Seng Kang triumph over RI to enter B Division hockey final

By Marvin Lowe

Northland Secondary School, Thursday, March 5, 2009 – Seng Kang Secondary edged out Raffles Institution 1-0 to secure their place in the B Division Hockey Championship final.

Seng Kang adopted an offensive strategy of hard running and use of the flanks to great effect. Raffles anticipated Seng Kang’s style of play and countered by frustrating the Seng Kang wingers with tight marking. Also, the Raffles team would wait to break Seng Kang’s offensive rhythm before launching a counter-attack of their own. However, with most of their players sitting behind the ball, their attack was limited.

Seng Kang’s Azahari was notably outstanding in his distribution of passes and reading of the game. Playing at sweeper, he frequently led charges forward.

Throughout the match, both teams created ample opportunities to score but they failed to take their chances and the game remained deadlocked at full-time. The match then went into sudden-death extra-time with the golden goal in effect.

Due to the blazing heat and intensity of the game, many of the Seng Kang players succumbed to cramps and going into overtime would not be easy for them. In contrast, the Raffles team’s fitness was much better and they seem prepared for extra-time and penalties.

Early in extra-time, Seng Kang broke into the Raffles goal area and were awarded a controversial short corner. Initially, the referee seemed to have indicated for a long corner but changed his mind and awarded Seng Kang a short corner instead. The Raffles team were outraged by this sudden change and protested to no avail.

From this short corner, the Seng Kang team set up for Azahari to slam the ball into the bottom corner of the goal. Pandemonium broke out as soon as the goal was scored. The Seng Kang players exploded in celebration while the Raffles players just fell to the ground in disbelief. Some even surrounded the referee to question his decision.

Seng Kang will now play Jurong West Secondary School on the 24th at Delta Stadium for the B Division championship title.