Raffles Junior College claim spot in final with floorball win over Yishun JC

Story by REDintern Christy. Pictures by REDintern Zhijia.

A RJC player tackles a YJC player. (Photo 1 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)

National Inter-School A Division Boys Floorball Championship: Semi-finals, Tampines Sports Complex, Monday, July 21, 2008 – Raffles Junior College (RJC) won their spot in the final with a convincing 4-0 win over Yishun Junior College (YJC). It was a pity that YJC could not convert their chances but it was heartwarming to see both teams giving their all and running hard to win.

In the first period, despite the the relentless shots at goal, they were all foiled by the good form of both goalkeepers. The fast and hard shots by YJC captain Lim Ding Jun (#8) were all denied by the brilliance of the RJC keeper. It was therefore no surprise that the first period ended in stalemate.

Nonetheless, both teams were not going to give up just yet. In the second period, RJC Jeremy Tan (#13) dribbled neatly into the RJC attacking half, averting tackles on the way and tempting the YJC goalkeeper into a dive before sending a pass to teammate Dylan Lee (#9) to smacked the ball into an unguarded goal for a 1-0 RJC lead. The second period was marked by a flurry of accurate YJC shooting but to no avail.

The third period started out like a tug-of-war with both sides fighting hard to gain possession of the ball. In the end, it was Anandraj of RJC who was in the right place at the right time as he received a pass while just in front of goal and promptly knocked the ball in to make it 2-0. Zuliham (#2) of RJC then made it 3-0 when he received a misplaced corner pass from a YJC player. Unluckily, for the YJC player, his wayward clearance hit Zuliham and allowed the latter to smash in a goal without obstruction with only the keeper to beat. Zuliham followed up with a goal less than a minute later at the 12:06min mark to seal the match 4-0.

Although this match wasn’t as intense as the first semi-final, it was a welcome change after the non-stop screeching of the referees’ whistles in that semi-final. It was also commendable the way YJC supporters cheered on YJC even in the dying minutes. Both team played with sportsmanship and demonstrated that one has no need to be aggressive to win the game. Kudos goes to YJC for never losing hope. Yet, the winner is deservingly RJC who converted their chances.

Yishun Junior College will meet Victoria Junior College tomorrow, Tuesday, July 22, 2008 at Tampines Sports Complex for the 3rd and 4th placing clash at 1530hrs and Meridian Junior College will meet Raffles Junior College on Wednesday, July 23, 2008 at Tampines Sports Complex for the final at 1530hrs.