Meridian JC edge St Andrew’s JC 2-1 to reclaim A Division boys’ football crown

By Kenneth Tan/Red Sports. Photos by REDintern Chua Yueda, YQ Lee and Tan Jon Han/Red Sports.

Jalan Besar Stadium, Thursday, May 20, 2010 – Hot favourites Meridian Junior College (MJC) narrowly beat St Andrew’s Junior College (SAJC) 2-1 to reclaim the A Division Boys’ Football Championship which they lost to Victoria Junior College (VJC) last year.

MJC’s Ang Bing Quan and Mohd Khair Mohd Rizauddin scored in the first half to establish a 2-0 lead before SAJC forward Pradeep Ravichandran pulled one back six minutes after the restart.

SAJC piled on the pressure in the closing stages but the MJC defence stood firm to hold out for the victory.

“We trained really hard for this,” said MJC captain Cohen Tan after the game. “I would like to thank every single one of them who were behind us and played a part in this – the school, the teachers, the coaches.”

There were no surprises in the MJC lineup as they made no changes to the starting lineup they fielded in the semi-final against RI, while SAJC made one change in captain Neville Chia coming in to replace Muhammad Asyraf in midfield.

Despite MJC’s short eight-year history, this was their sixth successive final appearance. That pedigree was shown as they settled in well and promptly scored the opening goal of the game with just five minutes on the clock.

MJC were awarded a corner on the right after some pressure on the right flank. Full back Ang Bing Quan’s resulting inswinger went over the whole crowd of players inside the six-yard box and while SAJC goalkeeper Lee Shi Tong managed a touch, the ball appeared to bounce off SAJC full back Cheng Guang Fu’s shoulder before falling into the goal.

“The ball came in at a very awkward direction,” explained Shi Tong. “I thought I could palm it over, but in the end I couldn’t.”

SAJC tried hard to come back and created their first goalscoring opportunity on 12 minutes.

A Foo Ming Yi free kick from the right was flicked on by Tan Wei Zheng into the path of fellow forward Pradeep Ravichendran inside the box. However Pradeep wasted the opportunity by volleying it over the bar.

That was the only real opportunity SAJC had in the first half as they lost out in the midfield battle and did not provide enough support for their forwards. It was MJC who proceeded to dominate the rest of the half.

On 15 minutes, winger Mohd Khair released midfielder Amsyar Omar just inside the box but the latter sliced his effort just over.

Eight minutes later, Amsyar’s miscued shot inside the box fell kindly for forward Khairul Azmi at the far post. However Azmi failed to get the vital touch to slot the ball home.

It was no surprise MJC managed to double their lead three minutes before the break.

A free kick from midfield was knocked on by forward Mohd Naufal Nur Hakim into the path of Mohd Khair just in front of the six-yard box. The winger, who was left unmarked, wasted no time in curling the ball into the middle of the goal.

“The second goal certainly gave us a higher mountain to climb,” said SAJC teacher-in-charge Roland Lee.

MJC appeared to start the second half the way they ended the first as they created a couple of opportunities within four minutes.

Firstly, Amsyar Omar had a 30-yard shot saved before Khairul Azmi’s header inside the box from a Ang Bing Quan long throw was well held by Lee Shi Tong.

Two minutes later, Pradeep Ravichendran threw SAJC a lifeline as he managed to pull a goal back for his team.

A Gregory Noah free kick from the middle caused much confusion inside the MJC box as MJC goalkeeper Daniel Adam Lightfoot came rushing out into no-man’s land. Centre back Darren Hedger managed to head the ball past an onrushing Daniel and the unmarked Pradeep at the far post. Pradeep remained composed to slide the ball into the empty goal to halve the deficit at 1-2.

That goal seemed only a temporary reprieve for SAJC as MJC managed to put the ball into the net for what they thought would be their third goal 10 minutes later.

A superb Mohd Khair through pass down the right picked out a totally unmarked Ang Bing Quan inside the box. Bing Quan managed to curl the ball over the onrushing Shi Tong with his less favoured right foot before sliding on the pitch in celebrations. However his celebrations were cut short soon after as the assistant referee ruled the goal out for offside.

SAJC sensed luck was on their side as they piled on the pressure thereafter in order to get the vital equaliser.

On 59 minutes, captain Neville Chia earned a free kick in a dangerous area just outside the box. However, Gregory Noah could only fire his effort into the wall.

Nine minutes later, Neville Chia had the SAJC supporters on their feet as he went on a rampaging run through the middle and into the box, but in the end he was crowded out before he could pull the trigger.

The gruelling second half coupled with the humid weather took a toll on both sets of players as they went down with cramps soon after. SAJC were the bigger casualties as Foo Ming Yi, Chow Jiachuan and Kang Yunyi all had to be stretchered off and be replaced.

The closing moments belonged to SAJC as they continued their all-out attacking policy.

