HOCKEY

National ‘A’ Division Boys’ Final
Raffles Junior College vs Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)
Thursday, 24 May 2007, at Delta Sports Complex

Match report by Ihtimam Hossain, captain of the Raffles Junior College hockey team. Thanks Ihtimam! Pictures by Mr Chow, father of Andre Chow, an RJC player. Thanks, Mr Chow!

In their earlier meeting in the 2nd round, Raffles Junior College (RJC) had emerged 2-0 winners over Anglo-Chinese School (Independent). The rematch in the final however promised to be a tighter affair with both teams having checked each other out. RJC’s slick passing game yielded them results as early as the 3rd minute. A clever knock-on by RJC vice-captain Joel Low into space was met by teammate Alex Hsu’s thundering first-time reverse shot. ACS(I) keeper Jamal was helpless. RJC continued to dominate possession but their defenders were forced to stay sharp as ACS(I) had a few breaks.

"V for victory, C for champions". The championship winning RJC hockey team. © Mr Chow

An ACS(I) short corner was brilliantly saved by Narpal Singh while a promising ACS(I) counter-attack which led to a 3-versus-1 situation was cut out by a well-timed diving interception by captain Ihtimam Hossain. RJC’s Ravinpal Singh and Tham Chun Men also intercepted hits into the zone. ACS(I)’s playmaker Fahrul failed to find his rhythm as Joel and Alex gave him no time on the ball. RJC’s right side was strong when Jeremy Tan was on the ball. Andre Chow and Ho Sheng led attacks on the left with Jordan Chiew and Daniel Lum striking. RJC earned many short corners and free-hits. One such short corner saw a deflection by Chun Men double RJC’s lead.  ACS(I) however had not given up. Their counter-attacks kept RJC’s defenders on their toes. One ACS(I) attack saw RJC’s keeper Narpal rush out from his posts to make a brilliant clearance. RJC clearly had more work to do. And work they did. Their constant short corner presence finally led to a third. One particular short corner variation played the ball to short corner specialist Joel Low who hammered in a deceptive sweep-shot for the third goal. The teams went in for half-time at 3-0 amidst the AC fans’ chants of ‘Istanbul, Istanbul’.

Joel Low of RJC lines up to score the third goal for RJC. © Mr Chow

The 2nd half started with a slower tempo and RJC were sometimes guilty of lax passing and ball-watching. ACS(I) tried their best to take advantage but found themselves lacking in numbers in attack. They also had another short corner saved by RJC keeper Narpal. This served as a wake-up call for Raffles. A piece of swift counter-attacking involving Joel saw Jordan Chiew stretch to make a neat connection which was saved by keeper Jamal to keep ACS(I) still in the running. RJC however were not content with three goals and continued putting pressure on the ACS(I) team. After some crisp passing, Jeremy Tan found enough space in the circle to pull off a calm finish to make it 4-0. Surely now, the game was sealed. However, the determination in the ACS(I) team was evident when with three minutes left to go, they earned a short corner. Sadly, they failed to convert it. When the final whistle blew, the reaction by the RJC players and fans were seemingly muted as to many, the game was over by half time. However, the disappointment on the faces of the ACS(I) players were obvious.

Ashvin Thevar on the ball for RJC as Chun Men supports. © Mr Chow

RJC and ACS(I) teams then both thanked their respective supporters and in a show of sportsmanship, formed a line of alternating players to thank the whole stadium.

RJC has now won the title for the eight time in the past decade.