Yogyakarta Hockey Tour, 12-14 May 2006

Friday started badly enough, and just got worse. Having left Ken’s office at 3.45pm to catch a 5.30pm flight there was a suspicion that the word ‘late’ would be used quite regularly during the tour. With Mr. Wren standing at the check-in counter as it closed at 5.05pm accusations started to fly (Deny had all the tickets, and he was in Ken’s car !). We raced for the check-in counter at 5.15pm and Mr. Wren having weaved his magic, we handed over luggage and received boarding passes. As we jogged towards the gate Chris acquired a heart-starter each but lo’ and behold when we presented breathlessly at the gate – there was no Adam Air plane to be seen – ‘1 hour late Meeester’. So we had a few more heart-starters (in Deny’s case, a foul-smelling gasper or two). When we finally arrived in Yogya, an hour late and Chris almost hoarse from chatting up a lady in a jilbab, the absence of Ken’s stickbag presented a minor problem. Exaggerating it to SARS pandemic or Weapons of Miss Destruction status Ken soon had Interpol, the CIA and Bakin searching for the errant bag. ‘Probably in Jakarta Meeester’. A piece of paper was completed and signed with a promise to deliver besok, if it turned up.

When we arrived at the Petimas Hotel it was quickly observed that our forward scout, young Gray, had been sampling the gin rather too early and a mite too frequently to have accumulated any useful reconnaissance. It was at about this time that we learned that Mr. Chris’ choice of tour hotel had recently been acquired by Pak Haji, and no longer sold beer, and that ‘visitors’ of hotel guests were only permitted in the hotel up until 9pm. These are not rules held in particularly high esteem when on a hockey tour.

The scheduled team meeting (given that we were ‘adopting’ some local ladies to join our band of merry men) was duly convened, names learned then forgotten (except for ‘Notyet’ who seemed to have an unusual name). Another piece of reasonably useful information was then acquired – our erstwhile goal keeper had not brought any goal keeping kit, thinking that Deny had offered to take it on the plane while TJ traveled by Executive Rail. This definitely made us thirsty and we headed out to the nearest establishment selling alcohol (a sort of café about 500 metres away !). Ken met up with a local Aussie Rools Footy player, Ryan, who lives in Yogya and he took us to the Bintang Bar for live music and a student scene that made Ken and Chris feel really old. We then headed for a nightclub (Hugo’s) where everyone serving has blonde hair ! Here Ken was reintroduced [apparently] to Reza, ex-Aphrodite waitress who knew him well ! After a quick round of tequila’s we headed for pastures anew, Embassy, then CJ’s. After a fruitless evening trying to get anyone under the age of 40 to talk to him Chris eventually hid somewhere so Ken couldn’t find him and this lead to both of them heading home alone in a taxi (at about 3am).

Given that young Gray had enjoyed an earlier evening than most, it was his task to organise the Bintang, Pocari and ice, which he duly mastered, and with a clear blue sky above and piercing sun we set out for the Pancasila Stadium at Universitas Gajah Mada.

Game 1 v Yogya Juniors 0 – 1

We took a few moments to clear foggy brains and generally played quite well, but could not seem to stop the ball anywhere inside the ‘D’ to even have a shot. Ainul and Desy had plenty of chances to score girlie goals (2 points) but the bounce did not go our way. Ellie was solid at the back, covering Deny, but the Juniors scored when Deny attempted a clearance, slipped, skinned his knee, and while he was rolling about in the dirt a twelve year old whacked the ball in the back of the net. Chris paid out on Deny big time, but that only made his knee hurt more. Ichang’s only contribution was to wear the monkey wig and distract the opposition !

Game 2 v Bantul 0-0 (0-1 in extra time)

Another game where we played well enough but could not score, despite several short corners and having most of the possession. Desy (really called Christine, but for some reason operating under an alias) and Ichang flapped and flailed at balls around the ‘D’ but again we hardly tested the keeper. At full time (15 minutes) the keeper and three players had to leave 2 girls and 2 guys on the pitch for a golden goal or 5 minutes of extra time. It was hot, it was dusty, our vision was clouded - we elected to go with youth, and Chris and Ken headed for the esky. But left alone without supervision, the ISCI kids contrived to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and the ISCI scoreline was zero wins from 2 played.

