By Kenneth Tan/Red Sports
A Hwa Chong player goes in for the ball to break the flow of play. Hwa Chong Institution (red) held off Anderson Junior College 2-1 in a rain-delayed match to keep their hopes of progressing alive. (Photo 1 © Tan Jon Han/Red Sports)
Meridian Junior College, Friday, April 16, 2010 - Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) kept their qualification hopes for the A Division Football Championship quarter-finals alive after a gritty 2-1 win over Anderson Junior College (AJC).
It was a must-win clash for fourth-placed HCI after attaining only three points in their first three matches. They were trailing AJC on goal difference and Innova Junior College (IJC) by three points.
HCI stormed to a dream 2-0 lead in the first 12 minutes, before conceding a late penalty that caused a nervy final eight minutes. They managed to survive that period and held out for the crucial win.
After just four minutes, HCI managed to put the ball in the net.
Winger Lim Jie Rong’s corner from the left was initially cleared before he crossed it back into the AJC box, creating confusion for AJC goalie Ang Yi Xiu who struggled to deal with the ball. His mispunch fell straight to HCI centre back Ng Wei Lun who bravely plunged his body to make contact with the loose ball. The ball kindly came off his back and trickled into the middle of the goal, gifting HCI an early lead.
Yet to recover from the shock, AJC proceeded to concede another eight minutes later.
Julian Lim's cross-field pass from midfield initially looked too far for winger Akilan Shanmugaratnam to retrieve at the right byline. However the latter managed to chase the ball down and nipped it past the onrushing Ang Yi Xiu for a lurking Chua Kai Wen who slotted gleefully into the empty goal.
HCI's sturdy backline proceeded to make it very hard for AJC to launch any attacking opportunities as they managed to clear most of the loose balls that came their way.
As a result, AJC only had a significant shot on goal in the first half as captain Soh Zhen Yu fired over from an acute angle after a cross by Muhd Kazim Khalikuzzamin on the right flank.
Despite the two-goal advantage, HCI did not rest on their laurels and continued searching for more goals in the second half.
On 60 minutes, Akilan Shanmugaratnam fired a cross-shot from the right flank which was tipped wide by Ang Yi Xiu at his near post.
Three minutes later, AJC full back Mohd Mikhail missed his clearance, resulting in HCI winger Lim Jie Rong stealing in and he went on a great run down the left flank before AJC centre-back Seet Cheng Howe brought him down. However Lim Jie Rong's resulting free kick only sailed right into Ang Yi Xiu's hands.
AJC found it hard to carve out opportunities just like the first half and only managed to create their first real opening on 53 minutes. Midfielder Nguyen Thai Duong volleyed over the bar from inside the box after a long throw by Seet Cheng Howe on the right.
They created another on 66 minutes when Wong Wei De fired just wide of the right-hand post inside the box.
They finally managed to pull one back six minutes later via a penalty. A cross from the right resulted in a goalmouth scramble in the HCI box before falling to an unmarked Nguyen Thai Duong at the far post. HCI centre back Ng Wei Lun had no choice but to bring him down.
Nguyen dusted himself and stood up to score the resulting penalty as he managed to send it into the bottom left corner, wrongfooting HCI keeper Benjamin Chua in the process.
Sensing a comeback on the cards, AJC piled on the pressure in the closing stages.
Firstly on 77 minutes, Soh Zhen Yu broke free in the penalty area and proceeded to shoot on goal. However Benjamin Chua covered his angles well, pressuring Zhen Yu to shoot wide of the goal.
Shih Shih-Yu attempted a long-range shot one minute later which Benjamin Chua smothered well.
In the last minute of regulation time, AJC came the closest to scoring the equaliser. A free kick by Mohd Mikhail on the left sailed over almost everyone in the HCI box before reaching an unmarked Shih Shih-Yu at the far post. However Shih-Yu was unable to get a decent connection with the ball and it ended up in Benjamin Chua's safe hands.
That marked the final piece of action as HCI managed to survive the late AJC onslaught to win all three points.
This result meant HCI climbed into the crucial second spot in Group D, just above IJC on goal difference while AJC dropped to fourth on the table.
A visibly delighted HCI captain Benjamin Chua shared his thoughts with Red Sports after the match.
"I am very happy with the result," Benjamin said. "Both teams played very well and we just managed to beat them by a goal."
"We did not worry as we always believed in what our coach tells us - never to doubt our own ability," he commented when quizzed about whether his team was worried about throwing away the lead in the closing moments.
"All in all, we trusted ourselves and have come a long way since our first game. Hopefully this result is enough for us to go through," he added.
On a final note, he also dedicated the victory to teammate Alvin Ong Wei Sheng as his birthday fell coincidentally on the same day.
The final Group D clash will see IJC take on AJC in a crucial clash to decide who finishes in the second spot and subsequently qualify for the quarter-finals.
