Sports School beat Victoria School 3-2 on penalties to retain National C Div football crown

Story by Kenneth Tan/Red Sports. Photos by Ng Cheng Cong/Red Sports

Victoria Junior College, Thursday, August 5, 2010 — Defending champions Singapore Sports School retained their National C Division Football Championship crown for a third successive year after a 3-2 penalty shootout win over Victoria School.

It was heartbreak again for Victoria as they lost to the same opponents in the final last year.

It was a closely-fought battle where both defences stood strong to repel each other’s attacks till the end of extra time. Eventually it had to be decided by the game of lottery, where Victoria School faltered as they only converted two of their five penalties, as compared to Sports School’s three successful attempts out of four.

Sports School created the first goalscoring opportunity on seven minutes when full back Randall Au’s left-wing cross created an opening for forward Richard Pun but the latter was quickly closed down by Victoria’s goalie Abrisam Durrani.

Victoria School settled into the game midway through and had a number of opportunities.

Midfielder Sufiyan Bin Emran had two long-range efforts within a minute. His first went just wide of the left-hand post while his second went into the arms of Sports School goalie Muhd Zharfan.

They went close again on 21 minutes when lanky forward Muhd Irfan Izeran intercepted the ball in midfield and ran the entire length of the Sports School’s half before firing wide of the left-hand post.

Sports School had a chance to go ahead just before the end of the first half when midfielder Chaichote Panasampon was brought down just outside the box but Aide Shazwandi’s resulting free kick went straight into Abrisam’s arms.

The second half was a different story as Victoria School appeared revitalised by the half-time break to dominate the proceedings.

Firstly on 37 minutes, a right-wing cross fell kindly into the path of winger Gareth Low just inside the six-yard box but he dwelt too long on the ball as Muhd Zharfan came out bravely to block the shot.

Then on 49 minutes, lone forward Muhd Irfan Izeran trapped a long ball well on the left flank and got past two defenders before having his shot blocked by Sports School full back Dominic Tan. Sufiyan Bin Emran’s resulting corner caught out Muhd Zharfan in goal and looked destined for the top right corner before it went off the woodwork and was cleared to safety.

However it was Sports School which had a chance to steal the game in the closing moments. A right-wing cross eluded everyone in the Victoria box including goalie Abrisam Durrani, but substitute Shaun Teo somehow shot wide of the left-hand post when faced with an open goal.

It went into extra time where Sports School were the more dominant side. Forward Andin Addie Djayady headed wide of the right-hand post on 63 minutes before Chaichote Panasampon fired his shot wide of the same post from outside the box five minutes later.

However, they were unable to breach the Victoria goal and had to go into the dreaded penalty shootout.

Sufiyan Bin Emran was the first to step up for Victoria School but his effort came off the left-hand post.

Sports School captain Ahmad Danish Ismail capitalised as he sent the keeper the wrong way to give his side a 1-0 lead.

Dominic Ho stepped up next for Victoria School but his feeble shot down the middle was easily saved by Mohd Zharfan’s legs.

However the score remained intact as Sports School’s Richard Pun hit his shot against the right-hand post.

Bradley Gan and Matthew Yeoh then converted their attempts for Victoria School while Lionel Tan and Syed Syazwan did the same for Sports School.

It all came down to the fifth taker for Victoria School, Mohd Firdaus, to keep them in the game but his shot came off the crossbar, to the jubilation of the Sports School players and fans alike who ran onto the field in celebration of the hard-fought victory.

“We gave Victoria a good fight today,” said a victorious Sports School captain Ahmad Danish Ismail after the match. “We beat them in the qualifiers and again today.”

“They’re bigger and taller in height, so we had to build up our confidence in playing them. Even though our team are mostly made up of Secondary Ones, we managed to beat them who are mostly made up of Secondary Twos,” he elaborated.

“It was an evenly-balanced match,” said Sports School teacher-in-charge Mr Teng Wei Ken. “It’s a harder game than the semi-final but I felt the boys played better today.”

“We always encourage them to play. They controlled the game and tried to build up some plays which is good for players at this age. Overall I’m pleased with the performance,” he elaborated.

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