Story by Rebekah Abbott/Red Sports. Photos by Louisa Goh and Rebekah Abbott/Red Sports
RI goalkeeper seals RI’s victory by blocking the penalty shot by Amsyar (MJC #11). (Photo 1 © Louisa Goh/Red Sports)
Republic Polytechnic, Tuesday, May 27, 2014 — Raffles Institution (RI) qualified for the final of the National A Division Floorball Championship after beating Meridian Junior College (MJC) 7–5 on penalties.
MJC looked to be on their way to the final with a 5–1 lead in the final period but RI staged a remarkable comeback, scoring the equalising goal with eight seconds left in regulation time to force a penalty shootout.
RI have not qualified for the final since 2008, when they beat MJC to emerge champions. This is also the first time MJC have not qualified for the final since 2008.
The first period saw MJC scoring two goals within a minute of each other. Muhammad Amsyar (MJC #11) scored the first from the right wing. The next goal was then scored by Muhammad Jazli (MJC #21), off a mistake by the RI goal keeper.
Both RI and MJC made a number of attempts at scoring but either the goal keepers made good saves or the shots went above the net. A foul by Muhammad Yusuf (MJC #74) put RI in a power play situation but they could not capitalise and score. The first period ended with MJC leading 2–0.
Not long into the second period, RI scored their first goal of the game. Muhammad Amirul Afiq’s (RI #45) shot was not caught cleanly by the MJC goal keeper and Zhang Zhen Ming (RI #9) seized the rebound to score. A mistake by the RI goal keeper saw Lee Jin Hao (MJC #80) score to make it 3–1. However, the RI goal keeper made many good saves after this, preventing MJC from scoring any more goals.
An MJC power-play after a foul by Sakthi Vel (RI #4) saw Muhammad Hamizan (MJC #38) score another goal from the left wing to give MJC a 4–1 lead at the end of the second period.
The game looked settled when Muhammad Hamizan (MJC #38) started the third period off by scoring another goal from mid-court. However, RI began to make a comeback as Andrew Koh (RI #7) then scored two goals for his team, reducing the deficit to two goals (3–5).
In the final two minutes, Muhammad Amirul Afiq (RI #45) scored another goal from the right wing of the court. In addition, a foul by Muhammad Yusuf (MJC #74) gave RI a power-play situation but they could not score.
With more good saves as well as misses, it seemed like MJC were going to qualify for the final. However, in the last eight seconds of the game, Muhammad Amirul Afiq (RI #45) scored the equalizer and sent the game into a penalty shootout.
Four consecutive saves by the RI goal keeper did not allow MJC any penalty goals. A goal by Tay Yang (RI #10) and another by Muhammad Amirul Afiq (RI #45) gave RI the eventual 7–5 victory.
RI captain, Zhang Zhen Ming (#9), said, “I feel very proud of the team because we have never made it to final. Not our batch, at least. This year is the first year we have made it to final. I am very happy. For our last training before the final, we are going to train even harder so we will be more prepared for the final and put up the best performance we can give. We did not expect ourselves to make it through. Half way during the game, we were about to give up. However our coach cheered us on and we managed to pull through.”
RI will face Anglo-Chinese Junior College in the final on Thursday, May 29, at Bedok Sports Hall.
Scoring by Period
Meridian Junior College v Raffles Institution
1st Period: 2–0
2nd Period: 2–1 (4–1)
3rd Period: 1–4 (5–5)
Penalties: 0–2 (5–7)
Top Scorers
RI
Andrew Joshua Koh (#7) – 2 goals
Zhang Zhen Ming (#9) – 2 goals
Muhammad Amirul Afiq (#45) – 2 goals
RI Roster
Sean Jou (#1), Wee Zhi Jie (#2), Ng Jun Jie (#3), Sakthi Vel S/O Raman (#4), Ng Si Hong (#5), Andrew Joshua Koh (#7), Ryan Sim (#8), Zhang Zhen Ming (#9), Tay Yang (#10), Derrick Tang (#11), Ryan Teo (#12), Shaun Pua (#13), Nicholas Ho (#14), Jarod Ng (#16), Xu Jia Feng (#18), Dominic Lim (#20), Adriel Nee Hoong Yi (#21), Darren Low (#23), Kenny Goh (#27), Muhammad Amirul Afiq (#45), Lim Jingzhou (#50)
MJC Roster
Lee Yong Jian (#2), Mohammed Aliasgar (#5), Muhammad Nurhadi b Taha (#6), Syed Omar B Syed Alwee Albahar (#7), Siah Jing Ze (#8), Xu Junwen (#9), Mohamad Aliff B Mohamad Ali (#10), Muhammad Amsyar B Noor Ariffin (#11), Tan Wei Xing Vincent (#13), Lim Wei Jie (#15), Sam Liw Yao En (#17), Yu Jun Lin Aaron (#18), Lee Jun Jie (#20), Muhammad Jazli B Yuszane (#21), Muhammad Hamizan B Ismail (#38), Abdul Ra’uf B Abdul Rahman (#45), Faruq Yunis Alsagoff (#46), Oh Zheng Yong Justin (#50), Mohamad Murhakiem B Mohamd R (#71), Muhammad Yusuf B Zainudin (#74), Lee Jin Hao (#80), Muhammad Nasrulhaq B Mohamed O (#88)
National A Division Boys Floorball Championship – fixtures and results
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