順利天主教) with 5 wins a draw will be joined by Nam Wan (嵐灣) (3 wins, 2 defeat and a draw) and they will be waiting for Chun Yuen (駿源) which only needs a draw against Yan Ching (仁青) currently ranked last in the group. Should they not manage that, YMCA will progress through thanks to their 30 - 9 defeat of Nam Wan (嵐灣) in their last match.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Result Round-Up
In group A, AKITA is joined by the 2 Hong Kong Institute of education teams (the last and first opponnents of AKITA in the 1st phase) in the next round. Those three team ending 21, 18 and 15 points not leaving any points to the other 5 teams on the way. This group was rather a defensive group with AKITA ending best defense out of the three groups (3 matches with less than 10 goals conceded, a feat only managed once by HKIE and not done by any other team in the other 2 groups). Congratulations to Sun Hoi Lin (辛亥年) which despite a 26-2 defeat by AKITA managed to rack up 3 wins againts other team in close matches. Unfortunately for HKUST, they only managed 1 point.
In group B, ARISE managed a clean sweep with 21 points thanks to a 21 - 20 victory against their challenger Yuen Long (元朗) just before the AKITA - HKIE match. Yuen Long will join them in the second phase and will be an interesting opposition, they have the highest goal scoring average of any team in the three groups. ARISE could be the main threat for AKITA in the second phase. In this group defense was not always the theme, with ATTACKER winning their last match 47 - 26. Not enough though to make them go through.
In group C, many matches are still to play and the qualification is still uncertain, most matches have been close and not team has taken full point. The three teams to go through will then start with less points. Shun Lee (順利天主教) is likely to get out of this group with 4 wins and a draw.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Big Match does not disappoint - AKITA 26 - 20 Institute of Education
For the final match of the first round, AKITA was facing HKIE, the oly other undefeated team of their group. This match would determine who would get into the second round with full mark and was getting the "prime time" with an 8:30PM start.
The starting line up from left to right was Yoann, David, Ulf, Hans, PA with Alex on the line and Markus is the goal. The good intentions of AKITA in defense were clear from the start with the commitment of the team resulting in 2 yellow cards in the first 3 minutes. PA was given some space on the right wing with the HKIE defense playing high trying to cut the transmission with Hans. The first goal of the match was for Yoann who purposely recovered a PA shot on the outside post to score at the opposite wing. The higher HKIE was defending on Hans the better it proved for him as he scored the following three. Alex was proving his experience by getting in the gap left by Hans when he was man-marked, keeping the ball flowing and stretching the defense. Both team were keeping it pretty close with a score of 4-4 after 10 minutes, but the quality of play was very visible and AKITA was creating options obtaining a penalty to make it 5-4 and gaining some ball in defense to make it 7-4 after a Norbert score on the half left where he was alternating with David.
The Institute of Education was resisting very well and responded with 2 quick goals but things were clearly getting tough as they conceded another penalty scored by Hans. A shoot directly in Markus' head from the wing was not sanctioned to the bewilderment of the AKITA team but this was only a small delay as in the 16th and then again 2 minutes later HKIE suffered 2 minutes exclusions. With 4 minutes of overplay, the Gwailos got heir opponents tired and started to steer away. PA started to get his shooting right and the good work of the whole team to create space offered him 3 wing goals with Ulf also getting on the score sheet. In the last minute, Hans and Yoann added a goal each, opening the gap significantly for the first time (14 - 8).
At half time the AKITA team was feeling confident and only had minor adjustments to do. A strong start of the second half allowed the AKITA to steer regularly. If possible, Hans was building even more confidence adding 4 goals to his tally in 12 minutes and providing PA with 2 more. As the ball was circulating well, the HKIE defense was getting disorganized allowing Alex to score or obtain fouls. As Markus R. was changing with a very bruised Yoann, a committed shot from the left wing allowed for a 10 goal lead (23 -13, 13th minute) and he scored again to restore the 10 goal advantage a minute later.
After that, the team was more focused on managing the score and maintaining some rotation in the team with Alex and PA already on the bench to get some rest. This was also a good chance for Wan and Markus to show their talents and make some fine saves as the fast breaks were getting a little bit more frequent. Lars was using his size to put pressure on the defense as a line. Even the 2 minutes expulsion of a flabbergasted Yoann for putting the ball on the floor when a foul was whistled (we are not sure how he can have been more compliant..) did not unsettle the team and even if the score was not flowing much anymore, the AKITA team remained in control. As PA replaced Hans he added one penalty. Guillaume who entered before on the right wing for the final part of the match was given a good ball after some Ulf work and made it 1 goal for 1 shoot bringing the AKITA advantage to 8 goals. HKIE got the last 2 to make it 26 – 20.
This concludes the first phase of the league with a quality match where all the players enjoyed some good handball and where AKITA preserved a 100% record.
Scorers: Hans: 8, PA: 7, Yoann 2, Norbert 2, Ulf 2, Markus R. 2, David 1, Alex 1, Guille 1.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Akita defeats Hoi Lap 33-15 (17-5)
On Monday 19 jan 2009, the AKITA team was facing Hoi Lap for a postponed match.
After few slow starts in previous matches, the coaches emphasized on starting well the match and being immediately strong in defense. This was almost respected with the exception of a first minute goal as the Gwailo team did not concede the second before the 18th minute.
