Story by Koh Yizhe/Red Sports. Photos by Vanessa Lim/Red Sports
An HCI player (blue) looks for a shot while an ACS(I) opponent defends. (Photo 1 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
CCAB, Thursday, April 1, 2010 - Jeremy Yeo (#7) scored the championship-winning goal with 1.30 minutes on the clock as Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) secured the B Division Water Polo Championship with a dramatic 5-4 win over Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) in the final.
With the win, ACS(I) added the B Division crown to their C Division title that they won last week when they also defeated HCI.
However, it was not without controversy as the referee gave Ang An Jun (HCI #2) his third major foul at the start of the fourth quarter to swing the match in favour of ACS(I). An Jun was arguably the best player in the pool for HCI at that time.
In recent years, ACS(I) have always been second best in the B Division tournament with their last disappointment coming in last year’s final, thanks to a late goal by ACS (Barker Road). However, with the defending champions dumped out of the tournament in the earlier stages, ACS(I) took full advantage this time to bring the title home.
ACS(I) took the game to their opponents early on and they were rewarded with an early goal from captain Lim Churn Yi (#9). HCI captain Ernest Aw (#3) responded almost immediate with a shot from close range, but ACS(I)'s keeper was alert to tip it round for a corner.
That was all HCI would muster in the first quarter, however, as they struggled to break down ACS(I)'s defense. In contrast, ACS(I) looked the team more likely to score and were unlucky not to have done so when Jeremy Yeo's (#7) shot cannoned off the post towards the end of the quarter. ACS(I) still held a 1-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The lead did not last long in the next quarter as HCI quickly found the equaliser with Tan Tai Joum (#8) netting for his side. Benjamin Lee (ACS(I) #12) nearly provided the perfect response, but his shot from the left hit the post.
HCI dominated the quarter as Ernest Aw almost put his side ahead, but his shot was well stopped by the ACS(I) keeper. Less than 30 seconds before the half, HCI did manage to go ahead. Byran Seetow scored on the counter-attack, intercepting a long pass at the halfway mark, before shaking off his marker to put it into the top right corner to give HCI the 2-1 lead at the half.
Not to be outdone, ACS(I) quickly leveled the match at the start of the third quarter with Gerald Sim putting one into the back of HCI's net. ACS(I) then pushed for more and took advantage when Adriel Ng committed an exclusion foul to snatch back the lead at 3-2 through Benjamin Lee.
However, with under a minute left in the quarter, Ang An Jun pulled HCI level once again as he slammed the ball home on a six-on-five.
More drama was to come before the end of the quarter though as An Jun got his second exclusion foul to open the door for ACS(I) to take the lead into the final quarter. Jeremy Yeo was unfortunate not to score as his shot hit the post, but HCI failed to deal with the rebound and Issac Chan was on hand to tap it in for the 4-3 lead.
Ang An Jun got his third major foul at the start of the fourth quarter with a dubious decision by the referee, but HCI still managed to equalise midway through the quarter with Bryan Seetow making the score 4-4.
The match looked to be heading towards extra time despite ACS(I) throwing all they had at HCI until Ernest Aw (HCI #3) committed an exclusion foul and after an ACS(I) timeout, Jeremy Yeo slammed the ball home to give ACS(I) the lead.
ACS(I) then hung on for the last one and a half minutes to take home the championship.
"The ACS(I) team didn't play up to standard," said national player Lin Diyan, a Hwa Chong old boy. "But Hwa Chong played very well today and they could have nicked it, but a referee's decision cost HCI. #2 (Ang An Jun) was ejected just when he was playing forward. He was the best player for HCI at that time."
"They were a little nervous at the start of the match, just like when we played (in the C Division final)," said Sean Ang, captain of the ACS(I) C Division team. "But after that, they managed to get things going. It was a good game and I am proud of them. This is definitely not their best game, but I did expect them to win. I am also quite surprise by HCI's performance - they were quite good!"
