Raffles shush detractors and put on crown as new football kings with 1-0 win

Story by Lee Hwee Cheng

Highlights in Episode 16 of RedSportsTV.

National Stadium, Thursday, May 24, 2007 – It was almost as pulsating and thrilling as watching the last Malaysia Cup, especially as the National A Division Boys Football Final wound down the final ten minutes of the match.

With Raffles Junior College leading by a mere goal when Wang Bowen (#7) sent a high shot into the left corner of the goal post that goalie Pang Wei Wen (MJC #13) just could not reach in the 49th minute of the match, Meridian Junior College realized it was all or nothing and they forged ahead with relentless attacks.

After all, after losing the championship title to rival Victoria Junior College last year, a loss to an underdog this year would be rather hard to stomach, especially when they had a near-perfect run on the road to the finals again this season.

The 20,000-strong (Ed: Ha! Divide that by 20, please.) crowd in the main gallery – a sea of Raffles whites and greens on the left and Meridian light-blues on the right – went crazy with cheers when their schoolmates almost scored and groaned when a strike at goal flew over the goal posts or straight into the arms of the goalkeeper.

Both teams have had a good season this year and their Cup Final appearance was proof of it. Luck aside (yes, in any game, you do need luck because none of us is born a machine and you luck out when your opponent just happens to be in an inexplicable poor form on game-day), both teams displayed hard work and strong team effort to justify that playing berth in the Final.  To say that both teams put in an extraordinary amount of hard running and played their guts and hearts out this afternoon would have been a gross understatement.

In the end, it was the Raffles side who held on tight to their one-goal lead and emerged the victorious ones to hug the trophy this afternoon.

Good job, everyone. I think you guys did exceptionally well to give us one of the most entertaining matches this season.

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LIVE UPDATE FROM NATIONAL STADIUM

Hello, everybody!

Good Thursday afternoon, and welcome to the National Stadium!

Once again, this is Cheng, and I’m right here at Kallang to bring you the live action, play-by-play hopefully, of the National ‘A’ Division Football Final, that’s coming up in the next 45 minutes or so.

Raffles Junior College, underdogs and surprise finalist of the season, have done well in their road to the final, having lost none of their games.  Meridian Junior College, 2005 champions and 2006 runners-up, are back in the final yet again this year, though without traditional rival Victorians.  Having also gone undefeated but winning more games than Raffles, will it be a clean sweep for Meridian today?  Or will the Raffles soccer boys pop a surprise like their netball schoolmates did yesterday?

Stay tuned.

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Second Half

80:00  Final whistle blows!  Raffles pop another surprise in two days and emerge the new Football champions of 2007 with a 1-0 score.
78:40  MJC take a corner from the right, but RJC diligent defense is making sure no shot can be made from MJC.
77:25  RJC defense is working hard as they stop all MJC attacks anywhere within the penalty area.
76:48  MJC #7 Guo Guang takes a shot from close range, but the ball flies over the goal post. 
76:00  There’s only less than five minutes in the game.  And RJC continue to lead 1-0.  Will miracles happen from now?
75:29  Guo Guang comes back into the game.
73:38  Another MJC player, #7 Guo Guang, goes down and has to be stretchered out.
71:38  MJC #7 Guo Guang takes a shot from the centre but the ball goes right into the arms of RJC goalie Timon.
71:12  RJC #11 Song Chaolun dribbles the ball by himself down the left and shoots, but it goes off-target.
70:08  MJC #3 Matthew Tai sends a throw-in right into the penalty area but the ball is headed away.
69:00  The atmosphere at the National Stadium is awesome.  Cheers, drums, waves.
67:58  MJC #7 Guo Guang finds himself open at the right flank when the ball is passed to him, but he makes his move a tad too slow and RJC defender catches up to clear the ball away.  MJC fail to make good of the throw-in.
66:18  RJC #18 Koo Yi Jing takes a shot at goal, but the ball flies over goal post.
65:22  MJC have made successive attempts at goal, a few times open for a shot, but RJC defense puts in the fast legs to clear the ball in time.
63:11  RJC take another quick corner from the left, but it gets cleared quickly and the ball lands at the feet of #8 Eugene Ong who takes a shot from long range, and the ball lands right on top of the net!
62:18  RJC #10 Hashir takes a corner on the left, the ball flies into the penalty area but gets cleared.
61:39  RJC #14 Lim Bing Li dribbles the ball past defender on the left flank just outside the penalty box and aims to take a shot but MJC defender clears it in time.
60:07  RJC almost have another chance at goal as the ball is shot from close range but the ball rolls a little to slow and MJC goalie Wei Wen catches it.
58:55  MJC fail to maintain ball possession for a good attack as they make passing mistakes.
58:02  RJC #2 Ho Junliang takes a free kick and sends the ball into the penalty area but the ball is headed out of bounds.