On 76 minutes, Pradeep released Tan Wei Zheng down the left before the latter crossed into the box for a lurking Goh Jin Rui. However the substitute forward took too much time on the ball as his effort was well blocked by an MJC defender.

Four minutes later, a Gregory Noah free kick from midfield picked out substitute Eugene Koh inside the box but the latter volleyed his effort well over.

With four minutes of injury time awarded, SAJC had one last opportunity to score when they were awarded a free kick just inside their own box.

Noah’s delivery into the MJC box fell kindly into the path of centre back Darren Hedger at the far post, but he could only volleyed it wide of the right-hand post.

That missed opportunity meant MJC held out for the 2-1 victory to reclaim the crown they lost to VJC last year.

“We worked hard all season to achieve this,” said MJC coach Fabio da Silva who has led MJC to six final appearances and won three of them. “It was tough as VJC, SAJC and RI (Raffles Institution) had all improved this year. Once they reach the semi-finals, they are all really good teams.

“I told my boys if they want to win, they have to score during the first half. SAJC is a good team and they will definitely come back in the second half,“ he explained. “We did well in the first half and scored two goals, and in the second we tried to control the game which we succeeded.

“Thank God for the victory and it was definitely a fantastic final!” he added.

MJC captain Cohen Tan also shared his thoughts.

“The two goals in the first half definitely helped us as it stabilised our game,” he said when quizzed about how the good start aided them in their victory. “Despite the two-goal lead, we weren’t complacent in the second half and were determined to hold on to the lead.”

SAJC piled on the pressure in the closing stages and he felt his team stuck to their task well to deny them an equaliser.

“We were mentally strong,” he said. “Besides that we made sure each of us stuck to their own positions and not to go haywire. Thus we were able to soak up all the pressure and repel everything SAJC threw at us.”

Meanwhile SAJC teacher-in-charge Roland Lee lamented his team’s inexperience for the loss.

“Our inexperience shown right at the start and we were punished for that. In the first 15 minutes, my boys could not settle,” he said. “At half time, they were really determined to fight back just like how they did against VJC. They managed to get an early goal back but in the end we were one goal short.”

“Overall it was a fantastic season for my boys. I would like to congratulate MJC as they are a really strong team and are the deserving winners this year. We will try again next year to be the champions,” he added.

SAJC captain Neville Chia echoed Roland’s comments when quizzed about the match.

“MJC are the veterans in the finals so they definitely had the upper hand in that case,” he said. “We were rather overwhelmed as this was our first final appearance in six years.”

“After the first half, we went back to the dressing room and told each other to find the fighting spirit like how we always do,” he said. “We were fortunate to get one goal back in the second half but it was not enough in the end. “

“Overall it was a good season for us. To overcome all odds to reach the final and put in such a performance in the second half against MJC, I am really proud of my boys,” he added.

In the 3rd/4th placing match played earlier, last year’s champions VJC trumped RI 6-0 to clinch third place in this year’s championship. 3rd/4th match story

Scorers
SAJC
Pradeep Ravichandran 46′
MJC
Ang Bing Quan 5′, Mohd Khair 37′

SAJC lineup
Lee Shi Tong (#19, GK), Zelig Leong (#1), Tan Wei Zheng (#2), Kang Yun Yi (#3), Cheng Guang Fu (#6), Chow Jiachuan (#7), Pradeep Ravichandran (#11), Darren Hedger (#13), Gregory Noah (#14), Neville Chia (#21, captain), Foo Ming Yi (#22)

Substitutes: Neo Junhe (#5), Muhammad Asyraf (#8), Lim Wuqi (#9), Herbin Koh Puay Teck (#10), Vengada Ramesh (#15), Goh Jin Rui (#18), Josef Low (#16), Eugene Koh (#24), Brendan Julian Bala (#25)

MJC lineup
Daniel Adam Lightfoot (#24, GK), Cohen Tan Tze Wei (#4, captain), Ooi Jie Ren (#5), Mohd Khair Bin Mohd Rizauddin (#7), Mohamed Amsyar B Omar Abdullah (#8), Ang Bing Quan (#9), Khairul Azmi Dzulkarnian (#10), Mohd Farhan Bin Azmi (#13), Kenneth Kor Kiat Kang (#14), Mohd Hafiz Bin Mystafa (#17), Mohd Naufal Nur Hakim B Mohd Hafeez (#29)

Substitutes: Jordon Tng Xin Jie (#2), Derrick Lim Teck Swee (#3), Tang Choon Yang Jeremy Reuben (#11), Sharif Hidayat Bin Abul Hamid (#18), Darren Low Jun Jie (#21), Faris Hakim Bin Abdul Rahman (#22), Mohd Hairi Bin Alias (#23), , Mohd Firdaus Bin Ismail (#38, GK), Oon Tian Sern (#53)

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