A Division Football: VJC beat RI 4-2 to qualify for semi-finals

By REDintern Horatio Ho

Victoria Junior College, Thursday, May 5, 2011 — Victoria Junior College (VJC) fought back after going down twice to beat Raffles Institution (RI) 4-2 to qualify for the semi-finals of the National A Division Football Championship.

The RI scorers were Wang Jia Xing (#10) and Joshua Suwe (#6), while VJC replied through the Nepalese duo of Dilip Thapa (#10) and Santosh Magar (#11), who both grabbed two goals each.

VJC took some time to get into the game, and RI duly punished them, stunning the home fans by grabbing the lead in the 5th minute through Wang Jia Xing (#10), who smashed the ball in off the crossbar after a goalmouth scramble.

However, VJC equalized soon after, when a long throw by Dilip Thapa (#10) led to a defensive mix-up within the RI defense, who failed to clear it to safety. Santosh Magar (#11) seized the opportunity, running between two defenders and blasting past the keeper.

This match was finely in the balance, with both teams sharing equal amounts of possession, and this led to an exciting spell with good opportunities at both ends. RI almost scored when VJC keeper Raj Tilwa (#1) came out to claim a ball but a Raffles player beat him to it, heading across goal, but nobody was able to connect and touch it into the empty goal.

VJC immediately went on the offensive and won a corner, which led to Santosh (#11) chesting the rebound and volleying the ball onto the crossbar. Captain Dilip (#10) was then flashed a yellow card soon after.

RI then scored to go ahead again, when Joshua Suwe (#6) managed a first time shot at the far post from a corner kick to volley the ball into the net. However, immediately from the kick off, VJC pressed forward and earned a free kick. Shuvod Rai (#6) took a quick free kick, lobbing the ball over the RI defense to an unmarked Santosh (#11), who controlled and placed the ball past the despairing dive of the RI keeper to equalize yet again.

With the score at 2-2, the second half saw a completely different game, with fatigue setting into the RJC side, and VJC dominating, attacking in numbers and containing RI within their own half.

VJC took the lead from a long range free kick by Dilip (#10), which flew into the net after the RI keeper had come out to collect it but was prevented from doing so by three VJC players. The RI keeper then pulled off a spectacular save, punching the ball away at full stretch after Dilip’s (#10) slice had looked destined for the top corner.

However, Dilip was not to be denied and grabbed a second after Santosh (#11) had received the ball and dribbled into the six-yard box before unselfishly laying the ball back for his captain, who prodded in for VJC’s fourth goal.

Shen Hao (#7) then saw his shot touched onto the post by the RI keeper, with the rebound hastily cleared by an RI defender after pressure from Hieng PK (#18). The game ended soon after with the final score 4-2 in favour of VJC.

RJC coach Phil was pleased with his side’s attacking performance, but thought that his team “started off well, then switched off and let in a goal we should not have conceded”. However, he believed that this was a lesson learnt, and “hopes to meet VJ again in the final”.

Despite qualifying for the semis, VJC coach Azrulnizam Shah believed that his team was “weak in terms of marking and have to ensure that we get in the right frame of mind and settle down much quicker in the future”. However, he was still looking forward to the semis, and believed his side was hungry to do well and determined to make up for last year. He also saw positives in the way his team “acquitted themselves admirably, and controlled the game.”

VJC next play Jurong Junior College on Tuesday to ensure top spot in the group, while RI will take on Anderson Junior College to ensure qualification for the semi-finals.

National A Division Football Championship – 2nd Round fixtures and results

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