SHANE FIN MISSING DURING FIRST HALF OF MATCH! SULTANS WIPE OUT HYDRA 5- 1

Maci Gian

Sultans fans were anticipating a fantastic final home game against Hydra, and did the Sheikh and his boys deliver!

Not only were five star meals, phenomenally fancy drinks, and exclusive merch made to celebrate the Oasis’ last day, but the players themselves made sure to put on an outstanding performance for everyone who traveled far and wide to support them.

Many fans were excited for extreme, fast paced action between the two team’s star strikers: Liquido & Zoom Zahir, alongside the Sultans’ defenders giving it their all to combat not just Liquido, but Shane Fin & Skipper, Hydra’s triple threat, but what fans weren’t anticipating was for Shane Fin to be completely absent during the first half of the game!

When the Sheikh had been informed of the missing player, he insisted on delaying the game to wait for his arrival, but after nearly half an hour, Del Aqua had Brine Maelstrom substitute for Shane, and the first round commenced.

Zoom was able to zip his way around Hydra’s defenders and score the first goal early into the game. Despite being down a man, the team’s captain, Skipper, was quick to aid his team, directing Liquido to snatch the ball whenever and wherever he could to keep the Sultans busy as the two of them tried to maneuver around the opposition’s defense without their third man.

Liquido and Skipper were able to keep up with each other fine, managing to make it across the field and close to the net in what felt like seconds, however Brine was constantly falling behind. Skipper and Liquido were forced to keep passing the ball to one another anytime they had to wait for their teammate, but as soon as Brine had finally caught up, the ball got reclaimed by Zoom again and again.

Despite Skipper’s best efforts to include the substitute striker in his strategy, Liquido’s patience ran thin, and he attempted to score goals the moment he was within range of the net. His kicks were fast, but without Skipper’s directions, and without a third striker to work with, most had missed.

The few shots that did make it to the net were caught by Farouk, who eventually threw the ball far enough into the field for one of the Sultans’ midfielder, Aziz, to catch and score another point for his team.

It wasn’t until half time when suddenly, Shane Fin ran out onto the field with the Sheikh’s surfboard in his arms. While his team was less than thrilled for his late arrival, he was caught up on his captain’s plan and put out there in the hopes he’d change the tide.

Things started to look up for Hydra in the second half with Shane matching his teammates’ pace, providing excellent passes, and avoiding opposing midfielders, but the quick rundown he had wasn’t enough, as he had multiple instances of appearing directionless, mixing up strategies, and being at a complete standstill whenever the Sultans cut through his and his fellow strikers’ formations.

Shane was able to assist Liquido with a goal, delivering a lightning-fast kick to the ball that completely flew past the Sultans—but the victory was short lived, as Zoom & Aziz were able to take control of ball after their goalkeeper chucked it over halfway across the field.

With Hydra’s strikers so far from the two, they were left in the dust and could do nothing more than watch the Sultans get one last goal right before the final whistle was blown.

The Sultans and their fans celebrated their victory, and the Sheikh announced the Oasis was going to remain open until midnight so anyone could enjoy their stadium’s luxuries while they still could, and they were more than welcomed to participate in the party he was hosting inside.

Journalists at the game asked Hydra if they were planning on sticking around the Oasis, or if they were heading back home. Del Aqua had this to say:

“I will be staying at the Oasis for a few more minutes, but that is only because I need to finish discussing matters with the Sheikh. After that, we will be heading back to our stadium and get back to training, as it seems we’re in desperate need of it.”

Del Aqua was questioned on what he and the Sheikh had been talking about the past few days, and how he felt after such a devastating loss, and though he chose not to comment much on either of these points, he did state:

“I wouldn’t be nearly as disappointed if I knew everyone had given it their all.”

When Liquido passed by, multiple fans & journalists asked why his performance during the first act quickly turned ’sloppy’, and why he wasn’t being as strong of a team player as he usually was.

“How am I being a ‘bad team player’ when someone from my team was missing for most of the game, dude!?” He exclaimed, “At least I bothered to show up and do something instead of slacking off. Get real.”

Shane Fin was swarmed the most out of his team—people wanting to know where he had gone to, why he didn’t show until the second half, and why he was lacking compared to the other strikers.

“I was out surfing.” He admitted to the crowd, his head low, “The guys ’n I went surfing whenever we could, the waves they get are so gnarly, and this morning they were supposed to have some real good ones, and—and I didn’t wanna miss out on them—and the boards the Sheikh gave us were so cool and—“ He tugged at his braided lock of hair, “—And I lost track of time. I totally didn’t mean to bail on my team. I’m sorry to both them and our coach-dude—uh, our coach.”

With Hydra no longer wanting to answer any more questions, and instead putting their focus on improving both their teamwork and communication, and with the Sultans celebrating their final night at the Oasis, fans of both teams now look forward to the future matches that lie ahead, some much more optimistic than others.