By Kenneth Tan/Red Sports

The exciting A Division Football Championship Final last month saw Meridian Junior College edge out St Andrew’s Junior College 2-1.

Other than the final and the two teams, there are many other incidents and individuals that caught our eye. For fans who would like to reminiscence about the tournament, here’s a review of the 2010 A Division football campaign.

(Disclaimer: The writer did not watch all the games in the A Division this year. Selections are based on the matches he watched and his personal opinion.)

Top 10 Goals (in no particular order)

1. John Kathiresh Joshua (Group Stage — Innova Junior College vs Hwa Chong Institution – March 23rd)

After being brought down just outside the penalty area, the IJC defensive midfielder stood up to curl the resulting dead ball into the top right corner of the goal, beating HCI goalkeeper Benjamin Chua in the process. That was the solitary goal in IJC’s 1-0 victory over HCI.

2. Gregory Noah (Group Stage — St Andrew’s Junior College vs Hwa Chong Institution — March 26th)

After taking an early first-half lead, SAJC were hit by a second HCI half sucker punch with 13 minutes left in the game.

However any hopes of a shock draw by HCI were banished just one minute later. SAJC midfield playmaker Gregory Noah spotted HCI goalie Benjamin Chua out of position and duly curled home his free kick from 30 yards out. That sealed a 2-1 victory for his team.

3. Ong Zhi Hao (Group Stage — Raffles Institution vs NUS High — March 29th)

This goal was included due to the free-flowing passing movement before the ball ended in the back of the net.

RI captain Muhammad Nuri’s accurate cross-field pass from midfield picked out forward Nguyen Nhat Quang on the left flank. Nguyen crossed into the NUS High penalty area for an unmarked Nuri to shoot on goal. Nuri unselfishly laid the ball on to his right for midfielder Ong Zhi Hao whose fierce effort beat NUS High goalkeeper Emmanuel Yien Goh at his near post.

That was the icing on RI’s cake as they sealed a 6-1 thrashing of NUS High.

4. Mitchell Keh (Group Stage — NUS High vs Anglo-Chinese Junior College — April 1st)

NUS High had a miserable campaign throughout this year’s tournament, losing all five matches and conceding 24 goals, but the performances of forward Mitchell Keh was certainly one to cheer about. His fearless and aggressive style upfront belied his diminutive frame as he was the top scorer of his team with three goals.

One of his goals came against Anglo-Chinese Junior College. With his team 6-0 down in the first half, he gave his team some hope on the stroke of half time as he broke free just outside the box and let fly from 20 metres. The effort thundered in off the bar, stunning the previously untroubled ACJC goalkeeper in the process.

That salvaged some pride for his team who eventually fell 2-8.

5. Darren Hedger (Group Stage — St Andrew’s Junior College vs Anderson Junior College — April 6th)

This was an extraordinary goal considering the distance from goal and the player who struck it. When SAJC were awarded a free kick just inside the AJC half, it did not appear to be a realistic distance to strike the ball at goal.

However SAJC centre back Darren Hedger proved that notion wrong. He stepped up to take the dead ball and produced a superb thumping effort that sailed right into the top left corner of the goal that completely stunned AJC goalie Ang Yi Xiu.

6. Viszhnu Mohan (Group Stage — Serangoon Junior College vs Raffles Institution — April 8th)

The 1.9m SRJC forward did not even start the game but when he was brought on after the half-hour mark, he duly scored the opening goal eight minutes after his introduction.

After receiving a pass from midfield, Viszhnu proceeded to get past RI centre back Yi Hao on his blind slide and took huge strides into the RI box. With no immediate attention from the RI defence, he curled his effort beyond the reach of Andrew Chua into the right corner of the goal.

It was a crucial goal as it came against the run of play. However it was not enough to bring SRJC victory as RI scored twice in the last 14 minutes to sink them 2-1.

7. Goh Joon How (Group Stage — Jurong Junior College vs NUS High — April 8th)

This goal was included due to a superb counter-attacking move not often seen at the A Division level.

JJC were leading 1-0 before NUS High were awarded a free kick just outside the JJC box on 15 minutes. An opportunity to score turned into a nightmare for NUS High within seconds.

