“No Elvis sightings today”

We had finally won our first game after a long stretch of ties. On November 21, 2004, DSBH wanted to repeat this trend. However, in our way was our foes and quasi-allies, Lives United. Lives United is a hard team to read. One does not really know what to expect when facing Lives. Much like Lennox Lewis in boxing, you either get the roaring lion that can overcome you with a flurry of precision strikes, or you get the dormant giant where all signs of the skill they do possess seemingly disappeared without a trace. I remember one season where we met them thrice. Twice in regular season play and once in the play-offs. First, they comprised of mainly Chinese and Hong Kong players. Second, they comprised of mainly Japanese players. The last time in the play-offs, it was a hybrid of the two formations plus a few Euros. After playing against them for two seasons, we've come to expect them to do the following:

1. Be quick.
2. Have well prepared set plays.
3. Cohesive play as a unit after numerous years of playing with each other.

So the challenge lay before us to force them to play our style of soccer. After a few minutes, it was apparent we had control of the ball and of the pitch. Stellar defensive play and a firm dominance of the midfield. This soon paid off when Inder centered the ball to Andy for a spectacular header. Lives would tie it up, but, Andy would score another goal. For the remainder of the game, we awaited who would score the next goal. This is because Jon always points out that a "2-1 lead" is the worst lead to have in soccer. While still a lead, it gives the opponent the lingering hope that they are still in the game. Hence, another goal is crucial in breaking the spirit of the other team. Of all the players that day, the one closest to another goal was Inder. However, in spite of receiving numerous scoring chances, the ball just seemed to not go into the net. We on the sidelines were joking that he may pull a "Petzold"*. So the end of the game loomed near. Inder had one final breakaway. He shot and scored, thus, "not pulling a Petzold". Ecstatic with a score of 3-1 in our favour, we looked forward to our stretch of 2 games and our club night fundraiser the following weekend.

*"Petzold" - a player from our first season in RSSL who played outside midfield. He was a character and was treated as a pseudo mascot for DSBH. He also would be the target of Jon's ridicule and ribs. The joke being that Petzold would receive numerous scoring chances, but, NEVER convert. Hence the term, "pulling a Petzold" - not being able to score despite many chances to do so in a game.

Go DSBH, Yeowwwwww . . .