"Our performance was bad but we still won," said Lim Churn Yi, ACS(I)'s captain. "It (our performance) wasn't very satisfying. We did expect to win although we always knew this would be a tough team to beat. They played very well and they were very united even though they were losing for much of the match."
"During the fourth quarter, I was anxious and thought it might be a repeat last year's final when we lost to a goal in the last few minutes, but we hung on for the win."
HCI scores. (Photo 2 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
To poloplayer: Dont believe me? Just look at the current number of players from ACSI in the national team right now. (zero..) And this is such a waste because there are some very talented players from acsi who can actually contribute to Singapore Waterpolo’s achievements. If such a trend festers, ACSI players will never be able to improve beyond a certain lvl because everytime they compete, it seems that everything is going their way without them putting in the effort needed to play a good game
THIS IS BULLSHIT AND RUBBISH… there are clearly acsi national team players such as terrence tan, andy chin, kelvin ong and many other ex national team players from ACSI. Please do not make that weeping statement about acsi players “not used to referees blowing against them and they will not be able to play at a higher lvl shld they wish to pursue a professional polo career” THIS IS UTTER RUBBISH and BULLSHIT, you can argue that the referee was bias but that is just your opinion but to insult acsi water polo players is totally unacceptable
please take back what u said, thnx
moral of the story, the referee’s in singapore are getting from bad to worse. cant we find a hungarian referee?! LOL
Hi all. Lets make it clear from the start that im a current water polo player participating in the school nationals and that i am not favouring any side in this case. I feel that in this B div final, ACSI certainly did not play well at all, and that HC (judging by individual skills, they were definitely inferior) were able to put up a good fight. The reason why ACSI played below par, if anyone noted, is largely due to the strong defense tactic which the HC coach employed to slow down the play and to crowd out the strong centreforwards of ACSI. Definitely, credit also has to be given to the ACSI team to be able to rally themselves to come back and win it.(they were down 2-1 at one point) However, to be truthful, it was very very very obvious which side the referee was blowing for. Lets not talk abt incident where the japanese ref did not blow for a sack/5m when An Jun was pulled by the centreback after turning him. I dont know if anyone noticed it, but during the swim off in the first qtr, the referee holding the ball spinned it so much that when it landed on the water, it moved abt 1 metre towards the ACSI side of the pool. Furthermore, fouls were easily given to ACS players (when the HC defender puts both hands up its a foul?!?!?) while HC attackers had to fight hard for one.(ACS defender swinging entire arm over a HC player aand no foul given..) Im currently in the A division so i dont really side any team.. in fact i would like to praise both teams for giving us a good final. The reason why i posted such a long post is that i would like to make it known to everyone the falling standards of refereeing in Singapore. As a player myself, it is really sometimes extremely hard to play to your fullest potential when such bad refereeing is displayed. Furthermore, i feel that such refereeing is only going to hurt the ACS players in the long run for they are not used to referees blowing against them and they will not be able to play at a higher lvl shld they wish to pursue a professional polo career. Dont believe me? Just look at the current number of players from ACSI in the national team right now. (zero..) And this is such a waste because there are some very talented players from acsi who can actually contribute to Singapore Waterpolo’s achievements. If such a trend festers, ACSI players will never be able to improve beyond a certain lvl because everytime they compete, it seems that everything is going their way without them putting in the effort needed to play a good game. Just my own personal opinion. Feel free to comment
i agree that the standard of refereeing has been bad. however i feel that the referee was not completely bias to ACS(I). no doubt Ang An Jun second sack was a mistake. however,there were also times where the HCI centre back was climbing over the ACS(I) centreman but there was no exclusion at all.
