Story by REDintern Arissa Pang. Photos by Matthew Lau/Red Sports
Saifullah Akbar (SSP #9) attempts a shot while Nur Hakim (SKS #6) defends. (Photo 1 © Matthew Lau/Red Sports)
PESEB, Wednesday, March 12, 2014 — Singapore Sports School (SSP) defeated Seng Kang Secondary (SKS) 6–5 in a penalty shootout to take home the North Zone B Division Football Championship.
The schools share a strong rivalry and games involving them never fail to be intense.
During the first half, both teams had many shots on target. Saifullah Akbar (SSP #9) attempted a nice shot outside the penalty box in the 21st minute but the attempt was saved by Seng Kang goalie, Khairul Azhar (#1). Khairul had another nice save from a Ifwat Akid (SSP #16) shot. Md Ariyan (SKS #10) was aggressive on offence as he went for every ball and took multiple attempts at the goal. Both goalies did their part to keep it scoreless at the end of the first half.
Just eight minutes into the second half, Saifullah Akbar (SSP #9) scored the first goal the game as Sports School began to use their height and athletic advantage to dominate possession in the second half.
Seng Kang had many free kicks during the second half, but none of the attempts were successful until the 75th minute. A free kick by Md Zulhelmy (SKS #5) saw Syed Taufik (SKS #16) head the ball into goal to tie the game 1–1.
Both teams found no way to score in the 20 minutes of extra period and the game went into a penalty shootout.
Both goalies made saves during the first few shots and the winning penalty finally came from the feet of Md Nazhim (SSP #3). Syed Taufik (SKS #16) had a chance to level the shootout but his attempt was saved by Aaron Tang in the Sports School goal. This gave Sports School the victory and the Championship title.
Captain of Singapore Sports School, Danial Shafiq (#15), commented, “This game should not have gone into extra time, but I felt that both teams did equally well. The supporters are very supportive. I think that we’ve done well and deserve this title.”
Singapore Sports School goalie, Aaron Tang (#1), added, “The opponents were really good. They played well and both schools put up a good fight. We lost to Seng Kang during the second round but I’m glad we managed to defeat them today.”
Seng Kang captain, Nur Kahim (#6), commented, “I’m very proud of my team despite not winning the championship, because we proved to others that even though we’re from a neighbourhood school, we still managed to come this far. The opponents have good coaches and good equipment to train and they are physically stronger than us.”
Syed Taufik (SKS #16) added, “We have to train harder in the nationals as we will face tougher opponents. We need to improve our communication during the game. I’m happy that I scored the equalizing goal. I never expected the goal, as this was my first goal of the season. I’m happy that I managed to perform well in front of my school and do them proud.”
Score by Half
Sports School vs Seng Kang
1st Half: 0–0
2nd Half: 1–1
Extra time: 0–0
Penalty Shootout: 6–5
Scorers
Sports School
Saifullah Akbar (#9) – 1 goal
Seng Kang
Syed Taufik B Syed Zainuddin (#16) – 1 goal
Singapore Sports School Roster
Aaron Tang Jun Jie (#1), Aliff Iskandar B Abdul Razak (#2), Md Nazhim B Harman (#3), Md Asraf B Md Ismail (#4), Nanthanael Chin Wei En (#5), Gerald Joseph Ting Yen Hong (#6), Danish Irfan B Azman (#7), Md Haziq B Md Razzali (#8), Saifullah Akbar (#9), Nur Md Shah B Shahiran (#10), Md Amirul Haikal B Md Hassim (#11), Sheikh Ibrahim Abdul Rahman Bamadhaj (#12), Md Darwisy B Shahul Hamid (#13), Prakash Raj S/O Nanthakumar (#14), Danial shafiq B Abdul Rahman (#15), Ifwat Akid B Seberan (#16), Md Syukri B Md Bashir (#17), Darren Yap Zhi Xin (#18), Syed Firdaus B Syed Hassan (#19), Md Adib Nur Hakim B Azahari (#20)
Seng Kang Secondary Roster
Khairul Azhar B Mahmud (#1), Md Shahizzat B Azmi (#2), Md Syukrie B Abdullah (#3), Shaik Rakin B Shaik Ismail (#4), Md Zulhelmy B Md Z (#5), Md Nur Hakim B Azhar (#6), Md Khalili B Khalif (#7), Md Heilfi B Ariffin (#8), Putra Aly Aqbar B Rossly (#9), Md Ariyan Bin Samsudin Malik (#10), Md khair Rusydi B M K (#11), Md Ridhwaan B Juraimi (#12), Fakhrul Haaziq B Md Fikri (#13), Amirul Rusydee B Md A (#14), Md Zaidi B Halyman (#15), Syed Taufik B Syed Zainuddin (#16), Md Farhan B Khalif (#17), Md Shuhada B S Burhan (#18), Md Nazri B Md S (#19), Khairul Irfan B Hussin (#20)
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