IJC only require a draw in that game to qualify while AJC will have to beat IJC by at least a two-goal margin to do so. A one-goal victory for AJC will see HCI go through at the expense of both teams.
The rescheduled fixture will be played on Thursday, April 22nd, 3pm at St Wilfred Sports Complex.
Scorers
HCI
Ng Wei Lun 4'
Chua Kai Wen 9'
AJC
Nguyen Thai Duong pen 72'
HCI lineup
Benjamin Chua Ming Kai (#1, GK, captain), Daniel Lim Hua Siang (#3), Alvin Ong Wei Sheng (#4), Lim Jie Rong (#7), Chua Kai Wen (#9), Elffred Toh Shu Rong (#13), Lee Jun Yi (#14), Oliver Yiu (#16), Julian Lim (#18), Akilan Shanmugaratnam (#19), Ng Wei Lun (#24)
AJC lineup
Ang Yi Xiu (#25, GK), Nguyen Thai Duong (#4), Shih Shih-Yu (#6), Soh Zhen Yu(#8, captain), Muhd Hazim B Rosli (#10), Lui Wei Siang (#11), Muhd Asyraf B Mohd Taha (#14), Muhd Kazim Khalikuzzamin (#15), Seet Cheng Howe (#16), Wong Wei De (#22), Muhd Mikhail B Muhd T (#23), Nguyen Dinh Nguyen (#26), Chen You Wei (#27)
Go to the SCHOOLS FIXTURES & RESULTS page for more information
HCI adopted a physical approach in the first half which led to them scoring two goals to take into the half-time break. (Photo 2 © Tan Jon Han/Red Sports)
Players from both teams in an aerial battle to gain possession. (Photo 3 © Tan Jon Han/Red Sports)
AJC players were keen to claw themselves back into the game after play resumed. However they were met with a stubborn HCI team that was keen to maintain their lead. (Photo 4 © Tan Jon Han/Red Sports)
AJC players brace themselves for an HCI free-kick near their goal area. (Photo 5 © Tan Jon Han/Red Sports)
For more photos, go to the next page
it was hci number 7 who took the corner not julian lim, that lob the ball in beautifully that made the keeper unable to save that resulted to the goal.
Hi Alvin, thanks for notifying me about the mistake. Changes are made.
I watched it. a close game indeed. exciting with exchanges on both sides. HCI narrowly just won it. But unluckily, their fate will now depend on the remaining game between IJC and AJC. But at least, Hwa Chong can play football, ain’t I right?
It didnt “trickle” into the back of the net, my friends. Ng Wei Lun displayed ridiculous courage by plunging his entire body to make contact with the ball, in order to give Hwa Chong the crucial lead they need. It may be a lucky goal but the run-in should be credited to Hwa Chong, especially the goal scorer
Hi qwerty, thanks for notifying.
Oh yes, Hwa Chong did miss numerous opportunities to kill AJC’s hopes of a comeback in the second half. The AJC defence line was pushed up so high that HCI could have settled the game on several occasions. However, the midfielders of Hwa Chong were clearly not in their best form as they could not slip the ball past the AJC defence.AJC showed that they were capable of making a comeback but a strong defensive act displayed by the Hwa Chong backline proved to be essential and of course pivotal to making Group D one of the most exciting and nervewrecking A Divsion football groups. Bravo to both teams.
sums the game up perfectly. well said.
hwachong had lots of counter attacks in the second half that they should haven taken advantage of to extend their lead. The attackers outnumbered the ajc defenders on many occasions but the supply to the striker was lacking. The final ball during counter attacks was poor, with misplaced passes and shots taken when a pass was needed. We might actually meet each other in the quarters. Best of luck.
Hi dude. I guess you are mistaken. I just wanted to ensure the accuracy of the report. By pointing out tat Ng wei lun conceded the penalty, i wasn’t being a sore loser. How is that being sour grapes? You guys won and I’ve accepted it. I didn’t say anything about hci not deserving the win
hey. dont be sore losers… lose alr like that… he may have conceded the penalty, but it was a good game for hci. dont be such sour grapes.
Hello! there is an error in the report. the first goal was a result of our keeper mispunching the ball after it was crossed back into the area by HCI #7 after the initial corner was cleared. It fell kindly on HCI #24’s back and trickled into the centre of the goal. It wasn’t a superb diving header tat crept into the bottom left hand corner.
Thanks.
Hi ajc, thanks for notifying. Changes are made accordingly.
hi kenneth, I dont think it trickled into the net. It was quite a comfortable and easy goal for Ng Wei Lun. But all in all, he played a really good game and did his defensive duties well.
a few errors to note:
freekick from Mohd Mikhail came from the left not right and Ng wei lun conceded the penalty not alvin ong.
Hi hci, thanks for notifying. Changes are made accordingly.
the hci player who conceded the penalty was ng wei lun. tks.