By Les Tan
Muhd Khairil glances in the winning goal for VJC in second half stoppage time to ensure a 3-2 victory. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Jalan Besar Stadium, Monday, May 25, 2009 – Victoria Junior College scored a stoppage time goal to eke out a 3-2 victory over Meridian Junior College.
The 3pm start time under the scorching sun plus the adrenaline of a national football final meant fitness would come into play in this game. Added to that the heart-pounding and ear-splitting cheering from supporters of both schools – the loudest cheering you’ll hear at a football game on this island – the stage was set for an exciting game.
A blistering start saw VJC take an early 1-0. Alex (#10) found some space on the left flank and his cross was met by Asyraf who placed his header over Edmund Wong in the (#32) in the MJC goal. 1-0 to VJC.
But MJC came right back. Their constant pressure yielded them a free-kick from 30m out. Up stepped their captain Fazli Hisham (#7) who hit it straight at the VJC keeper Ifwat Wafiy. It was not a hard shot and everyone expected the keeper to pluck it safely from the air. To his and the collective horror of the VJC crowd, it squirmed from his outstretched hands and bounced over the line. 1-1 and the MJC crowd roared their approval.
Man for man, MJC had the measure of the VJC team, nullifying any attack, while their constant probing left VJC fans with the gnawing dread of another MJC goal.
Alex (VJC #10) then missed a one-on-one situation to leave the score unchanged and the miss would haunt VJC.
VJC’s Jasper gave away another free-kick to MJC and this time Attah Joseph (#21) stepped up. Of all the people in the VJC wall, Joseph’s blast chose to take a wicked deflection off the head of Jasper and the ball hit the back of the net while VJC keeper Ifwat was left flat footed. VJC, and Jasper, were feeling particularly unlucky by now.
With MJC holding their first lead of the game at 2-1, VJC did not look likely to score. But an individual piece of finishing by Alex changed the scoreline. VJC keeper Ifwat’s kick upfield was met by the head of Anders Aplin (VJC #9). Another teammate met Anders’ header with another flick on and the ball landed nicely in the path of Alex who bore down on the right side of the MJC penalty box.
VJC fans wondered: Was he going to shoot? His answer was instantaneous – a blast with his right leg that arrowed across the diving body of MJC keeper Edmund Wong to nestle in the far corner of the net. A predator’s goal and the score was now 2-2. Game on.
After the excitement of the first half with four goals and lots of action, the second half was an anti-climax. The 3pm start was taking its toll as players from both teams started going down with cramps. The most pained sufferer was Attah Joseph (MJC #21) whose cramp was so severe that his bulging thigh muscles were rigid with cramp and he had to be carried off the pitch.
With the injuries, the game was going nowhere as a spectacle but with the passing minutes, the tension ratcheted up. A goal at this late juncture would surely spell the winner.
MJC had two golden chances to score through Joseph Tai (MJC #23), the second of which was a header that was headed for goal but Ifwat pulled off a stupendous save to make up for his first half error.
The miss of the game though, was by Alex (VJC #10), this year’s top scorer with 16 goals.
A blistering shot by Anders (VJC #9) from outside the box was not held by MJC keeper Edmund. The ball spilled loose and bounced up nicely into the path of the onrushing Alex. However, from less than 2m from the goal line and with the whole goal gaping before him, he somehow contrived to put the ball over the bar.
Even though the ball fell to his weaker left leg, he pounded the ground in extreme frustration while the VJC bench saw coach Tan Yew Hwee sprawl to the ground like he had been shot. The VJC bench must have thought this was going to be a repeat of the 2008 final where Alex also missed chances that cost them the championship title.
By this time, everyone was expecting extra-time but the final act was yet to be played out. In the second minute of extra time, a throw in by Cephas Ong was headed on by Anders Aplin. In the middle was the waiting Muhammad Khairil (VJC #5). Rising with him were two MJ defenders but Khairil got his head to the ball first.
It was not a hard header but the ball’s bounce fooled MJC keeper Edmund and went in to send the VJC crowd into delirium. 3-2 to VJC was how it finished, and VJC put to bed their 1-2 loss to MJC in last year’s final.
In an on-field incident witnessed by many and sure to be discussed for days on end, the MJC taunt to VJC to “go fly kite” got the better of VJC’s Khairil and he made a mocking gesture – putting his thumb on his nose and wiggling his fingers – to the MJC crowd in return after teammate Alex scored the second VJC goal.