To tell you the truth, Fouls were given very easily to both sides, not only to ACS I. I believe that the referees were not biased at all, but I do agree that they are really lacking in standard.
please don’t post as me. find a different name to pose as
well actually the referee may have been biased. but still it is uncertain if it was in fact a matter of favoritism or just plain simple bad refereeing. as explained earlier, both sides have had bad decisions made against them, hence i conclude that it is just a matter of hwa chong being unluckier and not having the fouls committed against them seen properly
I find it absolutely funny that you actually think that the current water polo team has no AC players in it. There has not been a year where the national squad lacks an AC player.
it is alright guys. hwa chong will win a div and take home the first waterpolo gold for our school for the past few years!
i think that everybody is forgetting about barker. we have been winning for the last few years and it is only this year we were unlucky to get kicked out… we’ll be back next year
Honestly, I feel that neither side should be blamed. IMO, Hwa Chong played a better game during the finals and everyone, including its captain agrees that it was not a very good play by ACSI during that match. That is why I, as a neutral party feels that HCI truly deserved to win the finals in which ACSI did not perform well in. And I truly believe that if ACSI had played up to its greatest potential, it would have won, however it did not. Firstly, the WTF decision given by the referee was fair. It is written in the rule book that it is a sack if you question and become disrespectful at the referee. However, Ang An Jun’s second sack, in which he pressed a guy’s palm with the ball underwater is clearly a ball under, but the referee thought An Jun was pulling the ACSI guy back, resulting in a very clear wrong decision. In the match, there was one incident where a penalty should be awarded to ACSI, but it was not awarded due to the referee not noticing it. Thus, this shows that referees make mistakes(it is just that Singapore referees suck more and thus making more wrong decisions) and there is no point arguing over the referee’s decisions unless it is extremely obvious it is biased to one side as seen from the Preliminary rounds of ACSI vs HCI. In the finals, I have noticed some haughtiness coming from the ACSI side, in which one ACSI senior was heard saying “Let the winners leave first”, referring to the supporters. This is totally unacceptable and you people should learn to respect your opponent even though you are the champions. Thank you.
i don’t think that one supporter makes up the entire group. in a group there’s always one black sheep and it is uncertain that hwa chong wouldn’t have done the same so let us base it on the majority of the team, supporters, etc. instead of just one person. like that lousy supporter whose actions i do not condone
you do realise that the ‘Players’ are not supporters? And to tell you the truth, I feel that ACS I still played better than HC, albeit a closer comparison. ACS I had many more chances than HC and for that, I do praise the HC players for taking their chances well and converting the very few they had. However, if we look at the overall match comparison, I think that ACS I had many more opportunities, more possession but sadly more mistakes.
i agree with JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ
also, even if he was not sent off for shouting “WTF”, it is still an offense to have raised his hands and questions the referee’s decision. it’s an offense to disrespect the referee
I couldn’t agree more Handsome Man. According to FINA regulations, any form of disrespect to the referee is an offence. According to FINA, ‘apply an automatic sanction to any member of the ASA of suspension from a specified number of water polo matches by the ASA and/or relevant Region, County, local association or league, for a breach of the FINA Rules of Water Polo 21.10 or 21.11 regarding:
• Misconduct including the use of unacceptable language, violent or persistent foul play, to refuse obedience to or show disrespect for a referee or official, or behaviour against the spirit of the Rules and likely to bring the game into disrepute’
So in case anyone does not understand, let me spell it out to you. The referee can do whatever he wants so long as he thinks that someone is disrespecting his decision. Thus, it is not a controversial exclusion.
POLO, if we actually want to look at the rule book to judge the decision, then the referee’s decision is definitely correct. In fact, a single exclusion is only the least a referee could do to any player who he feels is disrespecting him. Players in national leagues can even expect multiple match suspension as the consequence of disrespect. Thus, it is pointless to argue on that ‘controversial’ decision. To be frightfully honest, it absolutely did not make any difference to either team.
my dear friend called POLO, as i have said from an objective perspective, the referee gave controversial decisions to both sides. and as i have said, do not forget acs i should have been awarded a penalty. also, i do not believe it’s an arrogant statement but that you are misinterpreting it. i think the acs i captain was merely saying that they played badly and their performance was not one of their best. and then in a completely different topic, he meant that he was happy they won. i hope that you give more mature comments as at present you really sound unhappy and unable to accept the hwa chong defeat
Okay guys I’ll have to clear somethings up.