Taking advantage of the fact that NUS High piled too many men forward, JJC managed to clear the danger and proceeded to launch a three-man counter attack into the NUS High half. It ended up with midfielder Goh Joon How producing a rasping drive into the left corner of the goal from just outside the box, giving NUS High stand-in goalie Kausik Venkat no chance at all.

JJC finished the match 3-1 winners.

8. Pradeep Ravichandran (Second Round — St Andrew’s Junior College vs Catholic Junior College — April 27th)

Despite dominating the opening exchanges, SAJC found it hard to break through the tight CJC defence. It was through a superb interchange of play between forward Pradeep and midfield playmaker Gregory Noah midway through the first half that carved opened their defence for the opening goal.

Gregory Noah received the ball and proceeded to get past his marker in midfield before attempting a one-two with Pradeep. The intelligent play cut through the whole CJC defence before Pradeep strode into the box to slot the ball coolly into the bottom left corner of the goal.

SAJC strolled to a 3-0 win in the end.

9. Amsyar Omar (Second Round — Meridian Junior College vs Victoria Junior College — May 4th)

Having lost to VJC in last year’s final, MJC went into this match with something to prove despite having already qualified for the semi-finals.

Midfielder Amsyar Omar scored two fabulous goals in a 2-1 revenge victory. His first goal was a 30-yard thunderbolt into the top corner, but his second was even better.

A perfect through ball from midfield released Amsyar into a one-on-one opportunity with VJC goalkeeper Ifwat Wafiy just inside the box. With no defender closing in, he produced an audacious chip over the onrushing Ifwat and into the goal.

That goal proved decisive as it gave MJC a 2-1 victory and the top spot in their second round group.

10. Ryson Yap (3rd/4th placing match — Victoria Junior College vs Raffles Institution — May 20th)

Having been beaten by SAJC in the semi-finals, dethroned champions VJC seemed keen to rub off their disappointment to finish their campaign on a high. They managed to do so with a 6-0 thrashing of RI in the third and fourth placing match.

VJC winger Ryson Yap wrapped up his team’s scoring in the second half with arguably the best goal of the game. After receiving the ball in midfield and sensing no immediate pressure from the RI defence, he unleashed a powerful snapshot from all of 30 yards which arrowed into the top right hand corner of the goal.

That goal brought much applause from the VJC fans who turned up at Jalan Besar Stadium.

Other than the top 10 goals, we also picked out some other interesting and significant moments in this year’s campaign.

Surprise Package
Serangoon Junior College (SRJC)

Being perennial strugglers, SRJC surprised everyone this year by reaching the second round for only the third time in their history. A tally of nine points from five games saw them finish second, behind first-placed Raffles Institution, in their first round group.

Their highlight of the campaign is undoubtedly the 2-0 upset of traditional powerhouse Anglo-Chinese Junior College where lanky forward Vizshnu Mohan scored a brace.

Despite being thrashed by traditional powerhouses Victoria JC and Meridian JC in their second round group, they ended their campaign on a high with a 2-0 victory over Hwa Chong Institution.

Best Comeback/Most Fired-up Atmosphere
Serangoon Junior College (SRJC) vs Raffles Institution (RI) — April 8

This match has everything that makes a classic – goal against run of play, a comeback, mistakes, disallowed goals, contentious decisions, goal-line clearances, pure emotion.

Despite dominating the whole of the first half, RI failed to take their opportunities and conceded a goal two minutes before half time.

They continued their attacking policy in the second and it reaped dividends in the last 14 minutes of the second half. Captain Muhammad Nuri scored both goals to turn it around for RI.

The equaliser came after SRJC goalkeeper Khairulanwar dropped a long ball straight into Nuri’s path and the RI captain slotted gleefully into the empty goal. Having been booed by a section of SRJC fans throughout the match, Nuri celebrated his equaliser with a stare at the crowd before joining his bench in celebrations.

SRJC fought hard late on to equalise and nearly did so deep into injury time. Full back Justin Chua’s 30-metre free kick looked to have bounced into the goal before RI goalie Andrew Chua tipped it onto the bar. From the resulting corner, substitute Hafeez Shahni managed to scramble the ball home and wheeled off in celebrations in front of the raucous SRJC crowd but it was duly disallowed for offside.