57:01  MJC launch another shot but the ball flies over the goal post again.
56:28  RJC #10 Hashir gets booked with yellow card  for bumping an MJC defender out of the pitch.
54:56  MJC take another free kick from outside the left corner of penalty box but this time, the ball flies high off-target.
53:36  MJC take a free kick outside penalty box and it goes straight into the arms of RJC goalie Timon.
49:37  RJC go on a quick attack, and the ball is dribbled down the right flank before it is crossed into the penalty area.  The ball finds itself at the feet of #7 Wang Bowen who sends the ball straight into the net past MJC goalie Wei Wen.  RJC score the first goal of the game and lead 1-0!
48:00  MJC #7 Guo Guang takes a corner in the right but the shot at goal goes off-target.
47:43  MJC #21 Mahdi takes a shot at goal but RJC goalie Timon Chiong deflects it.
43:43  MJC #12 Dong Hao takes a wild turnaround shot that flies way high above the goal post.
41:50  RJC go on a counter attack, as the ball is crossed into the penalty box from the right flank just as MJC goalie Wei Wen is rushing out.  It would have set up an open goal at point-blank, but an MJC defender clears the ball in time.
41:04  MJC #5 Gan Hwa Xiang dribbles the ball down the right flank, then crosses the ball to #12 Dong Hao, who shoots but gets blocked by RJC defender.
40:00  Second half kicks off.

First Half
40:00  First half ends at 0-0.
36:43  MJC #12 Dong Hao tries to make a break again, but RJC defender deftly clears the ball.
35:00  MJC go for another fast attack, but RJC goalie Timon Chiong stops the ball again.
32:00  MJC #7 Guo Guang dribbles down the left flank on a quick attack and crosses the ball into penalty area where teammates #3 Matthew Tai and #12 Aw Dong Hao are waiting for the feed.  RJC goalie Timon Chiong leaps out to stop the ball, and in the tussle, the ball goes loose and Dong Hao is almost open for a shot but RJC defender clears the ball away from the goal line!
31:37  RJC take a free kick but it fails to create a shooting opportunity.
30:04  RJC take another corner on the right, but it is poorly taken and MJC gain ball possession.
29:00  MJC #20 Fahmi take a shot within penalty box but the ball rolls past the right goal post.
28:05  MJC #23 Daryl Ng goes down and has to take a break on the side.
27:00  RJC make a sudden breakaway and attack from the left flank, but the ball is cleared away by the quick feet of MJC defender.
26:35  RJC #2 Ho Junliang takes a corner from the right, but the ball flies too high.
24:32  MJC commits bad tackle on RJC and a free kick is awarded just outside the left corner of the penalty box.  The free kick taken flies high, completely off-target.
23:06  RJC take a quick free kick and the ball is sent to #19 Ong Woo Han running down the right flank, but before he makes a cross, MJC #6 Fuad foils his attack with a good tackle for the ball.
21:45  RJC #6 Zenzel Chew takes another free kick from outside the penalty box, and the ball curls right into MJC goalie Khairi again.
20:34  RJC #2 Ho Junliang takes a close shot from the left, and the ball rolls past the goal post.
20:00  It’s the attack of the bug called ‘Fatigue’.

18:15  MJC #7 Chang Guo Guang takes a wild shot from long range, and the ball flies high above the goal post.
17:20  MJC take a corner but the ball flies too far.  MJC #6 Fuad tries to maintain possession of the ball, but RJC clear it away.
16:25  RJC #2 Ho Junliang takes a shot at goal at point-blank but the ball flies straight into the arms of MJC goalie Wei Wen.
15:02  RJC break into a quick attack and a long pass is sent down to #19 Ong Woo Han running down the right flank.  He crosses the ball into the middle, but MJC defenders clear the ball.
13:11  MJC have another break at attack, and a near-chance is missed, and a bad RJC tackle awards MJC a free kick just outside penalty box on the left flank.  MJC #7 Chang Guo Guang takes the free kick but fails to score.
12:01  RJC #19 Ong Woo Han sends the ball into penalty box but it gets cleared by MJC defender and RJC take a throw-in.
10:35  RJC #6 Zenzel Chew takes the free kick and aims for the goal, but MJC goalie Wei Wen saves it.
09:50  MJC #19 Cheong Jiamin makes a bad tackle on RJC #12 Sean Zhong and RJC get another free kick outside penalty box.
08:39  MJC launch into another 2-on-2 fast break down the right flank, but RJC foil the attack.
07:15  MJC break into a quick attack, but RJC defense stop the offense once again.
06:40  MJC take a throw-in from penalty line but RJC defenders successfully clear the ball.
04:35  RJC #12 Sean Zhong is taken down by two defenders on a dribble down the right flank, and is awarded a free kick near midfield line.  RJC are unable to create an attack from the free kick.
03:42  MJC take a free kick from near midfield line, the ball curls towards penalty box but is headed out by MJC teammates.
01:39  RJC take their second consecutive corner but MJC goalie Wei Wen saves the ball.
00:00  Match kicks off in RJC possession.

Editor’s note: We may have your name list but we can’t match it with your face since your jerseys don’t have numbers in front. So if you want to tell us your names, we’ll update the captions. Please leave names in the comments section. Thanks. More action shots in the picture gallery. Enjoy.