How to beat the System

 By Stephanie Teh

NUMed’s futsal team takes on the IIB staff in a quest for glory

 It was a lovely evening when the crowd started to gather at the futsal court opposite Newcastle University. The tension in the air was palpable; everyone was eager to watch their friends challenge the IIB staff in a 5v5 friendly aimed to foster and build the (often) patchy relationship between the students and system. 

   Amidst the furor, 18 students took turns to play 3 games against the IIB force of 8. The stage 4 manager/coach, Zaid, made substitutions every 15 minutes or so to ensure everyone a chance to participate. Both sides performed excellently although the students edged the win by quite a margin; final aggregate score was 11 – 5 to the NUMed futsal club. The high scorers of the game were the futsal club president Fauzi (Stage 2) who scored a hattrick, and Izzuddin (Stage 1) with a brace. 

   “We controlled the game and luck was on our side. A lot of tries and tactical play were shown during the game,” says Fauzi post-match but cautioned that they were a bit unorganized in the first half. He believes that while the team performed well, there is always room for improvement.

   “We should put more emphasis on teamwork and spirit, that way we can control the game and that would make it easier to score and pressure our opponents.”

   When asked to comment on the IIB staff’s performance, he commended their short pass and nominated Rezza as IIB’s star player. NUMed’s very own Amiruddin Zainol is his pick for MoTM and Izzuddin’s spectacular run and finishing was chosen as best goal.

       We then spoke to Ali, the stage 1 midfielder, who felt that the competition was a good preparation for Avicenna, an inter-medical varsity sports tournament next February. 

    “Some people expect medical students to be nerds but we aren’t. We have to be balanced in our lives and not necessarily study all day.” And what better way to do that than by indulging in some healthy competition.

     A good evening ending with a victory; supporters walked away with cheers, the winners humble and the opposition gracious in defeat. Sportsmanship was on high display all round and there was nary a dissatisfied soul in sight that day. 

     Heartiest congratulations to the NUMed futsal club on their success and may there be many more in the times to come.

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