The day started off with worship and devotion. The teams then started to warm up and prepare for 'battle'. We commemorated our outing and took a team photo while we were still clean.
[John, Bangshi, Tim, JZ, Daniel, Mike, Choon Heng & Glenn]
Isaac, Jeremy, Damien, Sheldon, Justin, Kevin & Maurice
Our first match was a real topsy-turvy affair. Our opponents were older and more experienced and had already played an earlier match to warm-up. We conceded an early sloppy goal but equalised through a fortunate deflected shot. However, from a free-kick, they scored the winner just before the whistle. It was a poor start to the tournament. However, we faired much better in the next 2 games. In both, we gave away penalties, but neither were converted by our opponents. These 2 victories put us in good position to qualify for the Logos Cup, if we finished 1st or 2nd in our group. We only needed to draw our final game against Wesley Methodist to progress to the Logos Cup. However, try as we did, we couldn't score against them and conceded another goal from a set-piece. We finished 3rd in our group, just 1 point behind 2nd and had to settle for entry into the Sower Cup competition. In many ways, this would be a blessing in disguise.
Before the Sower Cup competition could kick-off, it started to thunder and rain heavily. We took shelter at the stands in front of the Farrer Park tennis courts. We had a good time resting and catching up, talking about work and our army experiences. As the skies cleared, we prepared for the start of the knock-out phase. Our first match (quarterfinal) was a tight contest. With the match ending 1-1, we proceeded to sudden death penalties. Glenn coolly converted his before our opponents missed theirs. We were into the semi-finals. The semi-final match was the easiest match, perhaps due to the older opponents who had already tired by this stage, around 3pm. We put 3 past them and made our way to the finals.
The Sower Cup final was like a derby match against Christ Methodist Church. Rev David Wee prayed for us before the kick-off and the match was played in extremely good spirits. It was highly competitive but fair. Chirst Methodist took the early initiative by scoring first. Straight from the kick-off Tim shot us back into the match. With no further goals, it was sudden death penalties again. Christ Methodist opted to kick first and put their first kick past Jeremy. Glenn stepped up and gave their keeper no chance too. Christ Methodist's 2nd kicker however, sent his shot wide of the post, setting the stage for Kevin to step up, score and bring the Sower Cup to Pentecost Methodist Church.
The day was long and hard, but we all had a good time. What better way to enjoy soccer than playing for a good cause and even winning something in the process. The 9 hours spent at Farrer Park was well worth it! Here's how we all looked after the prize-giving ceremony.
The day ended with prayer and 'happy' good-byes. We're looking forward to the start of our District East Mini-League!
Detailed results of Soccer-for-Bibles Tournament-
Round-robin Group Stage
PMC vs St. Andrew's Community Chapel 1 - 2 [Daniel]
PMC vs Yishun Christian Church 2 - 0 [Daniel, Glenn]
PMC vs St. Matthew's Fellowship 1 - 0 [Glenn]
PMC vs Wesley Methodist 0 - 1
Sower Cup Knock-Out Stage
QF - PMC vs Faith Methodist 1 - 1 [Justin] Penalty- Glenn
SF - PMC vs Yio Chu Kang Chapel 3 - 0 [Tim (2), Bangshi]
F - PMC vs Christ Methodist 1 - 1 [Tim] Penalties- Glenn, Kevin
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