Story by Kenneth Tan/Red Sports. Pictures by Tan Jon Han/Red Sports
Nguyen Nhat Quang (RI #10, green), the sole goal scorer for the match, ensured victory for RI in their 2nd round encounter with CJC (white). (Photo 1 © Tan Jon Han/Red Sports)
St Andrew’s Junior College, Friday, April 30, 2010 – Raffles Institution (RI) beat Catholic Junior College (CJC) 1-0 to book their place in the A Division Football Championship semi-finals.
RI and CJC started off sluggishly and failed to string a series of passes together in the initial exchanges in this second round Group X match. RI then settled the better of the two sides and started creating goalscoring opportunities midway through the half.
Forward Nguyen Nhat Quang’s volley just inside the box was smothered well by CJC goalie Aaron Teoh on 19 minutes before captain Muhammad Nuri’s snapshot inside the six-yard box was deflected just past the right-hand post on 24 minutes.
Their attacking initiative paid off four minutes later when a deep cross from the right by full back Hoang The Huan caught the CJC defence in two minds. Nguyen Nhat Quang reacted the quickest to slot the ball cleanly into the bottom left corner of the goal to give his side the lead.
The game opened up in the second half with both sides looking to attack at the first opportunity. RI midfielder Ong Zhi Hao was particularly influential in this half with his industry and surging runs from midfield.
RI could have doubled their lead two minutes after the restart when Nguyen Nhat Quang took advantage of CJC captain Muhd Prem Nazir’s missed clearance to shoot from inside the box. However CJC goalie Aaron Teoh came out well to cover his angles.
CJC created a couple of openings thereafter. On 50 minutes, midfielder Joseph Koh flung himself at the far post to direct a Muhd Prem Nazir free kick towards goal. It resulted in a collision between Joseph and RI goalie Andrew Chua before the ball eventually went wide.
Six minutes later, midfielder Quinten Jad got down the right flank well before crossing into the box for Chua Ming Shiun. However the latter’s effort was well blocked by an RI defender.
RI came close again on 62 minutes when centre back James Kwong leapt the highest to connect with Hoang The Huan corner from the right. However the effort came off the bar before being cleared to safety.
The final 10 minutes saw CJC piling on the pressure in search of the equaliser but they were denied by some excellent last-ditch defending by RI.
Alas CJC could not crack the resilient RI defence and fell to a 0-1 defeat that saw them eliminated from the hunt for a semi-final place.
RI next take on fellow qualifiers St Andrew’s Junior College (SAJC) on Tuesday, May 4th, in a clash to determine who will finish top of Group X. The winner of Group X will face the runners-up of Group Y in the semi-finals while the runners-up of Group X will face the winner of Group Y.
SAJC currently hold top spot as they have a superior goal difference of +8 as compared to RI’s +4. Kickoff time is 4.45pm.
Meanwhile CJC and YJC face each other in the earlier game at 3pm where only pride is at stake.
Both matches will be played at SAJC.
Final Result
RI 1 CJC 0
Scorers
RI – Nguyen Nhat Quang 28’
RI lineup
Andrew Chua Ruiming (#1, GK), Li Jinghui (#2), Muhammad Nuri Bin Mohamed Shafei (#5, captain), Nguyen Nhat Quang (#10), Varun Vijayraghavan (#11), Nguyen Duy Anh (#12), Pranav Malhotra (#13), Hoang The Huan (#14), James Kwong Kam Yin (#16), Yi Hao (#17), Ong Zhi Hao (#18)
Substitutes: Daniel Ng Wei Liang (#3), Kwa Jie Hao (#7), Alvan Tay Wei De (#8), Ng Wee Meng (#4), Ngo Hoang Gia (#6), Vuong Hia Gieu (#19), Tran Trung Nguyen (#21), Cui Jianqiao (#23), Benjamin Ng Boon Chong (#20, GK)
CJC lineup
Aaron Teoh Jia Kai (#20, GK), Joseph Koh Yuan Shan (#2), Gerald Yeo Zhang J (#4), Quinten Jad Roslen Wei Rong (#5), Bryan Cheang Hui Ren (#8), Reko Aw Jun Ray (#10), Aaron Lim An Rong (#11), Chua Ming Shiun (#13), Alastair Leong Zhi-Rong (#14), Caleb Lim (#16), Muhd Prem Nazir s/o MK (#19, captain)
Substitutes: Abdul Rahim B Faizal (#3), Jonathan Lim Wen Jun (#7), Ko Pei Rong (#6), Benedict Chiong Kai Bin (#9), John Mak Jie (#18), Ivan Lim Ying Xian (#1), Paul Choi Woo Sug (#15), Javier Ng (#17), Samuel Sashant Devaraj (#12)
Go to the SCHOOLS FIXTURES & RESULTS page for more information.
Muhd Prem Nazir s/o MK (CJC #19, Captain) attempts to knock the ball away from Nguyen Nhat Quang (RI #10). (Photo 2 © Tan Jon Han/Red Sports)
For more photos, go to the next page
varghess george praveen is a YJC player, he was not involved in this match at all.
Hi Ken, thanks for rectifying. What a mistake, was working on the SAJC vs YJC article that night as well, so got it all mixed up!