Victoria School in boys’ C Division hockey final after beating Jurong West on penalties

Story by Yvonne Yap/Red Sports. Photos by Vanessa Lim/Red Sports.

Sengkang Sports and Recreational Centre, Monday, August 3, 2009 – Victoria School edged out Jurong West Secondary School 3-2 on penalties for a place in final of the C Division Boys’ Hockey Championship. The score stood 0-0 after extra-time.

The Victorians set the pace for the game by creating a shot at goal just seconds into the game. Ridzwan (VS #76) was positioned in the D while the ball was passed to him quickly by his teammates. However, he failed to connect with the shot, wasting an opportunity to take the early lead. Just a minute later, Akmal Shaharudin (VS #32) made a neat pass to Gerald Goh (VS #31), whose shot was saved by the JWSS keeper.

JWSS soon settled into the match after 10 minutes, making it an evenly-paced game. Right-back Patrick Paul Sundarajoo (JWSS #43) made constant efforts to shield the ball from the VS forwards and contributed greatly to clearing the ball from the JWSS half.

In the 20th minute, Ridzwan received a pass while he was in the D area and scored, but the umpire blew his whistle for a foul as Ridzwan took the shot, killing the thoughts of celebration from the Victorians. The match ended in a stalemate at half-time.

In the second half, JWSS man-marked their opponents, keeping the play in the Victorians’ half for most of the time. The Jurong West forwards placed pressure on the Victorian defenders as the latter tried to send the ball out to their teammates, a strategy which worked a number of times as the VS passes went wide.

Victoria were awarded a short corner in the 50th minute when the ball bounced off the JWSS keeper onto a Victorian’s leg in front of the goal. The short corner was poorly stopped by Lee Chee Yong (VS #40) and JWSS capitalised on that, snatching possession of the ball.

Towards the end of the game, Johan B Ramli (JWSS #15) took a shot from outside the D while he was already on the ground after falling. It was an easy save for the VS keeper as he kicked it out to the left flank.

The full-time whistle went 3 minutes later, and with the score still tied at 0-0, the game was sent into extra-time. Victoria hung on to possession in the extra 10 minutes of play and created several chances, while Jurong West made some good runs at goal. Even so, both sides failed to chalk up the winning goal, and a penalty shootout was called to decide the eventual winner.

Chee Yong took the first shot for Victoria and scored at the bottom left corner of the goal while Syafiq kept the pressure on VS by converting his flick. Ray Quek (VS #37) made it 2 for VS while his keeper, Ismail, saved the shot from Shafiq (JWSS #44). Ridzwan had a poor hit and missed the goal, and JWSS levelled proceedings when Patrick slotted the ball past the keeper.

Gerald scored next for VS while Al-Fateh’s (JWSS #42) shot was saved by Akmal Shaharudin. The shootout could have been rounded up if Amos Law (VS #41) scored, but his weak shot was easily saved by the JWSS keeper.

VS keeper Akmal Shaharudin then made sure his team got into the final when he saved the deciding shot from Daryl Cheah (JWSS #22). The VS team ran up to celebrate with the keeper who saved 3 of the 5 shots, handing Victoria a 3-2 penalty-shootout win.

“We did great,” reflected Captain Gerald Goh after their win.

When asked how he felt during the penalty shootout, Akmal Shaharudin exclaimed, “I was excited, shaking all the time!” The VS player took the position of a center midfielder but was sent on as the keeper for the shootout.

“They have more than exceeded my expectations,” shared VS coach Fred Martin on whether his boys have met any targets he set for them. He revealed that a number of the hockey players, such as Chee Yong and Akmal Shaharudin, are floorballers as well. In fact, Akmal Shaharudin plays as a defender in floorball.

Jurong West Secondary coach Sunil Prasad was also full of praise for his team. “They played well. Our target was top 4.” The team, made up of an even mix of Secondary 1 and 2 students, was on the defensive today as they were matched up against the stronger Victorian team.

The other semi-final between Sengkang Secondary School and Teck Whye Secondary School was postponed as a number of players from Sengkang were down with high fever. Victoria School will meet the winner of that match in the final, tentatively held on Wednesday, 12 August at Sengkang, while Jurong West Secondary School will have their third/fourth placing game tentatively on Tuesday, 11 August.