Story and photos by Les Tan/Red Sports
Scott Foong (VJC #21) gets a leg to the ball but his unorthodox shot hit the SAJC bar. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Victoria Junior College, Tuesday, April 19, 2016 — Victoria Junior College (VJC) and St. Andrew’s Junior College (SAJC) played out an absorbing 0-0 draw in the National A Division Football Championship.
VJC and SAJC each hit the woodwork in the second half as the play opened up due to the 34 degrees Celsius heat taking its physical toll on the players.
It was the opening game of Round 2 for both teams and with only the top two of their four-team group qualifying for the semi-finals, the stakes were high.
There were only two clear chances in the first half.
The first fell to SAJC when Damian Ong (SAJC #10) split the VJC defence with a pass for Jonathan Lee (#16) to run onto for a one-on-one with the VJC goalkeeper Jonas Andersen (#1). However, the assistant referee’s flag went up for offside.
Then VJC had a chance for the opening goal. Michael Collins (#7) swung in a cross that was met by Ashwin Kalaichelvan (#4) in the penalty box but an SAJC defender deflected Ashwin’s shot out for a corner.
A clash of heads left Karuppiah Arasu (#9) dazed and cut and he had to be replaced by Muhammad Syakir (#17).
Syakir’s introduction had an immediate impact. He rolled a nice pass into the path of Sollehin (#10) who struck a shot that was headed into the bottom right of the goal. However, goalkeeper Chua Chen Wei (SAJC #13) made a one-handed save.
VJC had two more chances before half-time.
Ashwin (#4) headed over from a Ahmad Taufiq (#19) cross, then Dashmesh Singh (#16) failed to connect cleanly on a tempting cross, leaving both teams to walk off at half time tied at 0-0.
SAJC gave their supporters the first excitement of the second half when Raymond Handoko (#25) hammered his shot against cross bar from a Fazlur Rahman (#8) corner.
The heat began to take its toll as Ashwin (VJC #4) went off with cramps, and Jeff Teo (VJC #14) coming on for him up front.
The next chance was SAJC’s. A heavy first touch by Malcom Tan (VJC #22) gave Damian Ong (SAJC #10) the ball just in front of the penalty box. Damian ran at his marker and got off a shot, but Jonas (#1) bundled it out for a corner.
The SAJC corner was cleared but VJC could not relieve the pressure, and a mistimed tackle gave SAJC a free kick just outside the box. However, Fazlur (#8) hit his free kick straight at the wall and the danger dissipated for VJC.
It was then VJC’s turn to hit the woodwork. A Michael Collins (#7) free kick from the left saw the ball bounce about in the penalty box as SAJC tried to clear. Scott Foong (#21) finally got a leg to the bouncing ball with an unorthodox shot but his effort hit the bar.
A VJC pass out to the wing seemed a lost cause but Michael Collins (#7) ran it down on the left flank near the corner flag and kept it in. His cross in was cleared by SAJC but the ball fell nicely into the path of Dashmesh (#16) who hit a thunderbolt that threatened to rip a hole in the net. However, Chua Chen Wei (#13) made a flying save to tip over the ball to keep the score 0-0.
Syakir (VJC #17) then made another useful contribution in the game, putting the ball through for Jeff Teo (#14) but goalkeeper Chen Wei (SAJC #13) was fast enough off his line to narrow the angle and smother the shot.
SAJC then hit back on the counter with Bryan Kow (#11) putting Damian (#10) through but the latter’s shot was straight at the VJ keeper.
Damian (#10) again proved a handful when he got the ball near the half way line and beat his defender in a straight sprint down the right. However, Jonas (#1) saved Damian’s shot which threatened to sneak in at his near post.
Then came one last chance for VJC just before the final whistle. Jeff Teo (#14) sent a through pass for Ryan Chen (#6) who had a clear run at goal. However, Ryan elected to shoot even before getting into the penalty box, and the ball arrowed harmlessly past the SAJC goal.
“We knew we were up against a very strong VJC side,” said SAJC captain Jonathan Lee (#16). “They have a lot of talented players and we had to do our very best to match up to them. I’m very happy that we have managed to snatch a very hard-fought draw.”
On the missed opportunities, Jonathan added, “They hit the bar, and we hit the bar, it kind of evened things out.”
“We created a few chances but we didn’t take them,” said a disappointed VJC captain, Ahmad Taufiq (#19).
On their next two opponents, Millennia Institute (MI) and Meridian Junior College (MJC), Taufiq added, “They are tough teams, but no one is unbeatable.”
MJC are the early leaders in their group after they defeated MI 6-1 in a game that was played at the same time.
SAJC Roster
Heng Jiu Xiao (#1), Fabio Camagni (#2), Akaash Panday (#3), Sansar Budha (#4), Ameer Khalid (#5), David Goh (#6), Kevin Peh (#7), Fazlur Rahman (#8), Charlton Tan (#9), Damian Ong (#10), Bryan Kow (#11), Chua Chen Wei (#13), Shurvir Singh (#14), Sean Lee (#15), Jonathan Lee (#16), Drew Joseph (#18), Elgin Fong (#20), Tan Kian Yong (#22), Luke Ang (#23), Raymond Handoko (#25)
VJC Roster
Jonas Andersen (#1), Muhammad (#2), Xu Ang (#3), Ashwin Kalaichelvan (#4), Miguel Toe (#5), Ryan Shane Chen (#6), Michael Collins (#7), Sheffield Lok (#8), Karuppiah Arasu (#9), Sollehin (#10), Nicholas Teo (#12), Mark Lim (#13), Jeff Teo (#14), Dashmesh Singh Bajaj (#16), Muhammad Syakir (#17), Desmond Chia (#18), Ahmad Taufiq (#19), Scott Foong (#21), Malcom Tan (#22), Shaun Chia (#23)
National A Division Football Championship – fixtures and results
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