When attacking, AKITA was facing a high defense almost man on man. A peculiar tactics at the beggining of a match which did not work wonder with the Hoi Lap team conceding 5 goals in 5 minutes. Hoi Lap then retreated to more traditional defense slowing down the game but not reducing the success rate of AKITA too much. After 15 minutes the score was 13 - 1 and the outcome of the match did not seem too uncertain. From then some of the players were starting to think about the next match rather than this one and were giving more chances to the Hoi Lap team. AKITA conceded 3 goals in the last 2 minutes to get to 17-5 at half time.
In the second half, the match was mostly about fast breaks and quick engagements. The AKITA team was working on connections with the line with Alex leading the charge and keeping the score moving. During the first 10 minutes of the second half the 2 teams were closely matched with AKITA scoring only increasing its lead by 1 goal to reach 25-12 after number 50 scored his third penalty of the day.
For the following 10 minutes the AKITA team was focused again and moved away to bring the score to 30-12, the biggest gap of the match. 3 more goals for each side and the final whistle was blown.
Scorers:
Alex: 7, David:6, Hans: 4, Norbert: 4, Yoann: 3, Guillaume: 3, Lars: 2, Rolf: 2, Ulf: 1, PA: 1
Scorers:
Alex: 7, David:6, Hans: 4, Norbert: 4, Yoann: 3, Guillaume: 3, Lars: 2, Rolf: 2, Ulf: 1, PA: 1
Monday, January 12, 2009
Second part of the Season
For the second part of the season, we will carry all the points from the first part and play 6 new teams (top 3 of group B and top 3 of group C).
There are still 2 matchs to play including the summit of the group against HKIES, the other undefeated team of the group A. As all points counts for the second part of the season, the results will matter to start with the same number of points as the other teams in the other groups.
In terms of organisation, Ulf has paid the entrance fee of HKD 1,000 for the team. What we will do a next trainings is to collect HKD 200 by player to repay Ulf and constitute a small amount of cash available for potential club minor spending like glue etc.
Finally for those who were not at the last training, our sponsor AKITA (link on the right) has provided us with some nice sweat shirts to keep us warm before and after the match. For the players who did not get them yet please ask us and for our sponsor many thanks again!!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
AKITA 29 - 15 Tin Shui Wai
After a hard fought first half (10 - 7 for AKITA), the team managed to steer aways for a 29-15 victory that qualifies AKITA for the main round of the league.
Picture courtesy of Schwede.
After 2 minutes of play AKITA was already 2 -0 down and after 5 minutes the Gwailos were yet to score, clearly people were still feeling in Holiday. Ulf shaked his teammates to restart the machine and it resulted in 4 unanswered goals in 5 minutes. Crosses between Hans (3 goals) and PA (2) were creating havoc in Tin Shui Wai defense and giving chances for the wings which Rolf took with a precise shoot.
<=Markus tries to make himself look bigger by not breathing out.
After 15 minutes the score was back to 6 -6 as number 17 (left half) managed to slot in 4 goals with personal shots creating frustration among the AKITA defenders. That was nevertheless the turning point of the match as PA brought AKITA back ahead before leaving his place to Norbert. Markus R.m playing on the line, finally got a sniff of the ball and scored followed by a clever drop ball by Yoann. David's first goal made the score 10 -6.
Ulf displaying his number to the photograph after giving his directions to the team=>
Unfortunately, with 10 seconds to play Tin Shui Wai got one back.
As the second half started, Norbert scored on the first movement putting pressure on the blue team. As they were trying to take Hans out by man marking him, the defense ended exposed giving chances to the line.
<= Hans and PA succesfully cross to bring AKITA back to parity. 1 goal each and one for Rolf in 3 minutes to be credited to the long cross 
"No goal" is all they think about =>
Markus scored his second and third whereas Ulf managed to go all the way through the middle. David added another 2, Norbert scored a Dushebaev style goal and Hans was starting to get some freedom again to score his 4th and 5th. As the ball was going faster from one side to the other, Guille, back from a shoulder injury, slot the ball between the keeper's leg on his first chance and added another 2 minutes later with an 
Ulf goal in between to bring the score to 24 - 12. The pace was then getting much faster with many fast breaks and first waves shoots. Tin Shui Wai had a series of 3 goals but the last 5 were for AKITA. On the last second of the match, Ulf gave a brilliant ball to PA to make the match 30 -15 but the ball crashed on the lower post to signal the end of the match
Yoann is fighting hard to make himself larger =>
Goals: Hans 7, PA 5, Markus R. 4, David 3, Ulf 3, Norbert 2, Rolf 2, Guille 2, Yoann 1
Best scorer for Tin Shui Wai, number 17 with 7.
<= Rolf is in a good day unfortunately for number 19
<= Once Hans adrenaline will start to flow through, the opponents will not anymore
Friday, January 2, 2009
Training Pictures
To end the year, the AKITA team members not yet in holiday had a training match with the Hong Kong youth team. Here are some photos of this evening:
Wan our goalkeeper 
Ulf (Blue shorts) scoring and Yoann checking the ball is in the net.
Wan our goalkeeper 
David always the first one on the fast breaks (and scoring below)
Ulf (Blue shorts) scoring and Yoann checking the ball is in the net. 
Akita focused in Defense and Jack proving administrators can jump too.
PA shooting (below) and Alex (right) organising some attack.
PA shooting (below) and Alex (right) organising some attack.
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