Victoria JC send six past HCI to make A Division football semi-finals

Story by Koh Yizhe/Red Sports. Photos by Dr Low Sze Sen

Victoria Junior College, Friday, April 30 2010 – Alfred Ali and Ryson Yap both scored braces as defending champions Victoria Junior College took a huge step towards retaining their A Division Football Championship crown with an emphatic 6-0 victory over Hwa Chong Institution in the second round.

Victoria JC now have two wins out of two and are through to the semi-finals. They will next face off against Meridian Junior College in the final group game to see who finishes top of Group Y.

Just like Meridian JC in the earlier game, Victoria JC breezed through their match, but they had a scare in the opening goings when Hwa Chong Institution were awarded a penalty. Kharul Anwar B brought his Hwa Chong Institution opponent down just inside the penalty area and the referee immediately pointed to the spot.

Victoria JC had not conceded a goal throughout the tournament, and they were fortunate to see that record continue when the HCI #8 sent the penalty wide.

That jolted Victoria JC into action and they opened the floodgates 22 minutes into the game through Dilip Thapa Masrangi.

They almost doubled their lead a minute later when Ryson Yap was through on goal but Benjamin Chua (#1) came to HCI’s rescue. The Hwa Chong custodian was called into action again a few seconds later when he held on to Alfred Ali’s volley.

Alfred Ali however was not to be denied a minute later. Victoria JC captain Mohd Asyraf Bin Modh Akbar cut through a couple of defenders on the right before sending a perfect cross to the unmarked Alfred Ali who easily planted a header past the goalkeeper to double his side’s lead.

In the 33rd minute, he got his second and Victoria JC’s third when he blasted a shot past the goal keeper after Hwa Chong failed to deal with a corner. A defensive mix-up then gave Victoria JC a four-goal cushion five minutes before half time with Ryson Yap taking full advantage.

With a 4-0 lead, Victoria JC rested a couple of players in the second half, but still continued to dominate the game. Jasper Lee and Diiip Thapa both took cracks at goal which Benjamin Chua was equal to as Victoria JC threatened the extend their lead.

On 25 minutes, Victoria JC managed to make it 5-0. Dilip Thapa whipped in a free kick from the edge of the penalty box that looked to be held by Benjamin Chua, but the keeper spilled the cross. Substitute Tan Chia Chiu was on hand to tap into an open net.

Victoria JC were dominating the game and it was no surprise when they scored again through Ryson Yap. A short corner found its way to the midfielder outside the box and he unleashed an unstoppable curled that went straight into the top corner of the net.

“Generally, the whole team did well,” said captain Mohd Asyraf after the match. “We stuck to the game plan of the coach and we managed to pull off the win. We just didn’t want to be complacent and wanted to be persistent throughout the match. In the second half, we just took it easy and played it safe.”

On the crucial match against Meridian JC, he said, “The important thing is that both teams already qualified for the semi-finals. It is a repeat of last year’s final and we’ll see what the coach has planned for us.”

Final Result
VJC 6 HCI 0

Scorers
VJC – Alfred Ali (2), Royson Yap (2), Tan Chia Chiu, Dilip

VJC Lineup
Ifwat Wafiy (#1, GK), Jasper Lee (#3), Mohd Asyraf Bin Mohd Akbar (#11. captain), Nguyen Phuoc Tan (#13), Fang Jia Jie (#14), Gabriel Wong Liang Jie (#12), Lim Jin Kai (#17), Huang Zhi Wei (#9), Alfred Ali (#8), Ryson Yap Wei Jian (#7), Shuvod Rai (#6), Parvesh Singh Dhillon (#5), Dilip Thapa Masrangi (#10), Khairul Anwar B (#16), Jaren Thun Jie Ren (#18), Anuruddhan Arunan (#15), M Ganeshkumar (#25), Tan Chia Chiu (#19), Law Kar Hoe (#2), Tilwa Raj Udaykumar (#20)

HCI lineup
Benjamin Chua Ming Kai (#1, GK, captain), Daniel Lim Hua Siang (#3), Alvin Ong Wei Sheng (#4), Chu Guang Yan (#6), Zachary Lim (#8), Chong Xian Jie (#10), Larry Lau (#11), Elffred Toh Shu Rong (#13), Lee Jun Yi (#14), Julian Lim (#18), Ng Wei Lun (#24), Lim Jie Rong (#7), Chua Kai Wen (#9), Oliver Yiu (#16), Akilan Shanmugaratnam (#19), Lim Jun Hong (#2), Irvin Ho Zi Jie (#15), Oliver Yiu (#16), Wilford Ng Wee Hong (#21), Dennis Woo Kai Mun (#22), Daniel Choong Bing Ho (#23)

N.B. Let us know the names of the players featured and we’ll update the captions. Thanks.

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