We had ended up with quite a collection of scrapes and bruises on a dry and dusty grass pitch. With food coming via the Cape, courtesy of Etty and young Gray’s hired car, Chris spent most of his time tending the wounds of Ainul (Malaysian student) probably in the vain hope that the lion and the thorn in the paw thing really would work. First beers were taken at around 11am.

Game 3 v Kota 0-0 (1-0 in extra time) - Ken

The tempo had definitely picked up and we certainly played a little better, but again we failed to score, despite having three short corners (one of which Ken should have put away but only managed to hit the keeper - who wasn’t looking at the time). With Notyet and Deny solid in defence the oppo didn’t look like scoring, but we didn’t look much better. Once again we went to extra time but this time wise heads prevailed and we chose a mixture of youthful if misdirected exuberance and slow but focused experience, with Ken, Deny, Desy and Ellie. Having absorbed a little bit of pressure the “Deny hitout to Desy, long pass to Ken in the ‘D’” tactic worked on the second attempt (the first one hit him on the foot), with a tap-in goal behind some tired defenders.

The KF McD’s chicken stuff finally arrived, but after running around in a debilitating sun for so long it was liquids that prevailed as the energy source of choice.

Game 4 v Sleman 2 – 0 - Desy

Having watched Ichang keep the opposition goal keeper cool with fresh air and wild swings, the ISCI brains trust sent Ichang to the back, Chris to the front, and let Nyayan loose for run. With our usual dominance of possession it only needed someone to actually stop the ball in or around the ‘D’ to have a chance. Ainul was on fire in this game, trapping the ball, tackling the guys, pushing passes to Desy and Chris (one spectacular attempt/miss), until Desy finally smacked one across the keeper for a good goal. Ken had one last spekky attempt at an Ichang Special (usually described as a wild swipe with the reverse stick that generally misses the goal by the proverbial country mile) only to see the keeper pull off a great diving save.

Game 5 v Old Stars 3 – 0 (Deny 2, Ken)

Against a team shaping as undefeated champions, ISCI decided to come out of the shadows. We kept Ichang at the back, left Chris in charge of the esky, let Nyayan start and sent Deny to the bench. With Ainul in fine form and Desy finding a bit of the ball, and Nyayan cutting off everything in the middle and Ichang and Notyet unpassable in defence, the oppo were run ragged. Having broken the opposition spirit, Coach Wren unbolted Deny’s cage and he proceeded to walk through the defence with a skillfully crafted goal, then pounced on another and finally flipped one through the legs of a defender at a short corner for Ken to put away. Vintage National Captain !

Presented with Batik shirts by the organizers we looked for the first time like a team (even Etty in Batik), except for TJ because apparently even XL was not big enough !

There followed a long search for a whirlpool/spa facility that would let the Three Musketeers refresh aching limbs, but this proved a fruitless and ill advised mission and after shelling out half a fortune for a sterile ankle massage all agreed a quick rub and three beers would have been better.

Saturday night saw us take over the Ibis Hotel, served by the lovely Betty, to watch the FA Cup. This proved particularly unsettling for the local in-house band which could not compete with the eager shouts from the soccer hooligans (Chris Wren) and they eventually packed up and went home – unloved. It was raining so hard we had to get becaks with plastic windscreens for the return journey to the Hotel (about 300 meters way) and the night fizzled under the drenching water (but a good nights sleep ensued).

Sunday saw us out shopping for World Cup t-shirts, with Shandy’s at 11.30am in the Bintang Café, followed by many beers at the airport. Thankfully Mt Merapi held off until we left the general area, with the views from the pitch of the smoke, steam and gases around the peak adding to a spectacular setting for the tournament. The slight ‘raining’ effect of the ash falling at night so confused Chris and Ken that they stayed indoors as much as possible to avoid any potential fallout effects.

Many thanks to all who played and supported.

Team – Deny, Chris, Ken. TJ, Ichang, Nyayan, Ellie, Notyet, Desy and Ainul, Mike and Etty.