Happy Sunday.

Well as usual there is a soccer match for us (my friends and I) today --- every Sunday morning.

I arrived at the pitch with a "somewhat felt like sprained left foot", and during the early warm up and practice session, my shots were somehow horrible.

The match began, and I was playing the role of midfielder for my team. From my experience, being a midfielder is the hardest position of all, it requires much more stamina to run up forth and back for offence and defence. It is a position which controls the posession of the team, sets up play and need a lot of reading of the game.

Frankly, I was not up to it. I was too used of being a out and out striker such that I drifted forward much too easily. And while my team was under counter-attacked, there was no one to replace my post temporarily, I had to make my recovery as soon as possible.
Our team went down trailing two goals early. Then we stepped up our gear and had a corner.
After the corner was taken, it took a few rally of headers for the ball to find me. The ball and a defender was on it's way towards me, I immediately jumped and thumped in a header into the back of the net. 1-2.

However, this did not change my team's fate when we thought we could fight back. We went down 1-4 by first half. Frankly, our keeper do lack the experience of goalkeeping.

Before commencing the second half, I made it clear to myself that I'm not going forward for attacking, I will be faithful to my defensive duties in the team.

I kept myself at the mid-line, and when the opponent attempts a counter attack, I would be the one stopping them hard, even though it meant to commit a foul on them. I took the job of a defensive midfield then.

In the second half, I was able to read more of the flow of the game. And I prioritised my tasks, Stop and disrupt opposition play, hold up ball and play short safe passing, attempt throughball if presented a chance, run up for corner, commit to offence as last.

I was doing all I could and should be done, surprisingly, my friends felt I played very well in fact. They commented that I was winning the ball and putting them back to possession safely.
While the scoreline was absolutely demoralising at 2-6, there was a chance from the right flank, I ran up shouting for the ball, my winger cuts it back to me, immediately I trapped the ball towards my right side, I found myself some space and took a look at goal, then I swung a shot for goal.

The flight of the ball went up and high, I thought it was going too high, then it dips and curls towards the top left corner of goal, the goalkeeper sidestepped himself only to jump in desperation attempting to stop the shot. The ball hit the upright and went into the back of the match. I was delighted. 3-6. The match ended.

So my team lost, but why I was happy?
My friends think that I played very well today, rated me 10/10 ^___^V
and they said I was awarded the "man of the match", of course, there was no such award.
But it's a way that we compliment each other if one deserves it.

I was also happy because my legs sustained the whole game, while all the running and tackling was done. I felt the joy of enjoying playing the whole game without much trouble.

After the match, my good friend Peng said," Joo, you were running slowly, and yet you could keep the ball in your possession without much difficulty even though an opponent is trying to get the ball from you."

These words echoed deeply into my head, because as I had said I wasn't a player with that much technical skills. And I was able to get myself out of trouble, seemingly without much difficulties. My friends recognised my strength at play and making full use of my size to screen out players.

It was my best day being a midfielder today, and I think I'm going to be settled into a defensive midfield role soon than carry on being a striker.
I was also told to attain the ability to spread play and then "I would be complete".

I will continue to keep this up,
zhaoru