FOOTBALL
LIVE UPDATE FROM MERIDIAN JUNIOR COLLEGE
National ‘A’ Division Boys
Meridian Junior College vs Raffles Junior College
Tuesday, 8 May 2007, at Meridian Junior College
Story by Lee Hwee Cheng. © Red Sports /soulbreath pictures
MJC’s player tries to control and hold possesion of the ball for another attack in the first half. © Lee Hwee Cheng.
In a first-round match-up between last year’s runner- up Meridian Junior College and Raffles Junior College, the home team were held to a 1-1 draw.
With both sides playing well defensively and offensively, the game could have been a 0-0 draw at full-time until MJC scored the first from a deflection off the RJC goalie in the 33rd minute in the second half. Up to this point, the RJC boys were doing a diligent job of stopping MJC’s quick strikers from attempting shots.
With only seven minutes left in the game, an answer from the opponents would have seemed unlikely but MJC’s defense did not exert more caution and allowed RJC to stun the home crowd with an equaliser in the 37th minute.
Lamented MJC’s skipper Khairil after the game, "We were expecting a strong resistance and a tough fight from Raffles today since they are the other strong contender in our group, but we didn’t play well in the first half either. It was only in the second half that we picked up our usual form again."
This was Meridian’s sixth game, and their first draw, having won all previous five matches. They have two more games against National Junior College and Nanyang Junior College, and they are sitting at the top of the table right now.
Raffles played their sixth game as well, having won three matches so far. This was their third draw. Currently placed as second seed of the table behind MJC, they are the other likely team to progress into the semi-final if they win their next two games.
Skipper Xu Cunzhi beamed, "I am very proud of my team today. I think the team played our best today, and we showed really strong fighting spirit, especially when we fought back from one goal down in the last few minutes. I’d give ourselves 8/10 for our showing today."
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Hello, everybody!
This is Cheng, coming to you live from Meridian Junior College where the match between home team MJC and Raffles Junior College is about to kick off.
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Second Half
40th minute: The final whistle has been blown.
40th minute: We are into the 40th minute. Will there be any more surprises?
37th minute: Only three minutes left, and RJC have levelled the game 1-1!
37th minute: RJC take all chances for a counter-attack. Sean (no.12) drives down the right flank with the ball, crosses the ball into the penalty box, right to the feet of teammate Wang Bowen (no.7). Open for a shot, he takes it and it pops into the left corner of the net!
35th minute: Only five more minutes in the game. Will MJC hold the lead? Or are they hungry for another one?
35th minute: RJC take a free kick and the ball flies straight into MJC goalie’s arms again.
33rd minute: MJC leads 1-0!
33rd minute: MJC take a long free-kick from half-line, and the ball flies right into the penalty area. RJC defender jumps for a header in contention with a MJC player, the ball flies towards the goal and RJC goalie Timon deflects the ball into the net!
32nd minute: RJC take a free-kick from the corner but the ball flies right into the arms of the goalie!
29th minute: Reporter is distracted again as she has to explain to another teacher why she was extorting pictures from his student.
25th minute: MJC goes on an immediate counter-attack, and soon Hwa Xiang (no.5) dribbles the ball one-on-one with the goalie, but he loses control of the ball and RJC earns a goal-kick.
25th minute: RJC’s Sean Zhong (no.12) dribbles down the right flank and crosses the ball into the penalty box but MJC defenders clear the ball high.
23rd minute: RJC have another shot at goal, but it flies past the goalpost.
23rd minute: RJC send a free-kick into the penalty box and a striker leaps for a header, only to be saved pumped out by MJC goalie.
20th minute: 20 more minutes in the game, and it seems Raffles are giving the runners-up from last season a real good fight. Can MJC eventually convert any one of their relentless attacks?
20th minute: RJC boys are finding it tough to attack as MJC dominate in the offense.
