AISA Games in Vietnam -‐ U16 Girls Football win Gold!

 AISA Games in Vietnam -­‐ U16 Girls Football win Gold! The U16 Girl’s Football team flew the flag for AIS in Singapore during the recent AISA Games in Vietnam. Only assembling for the first time, the three days before flying out, the girls needed to work hard to learn tactics and gel as a team. Led by the two Year 9 co-­‐captains, Mikalya Landers and Lily Hamilton, the girls used the two training sessions at school to be adequately prepared for the tournament. The girls gelled as a team immediately on the travel day to Ho Chi Minh. This was evident for the first day of action on Friday, where the team won all three matches against extremely strong opposition. Game 1 against the hosts Vietnam saw AIS lead 1-­‐0 early on, only to concede just before half time. The second half saw the girls pull away scoring two quick goals to take out the first match 3-­‐1. After a half an hour break, AIS were in action again against Malaysia in what turned out to be one of the toughest games of the tournament. Trailing 1-­‐0 deep into the second half, a bizarre series of events followed, where the Malaysia goal keeper made a brilliant save only for a teammate to then pick the ball up out of the goal keepers hands. Lily Hamilton scored the subsequent penalty. Less than one minute later, buoyed by the penalty, AIS scored a second goal with a thunder strike fro Natashja Eyles to win the match 2-­‐1. Another half hour break before plying the biggest and most skillful team of the tournament AIS Hong Kong. Our girls applied themselves superbly and after going down 1-­‐0, managed to pull out to a 3-­‐1 lead mid way through the second half. This was due to the strong squad of 10 players that allowed the coach to make regular substitutions without losing any quality or momentum – Agustina Olavarria and Natashja Eyles provided the regular bursts of energy required by AIS. AIS conceded a late goal to Hong Kong, but the damage was already done and 3-­‐2 was the final score. After Day 1, AIS Singapore had already qualified for the semi final in guaranteed top spot. A relatively quiet night and more team bonding at the hotel had the girls raring to go on Day 2. On each of the days, the girls were the last event (along with boys’ basketball), so the girls were lucky enough have strong and vocal support from members of the boys’ football team, swim team and netball team. On the final day, this support would drive AIS home for the gold medal. The first game on Saturday saw AIS take on the only other unbeaten side AIS Indonesia -­‐ another very big and physical side. The coach made a few alterations to the winning formula from the day before, to give some girls an opportunity to play in different positions, as well as rest some girls who had a big workload the day before. The girls faced a huge challenge after half time, which saw them 2-­‐0 down for the first time in the tournament. The second half saw the team go back to similar formation from the day before and AIS lifted considerably in intensity thanks to a few individuals such as Lily Hamilton and Holly Houston. The girls battled back to draw level with two minutes remaining, but couldn’t quite find the winner even after several menacing runs from Valentina Olavarria, finishing 2-­‐2 and still unbeaten. In the semi final, AIS were drawn against AIS Hong Kong for the second time. The strong and skillful opposition was ready for what AIS Singapore had to thrown at them this game, resulting in a tense and dramatic match. Buoyed on by most of the Singapore athletes I support, Lily Hamilton scored the winning goal in the semi with just two minutes remaining. The final two minutes were extremely tense, but rock solid defense from Chelsea Graham and the consistent Vivien Song prevented the equalizer from Hong Kong. The scene was set for the final. The defending champions Singapore versus the hosts Vietnam. This match had longer 20-­‐minute halves, which would test the fitness and depth of both sides. The sidelines were jam-­‐packed with all the AIS Singapore athletes and the Vietnam athletes, parents and friends all screaming for their school. It was a truly memorable experience for these deserving young ladies who had already done themselves and the School proud, win or lose in the final. Vietnam started strong, leading 1-­‐0 early on in the match through a goal from the player of the tournament. AIS then reverted back to the team’s tactics, exploiting the space in the wide channels with our pacey wingers and looking to cross to the striker. However, the equaliser came in a different fashion, with the hard working captain, Mikayla, in the centre of midfield firing a long-­‐range shot into the top corner. This goal sparked AIS back into life with Lily scoring minutes later to lead 2-­‐1 at half time. The second half started tentatively with Singapore and Vietnam trading shots on target and Holly Stevens keeping our team in the ascendancy, but no change to the score. Once again, AIS strength was their depth in the squad, which really shone though in the last 15 minutes of the final. Several substitutions saw AIS once again dominate, particularly with Valentina down the right flank and glimpses of class from Andrea Cerezales, who was playing with an injury. Once the third goal was scored the gold was within touching distance and the party began with the Singapore supporters on the sideline. A fourth goal to Agustina late in the match killed off any Vietnam resistance. Pandemonium followed with the Singapore supporters rushing onto the field at full-­‐time to celebrate with the newly crowned champs. A wonderful tournament and a special group of girls who played with pride for two days and represented the school superbly! We have a very promising future for girls’ football at AIS. Coach Capstick AIS Football