After getting scolded by coach Tan Yew Hwee immediately after the incident, Khairil was marched to the MJC principal after the game by his coach and made to apologise.
“That kind of game, heart attack!” said VJC coach Tan Yew Hwee. “The chances they missed!”
The winning goal was unexpected.
“The goal was a soft goal,” he said.
For MJC, this was their fifth A Division final appearance in a row.
“That’s football,” said MJC coach Fabio Fanticelle Da Silva. “It was a loss of concentration in the last two minutes.”
“It was a very good save by the VJC keeper,” said coach Fabio, referring to the save from Joseph Tai (MJC #23) in the dying moments of the second half.
“Last year was our year, this year is their time. Our boys worked very hard and we have very good support from the principal and teachers.”
MJC are also well placed for A Division football honours next year.
“Seven of the players will be back next year,” coach Fabio confirmed.
“It’s really honourable to score in the final on such a big stage,” said Muhd Khairil, the scorer of the winning goal and who also bagged the man-of-the-match award. “Lucky the ball went in. We had many chances to score but we threw it away.”
Khairil finished the season with four goals, but that last one will live long in the memory for him and VJC.
Step out of all this arguing and scroll out to the bigger picture. And I mean, the bigger picture, muahaha. 🙂
I’m not being deliberately random here. But anyways, for ALL the guys, be it you’re from VJ or MJ or ACJC or TPJC or any school, in time to come, you guys will be wearing green and serving the nation together. And you’d realise then, that there are cool people and not-so-cool people EVERYWHERE. From EVERY SCHOOL. So my point is there’s no point in arguing over schools here. No need to generalize and make things complicated.
I have “unfriendly” opponents on court ending up in the same platoon as I when I enlisted last year and we became such good buddies once we got to know each other.
Okay very random I shall stop. Good luck for all your A Levels DON’T ASSUME YOU HAVE ENOUGH TIME HAHA.
A big thank you to Les, for all that you’ve done for School Sports in Singapore. =)
ok…anyone care to type out the fly kite cheer? I have never heard of it before. then we can all see and judge for ourselves.
Seriously people, 24 pages of comments about kites and nehnehnipoopoo? Sounds like a childish playground spat to me. (:
TWENTYFOUR?!?
Les, I don’t think you should even indulge all these crazy immature kids in their witch-hunt by bothering to explain. As can be seen, MJC doesn’t forgive or forget.
Close the thread la Les. Isn’t it heartpain to read all these crazy accusations? Don’t need to torture yourself anymore. This is your site, you can do whatever you like. Better still, close Redsports temporarily for two-three days. I’ll bet they’ll all get a heart-attack from all the pent-up rage and self-righteous defensive words built up in them. Cos’ you know, not everyone’s from SengKang Primary 😉
And about that! Seriously, everyday PE?! Sure it’s not a joke like the 5km nafa or not. 🙂
Smile Les. Go home, give your three kids a hug and make sure they don’t turn out like these crazy kids 🙂
People come on lah. Let’s stop wasting our time arguing and getting nowhere. YES, of course MJ people want to defend that our fly kite cheer is not a taunt. And YES, of course VJ people want to defend otherwise and No. 5. Im only commenting now because Im done with all this and I know that if I commented any earlier, I’d have cursed and criticized Les and No.5 and defended MJ like crazy. But it’s over, it’s done and arguing about this is really getting stale and childish. As an MJ person who has friends in both teams, MJ soccer guys rock forever and always, VJ soccer guys did super-nicely no doubt bout that. Now let’s stop driving Les crazy, stop driving each other crazy and focus all the energies to mug like crazy shall we? 🙂
hehe just to point out, to unjust and student 3, you have to note that the poll showing redsports as the most visited medium is on the redsports website…naturally there would be more people who would vote for redsports as they read it regularly and hence are on the site and see the poll..yeah so its not really that accurate.
to dral: comments were harsh and unnecessary. and slightly off too..’going the extra mile to ‘prove’ that ‘go fly kite’ means masturbation’…les was just confirming that its a taunt.
HEY BOTH SIDES HAD THEIR OWN FAULTS KAY.
BOTH.
and mj, if you want to defend that the cheer is not a taunt,
vj can also defend that #5 gestures are NOT trying to put down mj.
but then we’d only get into more arguments
and unjust, you said ‘I’d rather you not write it, since it’s not well written.’ it’s kinda rude actually, since the website belongs to uncle les. if your so unhappy, just send in your article or better, set up your own website and show you can write BETTER than uncle les then (:
HAIYA, midyrs/ct2 is coming soon.
stop arguing and go study kay.
and grieve over man u’s loss ):
Hi all, I have been reading this thread for quite a long time and find it both amazing and amusing how nearly 240 comments have been posted over just one article and in such a short span of time. Anyway, I would just like to share a few thoughts.