The controversial decision riled up a section of the crowd who cursed and swore at the referee. After the final whistle, the SRJC players could be seen lying and sobbing on the pitch.

Strangest Atmosphere
Anderson Junior College (AJC) vs Innova Junior College (IJC) — April 23

The equation was a complicated one coming into this last group game. Hwa Chong Instuition (HCI) held the crucial second spot, ahead of IJC and AJC. A draw would see IJC go through while a two-goal victory for AJC would see them go through instead. A one-goal victory by AJC would mean HCI going through at the expense of both teams and that was what exactly happened.

IJC look satisfied to get the draw while AJC tried their best to get the two-goal advantage. A combination of bad luck and poor finishing marred AJC’s attempts as they hit the woodwork thrice and missed a penalty. As a result, AJC only won by a one-goal margin.

The final whistle saw a peculiar sight in football, with both sets of players sinking to the ground in agony at missing out on the second round.

Most Interesting Moment
Sifat Ullah Khan’s man-marking of Ong Zhi Hao (Raffles Institution vs Jurong Junior College — April 11)

Ong Zhi Hao is the key playmaker for RI and also plays for the national U-17 squad. In their first round group clash with RI, JJC coach must have done his homework as he deployed his defender Sifat Ullah Khan to man-mark Zhi Hao.

Sifat stuck to his task well as he focused all his attentions on Zhi Hao during the game. His whole game was dictated by Zhi Hao’s movements as he followed wherever the latter ran and did not even look at the ball at times. Zhi Hao looked bemused at Sifat’s action and so did the supporters in the stands.

After Zhi Hao was subbed midway through the second half, he suddenly appeared lost and even had to look for his coach on the sidelines for his next role!

Most Significant Individual Contribution
Hoang The Huan (Raffles Institution vs Jurong Junior College – April 11)

In the same match with the most interesting moment, RI full back Hoang The Huan played a starring role in his team’s victory and subsequent qualification to the next round.

With his forwards misfiring, Hoang came to their rescue with two rare goals. The first was an inswinging corner that went right into the JJC goal while the second came via a deflected volley from outside the box.

His contribution was completed a minute later when he managed a goal-line clearance at the other end to ensure a clean sheet for his team.

Most Crucial Victory
Hwa Chong Institution’s(HCI) 2-1 victory over Anderson Junior College (AJC) — April 16

After starting off with two defeats, HCI managed to beat fellow strugglers National JC 1-0 to clinch their first three points. That gave them hope of qualifying for the second round coming into this last group game. It was a must-win game for them or else they would be eliminated from the tournament.

They did just that with a perfect start to the match as they managed to race into a 2-0 lead within the first 12 minutes. Although AJC pull one back late on, they held out for the win.

The importance of the win was only realised one week later when AJC and IJC contrived to gift them the crucial second spot in their first round group and HCI qualified for the second round for the first time in six years.

Best Nickname

Vishznu Mohan – “Avatar”
Due to his lanky 1.9m frame, the SRJC forward is affectionately nicknamed “Avatar” by his schoolmates. Once he gets the ball, shouts and screams of “Avatar! Avatar!” can be clearly heard from the stands!

Long Throw Specialist
Seet Cheng Howe (Anderson Junior College)

Quite a few players in the A Division level are capable of making long throws, but not one of them came close to matching Seet Cheng Howe of Anderson Junior College. His run-up can go up to ten step back. On one instance, he even had to move his team’s bench away in order to launch his missile-like throw!

Most Sporting Behaviour
Sharif Hidayat (Meridian Junior College vs St Andrew’s Junior College — May 20th)

It was a final and with his team only leading by a one-goal margin, he could have ignored what happened and surged forward to provide his team the extra man in attack. However when MJC forward Sharif Hidayat saw an SAJC player down in the middle of the pitch with cramps, he decided to stop the play even though his team was on the attack.

His action brought some bemused reactions from his teammates but earned the respect of the huge crowd in Jalan Besar who applauded his great show of sportsmanship.

If anyone wants to contribute your own interesting or significant moment, please do so in the Comments section!