Serangoon Sec upset Sports School on penalties to win North Zone title

By Lee Hwee Cheng

Teacher’s Network, Grange Road, Wednesday, March 7, 2007 – In a hard-fought championship match that lasted nearly three hours, Serangoon Secondary edged out Singapore Sports School 10-9 in a sudden-death penalty shootout after the game ended in a 1-1 draw at the end of extra-time.

On a stale, humid afternoon where dark clouds loomed and rain threatened, neither team allowed their mood to be dampened.  Serangoon won the kick-off, and the boys in maroon strutted their stuff early on, impressing with their diligent passes and shots on target.

But it was the Sports School boys in blue who started to control the game as the first half wore on. Dominating the game, Sports School controlled the pace, forced Serangoon into making fruitless attacks, and taunted the Serangoon goalkeeper with their numerous attempts.

Sports School had more shots on target.  No.13 Aliff gave Serangoon their first scare, narrowly missing an open goal barely a few feet from the goal-line when the goalkeeper made a mistake and gave him a clear shot.  He next took a pass at the top of the penalty box, dribbled past a defender, and got off a clean shot on target but it was saved by the goalkeeper.

Serangoon had their first real look at the Sports School goal when no.14 was taken down by a bad tackle and a free kick was awarded outside the penalty box.  However, the free kick was wasted.

At this time, Serangoon’s defence succumbed to the threat of Sports School’s Aliff.  Taking a pass from the right flank. he bore down on goal with the Serangoon defense trying to keep up with him and sent the ball straight into the net past the goalkeeper.

Toward the end of the first half, Serangoon started to look tired and unsure with the ball every time they held possession.  Drained in the defensive end by a more aggressive and confident Sports School side, the Serangoon boys started to commit errors with otherwise simple passes and took wild shots that flew over the crossbar.

The first half ended with the score at 1-0 but not before Sports School’s coach was sent off from the bench after an exchange of words with the referee in the last minutes of the half.

Sports School continued the domination in the second half, never letting up on a chance to taunt the defence of Serangoon.  A free kick awarded early in the half just outside the penalty box almost led to a goal when the ball flew past the left post.

In a spectacular run, Sports School’s no.3 dribbled the ball down the left flank to the touch line, then crossed it into the penalty box where Aliff was once again lurking dangerously right in front of the goal.  Marked by a defender and unable to find a clear shot, he made a quick decisive touch to no.5 to his right. Totally clear to take a shot at an open goal, no.5’s attempted shot missed the target, much to the disappointment of the Sports School supporters.

In the one decisive moment of the half, Sports School gained a corner. From the ensuing corner kick, Sports School’s central defender no.9, Aplin, jumped high above the rest of the static Serangoon defence and headed the bal toward the goal, only to have it hit and rebound from the crossbar from less than 3 metres.

Perhaps buoyed by their lucky escape and a good pep talk during halftime, the Serangoon boys regained some energy and form. Regaining more possession of the ball, they started to gain better control of the game and made more penetrative attempts at goal, giving their supporters the hope that they were starting to find holes in the Sports School defence.

In one move, Serangoon’s no.15 Fadhil received a pass outside the penalty box and took a long-range shot on target, but was unfortunately stopped short by the Sports School goalkeeper.

In the next Serangoon possession, a throw-in was awarded and the ball passed into the penalty box.  No.14 Khairi found the touch, made a clear shot toward the goal, but the Sports School goalkeeper punched the ball out.  From the subsequent corner-kick that was taken, the ball once again flew into a danger spot within the penalty box, but was saved by the goalkeeper.

By this time, it was clear that Serangoon had pumped up their confidence and their hunger for an equalizer.  With just minutes left in the game, the equalizing goal finally came to Serangoon when no.9 Safwan dribbled the ball down the right flank, crossed it into the penalty zone and found no.8, captain Haziq who jumped unimpeded to head the ball into the top left corner of the net. This set off a long and emotional celebration by the Serangoon players and supporters.

With the game ending in a 1-1 draw at full time, extra time ensued. Both sides clearly exhausted after 90 minutes of play, neither Sports School nor Serangoon could find the extra wit or burst of energy to convert any attempt into a second goal. At the end of the extra 10 minutes, the score remained 1-1.

So the final would turn out to be one decided by a penalty shootout, and even then, one not without its share of excitement.

The five penalties taken by both sides ended at 3-3, with both goalkeepers making 2 impressive saves each, and both goalkeepers also taking a penalty shot each.

The shootout then went into sudden death, and did not end until both sides took a total of 13 penalties each.

With the goalkeeper making the heroic save on the 13th penalty by Sports School, Serangoon emerged the winner of the North Zone Finals with a penalty score of 10-9.

The rain did not come, after all. But the Serangoon supporters did break into thunderous cheers and applause. No one would’ve minded a little rain dance now, I suppose.

If you recognise yourself or your team mates in the pictures, please tell us your names and we’ll update the captions. If we have referred to you in the story by your jersey number, please let us know your name. We’ll update the story.

More action shots in the Picture Gallery.