SAJC edge out defending champs VJC on penalties in A Division football semi-finals

Story by REDintern Delle Chan. Pictures by REDintern YQ Lee and Les Tan

Meridian Junior College, Monday, May 10, 2010 – In a hotly-contested and extremely thrilling semi-final encounter fuelled by a palpably intense crowd, St Andrew’s Junior College (SAJC) edged out Victoria Junior College (VJC) 7-6 on penalties to secure a coveted place in the A Division Boys’ Football Championship final.

Both teams fiercely battled it out on the pitch and ended up in a 1-1 deadlock at full time. Each side was also unable to top the other in extra time. However, it soon proved to be heartbreak for defending champions VJC, as SAJC eventually emerged victorious, winning by a hair’s breadth in the penalty shootout to book their spot in the final.

The two sides started the match aggressively, fighting hard for possession in their respective bids to pump the ball forward. However, for the first half of the match, VJC appeared to have a slight edge over their opponents, especially in terms of ball control.

In the 6th minute, VJC’s Mohd Asyraf Bin Mohd Akbar (#11) demonstrated some impressive footwork to bring the ball into the box. However, his ensuing shot was saved by the SAJC goalkeeper, Lee Shi Tong (#19).

It was then SAJC’s turn to threaten VJC in the 13th minute. SAJC’s Tan Wei Zheng (#2) did well to bring the ball forward, but was crowded out in the box by persistent VJC defenders. His teammate, Gregory Noah (#14), latched onto the loose ball, but saw his attempt contained by the VJC goalkeeper, Ifwat Wafiy (#1).

The deadlock was finally broken in the 23rd minute. VJC’s star player, Dilip Thapa Masrangi (#10), scored from the edge of the box, driving a high volley just below the crossbar and into the net to put his side in the lead.

VJC then nearly doubled their advantage just moments later, when Ryson Yap Wei Jian (#7) forayed into the box, only to be dispossessed just mere metres away from the goal.

SAJC appeared rather discombobulated and struggled to contain the VJC attacks relentlessly raining down on them. However, VJC were denied the opportunity of extending their lead further due to some impressive saves by the SAJC goalkeeper, Lee Shi Tong (#19).

Conversely, the second half saw a visibly revitalised SAJC side dominate the game. SAJC’s Pradeep (#11) was presented with a clear opportunity immediately after the kickoff, only to balloon his shot over the crossbar.

However, this eventually proved to be prophetic, as SAJC got onto the scoresheet a mere minute later, much to the delight of their spirited supporters. VJC’s goalkeeper Ifwat Wafiy (#1) had palmed the ball away after a previous goal attempt, only for the ball to fall at the feet of SAJC’s Tan Wei Zheng (#2), who volleyed the ball home to level the scoreline at 1-1.

A resurgent SAJC side then proceeded to register many more shots at goal. Notably, in the 65th minute, SAJC’s Gregory Noah (#14) stepped up to take a well-executed free kick from about 25 metres out, only to be denied by a good save from the VJC goalkeeper, Ifwat Wafiy (#1).

Despite the action-packed closing minutes of the game, both sides failed to gain the upper hand, and the scoreline remained standing at 1-1 at full time.

The 20 minutes of added time proved to be just as evenly matched, with both sides notching up memorable shots on goal but failing to get onto the scoresheet. In the 2nd and 13th minute of added time, SAJC’s Gregory Noah (#14) once again stepped up to take free kicks, only to see his shots miss the goal mouth by inches in both instances. In the 16th minute, VJC’s Ryson Yap (#7) burst into the box, but was not quick enough to send the ball past the goalkeeper.

By this time, the atmosphere of the stadium was positively at fever pitch, as the players then proceeded to undertake a nerve-wracking penalty shootout. SAJC’s Darren Hedger (#13) was the first to step up to the penalty spot. However, he failed to convert his spot-kick, much to his visible consternation.

