The coaches of SOCCER With A Vision, together with invited players, took part in a 6-a-side Victoria Soccer Challenge on 21st May 2010. The day-long event was greeted with much enthusiasm, with former and current Victorians taking centre stage in the tournament. The event presented a fantastic chance for Victorians old and new to catch up with each other and make new friends.
Beyond all the pleasantaries laid a fierce sense of competition. The players representing SWAV were coy yet quietly confident of our abilities, marching through the group stages with 4 wins and 1 draw. Coach Vincent was the top scorer with 3 goals, followed closely by invited striker Cheng Wei and former VJC star Brandon with 2 goals each. Marshalled well by Malcolm, Nic and Mark, as well as able substitutes in the form of Daryl and JR, our defence held firm with clean sheets in the group stage.
The quarterfinal was a tense affair. SWAV narrowly edging out through penalties, with Malcolm saving the day. Nick scored a spectacular goal in the semi-finals to put SWAV into the finals. In the process, coach Vincent took a knock and had to sit out of the finals. The finals pitted 2 of the best teams in the competition, with the opponents boosting the current set of VJC players who are at peak competitive forms. With 3 Nepalese and a national age group winger, the VJC team looked sharp and strong. SWAV matched them stride for stride, attack for attack, but was unfortunate to lose through a last-second counter attack.
SOCCER With A Vision thanks Malcolm, Nic, Mark, Daryl, Jun Rong, Ariff, Cheng Wei and Brandon for showing the crowd how good football should be played. Rave comments from spectators were raised regarding the quality of play and the understanding between our players. It was a wonderful day for SWAV, clinching her first honours and promoting the vision and mission of SWAV.