19th minute: MJC’s Guo Guang (no.7) takes the corner kick and teammate heads the ball towards the goal – into the side net. The crowd goes wild, mistaking it for a goal.
18th minute: MJC skipper Khairil (no.8) takes a free kick but the ball is deflected. MJC have another corner kick.
17th minute: MJC have another shot at goal with a corner kick, but RJC goalie saves the ball.
16th minute: MJC’s Matthew (no.3) throws in the ball into the penalty area and RJC defender jumps to head but almost scores an own goal!
15th minute: MJC take a long free-kick into the penalty area, and Mahdi (no.21) jumps for a header toward the goal but RJC goalie Timon pumps the ball out.
10th minute: Reporter has been a little distracted as she has to explain to a teacher about her presence and to plead with a student-photographer for some picture contribution.
5th minute: MJC take the first corner shot of the half into the penalty area but RJC defenders head and clear the ball.
2nd minute: RJC’s Woo Han gives MJC another bad scare again as he fends off two defenders and dribbles into the penalty area.
1st minute: RJC’s Ong Woo Han (no.19) gives a quick scare with a fast dribble down the right flank and threatens to make a goal attempt, but the effort is foiled by MJC defenders.
0th minute: Second half kicks off.
Half-time Report
The home team is playing with more confidence, controliing the pace of the game. But the chances are just not falling in place, much thanks to a very diligent defensive team from Raffles. Raffles, on the other hand, are playing a smart game as well, taking whatever chances they could have at goal and giving the Meridian boys, as well as the home crowd, much scare than expected.
First Half
40th minute: End of first half. Both sides remain 0-0.
40th minute: RJC take a corner shot into the penalty area, but the ball is cleared by MJC defenders. RJC’s Zenzel (no.6) goes after the loose ball and holds possession, makes another cross into the penalty area but MJC goalie catches the ball in his arms.
39th minute: RJC finally have a chance at attack again, and make good of it as they send a shot on-target. Much to the relief of the home crowd, MJC goalie Weiwen saves the shot.
37th minute: It is MJC’s attack again. Hwa Xiang (no.5) throws in the ball into the penalty area, but it gets cleared by RJC defense again.
36th minute: MJC’s Akmal (no.22) pumps up the ball to set an attack for his teammates, but RJC skipper Xu Cunzhi (no.21) clears the ball.
34th minute: MJC take a corner shot but the ball flies out of the pitch.
34th minute: MJC’s Dong Hao (no.12) dribbles down the right flank and makes a shot at goal but RJC goalie Timon Chiong saves the ball.
33rd minute: MJC’s Akmal (no.22) substitutes for an injured Daryl (no.23).
28th minute: RJC send a cross into the penalty area but MJC defenders clear the ball as danger lurks. MJC go into a fast counter-attack but fail to keep the ball in possession.
25th minute: MJC’s Gughan (no.29) takes a free-kick but it fails to find the goal post.
23rd minute: MJC’s Mahdi (no.21) takes a shot at goal from the middle, but the ball pops up in the air, and into the hands of the goalie.
22nd minute: MJC’s Mahdi (no.21) dribbles the ball down the right flank with deft feet, attempting to cross two defenders, but he is brought down. MJC fail to maintain possession.
16th minute: RJC take a shot but it goes off-target.
15th minute: RJC manage some ball possession but attack is becoming tougher as MJC boys find their feet and pick up on the defense.
13th minute: MJC win two throw-ins in a row, with two good chances for a shot at goal, but RJC defenders keep the ball away from the goalpost.
5th minute: RJC win a corner kick but the ball flies too high and MJC defender heads the ball out.
3rd minute: RJC have started with more possession and making more attacks. Zenzel Chew (no.6) runs down left flank and makes a cross into centre, but MJC goalie Weiwen foils the attack.
0th minute: Game has just kicked off.
Well, Let’s just let the feet do the talking shall we?
we shall see. we shall se.
lets go!
