Story by REDintern Nicole Lum. Photo by Matthew Lau/Red Sports
NTU finished third place in the SMU UNITEC Soccer Games.(Photo 1 © Matthew Lau/Red Sports)
Nanyang Technological University, Tuesday, March 10, 2015 — Defending champions Nanyang Technological University (NTU) claimed a last minute goal to emerge third after they beat Institute of Technical Education (ITE) 3–2 in the Singapore Management University UNITEC Soccer Games (SMU-USG).
Both teams were equally aggressive at the start of the first half. A free kick that was quickly awarded to ITE unfortunately did not translate into a goal due to an offside. While NTU showed deft footwork, ITE displayed a strong team defence. Thus, both teams were at a 0–0 deadlock with the ball predominantly staying in ITE’s half.
NTU began to build momentum as they stepped up their offence later in the first half. The NTU players were able to intercept ITE’s ball and although there were many inaccurate passes, it created more scoring opportunities for NTU. Fatin Aqillah (NTU #10) scored the first goal of the game with a skillful shot that the ITE goalkeeper could not hold onto.
NTU had more of the possession but the strong ITE defence prevented them from scoring. Commendable dribbling and passing skills from Noralinda Wahab (ITE #9) kept ITE in the game. The unexpected ITE equalizer came when the ball bounced over the NTU goalkeeper and into goal.
The score stood at 1–1 at half time.
In the second half, Chris Yip-Au (NTU #9) easily lobbed the ball in to score another as the ITE players were too slow in defending, giving her a clear shot at goal. The NTU player and her counterpart, Fatin Aqillah, both continued to display impressive dribbling skills and made several attempts to score.
ITE equalised from a corner kick to make it 2–2. In the last minute, NTU managed to score their third goal which narrowly missed the hands of the ITE goalkeeper, to secure third place.
NTU’s team captain, Suria Priya, was very proud of her team’s performance. “We played badly in the semis but we came back and played better as a team today. Our passes were better and we managed to pull through,” she said.
Noralinda Wahab, team captain of ITE, commended NTU’s performance and concluded that NTU deserved the win. “It was a good yet tough game as both teams played their best. I also felt that my team did well as we fought very hard,” she commented.
Score by half
NTU vs ITE
1st half: 1–1
2nd half: 2–1
NTU Roster
Lim Jia Qi Victoria (#1), Pan Hui Khuan (#4), Jolene Cheng Joo Lynn (#5), Tse Min Yan (#6), Sharda Parvin Bte Abdul Latiff (#7), Fatin Aqillah Bte Mohd Ridzwan (#10), Suria Priya (#11), Chan Yi Jun (#14), Amrit Kaur Jastol (#16), Eunice Tan Hui En (#17), Ng Sue Ean (#25)
ITE Roster
Nur Adilah Johari (#1), Nur Shafiqah (#2), Valerie Ng (#3), Nur Anisah Imana (#5), Nur Hafizah Zain (#7), Noralinda Wahab (#9), Siti Nur Ahzliyana (#12), Nur Saibah Suhardi (#14), Nur Saidah Suhardi (#15), Noriko Farahsyazwani (#16), Nur Hidatasya Bte Zailani (#20)
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