We looked like we were cool and calm during warm up but one could easily feel the tension in the air. We wanted it today and we were not going to let anything get in our way. Our opponents on the other hand, was determined to do everything to get in our way. Stray elbows, double legged late tackles, off the ball incidents and it felt like the referee was in the mood to join in the fun and spoil the party that belonged to Benedetto. But we got up, time after time, too focused to complain, for in our eyes we only saw one word - Champions. When Zhong Xiang was put through with a deep cross from the right, we thought we were well on our way. See the lead up to the goal, our opponents owned.



1-0 was how it ended at half time. Then came the heavy downpour, which failed to dampen our passion. While others chose to hide in the toilet 'shelter', our Team stood on the pitch in a circle, drenched but kept warm by the burning desire. We refused to leave the pitch an inch, it was our battleground and we had a war to win. When they scored from a set piece, it was down to us to fight it back to make it ours. It took five minutes that felt like infinity, but when our second goal came, you saw men celebrating like boys, boys lost in their own world. The final whistle was blown, the Championship was decided, with 3 games still to play. Captain Jo almost made it 3-1 with his first few touches and this man of the match goes to him, dedicated to him by the Team.

Our commitment to defending as a Team and covering each other's back at all times meant we were always hard to beat. This also meant we did not have to score two or three to win a game, just one goal and we were in for a good fight. Going forward we had the not so talented but hardworking teammates, who selflessly made the runs to open up spaces and that was where, the numerous talented ones, let the magic flow™. It does not matter who is in the limelight, try marking out one, two, even three players and you realize you have yet another handful to handle. Take out one player, take down another by hook or by crook and you find another handful tapping their heels on the sidelines ready to come in to drain your blood. We have a Team who wants it so bad, we would put our body on the line for a Team victory. We saw blood, we saw fractures, we woke up on Mondays wishing it wasn't Monday so we could rest our sore muscles and bones and we get know-it-all-been-there-done-that-so-they-say uncles asking you if its even worth it; mocking your courage, mistaking it as stupidity and fully convinced their loss is because they play to relax, and not to win?

Tempers flared whenever we didn't play up to our own standards, no one has the mood for wine, dine and pretend nothing is wrong after a bad loss. Regardless of the end result, we don't deserve to sleep well on a Sunday night, unless we have given our all on the pitch, we insist. God helps those who help themselves, and on days we weren't at our best, we simply grinded out our results. Disgusting or undeserving some disgruntled ones might say. Some even say its the pitch size, some say the organizers are siding the rich and so-called influential teams. And you hear people saying all the time, let your football do the talking - the ironies of football.

So we battled on, armored with our true Benedettoast spirit - we give everything we can conjure up with, on the field, off the field, administration, planning, self dedication to fitness and then we let the results take care of itself. Benedetto is blessed, with people who refuse to be content, committed players who simply refuse to get beat; and this simple, down to earth formula has gotten us to where we are today and will get us to where we want to go as a Team.

For now, we have three tasks on hand. One, to finish our season on a high, maintaining our proud best defensive unit record in whole of Espzen. Two, to enjoy every moment of playing as a Champion, because more hard work is on the way when we start our preparations for next season. Three, drink up as much as you can so you can be one of the last men standing at our year end party, where will party on party on, like Kings (And er.. dance, like Wen Hao in the picture)! Always, always, keep this in mind, we are Champions today, because we stuck through it all, as a Team.



This true Benedettoast spirit will live on; to another long and tough season, Cheers & Onwards Benedettoast!