written by 2/O Bao Chunyan, Dapeng Moon
12 days after we entered the shipyard, everything was going well and in order to let off some steam and to improve the working relationship, a football match was organised between the ship’s staff and workers from the shipyard. The ship put up a very international team of players with multi-coloured football jerseys from all around the world. Strategically, our team was made up of 2 lineups, our stronger players (those who often participate in football such as Woo and Alan) and our second lineup was formed by players with strong athletic ability but not so much experience of playing football.
We made a fantastic start with 3/E Syafiq playing strongly and we soon had a 2:0 lead. Then we rotated the lineup but at the same time, the yard team strengthened their offensive scoring 4 goals so it was 4:2 at half time. Early in the second half our stronger line up returned, we struggled hard, and scored 2 more goals, the score was tied at 4:4. After a long time, our striker Mr Woo broke the deadlock to take the lead 5:4. The yard then launched a fierce attack and tied again. Ten minutes before the end of the game, we scored again through a tactical corner kick and we all thought that the game would finish with a score of 6:5.
Unexpectedly, the yard team with their foreign imported players from GTT France suddenly scored a couple more goals to win the match. Finally, the two sides shook hands and made peace. We get the impression that the yard team wasn’t happy with the result as they have challenged us to another match before the ship leaves the yard. Although the game was not as fierce as the Premier League or with superstars such as Haaland or De Bruyne, the whole event was a wonderful experience. Looking back, we will all remember that on a hot summer evening in July 2023, a group of old boys galloped on the green grass and played their hearts out.
