SAISA football 2024 was one of the events I was looking forward to attending the most. Football is the sport I’ve been involved in the longest. I have been playing football for as long as I can remember. Having been part of the team in my previous school, I knew from the beginning that this was an event that I wanted to take part and compete in. Overall, I have mixed opinions about the results of the competition, but the experience was unforgettable.
It all started off in February, 2 months prior to the competition. Within the first few weeks of playing, our team chemistry continued to develop despite the tough and strenuous condition under which we had to train. The heatwave was well underway and temperatures were soaring on the field. On top of that, the month of Ramadan kicked off in early March and I spent the majority of the training sessions playing football while fasting. It was a challenging few weeks, nonetheless, it helped condition me to face the intensity of the competition.
Day 1: Taking it in
It was an early start to the journey as we gathered at school at 4 am. The flight was quite peaceful, catching up on sleep and seeing the beautiful view of the distant mountains. After departing from airport and checking into the hotel, we swiftly set off to go sightseeing. The bus ride to the stupa was my first experience of Kathmandu traffic. The steep and narrow streets were packed with vehicles. Thankfully, our driver managed to skillfully maneuver through and drop us off at the destination. There, we bought our tickets and explored the surrounding shops. My first experience of Nepali culture was enlightening. Then, we had a nice dinner in a rooftop restaurant with the AISC players alongside us, before returning to the hotel and having a restful evening.
Day 2: The first step
On day 2, we were scheduled to play our first game against the host school. So that morning, we set out and had the first look around the pitch and school. I found the size and layout of the school quite impressive, considering the geographic conditions of the surrounding landscape. Following this, we had a short training session on the playing pitch to get a feel of the grass, getting warmed up for the game in the late afternoon. Then, we left the school again for a short sightseeing excursion around the local streets and shops, before having pizza for lunch. Once we were refueled, we returned to the school in preparation for the kick-off at 3:45. To be honest, I was very nervous before the kick-off, having not played in a competetive match for OSC before. The stands were completely filled with LS support and all of the other squads had also arrived, eagerly waiting for the first match of the competiton to kickoff. It was surreal. However, the nerves did water down after warming up properly on the pitch. Then, the match began with me playing upfront as a striker. Initially, I did not feel completely confident in myself, but after 5 minutes on the pitch, we scored the first goal and put the pressure on the home team. The game was going very well, with us leading 1-0 at half-time. However, the second-half proved to be challenging, with LS turning it up a notch and scoring the equaliser. Right until the end of the match, we were constantly facing pressure from their elusive attacker. And in the last few seconds, we succumbed to their attack and they scored the winning goal. Overall, it was a dissapointing ending to the match but we remained optimisitc for the next set of games.
Day 3: The First day (Officially)
Day 3 of our trip marked the first official SAISA day, with the opening ceremony and gathering in the morning. We only had one fixture against AISD for the day, so hopes were high and the team was optimistic. Unfortunately, we had lost one of our key players in Antoine who had sustained an ankle injury in the previous game. So, I had to drop back and help out in a defensive role. Our team looked stronger than ever in the first half, with a very solid defensive back 3 and equally good attacking chances. However, in the dying minutes of the first half, we conceded a goal; curling strike in the bottom left corner from outside the box. This was not good. Going into the second half, we were hungrier than ever for goal, desperate to gain some points in the group stage. Despite chance after chance, we could not convert and the game ended 1-0 in favour of AISD.
After this, we had lunch at the school and left for some more sightseeing at the monkey temple to raise our spirits, before returning to the school for dinner and then back to the hotel. At the hotel, we all congregated in one room and played back our first two games on the TV, assessing our performance and coming up with a plan for our next two games the following day. This was a great learning experience for everyone.
Day 4: Bitter sweet ending
Day marked the last games of the group stages, where the top 3 teams from each group progress to the final games. Up first, our game was against the most difficult opponent in the competition, ACS who had won their previous two games and sat top of the group standings. Despite this, we remained optimistic. So far, it had been a recurring theme where we lost games in the most unlucky manner despite having strong performances. And again, this game was no exception. In the first 5 minutes, Akhil smashed the ball into the back of the net from half-way out the pitch. However, ACS realised the mistake they had made by not acknowledging the difficulty of facing our team, and subbed on their top players who converted 2 goal within the half. Still, we were only down 1 against the group leaders at half time. Then, they really started to mount the pressure on us and converted another 3 goals, before we returned the fire and converted 2 of our own. Unfortunately, it wasnt enough and the game ended with a scoreline of 6-3, meaning that we wouldn’t progress to the finals stages. And so with nothing to lose, we put it all on the line against our final opponents LAS, who were second in the group. Once again, the game started off poorly, with us conceding 2 goals in the first half. At that point, it seemed that were projected to gain no points on the final day. However, the game was just beggining for us. Mr Scott description of the following events perfectly captured the moment:
” Midway through the second half Akhil pulled one back with a typically venomous strike and the encouraging voices of the ever growing crowd carried louder across the pitch. The Geckos pressed forward; in numbers, in droves, in waves. Great cameos from Sandeep, Alex, Daryoush and Phineus gradually wore the Buffalo defence down. It looked weary and both the Geckos and the crowd sensed it. With five minutes remaining, forward strode Ethan to confidently lash an unstoppable drive home from fully 25 metres. 2-2.
