A Division Football Final: Last-minute VJC goal ruled offside allows 10-man MJC to hold on for 1-0 victory

Story by REDintern Stefanus Ian. Photos by Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports and Jason Koh/Red Sports

Jalan Besar Stadium, Tuesday, May 24, 2011 — Meridian Junior College (MJC) won the National A Division Football Championship title by the narrowest of margins when they beat Victoria Junior College (VJC) 1-0 through a first-half Muhammad Hairi (MJC #23) goal.

The boys in blue defended heroically in the last 40 minutes of the match after they went down to 10 men following a red card for their goalkeeper Daniel Lightfoot in the opening minutes of the second half.

VJC also had a last-minute goal ruled out under controversial circumstances when Santosh Magar (VJC #11) was deemed to be offside after Anuruddhan’s (VJC #15) spectacular overhead kick rebounded off the crossbar.

The first chance of the match came in the fifth minute for MJC. Muhammad Amsyar (MJC #8) made full use of his pace to get a cross in from the left for Muhammad Hairi (MJC #23). However, Hairi could not get enough power into the shot and Tilwa Raj (VJC #1) saved comfortably down low.

VJC had slightly more possession but could hardly get a shot on target, with their closest attempt a free header by Khairul Anwar (VJC #16) which went just wide from a Dilip Thapa (VJC #10) free kick.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 22nd minute when a perfectly weighted lob by Amsyar (MJC #8) caught the VJC defense napping and Muhammad Hairi (MJC #23) calmly chested the ball down to finish off with a powerful volley, leaving Tilwa (VJC #1) grasping only air.

“In my mind, I just kept telling myself, run towards the goal and finish it,” commented Hairi, the sole goalscorer of the final.

The goal forced VJC into tactical changes with Shijudeen (VJC #14) substituted out for Shen Hao (VJC #7) at the half-hour mark. The first 40 minutes ended with VJC trailing by one goal.

Azrulnizam Shah, VJC coach, still had faith that his boys could turn things around in the second half. “I told the boys to just believe in ourselves and that we have been down a couple of times before in the tournament and emerged victorious.”

Fabio Fanticelle Da Silva, MJC coach, changed tactics during his half-time team talk.

“I instructed the wingers to come inside more to make the midfield more compact to help us win more of the first and second balls,” said coach Fabio.

However, as everyone was soon to find out, he was going to need to change his strategy even more drastically.

Within minutes of the restart, an accurate through ball from the left turned the game on its head. Ang Bing Quan (MJC #9) and Muhammad Khair (MJC #16), the two MJC central defenders who have been so dependable and unflappable all season long, uncharacteristically scuffed both of their clearances, leaving the ball bouncing behind them. The mistake did not go unnoticed by VJC skipper Dilip who closed in on the loose ball.

It was now a race between Lightfoot and Dilip to the ball. With the goalie off his line, Dilip tried to chip the ball over but Lightfoot knocked him down before he could lift the ball properly. The referee had no hesitation in flashing the red card because Lightfoot was the last player between Dilip and the goal in a definite goalscoring opportunity. Daniel certainly did not expect the red and was left speechless, leaving the pitch in tears.

Ligthfoot later commented after the match: “I thought I could get to the ball first but when I saw Dilip getting nearer I hesitated, but I decided to just bring him down thinking that I would just get a yellow card. At that moment, I just wanted to defend my clean sheet at all cost but after I was sent off, I was really worried for my teammates.”

With their first choice goalkeeper missing and their second choice, Muahmmad Deen Haqim, not feeling well, as coach Fabio confirmed after the match, it was definitely a nerve-wracking situation.

Said Muhammad Khair (MJC #16): “We were definitely feeling nervous as we have never gone to ten men before during this whole tournament and Lightfoot has always been there for us that we almost take him for granted and when he was sent off, we knew we had to change our game plan.”

But as they say, ‘Cometh the hour, cometh the man’. Amsyar, despite not having any previous training as a goalkeeper, volunteered to take the position between the sticks. Following the shock dismissal, MJC skipper, Muhammad Naufal (MJC #25), quickly gathered his team around to have a quick team talk.

“We know that by playing 10 against 11, we would have a very small chance of attacking so I told the guys we had to change our tactics and we have to tighten up defensively,” said Naufal.

However, even with 10 men, MJC held on even as VJC were devoid of ideas in trying to break down the wall of blue. As time wound down, the match entered a final act of high drama when VJC had a goal controversially disallowed by the linesman.

Khairul Anwar’s (VJC #16) overhead kick beat Amsyar in goal but the ball hit the crossbar, bouncing back before Santosh Magar (VJC #11) who tapped it into an empty goal. The VJC supporters erupted in celebration but the cheers died in their throats when they realized the linesman’s flag was up and the referee raised his hand and blew to disallow the goal.

Said an emotional Santosh: “When I scored, the first thing I did was to look at the linesman. I felt that I was onside as I remembered running at the same time as the two MJC defenders closed in on Anuruddhan (VJC #15). But I fully respect the referee’s decision and I know that in order to win you have to lose some. Despite the loss, I know I have 19 friends who supported me all the way and I would like to thank them for their support and guidance.”

VJC struggled to translate their numerical advantage into goalscoring opportunities with Amsyar only needing to make one save in his time between the posts.

Dilip admitted after the match: “We were too eager, too desperate later on in the game. The build-up play was not as good as it should be. In the end of the day, we only have ourselves to blame as we panicked and got too excited.”

Both coaches had nothing but praise for the effort their charges put in. VJC coach Azrulnizam reflected after the game: “We definitely gave our all but the little things just did not fall our way and I have played and coached enough finals to know that today’s just not our day but credit to MJC for their effort.”

Fabio was understandably proud of his team’s performance.

“To me every one of them out there is a man of the match as the boys really worked hard for each other out there in the second half and I am really thankful to Amsyar for stepping up to play as goalkeeper. Whenever you lose a key player like your goalkeeper in a match like this, it would definitely make us nervous but we did well to maintain our composure working hard for each other all the way through.”

“This is by far the most exciting final in my seven years,” added Fabio.

Match Statistics
MJC 1 VJC 0

MJC Starting Line-up: Daniel Lightfoot (#18), Muhammad Khair (#16), Ang Bing Quan (#9),Derrick Lim (#3), Kelvin Chan (#14), Saati (#19), Muhammad Hairi (#23), Muhammad Amsyar (#8), Muhammad Hafiz (#11), Muhammad Naufal Nur Hakim (#25), Jeremy Tang (#7)

VJC Starting Line-up: Tilwa Raj (#1), Jaren Thun (#2), Parvesh Singh (#5), Shuvod Rai (#6), Clarence Chew (#8), Dilip Thapa (#10), Santosh Magar (#11), Mohamad Shijudeen (#14), Anuruddhan (#15), Khairul Anwar (#16), Hieng Pheak Kdey (#18)

Scorers: Muhammad Hairi (MJC #23)
Man of the Match: Muhammad Amsyar (MJC #8)
Golden Boot: Muhammad Amsyar (MJC #8) with 12 goals

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