By Kenneth Tan/Red Sports

St Andrew's Junior College, Tuesday, April 6, 2010 - Traditional powerhouse St Andrew's Junior College (SAJC) survived a first-half scare to secure an exciting 5-2 victory over visiting Anderson Junior College (AJC) in the A Division Football Championship.

The victory did not come easy for SAJC as they had to come back twice after falling behind in the first half. Despite not playing since March 23rd, AJC showed no signs of rustiness as they took the game to the hosts and managed to hold them to a 2-2 draw at half-time before succumbing in the second half.

The first goal of the game arrived as early as the sixth minute. A corner from AJC midfielder Muhd Mikhail from the right resulted in a goalmouth scramble in the SAJC box before Shih Shin-Yu managed to get the final touch to poke the ball home from three yards out.

The lead for AJC lasted less than 30 seconds as SAJC hit back straight from the restart.

A long ball out of defence from centre back Darren Hedger released captain Neville Chia down the left flank. Neville got past his marker well before making a low cross into the box for forward Tan Wei Zhen. Wei Zhen's first-time shot crept just inside the AJC goalie's near post and into the bottom left corner, bringing huge cheers from the big group of SAJC supporters.

However their joy was short-lived as AJC retook the lead four minutes later.

A long throw from Seet Cheng Howe resulted in confusion in the SAJC box as their defence struggled to clear the ball away. Amid the mess, AJC forward Nguyen Dinh Nguyen latched on to the loose ball to smash a superb volley into the top right corner of the goal.

It was a rude shock for SAJC who began to tighten up their defence with a tactical switch that saw #16 come on to replace starting left-back Neo Jun He soon after.

From there onwards, SAJC began to dominate the rest of the first half with captain Neville Chia leading by example to launch the attacks as they created numerous opportunities to equalise.

On 17 minutes, a great ball out of defence picked out Neville on the left flank before he proceeded to cross low into the box for forward Pradeep. However Pradeep took too long to pass it back to an oncoming Tan Wei Zhen and the latter's effort was blocked by an AJC defender.

Seven minutes later, Neville got down his flank well again before crossing early into the box to create a one-on-one opportunity for Wei Zhen, but the latter's shot was well blocked by the onrushing AJC goalie.

On 30 minutes, winger Cheng Guang Fu ran down the right flank before crossing to the far post for Neville. However Neville failed to get a clean touch on the ball and saw it go agonisingly wide.

Their pressure finally paid off on 36 minutes as they managed to equalise once again.

Midfielder Muhammad Asyraf played a looping ball over the whole AJC defence for Wei Zhen to pounce on. The AJC goalie tried to rush out to cover the shooting angle for Wei Zhen, but the latter expertly dribbled past him before slotting the ball into bottom left corner of the goal.

The goal once again revved up the volume among the SAJC supporters in the stands.

SAJC continued where they left off in the first half as they continued to pile on the pressure in the second half.

They were soon rewarded five minutes after the restart. Cheng Guang Fu got past his marker well before crossing into the box for Pradeep. The latter got a second bite of the cherry after his first shot was blocked by an AJC defender and he took that chance well as he slotted in a left-footed shot into the bottom right corner of the goal, wrongfooting the AJC goalie in the process.

Despite taking the lead, SAJC did not rest on their laurels and went on searching for more goals.

On 58 minutes, AJC centre back Ho Koh Wee's headed clearance from a Pradeep cross nearly ended up in his own goal before the AJC goalie managed to tip the ball away from his near post. The resulting corner from SAJC midfield playmaker Gregory Noah nearly creeped into the far post before the AJC goalie once again tipped the ball wide.

Four minutes later, the crowd was brought to their feet after a stunning goal from SAJC.

It looked to be no danger when a free kick was awarded to SAJC just inside the AJC half. However it proved otherwise when centre back Darren Hedger stepped up to take the dead ball and he produced a superb thumping effort that sailed right into the top left corner of the goal that completely stunned the AJC goalie.

On 33 minutes, SAJC put the icing on the cake with their fifth goal of the game as Gregory Noah's corner from the right went straight into the AJC goal.

AJC tried their best to launch a few attacks towards the closing stages but the SAJC defence stood firm to keep a clean sheet for the second half.

The result meant SAJC secured their third successive victory that cemented top position in Group D with nine points, with Innova Junior College (IJC) lying just behind with six points.

Meanwhile AJC are in third, level on three points with fourth-placed Hwa Chong Institution (HCI), but holds the upper hand having scored more goals and a game in hand.

In the next Group D fixtures scheduled on Friday, April 9th, AJC will take on HCI in a crucial clash for second spot at 3pm while SAJC only need a point to qualify for the quarter-finals in their top-of-the-table clash against IJC at 4.45pm.

Both games will be played at SAJC.

Scorers
SAJC
Tan Wei Zhen 7', 36', Pradeep 50', Darren Hedger 63', Gregory Noah 73'

AJC
Shih Shin-Yu 6', Nguyen Dinh Nguyen 11'

SAJC lineup
Lee Shi Tong (#19, GK), Tan Wei Zhen (#2), Neo Jun He (#5),Cheng Guang Fu (#6), Chow Jiachuan (#7), Muhammad Asyraf (#8), Pradeep (#11), Darren Hedger (#13), Gregory Noah (#14), Goh Jin Rui (#18), Neville Chia (#21, captain)

AJC lineup
Ang Yi Xiu (#25, GK), Nguyen Thai Duong (#4), Shih Shin-Yu (#6), Soh Zhen Yu(#8, captain), Lui Wei Siang (#11), Muhd Asyraf B Mohd Taha (#14), Muhd Kazim Khalikuzzamin (#15), Seet Cheng Howe (#16), Wong Wei De (#22), Muhd Mikhail B Muhd T (#23), Ho Kok Wee (#24), Nguyen Dinh Nguyen (#26), Chen You Wei (#27)

Go to the SCHOOLS FIXTURES & RESULTS page for more information.