The next few penalties by SAJC’s Neville Chia (#21), Pradeep (#11) and Chow Jiachuan (#7), and VJC’s Dilip Thapa Masrangi (#10), Parvesh Singh Dhillon (#5) and Shuvod Rai (#6) all found their desired targets. Unfortunately, VJC’s Huang Zhi Wei (#9) then faltered, thus levelling the penalty tally at 4-4.

It was now a showdown to see which side would crumble first under the intense pressure. SAJC’s Eugene Koh (#24), Tan Wei Zheng (#2) and Josef Low (#16) converted the next few penalties without a hitch, as did VJC’s Ryson Yap Wei Jian (#7) and Khairul Anwar B (#16).

However, VJC’s Anuruddhan Arunan (#15), the next man to step up to the spot, saw his attempt agonisingly saved by the SAJC goalkeeper, Lee Shi Tong (#19), thereby seeing SAJC through to the final 7-6 on penalties, and putting an end to his side’s dreams of defending their title.

After the exuberant celebrations by the SAJC crowd both on and off the pitch, Red Sports interviewed arguably one of the heroes of the night, the SAJC goalkeeper, Lee Shi Tong (#19).

When questioned about his final penalty save, a beaming Shi Tong said, “The pressure was ultimately not on me, but on the [VJC] striker. Due to the number of hours we put into training, I was confident in whichever way I directed myself to go. We did train our penalty-taking before this match, as we have lost in penalty shootouts before … it was a bitter experience, and we didn’t want it to happen again.”

The SAJC captain, Neville Chia (#21), also relayed his sentiments on the hard-fought victory.

“Ecstatic. We had lost four semi-finals in a row, so we had to make sure it didn’t happen today. We wanted to do it for the seniors as they are the foundation of SAJC football. Besides that, it is also a sort of revenge for our girls’ team who lost to them 0-1 in the semi-finals,” he said.

On how his team managed to turn the match around, he said, “At half time, we were reminded how hard we trained for the tournament and no matter what, we must give our all in this game. We stuck to our game plan well and managed to clinch the win.”

On the other hand, VJC’s coach, Tan Yew Hwee, was disappointed. When asked about what had cost his side the victory, he said, “It was not so much about what went wrong for us, but what went right for SAJC. They desired [the victory] more … in fact, I’ve never seen them play so well before. Credit must be given to them. As for the 3rd/4th placings, we will just do our best and see what we can do.”

SAJC will meet the winner of the other semi-final encounter between Meridian Junior College (MJC) and Raffles Institution (RI) in the grand final, which will be played on May 20th, 2010 at Jalan Besar Stadium.

Final Score
VJC 1 SAJC 1 (6-7 pens)

Scorers
VJC
Dilip Thapa 23’
SAJC
Tan Wei Zheng 41′

SAJC lineup
Lee Shi Tong (#19, GK), Zelig Leong (#1), Tan Wei Zheng (#2), Kang Yun Yi (#3), Cheng Guang Fu (#6), Chow Jiachuan (#7), Muhammad Asyraf (#8), Pradeep (#11), Darren Hedger (#13, captain), Gregory Noah (#14), Foo Ming Yi (#22)

Substitutes: Neville Chia (#21), Neo Junhe (#5), Lim Wuqi (#9), Herbin Koh Puay Teck (#10), Goh Jin Rui (#18), Josef Low (#16), Eugene Koh (#24)

VJC lineup
Ifwat Wafiy (#1, GK), Jasper Lee (#3), Parvesh Singh Dhillon (#5), Ryson Yap Wei Jian (#7), Alfred Ali (#8), Huang Zhi Wei (#9), Dilip Thapa Masrangi (#10), Mohd Asyraf Bin Mohd Akbar (#11, captain), Fang Jia Jie (#14), Khairul Anwar B (#16), Lim Jin Kai (#17)

Substitutes: Law Kar Hoe (#2), Shuvod Rai (#6), Gabriel Wong Liang Jie (#12), Nguyen Phuoc Tan (#13), Anuruddhan Arunan (#15), Jaren Thun Jie Ren (#18), Tan Chia Chiu (#19),M Ganeshkumar (#25),Tilwa Raj Udaykumar (#20)

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