By Shadiq Al-Hussain

Nanyang Polytechnic, Wednesday, 9 November 2011 — The Institute of Technical Education (ITE) survived a gutsy performance from Temasek Polytechnic (TP) to take a decisive 1-0 victory. The win gives them top spot on the table, going into the final round of matches in the Polytechnic-Institute of Technical Education (POL-ITE) Hockey Championship.

In a match which had numerous chances, numerous head-turning players and three yellow cards, it was the one goal which decided the outcome. The goal came in just the 4th minute when ITE took full advantage of TP’s slow start. Kenneth Toh (#1) beat two defenders before squaring the ball to Rahmat Abdul (#14) who tapped into an open goal. ITE continued to attack to the 20-minute mark, using Silas Abdul Razak’s (#13) electric runs as their main weapon of choice.

TP then took control of the match in the style that has made them surprise contenders for ths year’s title. They had arguably the best chance of the half, when Mohd Fadzly (#17), who put in an excellent shift as TP’s playmaker, swept the ball towards two unmarked forwards, both of whom missed the ball.

TP continued pressing in the second half, till ITE’s Mohd Alfien (#6) and Kenneth combined in a dazzling move that, had it been converted by their teammate Silas, would have surely been a goal of the season contender. However, the score remained 1-0 thanks to a fantastic save by TP goalkeeper Muhd Fadhil (#18).

With both teams knowing that three points from this match would take them a step closer to the title which has evaded them for years, tempers started flaring in the last 20 minutes. First, ITE’s Muhd Azizi (#9) was yellow carded for a raised stick, resulting in a temporary expulsion from the match. He was soon followed by TP’s Ameer Ali (#7) for the same offence and teammate Muhd Nabil (#15) for a late tackle.

TP then had a chance to pull level in the most dramatic of fashions, after being awarded a penalty corner in the last minute of the match. They produced their best penalty corner drill of the match but Ameer’s well-hit flick was met with an equally good save from the ITE goalkeeper.

What started as a promising tournament for TP will most likely be another unfruitful one, as they have now lost two matches — against Nanyang Polytechnic and today against ITE — out of four, with one more to go against Singapore Polytechnic on Monday, November 14th.

ITE, meanwhile, are still in the race, and a win against defending champions NYP on Friday, November 18th, will give them the title. An NYP win or a draw, however, will mean NYP keep the title. Both matches will be played at 7.30pm on the respective days at the NYP hockey pitch.