Story by REDintern Tan Jack Long. Pictures by Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports.

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Sean Teh (in red) from TJC dribbles the ball across the court. (Photo 1 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)

Republic Polytechnic Sports Complex, Thursday, July 3, 2008 – Meridian Junior College (MJC) began their title defense in style as they cruised past Temasek Junior College (TJC) 12-0 in the opening match of the A Division Floorball Championship season.

For the first 7 minutes in the first period, TJC looked as though they could hold the defending champions to a draw with their tight defending and a string of spectacular saves by the TJC goalkeeper. TJC also started the game very well despite being the underdogs with the very first shot in the game.

However, with 7:41 remaining in the first period of the match, MJC broke the deadlock when Harold Lim (#14) took advantage of a goal mouth melee and slotted the ball into the net. The attack started with an MJC defender sending the ball up the left flank for their forward to cross it into the centre of the attacking semi-circle. The TJC defenders failed to clear the ball and Harold made them pay.

The second goal for MJC came just 2 minutes after their first and again, it was a result of slack defending from TJC. Yeow Di Qiang (#7) of MJC capitalised on the poor defending from TJC as he pounced on a loose ball which the TJC defenders failed to clear. Di Qiang showed composure as he calmly dribbled past a TJC defender before drilling the ball into the goal.

MJC players exploded into action right and scored just 46 seconds into the 2nd period. Winston Cheong (#21) of MJC scored from a Glendon Phua (#20) shot that was going wide. Winston was at the right place at the right time to deflect Glendon’s shot in to make it 3-0 in favour of MJC. About 4 minutes later, TJC again displayed their weakness in defense as Chong Shyang Long (#22) of MJC deflected a pass to push the scoreline to 4-0. TJC, on the other hand, were extremely quiet in attack.

In the last period of the game, MJC showed why they are the defending champions. The MJC players went into a goalscoring frenzy as they put 8 goals past the TJC goalkeeper. Glendon Phua (#20) of MJC finally scored his first goal of the game in the period and eventually went on to score a hat-trick after working tirelessly for his team the entire game. Glendon first sent a rocket into the top corner of the goal after a combination of slick moves and passes. The second was a solo effort when he stole the ball from a TJC player on the left flank and then dribbled skillfully past two TJC defenders before firmly slotting the ball into the goal. His third goal came in the dying seconds of the game with 0.03 left on the clock.

Lastly, credits must go to both MJC and TJC as both teams showed that in sports, winning and losing isn’t everything. They showed that sports is about respect and attitude. MJC never looked as though they would stop attacking because they were in a comfortable lead. Neither did TJC give up when they were down 5-0, 6-0 or even 10-0. They just kept playing, playing and playing.

Because this is sport, and this is our passion.

MJC Team Roster:

Lionel Boey (#30)
Alvin Chan (#12)
Calvin Chang (#17)
Cheng Zai Hui (#3)
Winston Cheong (#21)
Chong Shyang Long (#22)
Law Zhen Yuan (#15)
Harold Lim (#14)
Loh Li Wei (#33)
Jay Ng (#4)
Ng Zi Hao (#5)
Glendon Phua (#20) (Captain)
Toh Zuan Ming (#9)
Yeow Di Qiang (#7)
Abdul Adib (#10)
Bronson Cheng (#77)
Mohammad Azmeer (#99)
Tan Jian Wen (#16)

TJC Team Roster:

Liew Xun (#66)
Sean Teh (#77)
Daryl Ho (#21)
Benjamin Tan (#73)
Ivan Lee (#5)
Zhao Peng (#15)
Thaddeus Ng (#17)
Lenny Koh (#9)
Taufiq (#19)
Clarence Lim (#29)
Vincent Wu (#23)
Benjamin Chia (#12)
Charles Lee (#10)
Zhong Ting (#20)
Beale Liu (#7)
Hon Boon (#4)
Kenneth Fok (#11)
Lester Ho (#3) (Captain)

Results of other games played:

Yishun Junior College 12 Anglo Chinese Junior College 3
Raffles Junior College 6 National Junior College 2
Victoria Junior College 6 Millennia Institute 2

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The MJC bench mob Harold Lim (#14) after he scored the opening goal. (Photo 2 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
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The TJC goalkeeper reaches out to grab the ball right in front of him. (Photo 3 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
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Players from both teams try to gain possession of the ball. (Photo 4 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
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MJC captain Glendon Phua (MJC, #20) taps the ball past the TJC defenders and into the goal. (Photo 5 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
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Alvin Chan (MJC, #12) watches on as a shot by his teammate finds its way into the net. (Photo 6 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
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Yeow Di Qiang (MJC, #7) tries to block off Thaddeus Ng (TJC, #13) while MJC goalkeeper Lionel Boey looks on from the back. (Photo 7 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
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Chong Shyang Long (MJC, #22) finds himself up against a wall as he ponders his attack. (Photo 8 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
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Squaring off. (Photo 9 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)

More pictures in the gallery.

Editor’s note: If you recognise yourself or your teammates in any of the photos, feel free to leave the names behind in the comments section and we will update the captions accordingly. Thanks!