Yishun JC stun Raffles Institution 7-2 to make final A Division boys’ floorball

By Koh Yizhe/Red Sports

Choa Chu Kang Sports Hall, Tuesday, May 11, 2010 – Yishun Junior College (YJC) stormed into the final of the A Division Boys’ Floorball Championship with a comfortable 7-2 win over Raffles Institution (RI).

YJC scored three unanswered goals in the opening period before RI got on the score sheet midway through the second period. A lapse in concentration by RI’s defense at the end of the second, however, allowed YJC to take a 5-1 lead into the final period where they scored another two more goals. RI got a consolation towards the end of the match.

RI came into the match as winners of their group, but it was YJC that took the game to RI. They took the lead in the fifth minute when Gary Goh’s (#11) low shot from the left beat RI’s goalkeeper. It was not long before they doubled their lead after RI’s defense failed to deal with a shot, resulting in an easy tap-in for Manfred Tan (#10) to bag YJC’s second goal.

A couple of nervous moments for YJC then followed as RI attempted to cut the deficit. A lob from the back was fumbled by the YJC goalkeeper and the ball sneaked into the net, but a foul was called on RI’s forward. RI then sent a free hit smashing against the post that YJC managed to scramble away.

YJC punished RI for those wasted chances when they added a third just before the interval. They could have added another with a penalty, but R. Saravanan’s shot was saved by the leg of the RI goalkeeper.

RI came out fighting in the second period as they sought to turned the game around after a dismal first period display. They managed to pin YJC back for much of the period, but it took them eight minutes before scoring a goal through Theodore Tan after YJC failed to deal with a shot.

However, RI’s good work was all undone by a lack of concentration at the back towards the end of the second period. They conceded two goals in a quick 20-second period and trailed 1-5 going into the final period.

RI thought they had pulled another goal back at the start of the third period, but the referee did not allow advantage and pulled the play back for an RI free hit. With YJC putting up a strong defense, they were not able to make use of the opportunity and it slipped away.

Despite RI’s continuous pressure on YJC throughout the third, YJC held on and managed to score two more goals through Nikhil Prakash Nair (#17) and Manfred Tan (#10). RI got a second goal with five minutes left to play, but it was merely a consolation as YJC hung on for the win.

“We are all very excited to be in the final,” said YJC captain Goh Zhi Quan. “This is the first time we are in the final in three years. Everything went according to strategy and I am pleased it all worked out well. Teams have come back against us even when we had a big lead so we were quite nervous even when we were leading 7-1.”

YJC will face off against Meridian Junior College in the final on Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 at Republic Polytechnic, after the latter knocked the defending champions Victoria Junior College out.

“Meridian Junior College are runners-up last year and so most players have experience in playing in the final. We want to give them a challenge and of course, bring home the trophy,” added Zhi Quan.

N.B. If you recognise the players, let us know their names and we’ll update the captions. Thanks.

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