By REDintern Horatio Ho

Victoria Junior College, Monday, April 18, 2011 — Victoria Junior College (VJC) and Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC) played their first National A Division Football Championship matches in over a week, with a fiercely-contested encounter ending 3-1 in favour of VJC.

Jacob (#20) scored first for ACJC, before goals from Mohd Shijudeen (#14), Santosh Magar (#11) and Anuruddhan Arunan (#15) ensured that VJC came from behind to win.

The earlier game saw Hwa Chong Institution share the points with Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) in a 0-0 draw.

This result, the penultimate first-round group game for both teams, means that VJC will finish top of their group, save for a big ACJC win in their last group game. ACJC are firm favourites to finish second.

This match hung in the balance for long periods of time. A high-tempo play was adopted by both sides, with neither afraid to go for the opening goal, while at the same time leaving themselves vulnerable at the back on the counter-attack.

Mohd Shijudeen nearly scored the opening goal after the ACJC keeper had fumbled a cross, and the VJC player poked the ball towards an unguarded goal. However, to the dismay of the home fans, an ACJC defender recovered well to clear the ball off the line, and his team went on to take the lead almost immediately.

An ACJC corner kick caused confusion between the VJC defence and goalkeeper, and Jacob (#20) made full use of that opportunity to rise above the disorganized VJC defence and head the ball into the net to the cheers of the visiting ACJC fans. ACJC continued attacking for a second goal to kill off the game, but looked vulnerable on the counter-attack.

VJC soon got the equaliser after a long throw into the box by Dilip Thapa (#10) was half-cleared and Hieng Pheak Kdey (#18) unleashed a powerful long-range volley that the ACJC keeper could only parry. The rebound fell to Mohd Shijudeen and he made no mistake this time, blasting the ball into the goal.

VJC continued attacking, but this did not deter ACJC from pushing up in numbers in search for a second goal. As a result, ACJC were nearly punished twice after two brilliant surging runs from VJC left winger Santosh Magar.

On both occasions, he ran from just outside his box all the way to the other end of the field, before crossing for Anuruddhan to send diving headers towards the near post. However, the ACJC keeper produced a stunning save to deny Anuruddhan the first time round, while an ACJC defender cleared the second attempt off the line.

The score was 1-1 at half-time.

The start of the second half saw the tempo picking up from where the first half left off, with both teams going on the offensive. An ACJC counter-attack ended with a penalty awarded in their favour, after an ACJC player was brought down in the box by Shuvod Rai (VJC #6).

The ACJC captain (#23) sent it to the left corner, but VJC keeper Raj Tilwa (#1) was equal to his effort, throwing himself to his side to deny the ACJC captain.

This was a wake up call for VJC, who started to press their opponents from higher up the field. They nearly got the second goal after a cross into the ACJC penalty box was headed back by Santosh Magar, and Mohd Shijudeen chested the ball and volleyed just over the bar.

VJC’s goal finally came when a cross from Anuruddhan was met by Santosh Magar, who headed the ball into the net despite a challenge from the ACJC keeper, who was left grasping at thin air.

VJC were clearly dominating the latter stages of the game, with the ACJC players coming down with cramps. VJC continued attacking in droves, searching for the third goal that would kill off the game, and captain Dilip Thapa came close, blazing a shot agonisingly wide after a brilliant run.

ACJC resorted to counter-attacking, which caused some problems for the VJC defence and ensured a nervy ending to this fiercely-contested game. The killer goal, however, came in stoppage time after a long clearance from defence was chased down by Anuruddhan. The ACJC keeper thrice fumbled his collection under pressure from Anuruddhan before the latter finally got the better of the keeper and brought it past him before passing the ball into an unguarded net, sending the home crowd into raptures and ensuring that all three points went to his team.

Andre, the teacher-in-charge of the ACJC football team, saw some positives, saying that he was proud that “they were not afraid to stand up to their opponents and showed good character and good spirit” despite their loss.

VJC teacher-in-charge Mr Tan Yew Hwee was overwhelmed with emotion, just saying that he would like to “thank God for the result”, while VJC coach Azrulnizam Shah felt that his team have developed a mental toughness to respond and fight back when they are down.

He was also elated that his side have secured their place in the second round, and said, “I know that we can do better, and give a better account of ourselves.”

Another player happy with his contribution to the game was VJC keeper Raj Tilwa (#1), whose crucial penalty save kept VJC in the game. His confidence, as well as the team’s, rocketed after he saved the penalty.

Captain Dilip Thapa added: “We showed fighting spirit, motivation and we look to go into the second round fitter, hungrier, and better.”

VJC look to end off their first round on a high against ACS(I) on Thursday, 21st April, while ACJC play Hwa Chong to secure the second spot in group C.

National A Division Football Championship — Full fixtures and results