Muhammad Ilhan Mansiz (#5) of Serangoon Garden and Mas Ridzwan (Right) of NorthLight clash for the ball. Both players scored one goal each for their respective teams in the 1-1 draw. (Photo 1 © Stefanus Ian/Red Sports)
Serangoon Garden Secondary School, Thursday, February 9, 2017 — Serangoon Garden Secondary School (SGS) clawed back a hard-fought 1-1 draw against NorthLight School (NLS) in the South Zone C Division Football Championship as both sides remain undefeated in Group A.
North Light took an early surprise lead on the back of Mas Ridzwan’s (NLS #5) brilliant lob from near the halfway line before Ilhan Mansiz (SGS #5) equalised late in the game from the spot.
One of the highlights of the game came in the first half when Ridzwan received the ball near the centre circle. Controlling the ball while it was still in the air, the midfielder took one touch with his right foot, juggling it to his left and back to right again as he volleyed the ball towards the goal. The lob bounced once in the box before looping over the scrambling goalkeeper, Muhammad Nqib (SGS #1).
“My teacher told me if I am in the middle of open space, just try and shoot,” said Ridzwan, 13, who added that he was just trying his luck when he attempted the shot.
NorthLight started the game on the back foot as Serangoon Garden piled on the pressure from the start, dominating possession in the middle of the park.
The best chance in the first half went to the home side through Ilhan who dribbled down the right wing before sending a low cross to Rohan Adil (SGS #10) who controlled the ball and laid it off for Muhammad Suffian (SGS #9). But NorthLight escaped the onslaught as Suffian could not convert the chance.
NorthLight replied by putting bodies behind the ball, blocking shot after shot from Serangoon Garden.
But against the run of play in the 30th minute, NorthLight knocked the wind out of the home side’s sails with Ridzwan’s opening goal. Although they were shaken, Serangoon Garden continued their dominance in possession but were unable to find an equaliser before half time.
Their dominance continued in the second half but it took a foul in the box by one of NorthLight’s players to finally give the home side a lifeline. During the 55th minute, a sliding tackle by Mohamed Haikel (NLS #16) was called for a foul by referee Md Siddique who duly pointed to the spot.
Ilhan stayed focused and stepped up to score the penalty to save a point for the seeded home side. After scoring the goal, he immediately grabbed the ball back to start the game while his teammates roared in celebration.
“On paper, it’s not the best result, but I think in terms of the boys’ mental development, it will bring them quite far so it’s good to have such experiences early in the tournament,” said Mr Ali Haikal, the football teacher-in-charge for Serangoon Garden Secondary.
“Despite the result, they played very well, this will be a good learning experience,” added the 28-year-old.
In the next round of fixtures, NorthLight will play against Fairfield Methodist Secondary School while Serangoon Garden will take on Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) on Tuesday, February 14.
Score by Half
NorthLight vs Serangoon Garden
1st Half: 1-0
2nd Half: 0-1
Full-time: 1-1
Scorers
NorthLight
Mas Ridzwan B Mohamat Ali (NLS #5) – 1 goal
Serangoon Garden
Muhammad Ilhan Mansiz Bin Mazlan (#5)
NorthLight Roster
Muhammad Heizikal Bin Muhammad Suparman (#12), Mengathiruvalluvar (#2), Hizami Bin Mohamad Halim (#3), Muhammad Irfan Izz Shamir (#4), Mas Ridzwan B Mohamat Ali (#5) , Mohamal Haikal B Mohamat Sukri (#6), Muhammad Nur Aidil B Rosli (#7), Muhammad Adam Bin Mohamad Saait (#8), Mohd Dasuki Naser (#9), Mohammad Danial Rifqi Bin Zulkifli (#10), Muhammad Syahmil B Samsudin (#14), Muhammad Ruhaizly Idli B R I (#15), Mohamed Haikel B Mohamed Hazmi (#16), Mohamad Haziq Raiyan B M R (#17), Qushairie Danial B Jimmie (#19), Abdul Syafizat Bin Yusri (#24), Muhamad Mustaqim B Rosman (#25)
Serangoon Gardenr
Muhammad Nqib B Abdul Rahim (#1), Elfiyan Abdullah Bakar (#2), Muhammad Isfrady Bin Ishak (#3), Mohammad Shahmirul B Zulkifli (#4), Muhammad Ilhan Mansiz Bin Mazlan (#5), Niraj Gurung (#6), Muhammad Naufal Bin Abdul Rahim (#7), Sameer Pun (#8), Muhammad Sufian Bin Saberin (#9), Rohan Adil Balaporia (#10), Deepen Rana (#11), Epson Rai (#12), Sahas Mehbhak Limbu (#13), Hylman Affan B Baharuddin (#14), Affy Danziel Muhammed Farhan (#15), Muhammad Irfan Bin Muhammed Asrulnizam (#16), Muhammad Zahil B Abdul Rahman (#17), Abdul Rauf Bin Abdul Rahman (#18), Muhamad Aiqel Bin Muhamad Aliman (#19), Noorazam Shah Bin Azlam Shah (#20)
South Zone C Division Football Championship – fixtures and results
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