A Division Football: Dunman High scrape past Catholic JC 3-2

Story by REDintern Stefanus Ian. Photos by Vanessa Lim/Red Sports

St Andrew’s Junior College, Tuesday, April 12, 2011 — Dunman High School (DHS) got away with a priceless three points despite missing a penalty against Catholic Junior College (CJC) in their 3-2 Group B win of the National A Division Football Championship. It was a match that could have gone either way.

The two teams went into the match desperate for a win, although for very different reasons. While CJC were still looking for their maiden victory, DHS needed to win this match if they were to have any hope of progressing into the next round.

It was CJC who took the lead first with DHS continuing their bad habit of conceding early goals. In the third minute, after receiving the ball on the left side of the field, Marcus (CJC #4) started the pass that led to a one-two which put him through. Free of the last defender, he calmly slotted the ball home for CJC’s first goal.

However, the CJC lead was short lived as DHS replied three minutes later when Timothy Ang (DHS #20) raced onto a long punt. With the ball bouncing between him and the CJC goalkeeper, he jumped and managed to poke the ball beyond the reach of the keeper for the equalizer.

What followed was an exhibition of end-to-end football which was delightful to watch. Moments after the restart, CJC had a chance when Ming Shiun (CJC #13) latched onto a through ball. However, he stumbled while trying to get the ball under control, resulting in a rushed and weak shot which was saved easily by the DHS goalie.

DHS, relying on the speed and aerial abilities of their forwards, continued their long ball tactics which almost worked beautifully when Royston Ong (DHS #16) managed to outrun his marker to reach a long pass over the CJC defence. However, his finishing let him down.

While DHS relied on speed, CJC showcased their slick passing in the middle of the park with the bulk of their attacking movements coming from the left. CJC dominated the midfield in the first half, with their tough tackling and aggressive challenges a trademark character of the boys in blue this season.

Their defence was extremely committed, not hesitating to slide in when necessary. However, they could be sometimes be guilty of being overeager. Just after 20 minutes of play, the first yellow card was produced after CJC #10 aggressively body checked a DHS player while trying to shield the ball away from his opponent. With their physical approach to the game, it was inevitable that they gave away free kicks in dangerous positions.

True enough, in the 33rd minute, DHS punished them from a free kick just at the edge of the penalty box. Lim Zheng Feng (DHS #9) was the goalscorer this time, powering a shot that beat Aaron Teo (CJC #20) at his near post to take a 2-1 lead.

Barely a minute after conceding the goal, CJC’s aggressive defence conceded another foul, this time in the penalty box, for which the CJC #6 received a yellow card. Sherman Lee (DHS #11) stepped up to take the penalty, hoping to extend Dunman’s lead, sending the ball to the left side of the goal, but Aaron Teo reacted brilliantly to palm the danger away to the delight of the CJC bench.

The action was not quite over yet. Inspired by the goalkeeping heroics of their keeper, CJC retaliated with another goal. Following some neat passing just outside Dunman’s penalty box, Marcus (CJC #4) took a cracking low shot which stung Dunman’s keeper’s hands and his parry only went towards the alert Ming Shiun (CJC #13) who made no mistake from just outside the six yard box.

Both sides went into the break level at 2-2 with everything to play for in the second half.

After the break CJC came out strong, clearly feeling that the momentum was on their side. With a midfield that was adept at winning back possessions, it was for certain the CJC forwards would have their fair share of chances to score. The chances certainly came but the finishing was simply not there.

In one instance, a bouncing loose ball allowed Marcus, who was the quickest to react, to round the keeper but he could not finish the job, shooting straight at a DHS defender who was lying on the floor. In the second half, Dunman continued using Timothy Ang as their target man and it seemed to be an effective strategy as he continued to torment the CJC defence with his pace and height.

In the previous half, DHS played a dangerous but effective offside strategy and this time it was their turn to taste their own medicine as CJC implemented that strategy, with Royston Ong caught offside more than once, although some of the calls were dubious.

The second 40 minutes were not as action-packed as the first, despite the cooler weather conditions. Fatigue was fast becoming a factor and it took a special effort by Timothy Ang to give DHS the winning goal.

Picking the ball up just beyond his own half, he started a mazy run, blazing past at least three defenders before the CJC #19 desperately slid in to bring him down in the penalty box. This time, Lim Zheng Feng made no mistake from 12 yards, rocketing the penalty into goal even though the DHS goalie Aaron Teo guessed the right way.

Staring defeat in the face, CJC brought on some fresh legs to bring some energy into the team, substituting in their #3 and #18 for their tiring #19 and #14 respectively. CJC continued their passing game in search of another equalizer but it was not to be.

DHS will take heart from their tireless defending till the end that secured the victory. They have now completed all their group games and finished with a 2-1-2, win-draw-lose record. With seven points, their chances of qualifying for the second round will now depend on how St Andrew’s Junior College perform in their remaining group games.

SAJC have only played two games so far, with two games postponed due to lightning. SAJC were leading 5-0 at half time against Yishun Junior College before the referee was forced to call off the game. SAJC have a 2-0-0 record.

Anderson Junior College are currently top of Group B, with a perfect 4-0-0 record for a total of 12 points.

Match Statistics
Dunman High 3 Catholic Junior College 2
Scorers: Lim Zheng Feng (DHS #9), Timothy Ang (DHS #20), Marcus (CJC #4), Ming Shiun (CJC #13)
Yellow Cards: CJC #10, CJC #6

National A Division Boys’ Football Championship — Full fixtures and results

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