About the ref standard thing, from what I understand the ref that made all these debatable calls is from japan. Don’t know how true, but that’s what I understand.
And I honestly don’t think the acsi captain was very arrogant when he made
that comment. I think he meant it in a “we are kinda lucky to win” kinda way instead of a “we are so good that even though we played badly we won” kinda way. If you guys think otherwise, well, that’s your opinion.
Same goes about the “dubious” call. Some might think it is very clear cut while others might not.
i agree with yizhe
even if an jun did not get his 3rd major foul. im sure we all would have still won . dont believe me? im happy to play with u all again
even if an jun did not get his 3rd major foul. im sure u all would have still lost. dont believe me? im happy to play u again
Yes, the refereeing standard in Singapore is getting worse.
we must also remember that ACS I had a man sacked for more than 20 seconds due to forgetfulness in the referee’s part. Thus, I do agree with handsome man’s post about the referee giving controversial decision to both sides.
can you upload more pictures? thanks
i believe that neither team has the right to complain as the referee gave controversial decisions to both sides. it is a part of every game and who wins the game depends on who is able to accept the referee’s decision, which in this case, hwa chong’s player failed to do so. let us not forget that acs i should also have been awarded a penalty as the hwa chong keeper pushed a ball under
Tan An Jun’s third major foul was not a dubious decision by the referee. He was sent off as he scolded “What The F***” to the referee, which is an offence in accordance with official FINA regulations
for your info, it’s ANG an jun, not TAN an jun. AC boy obviously supporting AC. when even redsports agreed that the referee’s decision was dubious, i see no reason why you should be defending AC. an jun only said WTF after he had been sent off. which means, if he truely believes that he had commited a major foul, he would not have said that. if saying WTF is really an offence, the referee would have brought it up. THE THING IS, THE REFEREE DID NOT! obviously he himself was not sure if he had made the right decision.
because, if his bad decision had to be investigated, as everyone would agree that anjun said wtf because the referee’s decision was too harsh,and HC supporters manage to make this issue big enough, he would be under the limelight, and his refereeing career would be over. i was very disgusted that AC polo caption said’ our performance was bad, but we won.’ it shows how proud and arrogant ACS(I). please also request to your school to train up your captains as better spokesman just in case your school win anything else with this kind of we-will-definitely-win-no-matter-what attitude
Now hold on a minute. The accusations you have just stated are very stereotypical. If by saying AC boy’s post was biased by giving his point of view, perhaps you should read your own post and find out the meaning of biased before hurling rash statements. Redsports is also giving the writer’s point of view in that statement, so by dismissing AC boy’s point of view, you cannot also support your argument with another point of view.
However, if what you said about the ‘WTF’ statement being exclaimed after the sack was correct, then yes, it may have been a controversial decision.
Nevertheless, we must also note that both sides had many of these controversial decisions. Thus I’ll like to bring up the problem of the refereeing standard in Water Polo. It has certainly been getting worse, and do correct me if I am wrong.
Also, we must note questioning one’s morals and character with just one’s feelings and interpretation is definitely not justified and accurate at all. Correct me if I am wrong, but you must be a HC water polo player who is feeling down after the lost. We cannot just assume that the ACS captain was being arrogant by taking a single statement from his viewpoint. On the contrary, I thought that he was displaying a good level of sportsmanship by congratulating HC on both their effort and their attitude toward the game. ‘we always knew this would be a tough team to beat. They played very well and they were very united even though they were losing for much of the match.’ by Churn yi, ACS captain.
Therefore, please do not make radical accusations and statements from little or no basis.
Correction. Gerald ‘Sim’ scored the 3rd goal for ACS I, not Gerald ‘Sin’.
sorry, second goal
Thanks for the correction! The namelist was kinda hard to see.