St Andrew’s JC take 3rd in A Division boys’ hockey after penalty shootout win over ACS(I)

By REDintern Yvonne Yap

Delta Sports Complex, Wednesday, May 20, 2009 - Saint Andrew's Junior College clinched third place in A Division Boys' Hockey Championship after beating Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) 4-3 in a penalty shootout. The score after extra time of play stood at 2-2.

Both teams had met just under a week ago and that game finished 1-1.

SAJC started the game quickly with Rodrigues Collin Kelly (SA #9) charging down the right flank, passing the ball to Chew Jing Kai (SA #15) who made a shot, but ACS(I) keeper Ryan Joel Thomasz made a save to deny the Saints from taking the lead in the first few minutes of the game.

Neither team managed to score in the first half, even though ACS(I) were presented with a few short corners which they failed to capitalise on. SAJC had a golden opportunity in the 26th minute when they went on the counter attack after stealing a pass from a free hit by ACS(I). The ball found its way to Gabriel Png (SA #4) as he sprinted towards the 23m area. He attempted a pass to Collin on the other side of the pitch, who was open and under no real pressure from his opponents but Collin failed to receive it.

2 minutes into the second half, Kwak Do Yong (SA #10) was on the attack after receiving a pass from his teammate. He saw space in the left wing and passed the ball over. However the pass was not received by any players. By the time John Mark (SA #11) reached the ball, the AC defenders had made use of the delay to reorganise themselves and took away any scoring chance.

The first goal of the match came from SAJC when Collin made a foray into the 23m area past the SA defence. The keeper ran out to the edge of the D to try and stop to ball, but Collin made it past him and shot towards goal. Even though a couple of ACS(I) defenders ran back into the goal to try and push the ball out, they failed to do so in time, giving SAJC the lead with a goal.

Just 10 minutes after the first goal, ACS (I) equalised by capitalising on a lapse in concentration and took the lead with a short corner. Esmond Loke (ACS #11) made a pass to Amirul Raspid (ACS #11) within the 23m area, who promptly tapped it into goal past the keeper, who showed no attempt to block the shot.

Shortly after, ACS(I) were awarded a short corner which was passed to Jaspreet Singh (ACS #10). With a flick, he scored easily from the edge of the D, giving ACS (I) the lead at 2-1.

With seconds to go, SAJC were given a last chance with a short corner. This time, the players huddled together to strategise. 6 players stood forward to form the line on the edge of the D, more than the usual 4 players. The ball was passed to Keenan Tay (SA #7), who made the score 2-2, sending the game into extra time.

The 10 minutes of extra time was largely dominated by SAJC, but both teams failed to break the deadlock and a penalty shootout was held to decide the eventual winner of the 3rd/4th placing match.

Prasad (ACS #9) was the first to take the penalty shot. His shot appeared to be slow and was saved by the keeper. Timothy Chan (SA #13) took the first shot for the Saints which went past the keeper, giving SAJC the lead with 1-0.

The second penalties by both schools were saved. However, at this point of time, jeering could be heard from the stands when the penalty taken by ACS was saved by the SA keeper. The subsequent penalties made it past the keepers.

The last shot of the match was taken by Collin (SA #9), who was a constant threat in the game. The crowd fell silent as this was the goal that would determine the outcome of the match, after a long and hard fought game. Collin’s shot made it past the keeper, and it was celebrations for the Saints.