June 2, 2013

Hi Guys,

Today's game was a hard-fought one, played in some rather brutally-hot conditions. Not surprisingly, Huiwen were fit and aggressive, giving us very little time on any ball. That being said, I thought we played fairly well and this week--unlike last week--we were glad to have 5 subs, including the Van Singel brothers from Morrison and their teammate Timothy, plus Lukas, back on the pitch with us for the first time in a month or two.

Ten minutes into the game, Oto (playing up front) made himself known, moving the ball from the left to right through the box, where he took a powerful shot that went right in. There were no other goals until the 61st minute, when an unlucky bounce caught Gary off-guard and went in, tying it up 1-1. Compass did have some good additional chances, including a near-repeat by Oto. On one such second-half drive, he was heading for an almost-sure goal when he was taken down from behind, resulting in a red card for Huiwen. Various other Compass players, from Ben to even Timothy, had some chances right up to the very end.

Perhaps it was the constant Huiwen pressure, but I didn't feel like Compass really settled fully into its confident, quick short ground-passing game, although we generally were the more skilled team with more offensive opportunities. Our biggest failing remains fitness, which shows itself in this kind of weather and affects us more as the game goes on. The other nagging problems were increasingly dirty play by Huiwen as the second half drew towards the close, and repeated offsides calls by the refs. In all fairness to the refs, I personally thought that about three-fourths of their calls were legitimate, as Huiwen had a very well-practiced offsides trap. However, there were other calls where the linesman clearly wasn't keeping up with the play or was completely clueless.

Afterwards, we enjoyed a very pleasant late afternoon, sprawled on the nice grass under crystal-clear skies with beers, as the wives and kids socialized. Some of us ended up staying until after dark, goaded on by Ben who didn't want to leave and made a special beer run to keep us liquored up.

I spoke to the tourney organizer this evening, and it looks like we may be playing Feng Chia University this coming Sunday, June 9, with the kick-off thankfully moved to 5 p.m. instead of 4 (he actually suggested it to us). They will give me a final confirmation tomorrow.

On Sunday, June 16, we are scheduled to play our make-up game against PE College. I certainly hope that all of you will be there. Oto says he's leaving for his summer trip home on the 17th, so I'm hoping to see him there. Hans should also be back by then. If Lukas is back, too, we should have a pretty good team. As most of you already know, Hans will also sadly be leaving Taiwan soon, so this may be one of his last matches with us for now.

One more order of business: We've been discussing a team party, probably another BBQ-and-beer evening in Arnaud's yard. I was kind of thinking perhaps Friday, June 14, Saturday, June 15 or even Sunday, June 16 after the game. Hans will be back and Oto will still be here then. What do you guys think? Please give us any preferences you have for these dates or others.

GO COMPASS!

Doug