“Everybody is entitled to their own opinions- but do not force them on others”.
This is one quote which I read somewhere once and feel that it is very, very applicable here. While I am not trying to imply that I’m perfect and morally upright and all that nonsense, I do feel that I have some things that just need to be said.
Firstly, I would like to commend Mr Les for standing by his article and his views despite all this debate. It’s not easy to have so much negative feedback posted and still stand by your work. It is a well written article and it IS inevitable that there is some bias. After all, Mr Les is, like everyone else, a spectator.
Just to illustrate my point, I am a goalkeeper. When like say, a shot hits the post and somehow spins in for example. From my point of view, it was wayyyy lucky that the striker scored. I mean, what kind of shot like that goes in? But then from the striker’s point of view it was absolute skill for him to “strike the ball at exactly the right angle” and score such a “brilliant goal”. I mean, it’s the same incident right? But both of us have totally different opinions over the same incident.
Same thing. Mr Les saw what he saw and it’s his job to write what he thinks he saw, and not what the MJ or VJ supporters thought they saw. So, good job, Mr Les.
Secondly, there has been so so so much debate over whether MJ’s “go fly kite” cheer is a malicious taunt, an innocent cheer or whatever. As a student, I’m proud of my school and want my school to win, and feel good when my school is winning. It’s really easy and, to a certain extent, it is also fun to do this sort of cheer. I’m sure most, if not all of you, will agree with me. It IS fun. But cheer, taunt or whatever you want to call it, some do get upset when they hear this kind of thing being cheered.
But at the end of the day, it is not about Khairil or flying kites. All I can see is many, many so called MJ supporters (and I say “so called” because even I can fill in the name box as “MJ supporter” and what do you know! I’m assumed to be one even though my school is miles away from Pasir Ris) defending their cheer, booing VJ, digging up past rivalries and ultimately being kinda immature about the whole thing.
Ultimately, you realise that nobody has the power to rewind the events of the VJMJ final. So whoever is right and whoever is wrong, it’s for them to learn from their mistakes and not repeat them in the future. And the future is next year’s A Div season. This year’s season is over. The trophy is in VJ’s hands. Flying kites or not, the trophy can’t fly out of VJ. So what’s more important than deciding who’s right and who’s wrong is going out to prove who’s better next year. And I mean who’s better on the soccer pitch in terms of soccer and in terms of character.
Because if you aren’t interested in that, you can go find some open field near your house and, well, fly some kites.
i guess the only two mistakes the writer made was 1) set up the website to be flamed in the end 2) cover the soccer final only to be flamed in the end. Les, mayb u should consider getting a full time job that doesnt get u flamed no matter what u do.
i have nothing against vj or mj, but i think the writer of this article is totally useless. i mean seriously, anyone who has read this article cant help but feel that he’s on vj’s side. and i wonder why.. and going the extra mile to ‘prove’ that ‘go fly kite’ means masturbation really just shows how he wants to bring mj down. seriously though, this kind of people shouldnt be allowed to write. they may play with words and people may buy it, but someone with better common sense can easily tell that his arguments are flawed. gosh..this is so sad. anyways, congrats to vjc, oh but not to the mom..totally ruined vj’s reputation.
To clarify, I’m on a neutral stand.
I suppose unjust is unhappy the way the whole incident is reported. And He/She is right about the link with the voting of most visited medium for sports and her link to the importance of a fair account.
But anyways, it is agreeable that instead of commenting on Les, you can submit your own story (like Les noted too). However, it can be recognise that Les is mostly the influencing figure in this website as he’s the founder of this web. Thus, his articles and comments are crucial. And who would you believe in? Les or another writer who is a student? Arguements can therefore easily spark off and develope into what it is like now.
Lastly, everyone’s behind the screen. I am, he/she is, and so are you. Aint it? It takes courage for one to comment and even more to accept. [:
where’s the proof? please read and realise that everyone replying here knows mjc has been using this cheer for the last 5-6 yrs. Get your facts right =)
well, if u put it that way, then the poll is clearly unfair and flawed. didnt ur secondary school teachers or jc teachers, for that matter, teach u that u cant compare an orange with chocolates? ur poll is akin to what is ur favourite fruit? choc or orange. doesnt make sense right.
a more justified poll would be if u were to give only two options. whether readers agree or do not agree. not include some tongue in cheek options to substantiate ur argument.
