Story by Marvin Lowe. Pictures by Marvin Lowe and Ng Cheng Cong.
CCAB, Friday, May 2, 2008 – In a nail-biting game, Anglo-Chinese Junior College sent traditional rivals Raffles Junior College out of the first round of the A Division Girls Hockey Championship with a 0-0 draw. RJC needed a victory to secure their ticket to the next round while ACJC only needed a draw. As they entered into this match, it would have been on the back of the mind of this RJC team that this could be very well be the last time that they would be playing as a team.
From the get go, RJC gave their all and poured forward to attack the ACJC goal. However, poor passing and ball control did not allow them to sustain any effective siege on ACJC. Often these errors would lead to ACJC counter attacking against RJC. However, ACJC did not convert any of the chances or penalty corners they received. On the other hand, RJC received more penalty corners than ACJC in the first half, but they too failed to convert any of these chances as well.
In the second half, RJC kept up the pressure and the ACJC keeper nearly cracked under the stress. The best chance of the game fell to RJC’s forward, #9. She had effectively dribbled past the ACJC defense and actually rounded the keeper but was tripped at the very last minute before she could take a shot. With that, RJC were awarded a penalty corner. From this penalty corner, they could have scored with the ACJC keeper running out of position yet again. However, an ACJC defender was on the on line to clear the ball to atone for her keeper’s error.
The ACJC defense remained stout and it seemed like a brick fortress surrounded their goal. Despite their goalkeeper’s many erroneous judgments, they were let off the hook many a time. When the final whistle blew, it was a moment of mixed emotions. RJC were left to rue the missed chances and the end of their journey as a team. On the other hand, ACJC celebrated as they knocked out a traditional rival and continued their progress into the second round.
Ed’s note: If you recognise yourself or your teammates in any of the photos, feel free to leave the names behind in the comments section and we will update the captions accordingly. Thanks!
stereotypes are formed based on previous experiences/interaction with such people. which means, there’s some truth in it!
i’m sure many of us from other schools are sane enough to differentiate a stereotype from a real identity and culture, so the assumption “they did not play with sportsmanship and treat their competitors with any respect” is definitely not a stereotype
be professional and just suck it up. why complain about all these small things?
in fact, all the people comlaining aren’t even the players themselves.
if you all keep quarreling, maybe the singapore sports council should cancel the hockey tournament.
yeah. like the above comment says, why single out individual players even? RJ hockey did well, especially given the circumstances. Remember it was a DRAW. Looking at the match alone, not considering the cumulative effect of previous matches, a draw places the RJ team on par with the AC team.
obviously you haven’t played against raffles(meaning both ri,rj) when the PLAYERS themselves make such comments to the opposition during the match.
i was watching the ac-rj hockey match after my volleyball match and i heard the jeering going on at the side of the pitch which was near the public toilets. for those who were not there and unsure of the kind of “jeering” and “taunting”, here’s what i heard them say.
“rjc no. (something.. i can’t rmb the numbers), you are going to lose, why don’t you just give up?”
“rjc number -, you can’t do anything, just stand in the shade lah!”
“rjc number -, you are damn lousy man just screw off”
i agree that boo-ings are part and parcel of every match, but why such extreme and coarse comments? the ac players did work hard to win this for their school, and i’m sure they don’t wish their supporters to hurl crude comments to bring their opponents down right? if anything at all, i’m sure they were out there to win the match with their own skills and strength (and of course with proper cheering and support from their friends).
all in all i think both teams played their hearts out and they should be commended for that. its just a pity that some supporters failed to show restraint
jealous ah byebye. your mother la.
PLAIN JEALOUSY -_-”’
probably every other school is united in their hatred for AC LOL. Any other school win can already, just not AC!
haha CORRECTION FOR ACAC: stereotype! well evidently you guys are not very well-liked! OOPS.
agreed, jeering may come ‘at the spur of the moment’. yet, that still doesn’t make it right. that’s exactly why it takes a gentleman or a courteous lady to manage his or her emotions in ‘the heat of the moment’, and shows true sportsmanship, be it as a player in the game or as a spectator, and is a true and accurate reflection of one’s character. yet, after all has been said and done, i was fortunate enough to watch the match to its entirety, and kudos to both teams, pity about RJ’s early knockout at the group stage.
I think it’s the culture of certain schools. I mean, no offence meant but as a hockey player myself i often watch ac matches and sportsmanship is not a very prominent feature of their game. Likewise with a few other schools. RJ gives you respect even though they’re on an entirely different level. It’s just the individual schools i guess.
But perhaps we sometimes get too caught up in our emotions that we cant help but jeer. Food for thought.
sterotype
yeah, totally agree with you.
When people hear of schools like HCI,RJ or VJ winning, their impression is always that they are really good, like ‘wow’
But when people hear of AC winning, most would doubt they played with sportsmanship and treat their competitors with any respect.
a picture speaks a thousand words,
just look at the picture of the ac girl elbowing rj.
The expected answer from ac would be that everbody does it, but many can vouch that majority of these actions come from none other than ac.
On the soccer field, hockey pitch, cross country race, nonetheless.
AC can always ask for it to be settled on the field, but with their dirty play, who will?
RJC defender in photo #3 and on the extreme left of photo #10 is Wendy.
to the anti-ac elements Cheering .Jeering. whatever. Just play it out in the field and may the best teams win. What if RJC won? Would you guys spill all your unhappiness here?
To SAJC hockey player: So you think you’re showing a lot of respect for AC’s hockey players by calling them “bunch of losers”?
I thot that it was a closely fought game between RJC and ACJC. The sportsmanship and fighting spirit were evident in the two teams on the field, though I cannot comment about outside. Kudos to the two teams. The result matter but to me, it was the spirit that count most. Congrats to both teams!
when SAJC guys beat ACJC 2-0, their supporters showed little respect for the players on the field, throwing vulgarities and sort. ACJC won’t go far, can wait to beat them once again, bunch of losers.