Victoria JC boys lift A Division floorball championship trophy for first time after beating Meridian JC

Story by REDintern Farah Alsagoff. Photos contributed by readers Irene Ng, Gary Chew.

Choa Chu Kang Indoor Sports Hall, Wednesday, May 20, 2009 - Victoria Junior College overcame last year's runners-up Meridian Junior College 6-4 in a match that could have gone either way.

Both teams began the match with points to prove. Meridian JC to win back the title swept away from them by Raffles JC, and Victoria JC to prove to everyone that they are the deserving champions with their unbeatable streak.

VJC began with #22 Derrick whose shot was saved by MJ's keeper #1 Azmeer. #3 Shun Him and #47 Soffian followed up with their shots but were blocked by MJ defenders or off-target.

MJC were the ones to break open the game when MJ#14 passed along the left sideboards to captain #18 Jared. Jared then made a quick pass across the court to #7 Jian Wen for a wrist shot from the right side of the court to the left of VJ's goal.

Not to be outdone, VJ#21 John responded with a quick pass to #72 Augustine for a grounder past MJ's keeper to equalize barely minutes later.

Supporters and spectators would realize the level of aggression in the game by both teams. Players were sent flying and knocking against the boards, and referees were quick to give fouls. In such an instance when MJ were awarded a free hit at half-court, #13 Azhari managed to penetrate VJ's wall for VJ's keeper and captain #1 Amos to respond quickly with a save.

Azhari, eager to satiate the crowd's appetite, dribbled up with the ball from MJ's corner, and then out-dribbled all 4 VJ players and took a wrist shot that sailed into the top corner. Spectators were left speechless at the magnificent goal, and that brought the score to 2-1 to MJC.

VJ then responded with quick, heart-thumping shots by Derrick and Shun Him whose drag shot from half-court was saved. Derrick took another shot that was saved, much to his dismay.

Shun Him's instinct to clear the ball from his slot area saw him stepping into the penalty box, giving MJC a penalty and very importantly a chance to stretch the score line further.

MJ's Azhari stepped up to the challenge, not surprising after that superb finish earlier. The hall fell into hushed silence as Azhari slowly made his way towards the VJ goalpost. Amos rose to stardom in the A Division Floorball community after his "Hey you!" taunt in last year's semi-final challenge when opponents Meridian JC were awarded a penalty against them.

Azhari took a wrist shot that was off-target, the sound of the ball meeting the boards instead of the back of the net a disappointment that he took seemingly cheerily. Amos was seen clicking his legs in the air to celebrate the close shave he had in conceding yet another goal.

It was in the 14th minute when MJ's keeper Azmeer had hoped to grab a loose bouncing ball in front of him. John (#21) won the bouncing ball and took a shot. Unfortunately for him, Azmeer covered the shot, sending the ball deflecting back to him. He then found Fauzan (#14) at the blind side for a simple tap into the goal, bringing the score to 2 all.

In the second period, VJC were awarded a free hit in MJ's half. A mishap in the line change on MJ's part saw Fauzan take a shot which sailed past the keeper into the goal. VJ had caught up with their opponents to lead 3-2.

Shortly after, Azmeer caught the ball and aimed a throw to one of the MJ forwards. A well-positioned Soffian blocked that throw right in front of him and Azmeer managed to save the shot while standing.

Azhari went on to show another fantastic display of skills when he dribbled from behind MJ's goalpost along the sideboard till half-court. From there, he broke in and out-dribbled Amos to tap the ball into VJ's goal for an outstanding equalizer that once again left spectators absolutely speechless.

VJC were definitely not dejected as Azhari was pressured by John. MJ#14 came to help, but before he could reach Azhari, John won the ball and passed to an unmarked Fauzan for a shot at open goal, completing his hat-trick and keeping MJ's hopes short-lived. The score was now 4-3 to VJC.

2 successive shots by MJ’s Timothy (#6) and #5 Aliff saw the ball hit the net, but it was the outer net instead of the one inside the goal.

MJ#22 Adib prevented VJ from extending their lead by blocking Augustine's shot from along the sideboards.

Shortly after, in 27th minute, MJ#9 was sent off for 2 minutes. VJC definitely capitalized on the advantage with Derrick smacking in the ball so fast that it actually hit MJ's keeper Azmeer before deflecting into the goal. The second period ended soon after, with VJ leading 5-3.

In the third period, Azhari once again concocted another gut-wrenching moment when he took a shot that hit the top corner post and sent the ball flying high and far.

Later, Augustine dribbled in from MJ's corner into the slot area but was prevented from taking a shot. Similarly, MJ#35 Shafiq dribbled up with the ball, his shot was off-target.

Subsequently, VJ’s Soffian finally got his name on the score sheet with a superb rebound to bring the score 6-3 to VJ.

As the match drew to a close, MJ needed every scoring opportunity they could get. But a lapse in defense saw a one-on-one by VJ’s Soffian which was fortunately saved by Azmeer. In response, MJ's Aliff had his one-on-one situation with Amos. That too was saved swiftly by Amos and his quick reflexes.

In the last 20 seconds of the game, MJ's Jian Wen took a shot that narrowed the gap to 2 goals with the score at 6-4. But with the game almost already over, there was so much the MJC boys could do but see the clock count down the last few seconds as VJC had swept the title from their grasp, perhaps a deja vu moment for several on the team seeing how RJC beat them to the title the previous year.

Supporters screamed in joy as the VJC boys celebrated an undefeated 2009 season. It was a truly exciting match that left spectators grinning as they left the sports hall. Congratulations once again to Victoria JC!