What wonderful analysis from Cannavaro and UltrAJCurvaNord. Thanks guys.
i think at this point in time, the 4 semi-finalists have already been pre-selected. They are none other than mjc, acjc, vjc and sajc. So, it seems that Mj will be gearing up to meet Vj, and Ac, to meet SA. This year’s ‘A’ division tournament seems to be a clash of the titans and it remains to be seen which are the two teams who will set foot on the grass of Kallang stadium for the last time ever.
Mj vs Vj: Looks like the 4-2 scoreline last year didnt do any justice for some of the boys who were there and it seems likely that a revenge is on their sleeve. I think it’ll be a tight game between the two giants and the game will eventually end with Mj being the winner.
As for the other semi-final match, Ac vs SA: This game will also be a tightly contested affair between the two teams and i fancy the game to go on with a 0-0 scoreline until the 70th minute where Ac’s dominant striking force will cause some problems, and eventually win the game 1-0 to set foot at the national stadium.
So.. the verdict remains to be seen..
just to put things into perspective,it seems like we’re now at the penultimate stage where a showpiece final at the National Stadium awaits all the semi final contenders.now that 4 teams are left,here’s how things are going to shape up
VJC the defending champs
Hits: their physical stamina. although not noted for scoring a lot,it is very hard to catch their fast paced counter attacks. also interesting is their mental resilience. when things aren’t looking too rosy,as shown in last year’s final when they’re trailing 2-1 with 5 mins left,they stormed back with a majestic performance to win 4-2. Set piece skills and brilliant crowd support is a key to success
Misses: defence a little too smug. in the group stage, the defence were caught AWOL twice,once against MI and once against SA-and both teams scored without much resistance
MJC: the wannabes
Hits: motivation. I haven’t seen them play yet,but I believe they are leaving the best for the semis.looks set to partially erase the bad memories of last year’s final
Misses: I don’t know if the RJC match is a hint of what’s going to happen from the semi finals,when they conceded a late goal. against stronger,more predatory teams,I fear they might crumble at the late pressure,like last year’s final when they were hit for 3
SAJC: the strikeforce
Hits: very good attack.they have been scoring plenty for all their group matches except VJ,where they drew 1-1. entertaining to watch
Misses: up till group stage they are still doing fine. I shall refrain from saying anything about my sister’s school,but their set pieces leave a lot to be desired
(last semifinalist): the dark horses
Hits: be it a lethal attack or a leak-proof defence,they also have lots of luck,and I believe,lots of gym trainings to keep in good shape
Misses: lacks the big match experience. playing SA or VJ will be a stern test of their credentials
Conclusion: If VJ and MJ plays against each other in the semis,the victor between the match will win the A Division. Even if these two meet only in the final (unless SA wins MJ during their semi final matchup), VJ’s balance in all departments will see them defend their title. That doesn’t mean the finalist will capitulate easily. All in all, an entertaining final on May 18 beckons
oic…it’s a surprising choice for semis,but there goes the resurgence of Raffles’ grand ol’ tradition of soccer (from the RI heydays of 1960s and 1970s)
but a rampant SA awaits
Hi anonymous,
I did some post-game checks with the respective captains, and I’ve inserted some comments into the report. They have two more games to go each in the 1st round, but currently MJ sits at the top with RJ at second placing.
I thought both teams played well and I didn’t think MJ played badly, except RJ gave really some surprising tough resistance today. RJ didn’t really get as much offensive time as MJ did, but whenever they did, they posed a threat.
where’s the standings for this group? and who’s through to the next round? I fancy MJ having a rematch with VJ in the semi finals.
Just for trivia the last time RJ and MJ met, the MJ attack owned the Gryphons 5-1 until thunderstorm 3 mins from time cancelled the whole game. the re-match was a 1-1 draw. I don’t know why MJ’s play is so dour and boring against RJ this time,not quite like true title contenders