Day 2 was a bit of a rollercoaster on the scoreboard – up, down, up. A huge score to begin, followed by a draw, with another clear, but much tougher win to finish.
Thailand opened their qualification tournament with an emphatic win over China. With so many players in the Thai team based in Europe, and Sweden in particular, their individual skill levels are amongst the best in Asia. The Chinese players, most of whom are new to Floorball, stood little chance of stopping them, but they showed excellent sportsmanship and tried their best from start to finish. They were rewarded in the final minute with their first goal, scored by Hanike Xiakaerxia. For Thailand, the standout players were Pawat Thaidit, Alexander Rinefalk and Santipong Sukkasem in a final score of 37-1.
In stark contrast to the first match, Japan v Singapore was as close as they come. The speed of the game was high for the full 60 minutes and it was very physical. Despite the strong play from both teams there was only one penalty awarded in the match – the players knew the line of the referees and they very carefully played within it. Singapore scored in the opening 5 minutes, but this was the only time in the match that they held the lead. After this Japan went ahead on the scoreboard and Singapore was always playing catch-up. The Japanese goalkeeper, Kenta Higuchi, frustrated the Singaporeans with 34 saves against just 10 at the other end of the court. Singapore would feel that they really should have won this game, but a 4-4 draw made for an interesting result and creates some pressure on both teams to post some good scores in their coming matches as their final group positions will now most likely be determined by goal differences.
Korea were definitely hoping for a better result in their match against Australia – a key game for them in their aim to qualify for WFC 2018 in Prague. The first period was even, with Australia having the stronger attacking play but not being able to capitalise on it. The second period was a different story as they found their way around the Korean defence and outscored them 5 to 1 to control the game. This efficiency in front of goal was one of the biggest differences between the teams, and Australia won 9-2. Korea will need to take a big step up if they are to challenge Thailand in their last group game.
Match replays are available on IFF YouTube Channel 1 and photos on Flickr.
For all results and statistics visit the WFCQ 2018 AOFC Event page.
