When Tribes Go To War!!

It was March 15 2006. A day that shall never be forgotten, neither by the World fans nor the Orange army. The two teams clashed in a mighty struggle.



It started with a typically sneaky goal by that old hand, Ben1. Seeing that the World defence wasn’t quite ready, he attacked from the whistle and scored within seconds. Perhaps not as fast as he used to be, Ben1 is nevertheless an experienced player who loves to punish loop holes in opposing teams. One nil to Orange!



But the World came strongly back. Maxim, having an excellent game, had the first of his many break aways onto goal. Racing past Oranges thin defences, he scored the equalizer for the Darkside.



Next it was Seans turn. The Orange star player was super fast today. He tore through to put Orange ahead 2:1



Ben1 was fired up, but broke his new stick on Jeffs wheel. The World comedian, back in action with some hideous scarring on his legs from crash last week, is something of a nemesis for Ben1. He always seems to be able to tackle the Orange veteran.

Ben1 returned with a new stick, but didn’t seem to happy with it and with drew back into defence.



Both teams were light on numbers today. In the first half only Sean, Ben1 and Kai Lun were on the field for Orange, Jolyon and Joseph desparately sidelined with a punctured tyre.

The World were missing Darren, still unable to attend because of a shattered crank. Nevertheless, they had the extra man with 4 players on the field, namely Kee, Maxim, Jeff and Geoffrey. And, ominously for Orange, the legendary Si Yong could also be seen warming up on the side lines. Jolyon and Joseph raced to repair the puncture and boost the Orange team, but it wasn’t to be. They wouldn’t enter until the second half, which was still a long way off.



With Ben1 retreating to the goalie position, brooding over his broken stick, a lot of responsibility fell onto Kai Lun’s mighty shoulders. He rose to the challenge with a great goal! 3:1 to Orange. At last however, Oranges weakness in numbers was felt. With only three players it was very hard defend. The World scored two goals in rapid succession, one of them a brilliant shot from the World playmaker, Kee. It was soon 3:3.



From then on Orange were in trouble, and, as Ben1 fumbled, it was only Sean who kept their hopes alive. Riding, like a man inspired, he repeatedly ripped through the Dark Sides walls. Covering as much ground as an entire team, he raced back and forth, plugging the gaps, and scoring goals to keep Orange in contention.



And goals came aplenty!



Some smooth break aways from a very in-form Maxim, produced a number of goals, but Sean kept on popping them in as well. Eventually Ben1 managed to stay on his unicycle long enough to squeeze one in, beating Geoffrey at the near post. But the situation still looked good for the unstoppable World brigade, as the legendary Si Yong arrived to take up his position. In the interests of fair play, Maxim gallantly stepped down, to ensure that Orange were not too out numbered. (Such sportsmanship should be applauded).

But fortune was still with his team, the first half ending with an extraordinary goal for Kee. The orange keeper blasted the ball up field, but it ricocheted off Kee’s tyre and flew straight back into the net. By such twists of fate are matches won or lost. This bizarre goal put the World ahead 8:7 at half time.



The Second Half. (I didn’t see much of this half. If someone to can fill in the gaps, that would be great!)



And so the teams reconvened. Let battle begin again. Orange were down a goal, but Joseph and Jolyon were back strengthen their ranks.

Sean duly scored first, but then another equipment failure for the Orange team. (They really should talk to their sponsors and mechanics). Now Ben1s bike punctured. By the time he returned the score this half was 3:3, with more goals from Maxim and more goals from Sean.



But overall, (as Orange had conceded more goals in the first half), it was the Dark side who was in the lead! With only seconds remaining, what could orange do to fight back? Cometh the moment, cometh the man. It was Joseph who answered the question brilliantly. With the clock counting down, he slotted in a fabulous pass to the newly arrived Ben1, who duly tapped into the net for a last minute equalizer!



Final result 11:11. A tie!!

Games like this with last minute goals in each half are what make unicycle hockey the most popular sport on one wheel. Tell your children you were there! You saw the blood, the sweat and the tears!


(Quite a lot of blood actually for a no contact sport. Where was the ref?)

-Ben