Meridian JC crush Serangoon JC 5-0 to secure A Division football semi-final spot

Story by Koh Yizhe/Red Sports. Photos by Les Tan

Victoria Junior College, Friday, April 30 2010 – Meridian Junior College saw off a hapless Serangoon Junior College 5-0 to qualify for the semi-finals of the National A Division Boys’ Football Championship.

Meridian JC have yet to concede a goal throughout the season and will now face off against undefeated Victoria Junior College for top position in their final Group Y match.

Meridian JC came into the match needing a win against Serangoon JC to secure a semi-final spot after beating Hwa Chong Institution 4-0 in their previous match. They had a perfect start within the first five minutes when Mohamed Amsyar B Omar Abdullah (#8) gave Meridian JC the lead with a looping shot from just outside the box. Although the SRJC goalkeeper saw it all the way, he was out of position and the ball sailed over him into the back of the net.

Seven minutes later, it was 2-0.

MD Khair Bin MD Rizauddin (#7) swung in a corner to the waiting head of MD Naufal Nur Hakim B MD Hafeez (#29) who planted the ball firmly into the back of the net.

With less than 15 minutes on the clock, Meridian were controlling the game to perfection, not allowing Seragoon JC much time on the ball. They also threatened to extend their lead, with Khairul Azmi Dzulkarnian and Mohamed Amsyar going close through headers.

They did eventually make it 3-0 after 30 minutes when Serangoon’s defense failed to clear after Ooi Jie Renâ’s shot from distance cannoned off the post. The lurking Khair was on hand to punish them with a header into the back of the net.

Just before half-time, Meridian JC scored again. Khairul Azmi collected a pass in the area, snaked past a couple of defenders before unleashing an unstoppable shot into the corner of the net. That gave Meridian JC a massive 4-0 lead heading into the second half.

Much of the same followed after the interval with Meridian controlling the game while Serangoon struggled to find a way out of their half. Meridian took the pace of the match a step down, resting a couple of players for the crucial match against Victoria JC.

Meridian JC added another just before the end through substitute Sharif Hidayat who collected a through ball inside the area and calmly slotted it past the goal keeper for a final 5-0 scoreline.

“Today my team did well – better than the previous game,” said Meridian JC coach Fabio Da Silva. “Our ball movement, reading of the game and communication was all very good and it was a much better game than the first match, especially in the first half.”

“Serangoon JC are a team that works very hard and played their game today. We were lucky to score quick goals in the first half and once you go down by four goals, it is hard to comeback,” added coach Da Silva.

On the match against Victoria JC, he commented, “They are a strong team with a very experienced coach and players. As a coach, although I have respect for every team, I have to be confident of my team beating them. I will probably rest some of my players for the semi-final.”

Final Result
MJC 5 SRJC 0

Scorers
MJC – Amsyar, Naufal, Khair, Khairul Azmi, Sharif Hidayat

MJC Lineup
Cohen Tan Tze Wei (#4), MD Khair Bin MD Rizauddin (#7), Ang Bing Quan (#9), MD Hafiz Bin Mystafa (#17), Daniel Adam Lightfoot (#24), Kor Kiat Kang Kenneth (#14), Khairul Azmi Dzulkarnian (#10), MD Naufal Nur Hakim B MD Hafeez (#29), Tang Choon Yang Jeremy Reuben (#11), MD Firdaus Bin Ismail (#38), Faris Hakim Bin Abdul Rahman (#22), Derrick Lim Teck Swee (#3), Ooi Jie Ren (#5), Oon Tian Sern (#53), Darren Low Jun Jie (#21), Jordon Tng Xin Jie (#2), MD Farhan Bin Azmi (#13), MD Hairi Bin Alias (#23), Mohamed Amsyar B Omar Abullah (#8), Sharif Hidayat Bin Abul Hamid (#18)

SRJC Lineup
Khairulanwar B Abdul Rahim (#1, GK), Lee Yu Feng (#6), Justin Chua Jia Jin (#7), Syed Muhd Kamal (#8), Muhd Nawas B Mohd Sharief ((#11), Cheah Wen Bin (#16, captain), Joel Yee Zheng Jie (#17), Chew Ke Jin (#20), Zhou Yunjie (#23), Ebenezer Lim (#34), Mohd Farhan B Rohani (#38), Gan Jing Hui (#3), Shadhanand Prem Kumar (#5), Nevin Gabriel Khoo Koon Whatt (#9), Mohd Imran Marican (#10), Viszhnu Mohan Krishnan (#15), Linus Ong Shi Jie (#22), Pau Mun Kai (#29), Muhd Hafeez Shahni (#39), Damien Chong Kiah Hwee (#21)