SINGAPORE – Trailing 2-1 to France after the second period, Singapore’s players were staring at an upset on home court by the lowest-ranked team at the Women’s World Floorball Championship (WFC) on Dec 2.
Jitters were starting to set in as morale dampened. But the world No. 13 then steadied their nerves, played to their coach’s instructions and rallied to clinch a 5-2 comeback victory over the 27th-ranked team at the OCBC Arena.
They scored four goals in the final period, with Player of the Match Daphne Tan making it 2-2 in the 44th minute, before three goals in the last 11 minutes by Yee Yun Shawn (49th), Nasha Jeffri (52nd) and captain Michelle Lok (59th) sealed victory in the Group C tie.
Shannon Yeo, 29, who scored the first goal off Tan’s assist in the 33rd minute, said: “We have never faced France before and this is actually a very important game that we knew we must win.
“So I think when they took the lead, it kind of dampened our morale a little bit. But I think we knew that that’s not the end of it, we tried to draw strength from one another and bounced back.”
WFC debutante Nasha, 20, believes that the team felt “a bit jittery and nervous” but knew that they “had it in them” and listened to their coach to find their way back.
Singapore coach Lim Jin Quan said his players were playing well despite trailing and was confident that they would eventually score.
He said: “There was frustration. Overall the energy and the attempts were there, that’s what I take comfort in. It’s about being mentally strong and having the patience to wait for the opportunity to come.”
The Republic had started off strongly and had the lion’s share of possession throughout the first period against the WFC debutantes.
Adlyn Heng came closest to breaking the deadlock when her shot struck the bar in the fifth minute after a smart reaction save from France goalkeeper Zuzana Kandrikova.
But early dominance from the Singaporeans did not pay off as the first period ended goalless.
France then opened accounts against the run of play in the 27th minute when captain Pauline Meneust scored.
Six minutes later, Singapore equalised through Yeo, sending the 700-strong crowd into a frenzy.
But in the 38th minute, France restored their lead when Meneust had seemingly smacked the ball across the line against Singapore goalkeeper Shermaine Goh.
After Swiss referee Christian Crivelli awarded the goal, Lim protested, prompting Crivelli to go over to the video monitor to check. But he upheld his decision.
Four minutes into the third period, the hosts equalised again, through debutante Tan, 22, and did not let France back into the game. The hosts then killed off the contest with three goals in the last 11 minutes.
France coach Josselin Debraux felt that it was “almost a victory”. He said: “We are a bit disappointed because when the score is 2-2 and there are 15 minutes left, you are so close to doing something that when you finally lose 5-2, it is a bit disappointing.
“It was really tight and Singapore are an amazing team, so to be so close to them, for us, it’s almost already a victory.”
Meneust shared the same sentiments as her coach, saying: “We knew it would be very hard to keep the score... We were very tired and it goes fast, so you have to stay very focused to see the game out.”
Singapore will next face 11th-ranked Australia on Dec 3, while France will meet ninth-ranked Germany.
Lim said that Australia, who lost 10-0 to Germany on Dec 2, are “definitely a more aggressive team physically” and “they will be challenging us at every attempt possible”.
“We have to be ready for that and we are aware of what is to come,” he added.
