Story by reader Muhammad Zulfiqar

The National B Division Football Championship kicked off on Monday 4th April with surprises already kicking in from Day 1.

Defending champions Singapore Sports School found themselves in a favourable group after the draw on Wednesday, March 30th. Their only threat in Group C will come from Hong Kah Secondary.

However, last year’s runners-up St Patrick’s School will face strong tests from St Gabriel’s Secondary and Seng Kang Secondary. St Gabriel’s were former South Zone champions while Seng Kang won the Manchester United Premier Cup (MUPC) back in 2009.

The title of Singapore’s best football school is Singapore Sports School’s to lose and the main interest is to see which zone will produce the school that will make it all the way to the final against the defending champions.

Matchday 1

Group A
Group A favourites and South Zone champions Bartley Secondary beat Zhenghua Secondary 2-0 with a fine display of quality.

In the other Group A game, Marsiling Secondary beat a young Siglap Secondary side 2-1 with an aggressive and slick display to give themselves a good chance of finishing in the top two of the group.

Group B
In Group B, Jurongville Secondary were eager to prove that they are a national powerhouse after they edged out Hong Kah Secondary in the West Zone final. However, they will have to wait as their game against Fuchun Secondary was postponed due to bad weather.

The other Group B game between Queensway Secondary and Springfield Secondary was given the green light and Springfield proved their third-place finish in the East Zone was not a fluke in a nervy and jittery game that ended 2-2.

Group C
In Group C, all eyes were on Singapore Sports School and Hong Kah who had Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Cubs Hanafi Akbar and Amirul Emmran in their ranks respectively.

Sports School brushed aside Pasir Ris Secondary 5-0 in a game where they were threatened little and only looked shaky for a moment as Pasir Ris were led by YOG trialist Muhammad Asyraf.

Hong Kah showed why they were so feared by schools around Singapore after stomping to a 6-1 victory over Serangoon Garden Secondary.

The upcoming clash between the two giants, Sports School and Hong Kah, looks most interesting.

Group D
In Group D, disappointment was clearly shown on the faces of East Zone champions St Patrick’s School after they lost 1-2 to St. Gabriel’s Secondary. St. Gabriel’s proved that writing them off can be a mistake.

Former MUPC champions Seng Kang Secondary clinched a 1-0 victory over their 2010 MUPC rivals Regent Secondary.

National B Division Boys’ Football Championship — Full fixtures and results

To recap, the top four of each zone are as follows:

West Zone
1st: Jurongville Secondary School
2nd: Hong Kah Secondary School
3rd: Regent Secondary School
4th: Zhenghua Secondary School

North Zone
1st: Singapore Sports School
2nd: Sengkang Secondary School
3rd: Marsiling Secondary School
4th: Fuchun Secodnary School

East Zone
1st: Saint Patrick’s School
2nd: Siglap Secondary School
3rd: Springfield Secondary School
4th: Pasir Ris Secondary School

South Zone
1st: Bartley Secondary School
?2nd: Queensway Secondary School
3rd: Serangoon Garden Secondary School
4th: Saint Gabriel’s School

National B Division Boys’ Football Championship Groups
Group A
Bartley
Siglap
Marsiling
Zhenghua

Group B
Jurongville
Queensway
Springfield
Fuchun

Group C
Sports School
Hong Kah
Serangoon Garden
Pasir Ris

Group D
St Patrick’s
Sengkang
Regent
St Gabriel’s