Soccer Heart Beat

It was an epic journey, spanning a total of 11 matches and 9 hours, filled with emotions of elation and disappointment and in the end, we pushed ourselves as far as our abilities could take us and finished in third place. Finishing third out of 34 teams is some achievement and to me, at least, it feels just as good as being champions. We worked our socks off and fought for each other and I am really proud of every single player that contributed to our success. Our passion and teamwork are the qualities that we possess and once again, it has brought us further than we ever thought. It was a pity that there were no medals awarded for this competition but the important thing is that we remember what we had achieved as a team. This memory will always stay in our hearts, along with Science Open and all the matches that we fought our hearts out.

Group stage

KACC 1 Fir-eign talent 0

This was our first match and our easiest opponents. Shahid opened the scoring early on and we really should have scored more given our dominance. Maybe the wet ground played a part in hindering our movement.

KACC 1 Catalans 0

This was a match I thought will be difficult, against an Indian team. We don't really have good records against Indian teams. In the end, it was quite comfortable. Ziyong scored the winner in this match.

KACC 0 Kismis United 0

Playing against the Vietnamese was tough. They were very physical and we struggled to break them down.

KACC 0 Frenchies 2

We played against a team of Frenchmen and this has got to be the most irritating match in this competition. We hit the woodwork three times in quick succession and they scored against the run of play. The French guys were also whining about every single thing throughout the match. It's no wonder nobody likes the French. I also ended up with a bloodied nose towards the end of the match.

KACC 1 Scorchers 1

This was a match that we had to win to get second place and avoid the playoffs but we could only draw. They took the lead and we equalised at the death with Sergi scoring. The goal was of no consequence but it gave us confidence for the playoffs.

Playoffs

This was for the third placed teams of every group. 4 teams out of 6 will make it to the knockout stages. The 6 teams were divided into 2 groups of 3 with the top 2 progressing.

KACC 1 Everyday Sunday 0

A victory will also certainly bring us through and we did what we had to, even though it was a tight affair.

KACC drew 1-1

Just avoiding defeat will bring us through. We scored early on and fortunately they only equalised late in the match, otherwise it would have been very uncomfortable.

Knockout stages

Last 16

KACC 2 Panzar FC 0

We were playing against a PRC team and there was no way we were going to lose against a PRC team. We duly dispatched them by 2 goals.

Quarters

KACC 1 Roshan 0

This was a nervy match as a win will guarantee us a top four finish. We generally dominated proceedings but there were some dangerous moments. They hit the woodwork once and nearly had an open goal to shoot at towards the end. Some desperate defending was needed.

Semis

KACC 0 Rajapahit 3

We were outplayed by the eventual winners and lost by a big margin. We tried to fight back when we were a goal down and ended up conceding 2 more. I felt that no matter what the result was, we could give ourselves a pat on the back for coming this far.

Third/fourth playoff

KACC won 2-1

We were playing for pride as well as monetary rewards here. The prize for finishing third is 200 dollars worth of Nike vouchers while the prize for fourth are thumbdrives. I already have 2 thumbdrives and the consensus among the team was " No way are we going to get the thumbdrives". They scored early on with a fluke goal and after that we just peppered their goal with shots. It was only a matter of time before we scored and Shahid and Shi Cai scored to secure us the third placing.

I have forgotten some details about the competition and so, if anyone remembers what I have left out then inform me and I will make the adjustments.

It wasn't pretty at times but we got our results. It was a triumph of sheer bloody-mindedness and we will take this spirit with us to every competition we take part in. For KACC!!