Story by REDintern Ryan Lim. Photos by Chua Kai Yun/Red Sports.

Syafiq (SRJC #25) reacts after scoring the first goal for his team. (Photo © Chua Kai Yun/Red Sports)

Syafiq (SRJC #25) reacts after scoring the first goal for his team. (Photo 1 © Chua Kai Yun/Red Sports)

St Andrew’s Junior College, Tuesday, April 5, 2016 — Jurong Junior College (JJC) fought back from two goals down to secure a draw against Serangoon Junior College (SRJC) in the National A Division Football Championship.

Both teams approached this match with similar intentions – to gain three points and close the gap between themselves and the table-topping teams, St Andrew’s Junior College and Anglo-Chinese Junior College. However, the eventual stalemate did neither team any favours, as it appears to be a case of two points lost, rather than a point gained.

Leading 2-0, SRJC suffered a late setback after conceding two goals in quick succession towards the end of the game, with Simon Wong (JJC #17) scoring a double to rescue his team. The draw kept SRJC one point behind JJC in the group table having played one game less.

The game began with the two teams exceptionally vocal in communication. However, both teams could not make a breakthrough, and found themselves struggling to find direction in their passing.

The weather did little to help as a light drizzle made playing conditions poor. Slips from both teams and over weighted passes caused build-up play to be ineffective. There were zero shots on target in the first 20 minutes of the game.

Gaele Loi (JJC #4) took a sweet first touch to escape his marker, and split the SRJC defence with a swift low pass. The SRJC goalkeeper anticipated the play, and scooped up the ball before any JJC striker could reach it.

SRJC replied with an attack of their own, with their captain Astenn Mun (SRJC #10) firing a long range free kick inches above the crossbar, leaving the keeper scrambling back to his goal line.

The drizzle began to subside as the players kept at it. An energetic display from JJC right-back Justin Hong (JJC #3) kept several SRJC attacks at bay.

However, SRJC eventually found their way through as a cross into the penalty box dropped favourably for Syafiq (SRJC #25) to score the game’s first goal. The cross was initially flagged offside by the linesman. However, the referee overruled the decision and allowed the goal, much to the dismay of the JJC players.

JJC made a quick substitution, putting on Nicholas Lim (#16), who almost made an instant impact. Delivering a threatening cross, after an impressive run down the right wing, it was cleared by the SRJC centre-back.

SRJC doubled their lead to 2-0 in the second half, after a swerving corner kick from Astenn Mun (SRJC #10) saw the ball sneak into the goal at the near post. However, that was to be the skipper’s final significant contribution to the game as he limped off injured minutes later.

Due to the lightning alert, the game was stopped for about 20 minutes.

The final quarter of the game was an eventful one. It began with SRJC winning a penalty kick after goal-scorer Syafiq (SRJC #25) was taken down by the JJC goalkeeper. SRJC looked like they could score a third goal to put the game beyond JJC, but the penalty kick was off target.

The game’s direction completely changed after that, as a late surge from JJC brought two goals. The first goal saw Simon Wong (JJC #17) pouncing on a loose ball parried away by the SRJC goalkeeper, calmly rolling in into the net to make it 2-1.

He produced another goal minutes later, after redirecting a pass to him into the back of the goal. The JJC bench erupted in celebration as they pulled off an unlikely comeback in the final 10 minutes of the match.

JJC captain Yeo Wei Ern (JJC #11) was quick to dedicate the result to his team after the game.

“My team had a disappointing start, but I am really proud of them because after the lightning alert went off, everyone really did their part. In the huddle, we said that in these last minutes we give everything and leave the field with no regrets no matter what the score. Because of that, we really gave our everything and managed to come back 2-2. It is really a team effort,” said Wei Ern.

SRJC face Dunman High next, and JJC play their final group stage game against Anglo-Chinese Junior College.

Score by Half
JJC vs SRJC
1st Half: 0-1
2nd Half: 2-1
Full-time: 2-2

Scorers
JJC
Simon Wong (#17) – 2 goals

SRJC
Syafiq (#25) – 1 goal
Astenn Mun (#10) – 1 goal

JJC Roster
Crljen Tan Yong Ming (#1), Soh Jin Kye, Sky (#2), Justin Hong Jing Cheng (#3), Gaele Loi Yu Heng (#4), Muhammad Aqil B Khalid (#5), Daniel Lee Jia Xin (#6), M Narendra (#7), Chang Jia Jung (#8), Boey Kar Wye (#9), Teo Chor Yaw, Leon (#10), Yeo Wei Ern (#11), Muhammad Faris B Mazlan (#12), Ronnie Lee Song Ze (#13), Aw Sze Kiat Ron (#14), Tan Zi Jie (#15), Lim Chung Wai, Nicholas (#16), Wong Cheng Ji, Simon Daniel (#17), Kugan Senivasan (#18), Bali Pratama Tok (#19), Itmam Azwad (#20)

SRJC Roster
Declan Tham (#1), Teo Bongee (#2), Faries (#3), Teng Kian En (#4), Timothy Ngoi (#5), Mukmin (#6), Abdul Qadir (#7), Park Jung Hoon (#8), Zhi Xiong (#9), Astenn Mun (#10), Akid Durrani (#11), Katiravan (#12), Morgan (#13), Glenn (#14), Bryan Goh (#15), Giovanni (#16), Mujeer (#17), Nicholas (#18), Syafiq (#25), Jove Liew (#21)

National A Division Football Championship – fixtures and results

More photos next page