A Division Boys’ Football: Defending champs MJC book final place after 2-0 win over RI

MJC had more than a couple of chances to put the game away for good but failed to make their opponents pay. Amsyar (MJC #8) was chief tormentor, toying with the RI defense with his sweet delicate control and tricky runs. One prime example came in the 69th minute when the stand-in captain for MJC went on a jinking run, leaving two RI defenders in his wake, before unleashing a pile driver which whizzed agonizingly past the top right hand corner of the goal.

In the dying seconds, MJC had another golden opportunity when three of their attackers combined brilliantly to get into an excellent position only for Saati to inexplicably blast the ball over from inside the six-yard box to loud groans from the stands.

Moments later the referee blew the whistle to the delight of the MJC supporters as RI sank in defeat. It was a convincing performance by the MJC team and their coach agreed.

“We played well despite not having our captain Naufal (#25) who was out injured on the bench, which forced us to change our tactics but the boys played well against a strong Raffles team with Kelvin (#6) and Saati (#19) performing well again after starting,” said MJC coach Fabio.

VJC still stand in their way of a second consecutive national title. When asked if he would employ a different strategy in the final especially with the threat of Dilip, Fabio replied: “I am confident that my boys will do their job well and we will play our own game.”

VJC, having secured their place in the final with a 2-0 victory over St Andrew’s Junior College in full view of MJC since the game was played at MJC, will be relishing the chance to lock horns with the current defending champions to reclaim the national title which they last won in 2009. They are certainly not leaving any stones unturned as some VJC players could be seen recording the semi-final between MJC and RI.

There is no doubt that MJC and VJC fully deserve to be in the final. Both are undefeated and also have scored the highest number of goals this season. The final on Tuesday, 24 May, at Jalan Besar Stadium, will see the best that A Division Football has to offer.

Match Statistics
MJC 2 RI 0
Scorers: Hafiz (MJC #11), Saati (MJC #19)

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