Hey guys. Give it a break. The majority people here are just blatantly pointing fingers at Les, whom has done a great deal for the Singapore Schools Sports scene, with what INTENTION may I ask? If your intention is to highlight the so-called “unfairness” of this article, then do what as Les have mentioned, submit a match report on this particular incident, from your view 🙂 I’m sure Les will be more than happy to post YOUR story. (If deemed suitable for the audience here -which includes no vulgarities). Case closed. Why just hide behind your computer and point fingers & make this matter never-ending? Prove you can do a better job than Les then. ‘Nuff said.
Congrats VJ.
Well played MJ.
By the way, for some people commenting, whom might not have as much background information:
Soccer is a game of skill, concentration & luck. Yes, luck. Even the top players in the world has mentioned it.
So, let’s all move on. Peace out.
Arguing online is like slapping handicapped people.
Sure its fun, and you’re bound to win.
I missed out something important.
The vote you have in your website
” Where do you get your Singapore sports news ”
Red sports is ranked the first.
Certainly, you couldn’t doubt the results as the name of the various established media is on the line.
Hence, I hope you recognise the fact that even tho you may not be a professional, your website is largely being visited in Singapore. I believe you know what I’m driving at.
Think about it. Bye.
losers who just can’t admit defeat
to vineyard
“You can’t relate it to 50,000 men in the stadium cursing profanities, it is totally 2 different stories there”
If im giving you that impression, im sorry. Im just saying that supporters cheering and shouting can also be viewed as a form of gamesmanship by the opposition. I remember Paul Casey talking about American fans during the ryder cup. He said”They do have a tendency to wind people up.When they are chanting ‘USA’ and there’s lots of them it just makes you want to beat them even more… They probably failed to realise it really sort of riles us and the rest of the world.” This is just to say that people react to cheering and maybe an insight to what was going through the mind of the vj number 5. This is without saying that cheering does generally add to the atmosphere of the game. I certainly dont want it to be as silent as a graveyard
I don’t see how people can get angry or “sensitive at one silly gesture†at an opposing team player’s poor behavior and poor sportsmanship. I think, VJ should be angrier for having such players! Think about it mate. =)
thinking and still not getting the first statement. We were angry and it is shown by the reaction of the coach and teacher in charge. Thus the apology and the apologetic gesture khai showed when receiving his man of the match award. We want to win with style and lose with grace. However, we wont leave our number 5 to be hung out to dry.
Vm, please be more civilised [: It’s a free speech area.
Asked VJC, VJC and VJC.
Have you asked MJC.
Dont tell me MJC attack you, as an author and red sports being partially influential (Maybe i’m wrong about influential, i dont know how well tis web is known), either way there’s no balance point of view. Be it a web you host yourself or not, it’s still important for a balance view for you know the power of free media and as you said light censorship. We’ve acknowledge VJC’s victory, our lost, both VJ and MJ teams, our conscience is clear and the unjust to say that no 5 did that because of our cheer. Do VJC know exactly why No 5 did that? Is it truly because of the cheer? Nobody knows but No 5 himself And we know he apologised. So why is it that our cheer is directed at? Why is it still so that our cheer must be refer to as a taunt. Seriously whatever. Ok the facts is with you. I’ve pointed out. If you think it’s misdirceting it’ll be. Cos it’s fixed in you. You and majority interpreted it as saying profanity or taunting doesn’t mean to us it is like how go fly kite doesn’t mean that way for a father and son. It’s a cheer and it’s as simple as that. Exaggerate it for all you want. Cos I suppose nobody will give MJ a break.
I wonder what if VJC and MJC switched position , wonder what if MJC didn’t happen to use that cheer and that no 5 did that gesture, wonder how things will be like if you ask MJC’s view. What will your report be. I shall end it here.
“Listen to uncle les, or end up getting hurt”
I will NEVER second that, Like or dislike. I’m stating facts. Goodbye to all distortion and readers.
to lois,
if i were to apply ur maths formula,
no. of pple who agree it’s a cheer : 35%
then no. of pple who dun agree it’s a cheer : 100-35 = 65%
the point is, as i’ve said many times earlier, it’s how u see the same thing from a different viewpoint.
mj supporters see it from their viewpoint, and vj supporters see it from theirs…it’s the whole story of tis saga…